how food is
produced
Theme
An introduction to the origins of food products, with videos showing the origins and production
of different foods.
Aim
For children to develop an understanding that different processes are used to make different foods.
how?
FRESH cream
CURRICULUM CONTEXT
SOCIAL, PERSONAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION
Strand: Myself
Strand Unit: Taking care of my body
The child should be enabled to
Health and well-being
• realise that each individual has some responsibility for his/her health and that this responsibility increases as
he/she gets older.
Food and nutrition
• explore some factors that influence the consumption of different food products.
• discuss and examine the importance of proper food hygiene.
GEOGRAPHY
Strand: Human environments
Strand Unit: People living and working in the local area and people living and working in a contrasting part of Ireland
People at work
• explore and investigate, especially through practical studies, a small number of the common economic activities
of people in the locality and in a contrasting part of Ireland.
Strand: Natural environments
Strand Unit: The local natural environment
• investigate and become familiar with some natural features in the local environment.
SCIENCE
Strand: Environmental awareness and care
Strand unit: Environmental awareness
• recognise how the actions of people may impact upon environments.
GETTING STARTED
MENU SCREEN
This is the menu screen.
Click on ‘Classroom Slides’ to begin the session or click on
‘Extension Activities’ for some additional ideas.
Print the Teacher’s Notes for this session by clicking on the
‘Teacher’s Notes’ button.
Taste Buds | Notes
SCREEN 1
How food is produced
KEY MESSAGE
Often the foods we eat are nothing like their original form. A lot of
work goes in to producing some foods.
The slide shows a number of raw ingredients or animal sources and
the processes that they undergo to become a food product. The food
product is hidden until you click on the ‘Reveal’ button at the bottom
of the screen.
Suggested Approach
Ask the children to suggest answers for each example. Encourage
them to think of more examples. They could include:
Beef Products - Lots of other beef products come from cattle too such
as fillet steak, sirloin steak, stewing steak, rib of beef etc.
Wheat - Lots of other foods are also made with wheat, for example,
scones, croissants, cakes, pasta.
Dairy - A lot of other products that can be made from milk, such as
cheese, yoghurt, icecream, buttermilk. The process for making each of
these products is different. The next slide will show a short video of
how cheese is made.
Chicken - A lot of other products come from chicken, including
chicken wings, chicken legs and some processed chicken products
such as chicken nuggets and chicken burgers. It is best to choose the
unprocessed varieties of chicken.
Orange - Oranges are also used for fruit salads, to make marmalade
and for adding flavour to foods.
SCREEN 2
KEY MESSAGE
There is a specific process involved in making cheese from milk.
Different processes are used to make different types of cheese.
The screen shows a short video on the production of cheese from milk.
Suggested Approach
Ask the class if they have any ideas how cheese is made before
showing the video. Watch it with the class and then discuss it. The
video plays automatically. The teacher can use the video controls to
pause/play it.
Taste Buds | Notes
SCREEN 3
How food is produced
KEY MESSAGE
The same raw ingredient i.e. milk can be processed in different ways
to produce different foods.
This screen shows milk containers on one side and a number of foods
made from milk on the other.
Suggested Approach
Explain, using the example of milk on the screen, that the same raw
materials can be processed in different ways to produce different foods.
Butter Making Process
Butter is made by churning cream or milk. Churning produces small
butter grains floating in the cream. This watery liquid is called
buttermilk. The buttermilk is drained off. Then the grains are ‘worked’ pressed and kneaded together until butter is formed.
Cheese Making Process
Cheese is another product made from milk. Bacteria are added to whole
milk and it forms hard curds and watery whey. The whey is drained off
and the curd is compressed, processed and stored to form cheese.
Cheese has historically been an important way of ‘storing’ milk over the
years. It is a food product that dates back to prehistory in Middle Eastern
and European cultures. A considerable amount of cheese is made
commercially from other milks, especially goat and sheep.
Yogurt Making Process
Yoghurt making is a process similar to cheese making, only the
process is stopped before the curd becomes very hard.
Cream
Cream is the fat skimmed off the top of milk or separated by machines.
SCREEN 4
KEY MESSAGE
Food preservation is the process of treating a food so that it keeps
for longer and slows down food ‘going off’ or rotting.
This screen lists some of the reasons for preserving food.
Suggested Approach
Ask the class if they can think of any foods that have been preserved in
some way. There are lots of examples on the slides to follow.
Taste Buds | Notes
SCREEN 5
How food is produced
KEY MESSAGE
The process of smoking can be used to preserve fish.
This screen shows a short video on the fish smoking process.
