Should I be afraid and put off the product with the word “homogenized” aside? But many mothers do this when buying baby food, mistakenly believing that a homogenized product is the same as a genetically modified one. Let's see what these two concepts really mean, and reassure alarmed mothers.
So, due to adverse environmental factors, soil salinity, as well as other factors that negatively affect the growth and fruiting of plants, in recent decades, science has taken a step towards creating hardy varieties of potatoes, wheat, and corn through genetic modification. It is too early to judge whether this is good or bad. Not enough time has passed to understand the consequences of these modifications.
Homogenized product: what is it?
Homogenization is the mixing of products until the composition is completely uniform. There is mechanical and pressure homogenization. The dough mixer combines the ingredients of the dough - this is mechanical mixing. An example of mixing under pressure would be a mixer. Only a homogenizer at high speed and under high pressure crushes the product to absolute homogeneity. Now back to the shops, where more and more products with the inscription "homogenized" appear on the shelves. What is it, now it has become more clear. But are such products useful? To find out, you need to know what happens in the process of processing the fruits when they are converted, for example, into homogenized juice.
Description of the homogenization process
To obtain such products at home, use blenders or mixers. Something similar happens in special high-pressure homogenizers. The whole process includes a number of operations:
- The fruits are peeled, washed, wiped.
- Sugar syrup is added.
- The mass is crushed in a homogenizer, where the contact of juice and air is excluded, which allows to preserve the value of the fruit components.
- Under high pressure, a special apparatus passes raw materials, crushing it to a mushy state.
- The product is packaged hot, at a temperature of 90 °.
Homogenization application
Homogenized products have established themselves in a number of industries. Thus, the dairy and food industries receive high quality products and longer shelf life. The homogenizers used in the pharmaceutical industry have proven how much more effective they are than conventional mixers and colloid mills. These devices began to be used in biotechnology and in cosmetic products. In all these sectors, the output is a homogenized product. What is this for example? Absolutely homogeneous creams and emulsions; baby purees, as well as butter and pastes; water based paints. That is, products with the best dispersion of ingredients. There is no doubt about that anymore. Moreover, it is already impossible to imagine the receipt of many products without processing in a homogenizer. And if you still have the question: “Homogenized - what is it?”, The answer will be one: “This is the know-how of the 21st century.”