4th Standard Science Term-II
Food
Learning Objectives
After learning this lesson, students will be able to :
* differentiate between raw and cooked food items.
* understand different methods of cooking.
* describe different types of cooking utensils.
* identify hygienic food and food to be consumed during illness.
* insist the importance of not wasting food.
Introduction
Food is one of the basic needs of life. We get energy for all our activities from food. Food obtained from nature provides all the nutrients to our body. But seeing the advertisement, we are attracted towards junk food. In this lesson, we will study about food items that are good for our health, cooking methods and the importance of not wasting food.
I. Food
In our daily life, we depend on plants and animals for our food. Some can be eaten raw but most of them need to be cooked. Let's see which food items can be eaten raw and which one needs cooking.
1. Raw Food (Uncooked Food)
Food that we can eat directly without cooking is called raw food.
We can eat fruits, some vegetables, tubers and nuts in the raw form. Some pulses and cereals and also eaten as raw food. All raw food must be washed with clean water before eating. Some of the raw food items are given below.
Let us Do
Arrange some fruits, vegetables, nuts and tubers on the table and ask each student to pick one food item. Based on what on what food item they choose, ask them to join in the same kind of food item.
Let us Make
Shall we make some salad?
Collect some raw food items available in your locality. Clean them with fresh water, cut them into small pieces (keep the nuts whole), put them in a bowl then add salt and pepper and mix it well. Enjoy your tasty salad!
2. Cooked Food
We cannot eat all the food items in raw form. Food that needs to be processed using heat before it can be eaten is called cooked food.
Why should we cook food?
- Cooked food is easy to digest.
- Cooking softens the food materials.
- Cooking kills germs.
- Cooking adds taste and flavour to food.
II. Cooking Methods and Habits
Think and Answer
Children, look at the menu card given here. You can see food ites on this menu. Do you think all these items are cooked in the same way?
Some of the cooking methods practiced commonly are given below.
Boiling : It is a method of cooking food by immersing in boiling water, so that the food becomes soft. Example : Rice, Egg.
Steaming : It is a method of cooking food using steam generated from boiling water in a pan.
Example : Idli, Idiyappam.
Pressure cooking : It is a method of cooking food in a pressure cooker.
Example : Rice, Dhal.
Roasting : It is a method of cooking food by heating it on a tawa or frying pan without covering it. Example : Groundnuts, Cashewnut.
Frying : It is a method of cooking food in hot oil.
Example : Chips, Poori.
Cooking Habits
- Wash your hands with soap before cooking.
- Wash vegetables and fruits before cutting.
- Wash cooking vessels and knives.
- Don't cook food for a long time because it destroys the nutrients present in the food.
- Don't use the same oil many time for cooking food.
- Using the food items after their expiry date is not good for health.
III. Cooking Utensils
Utensils are in different shapes and sizes. We use specific utensils for each cooking method. Clay pots were used earlier. Stainless steel and aluminum vessels are now generally used for cooking.
Cooking in Clay Pot
Clay pots are well-suited for all types of cooking. Cooking in clay pots improves the quality and taste of food and also retains the nutrients. The natural insulation properties of clay cause heat and moisture to balance and circulate throughout the pot and keep the nutrients unharmed and prevent the dish from burning.
Benefits of claypot cooking
- Easy to digest.
- Preserves the nutrients.
- Needs less oil for cooking.
- Adds flavour to the dish.
- Keeps the food warm for a long time.
- Keeps the food from becoming stale soon
- Alkaline property in the pot neutralizes the acidic property in the food.
Solar Cooker
It is an appliance which is used to cook food using sunlight. It saves fuel and reduces air pollution.
IV. Meal - time Hygiene
Think and Answer
Look at the pictures given below. Which one is good for health? Why?
Meal - time hygiene includes ways to make sure that we do not get sick because of the way we eat or make food. Some of the hygienic ways of taking food are given below.
- Always cover food to protect them from dust and insects.
- Eat fresh food always.
- Avoid taking food that is too cold or too hot.
- Avoid fast food and fried food.
- Always wash your hands with soap before and after eating.
Let us Discuss
Here is Nandini's lunch box.
a. Are all the items in the box healthy?
b. Suggest her to remove one food which is not healthy and add one food which is healthy. Give reasons for change.
V. Food during Illness
Think and Answer
When you are sick, what kind of food your mother serves you?
When we are sick, we should avoid food items that are fried in oil. We should take energy - giving, easily digestible food. Some of them are given below.
- Porridge of rice or cereals.
- Fruit juice, tender coconut.
- Steamed foods like idly.
Let us Do
Note to the teacher
Make small paper rolls, each having a food item's name written on it. Put all of them on a table. Make two big circles on the floor. Name one circle 'MUST AVOID DURING ILLNESS' and another circle 'MUST TAKE DURING ILLNESS'. Ask children to take one roll each and stand in the appropriate circle after reading the name on the roll.
VI. Food Wastage
Think and Answer
- Do you usually eat your lunch without wasting anything? If you say no why do you waste?
- Can you suggest a few ways to reduce wasting food in your school and house?
We should not waste food. Food that is not eaten is called leftover food. This food is discarded as waste. Following are the simple ways to avoid food wastage.
- Take what you can eat and eat what you take.
- Share the excess food.
- Give the excess food to the needy.
Do you Know
One third of the food produced in the world is wasted. It is a total of 1.2 lakh crore tonnes per year. (1 ton = 1000 kg)
Food Preservation
We can preserve the food for long time by using the following methods.
Picking : Mixing fruits and vegetables with oil and salt.
Example : Pickle.
Refrigerating : Keeping food in the refrigerators (fridge) to preserve them for a short time.
Example : Fruits, Vegetables.
Drying : Removing the water content of the food.
Example : Fish, Red chillies.
Canning : Storing food in airtight containers.
Example : Jam.
Do you Know
World Hunger Day - May 28.
Let us Do
Make students list out all the food items wasted in their home for one week. Make them discuss what they saw and what they can do to reduce waste.
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