Suggested Approach
Ask the class if they have any ideas how fish is smoked before showing
the video. Watch it with the class and then discuss what they have
seen and learned. The video plays automatically. The teacher can use
the controls to pause/play it.
SCREEN 6
KEY MESSAGE
There are lots of different methods of food preservation i.e. brining,
freezing, smoking, canning, drying. Some foods can be preserved in
a variety of ways, for example fish can be smoked, canned, brined or
frozen. See Additional Teacher Information at the end of this
session for more details on preservation methods.
This screen displays some foods and some food preservation methods
that can be used on different foods. Click ‘Reveal Example’ to display
the preserved foods.
Suggested Approach
Go through the on-screen examples with the children. Ask them to
suggest other examples.
Taste Buds | Notes
SCREEN 7
How food is produced
KEY MESSAGE
Fruits, vegetables and potatoes are often processed before they are
sold to restaurants, hotels and shops which sell or serve food.
The screen shows a short video on vegetables and potato production
for the catering sector.
Suggested Approach
Play the video and discuss it with the class. Talk about how vegetables
are prepared in the home in comparison to how they are prepared in
the video. The video plays automatically. The teacher can use the
controls to pause/play it.
Taste Buds | Extension Activities
How food is produced
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1: FOODS THAT ARE MADE FROM...
ACTIVITY 2: FOODS AND PROCESSES
HOMEWORK ACTIVITIES
how?
FRESH cream
Taste Buds | Extension Activities
How food is produced
activity 1
activity 2
foods that are made from... foods and processes
KEY MESSAGE
Ingredients can be used in different ways to make
different foods.
The screen shows a number of food items across the top.
The children must suggest what other foods could be made
using these ingredients, such as butter from milk or bread
from wheat.
Suggested Approach
Invite the children to make suggestions themselves about
what food products can be made with the raw ingredients.
The children’s answers can be typed on to the screen.
HOMEWORK ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS
1:
Ask the children to look at the food at
home again with their parent/guardian
and write down the different
ingredients that go into different
foods.
2:
Ask the children to look at where
different foods are stored in the home
and find out why they need to be
stored in certain places, e.g. cupboard,
fridge, freezer.
Clicking the ‘Print’ button, print out three separate circle
images. These images can be cut out and stacked together.
Food sources (plant and animal) can then be matched up with
ingredients and food products.
Suggested Approach
The children can then turn the wheels to match the foods to
the process. They can then colour in the final chart. They can
work in small groups or on their own.
Taste Buds | Additional Teacher Information
How food is produced
ADDITIONAL TEACHER INFORMATION
1: PRESERVATION METHODS
2: INGREDIENTS AND THE FOODS MADE FROM THEM
1: PRESERVATION METHODS
CANNING
FRESH
TOMATO
PASTE
DRYING
DRIED
BERRIES
FREEZING
FROZENTS
CARRO
2: INGREDIENTS AND THE
FOODS MADE FROM THEM
MILK
Taste Buds | Additional Teacher Information
How food is produced
PRESERVATION METHODS
INGREDIENTS AND THE FOODS MADE FROM THEM
Drying
Drying is one of the oldest methods of food preservation.
Many fruits can be dried; for example apples, pears, bananas,
mangoes, papaya, and coconut. Currants, sultanas and raisins
are all forms of dried grapes. Drying is also the means of
preservation for cereal grains such as wheat, maize, oats,
barley, rice, millet and rye.
Here are some examples.
Smoking
Meat, fish and some other foods can also be preserved
through the use of smoke. The combination of heat to dry
the food without cooking it, and smoke preserves the food.
Milk: Cheese, cream, custard, creamed rice, porridge, hot
chocolate, milky drinks.
Freezing
Freezing is one of the most commonly used processes
commercially and domestically for preserving a very wide
range of foodstuffs.
Canning
Canning involves cooking foods like fruits or vegetables,
meat or fish, sealing them in sterile cans or jars, and boiling
the containers to kill or weaken any remaining bacteria. Food
preserved by canning or bottling is at risk of spoilage once
the can or bottle has been opened. Lots of care is needed
during the canning process so that water or micro-organisms
do not get into the can. If this happens, gas production in
the can will cause it to swell or burst. This is why you should
never purchase a damaged can in the supermarket.
Eggs: Scrambled eggs, poached eggs, boiled eggs, fried eggs,
pastry, pavlova, quiche, omelette.
Beef: Beef stew, shepherds pie, beef curry, beef goulash, beef
burgers, roast beef, spaghetti bolognese, lasagne.
Wheat: Bread, crackers, biscuits, scones, croissants.