McCance and Widdowson's the Composition of Foods: Seventh Summary Edition - Softcover

"I find this book hypnotically wonderful."

..".it is hugely valuable if you have a professional interest in nutrition. The nutritionist's bible..."

The present Publication of McCance and Widdowson's is a valuable contribution to knowledge of the chemical composition of human foodstuffs and places in the hands of the dietitian useful information as to the composition of milk, milk products, eggs, meat, fruits, vegetables. The study of the extent of the losses occurring in cooking by different methods and the factors involved has yielded results of very great interest. Publication gives detailed nutritional analyses of a wide range of representative samples. These include trace elements, vitamins and fatty acids.The publication is divided into 4 sections.The chapter 1 presented mainly source of data and methods of evaluation, arrangement of the tables, definition of expression of nutrients, calculation of nutrient intakes and food labelling. Part II is the table section and gives the results of these analyses for Cereals and cereal products, Milk and milk products, Eggs and egg dishes, Fat and oils, Meat and meat products, Fish and fish products, Vegetables, Herbs and spices, Fruit, Nuts and seeds, Sugar, preserves and snacks, Beverages, Alcoholic beverages, Soup, sauces and miscellaneous foods. From a view of nutritional point, the foods are comprehensively evaluated. The possible extension of another parameters for example fatty acids, amino acids, and the like would disproportionately expand publication. From this point of view I consider the analysis of food under the basic chemical composition (fat, protein, carbohydrates and energy), minerals and vitamins for optimum. I highly evaluate analyses of the various foods carbohydrate because they have a way of nutrition, health and technologically important.Chapter 3 has a specific meaning in particular in terms of carotenoids and vitamin E fractions
.Chapter 4 is interesting from a culinary point of view, and particularly in terms of losses of vitamins in different ways kitchen processing, because a lot of works evaluate this issue very superficially.I highly appreciate that are described accurately methods for the analyses of individual nutrients, because of different methodologies and methods of analyses give different results. I appreciate e.g. the proteins are established as pure protein, so that the total N is deducted of non-protein N and multiplied specific factor. Is clear that proteins are translated from N by a real factor for specific foods.The publication I have a few comments.On the page 182 item 394 is the water content of 35 g, protein 18.9 g fat 53.6 g, what is total 107.5 g per 100 g. Also, in item 395 is together 101.4 g per 100 g. The other items in data reporting less than 100 g, which may be correct, because it does not include ash. White sugar contains about 99.8% sucrose, for that reason it would be appropriate to revise Item 974 brown sugar (p. 382) (101.3 g carbohydrate) is consistently above the sucrose content in Item 974 (p. 383). It would also be appropriate to revisit items 975 and 976, p. 382 so Items 975 and 976 on p. 383, wherein said sucrose content 104.5 respectively 105 g per 100g edible portion. Similar is suitable check item 1002 on the page 390 and 391, where is total sugar 102.7 g and sucrose content 101.7 g per 100g edible portion. In conclusion, I can say that the present publication presents a comprehensive view of the evaluation of foods and food ingredients, not only in terms of nutritional composition but also in terms of methods for the analysis of the individual components. The book will be an important contribution not only from a scientific and so practical point of view. It is proposed that the publication after verification of the above comments published.

I find this book hypnotically wonderful. The fact that it has three stars reflects the fact it is a book that is only going to interest specialists - and the £50+ price tag underlines this. However what you've got here is a reference that will tell you how much water and fats and sugars and nutrients you'll find in anything from a kebab (really) to an aubergine. For instance, need to know how much phosphorous there is in a crème caramel? It's 77mg. Ask me another.

Clearly this is going to make anyone who buys a copy a sure-fire success at dinner parties. But more to the point it is hugely valuable if you have a professional interest in nutrition. The nutritionist's bible, you might say. Sugar in a raw onion? It's 6.2 grams. And I can, of course, give it to you broken down by sugar type, if you prefer.

Aside from its value as a reference (and as a doorstop at a chunky 630 pages), it's also something of a curiosity in that both the apparent authors are dead, which I guess is why it is 'McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods' rather than The Composition of Foods by McCance and Widdowson. Their demise was not recent, either. They died in 1993 and 2000 respectively - but the title recognises their contribution.

So not one for everyone's shelf. But if it's right for you - and you know who you are - it's well worth it.