Food Science Commons^™

(Re)Defining Masculinity: Creando Conciencia Y Conocimiento Sobre La Educación Through Food, Jesus Aaron Sierra

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes how food, culture, and class have shaped how I have acculturated, negotiated and blended Mexican and American. It highlights various themes that have shaped my educational process, including, masculinity, family values, food production, service and consumption. The proximity of South Texas to the U.S.-Mexican border plays an important role in the gastronomy of the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). This is a region where people interact across race, ethnicity and culture to create different dishes and customs surrounding food. It also demonstrates how food brings people together. The methodology used in this thesis is from the autoethnographic perspective …

Upscaling Capillary Pressure–Saturation Functions Using Different Reference Pressure Elevations, Chu-Lin Cheng, S. Clark Cropper, Edmund Perfect, Larry Mckay, Misun Kang

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Choice of reference pressure elevation (RPE) on average effective saturation–capillary pressure functions, 〈〉(ψ), was investigated for monotonic drainage of homogeneous porous media. Nine columns of Flint sand with heights ranging from 4.3 to 55.0 cm were prepared. Measured 〈〉(ψ) functions were determined gravimetrically using the hanging water column method. Predicted 〈〉(ψ) functions were obtained by upscaling point function parameters determined by neutron radiographic imaging of a single drainage experiment. Bottom and midpoint RPEs resulted in the inaccurate parameterization of 〈〉(ψ) functions for tall columns. A top RPE produced accurate upscaled functions for all column heights. To evaluate the overall performance …

Photocatalytic Tio2 Coating Of Plastic Cutting Board To Prevent Microbial Cross-Contamination, Veerachandra K. Yemmireddy, Yen-Con Hung

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Kitchen cutting boards are one common source of microbial cross-contamination in foods. In this study, a method was developed to create an antimicrobial coating on HDPE cutting board using UV-activated TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs). The antimicrobial efficacy of the developed coatings was tested against E. coli O157: H7 for 3 h at 0.5 ± 0.05 mW/cm2 UVA light intensity. In addition, the effect of NP loading (0.0125, 0.0625, and 0.125 mg/cm2), and surface treatment of coatings by oxygen plasma for 1–15 min on the bactericidal efficacy was investigated. Further, the bactericidal efficacy of the TiO2 coated cutting board on repeated use …

Effect Of Different Debranning Degrees On The Qualities Of Whole Wheat Flour And Chinese Steamed Bread, Jikai Zhao, Fengcheng Wang, Wenjun Fu, Mengjie Wang

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Abstract: Strong gluten, middle-strong gluten and middle gluten wheat were used as raw materials to obtain whole wheat flour by dry debranning process, and the effect of different debranning degrees on the quality of wheat kernel, whole wheat flour and Chinese steamed bread was evaluated. The results showed that the ash content, hardness index and thousand kernel weight of wheat kernels were decreased with increasing debranning degree by 0.17%, 1.0–1.5 and 1.74–1.82 g, respectively, whereas the volume weight was increased by 22.0–23.4 g/L. The contents of ash and damaged starch in whole wheat flour were decreased by 0.12%–0.14% and 1.0–2.1 …

Effect Of Binder On The Physical Stability And Bactericidal Property Of Titanium Dioxide (Tio2) Nanocoatings On Food Contact Surfaces, Veerachandra K. Yemmireddy, Yen-Con Hung

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

TiO2 is a promising photocatalyst for use in food processing environment as an antimicrobial coating. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of different binding agents on the physical stability and bactericidal property of TiO2 nanocoatings created on stainless steel surfaces. A total of six different coating suspensions were prepared by mixing TiO2 (Aeroxide® P-25) nanoparticles (NPs) with three different types of binders (Shellac (A), polyuretahne (B), and polycrylic (C)) at a 1:4 to 1:16 NP to binder weight ratio. Bactericidal activity of these TiO2 coatings against Escherichia coli O157:H7 (5-strain) was determined at three different UV-A …

A Preventive Maintenance Framework In Dairy Production Operations, Maria F. Vargas

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Dairy operations suffer frequent stops. Product shrinkage is a consequence of downtime, which includes losses of packaging material, scraped finish product and capacity. This work proposes a troubleshooting methodology to identify causes of downtime, estimation of waste cost, and minimization of operation disruptions by applying a combination of a cost function to assess waste, and performance measurements. The drinkable yogurt process is evaluated to find the principal areas for wasted bottles and yogurt. In order to make a decision about which of those sources to address, a General Cost Function is used to estimate waste cost which include measurements that …

Mexican Cuisine - From The Maya To Mcdonalds, Irving W. Levinson

History Faculty Publications

The food a people place on their tables tells us much about their history and their culture. In México, we have two very different traditions of cooking that came together gradually during the past hundred or so years. The traditions were those of the Spaniards on the one hand and of the Indians and mestizos who comprised the majority of Mexicans during the colonial era.

Coca: An Andean Daily Chew, Robert C. Bradley

School of Art & Design Faculty Publications

“Coca: An Andean Daily Chew” distinctly separates the benign tradition of coca chewing in South America, an 8,000 year old practice, from the modern plague of cocaine addiction. The article specifically addresses Western misconceptions about coca. The text goes on to detail many aspects of the process of coca chewing, from the fields of the Andes to the mouths of the chewer. Coca is chewed with quick lime and this process is compared to the preparation of corn tortillas in Mexico. The most celebrated variety of coca, Erythroxylum novogranatense var. truxillense, or Tupa Coca in Quechua, is positioned as the …

Sudado De Raya: An Ancient Peruvian Dish, Robert Bradley

School of Art & Design Faculty Publications

This article delineates the ancient culinary origins of a stew made from ray meat, which remains popular to this day in villages on Peru's North Coast. The major components of the dish (ray meat, chicha beer, ají pepper, and mococho edible seaweed) are thoroughly discussed in reference to the pre-Columbian record and the preparation of the recipe. The ancient Peruvian tradition of fishing is outlined and numerous references are made to maritime imagery in the art of the prehispanic Moche people. The cultural tradition and architecture of the Moche serve as a backdrop for the entire discussion.

Mercury Concentrations In South Texas Game Fishes, E. Anthony Reisinger

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Mercury (Hg) is one of the most ubiquitous and controversial metals in the world primarily due to the toxicity of the organic form of the metal, methylmercury (MeHg). MeHg is a neurotoxin at high levels, known to manifest its effects on humans primarily through consumption of certain fish and marine mammals, which tend to bioaccumulate MeHg in their tissues over time. Increased fish consumption and, thus, mercury intake in residents of coastal areas necessitates a better awareness of MeHg content in game fish species, thus the subject of this study.

Three hundred thirty-nine tissue samples were taken from 19 south …

Modeling Of A Meat Cooking Process For On-Line Monitoring And Control, Oralia Garcia

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

A heat transfer model is developed to predict cooking time of meat patties given the initial temperature of meat, oven temperature, and meat properties to monitor and control a cooking process on-line. Experiments were performed to find the cause of variability in cooked weight and raw temperature effects in forming and final cooked temperature. Advanced charting techniques concluded that only common causes of variability were present in the process. Thermal conductivity experiments were performed to determine the thermal conductivity of meat (k), which was compared with the properties of meat published in literature to validate the experiment. Oven design analysis …

The Mexicans' And Mexican-Americans' Contribution To The Development Of The Lower Rio Grande Valley Of Texas And Its Citrus Industry, Camilo A. Martinez Jr.

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The little-discussed Mexican and Mexican-American contribution to the development of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas into the great citrus producing area that it is today is exposed in general terms in this thesis. Due credit has been given to the Burgos, Tamaulipas, residents who came to the Valley during and after the Mexican Revolution in search of stability and better wages. In spite of the abuses they suffered, some of them decided to stay. Their children (now Mexican-Americans), are still contributing to the citrus industry today, although not in the strenuous way their parents did.

The Valley owes …

Gold In The Gulf: A History Of The Rio Grande Valley Shrimp Industry, Thomas M. Blackwell

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Competition over dwindling fishery stocks has become acute. Shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico is part of that competition. Trawling operations shifted to Brownsville. A dispute between the newly arrived louisiana shrimpers and Texas operators drove many of the newcomers south to the Mexican coastline. This led almost inevitably to a conflict with Mexico. That it was almost inevitable was also due to the fact that the two nations had differing interpretations of territorial limits.

The confrontations themselves were often full of adventure with charges, counter-charges, and sometimes bullets hurled through the air. Because of this nation's own past actions, …

Recommended Vegetable Varieties For The Lower Rio Grande Valley Of Texas, Joseph B. Corns

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

No abstract provided.