ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD) — Food Processing Technology, Food Safety & Quality, Processing and Food Engineering · India · ICAR through the National Testing Agency
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersProcessing spices and herbs, extracting essential oils and oleoresins, and the technology of natural and synthetic flavours and food colours, including encapsulation and flavour stability.
In the exams: GATE XE-G Section 3 (spice; extraction of essential oils and oleoresins from spices); ICAR AIEEA-PG Code 18 Unit III (flavouring and pigment technology); ICAR AICE 35.a Unit 7
ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD) — Food Processing Technology, Food Safety & Quality, Processing and Food Engineering
35.a Unit 7 covers plantation crops and spices processing. Expect deeper questions on extraction thermodynamics and selectivity, supercritical fluid processing, encapsulation and controlled release, reaction-flavour chemistry and its contaminants, authenticity testing, microbial decontamination options and mycotoxin control.
How our questions for ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF spread across the units of Spices, Herbs, Essential Oils & Flavour Technology. Difficulty: 12 easy, 29 medium, 20 hard.
| Natural, nature-identical and artificial flavours | 9 | |
| Natural colours and pigment technology | 9 | |
| Flavour encapsulation and delivery | 8 | |
| Process flavours and reaction flavours | 8 | |
| Medicinal and aromatic plants in foods | 8 | |
| Cryogenic grinding | 4 | |
| Oleoresins: solvent and supercritical CO2 extraction | 4 | |
| Major spices: composition and active principles | 3 | |
| Spice processing: cleaning, drying, grinding and sterilisation | 3 | |
| Essential oils: steam distillation and other extraction methods | 3 | |
| Quality standards and adulteration of spices | 2 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
In a cryogenic grinding line, the screw conveyor before the mill in which liquid nitrogen is sprayed onto the spice is the
C. Precooler
The precooler, usually an insulated screw conveyor with nitrogen spray, brings the spice to grinding temperature before the mill. The cyclone separates powder from gas, the sieve classifies the product, and an airlock meters material.
Further reading: Peter (ed.), Handbook of Herbs and Spices
In steam distillation at atmospheric pressure, an oil component of molar mass 136 g/mol has a vapour pressure of 4.0 kPa and water 97.3 kPa at the boiling temperature. The mass of oil distilled per kg of water condensed is closest to
A. 0.31 kg
m_oil/m_water = (P_oil × M_oil)/(P_water × M_water) = (4.0 × 136)/(97.3 × 18) = 544/1751 = 0.31 kg per kg water. 0.041 kg ignores the molar masses (4.0/97.3); 0.0054 kg inverts the molar mass ratio; 7.6 kg multiplies by 136/18 without the pressure ratio.
Further reading: Baser and Buchbauer (eds), Handbook of Essential Oils
Folded (deterpenated) citrus oils are made because removing terpene hydrocarbons
C. Better stability and solubility
Terpene hydrocarbons such as limonene contribute little odour, oxidise easily and dissolve poorly in water and dilute alcohol; removing them concentrates the oxygenated flavour compounds and improves stability and solubility. Folding lowers, not raises, limonene.
Further reading: Baser and Buchbauer (eds), Handbook of Essential Oils
A spice gives 12% oleoresin. Taking yield as the only basis, 0.5 kg of this oleoresin carries the extractable flavour of about how much ground spice?
D. 4.2 kg
Spice = 0.5 ÷ 0.12 = 4.17 kg. 0.06 kg multiplies 0.5 by 0.12; 6.0 kg multiplies 0.5 by 12; 2.4 kg divides 12 by 5. In practice replacement ratios are confirmed by sensory and chemical comparison.
Further reading: Mukhopadhyay, Natural Extracts Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide
Retronasal aroma is perceived when
C. Volatiles reach the nose from the mouth
Retronasal olfaction occurs when volatiles released during chewing travel from the back of the mouth to the olfactory epithelium. Sniffing is orthonasal; taste buds and pain receptors give taste and chemesthesis.
Further reading: Reineccius, Flavor Chemistry and Technology
Process (reaction) flavours are produced mainly by heating
A. Reducing sugars with amino acids
Heating reducing sugars with amino compounds drives the Maillard reaction that gives roasted, meaty and bready flavours. The other combinations do not describe process flavour manufacture.
Further reading: Reineccius, Flavor Chemistry and Technology
A meaty reaction flavour is made by heating ribose with which amino acid?
A. Cysteine
Cysteine supplies sulphur that forms thiazoles, thiophenes and thiols with meaty character. Proline gives bready notes, leucine gives malty 3-methylbutanal, and glycine gives general roasted notes without meatiness.
Further reading: Reineccius, Flavor Chemistry and Technology
Curcumin used to colour a product turns red-brown when the product is
B. Alkaline
Curcumin is yellow in acid and neutral conditions and red-brown in alkaline conditions. Freezing and salting do not change its colour in this way.
Further reading: Delgado-Vargas and Paredes-López, Natural Colorants
Menthol is obtained mainly from
B. Mentha arvensis
Japanese or corn mint, Mentha arvensis, is the main source of natural menthol. Cymbopogon species are lemongrass (citral), Ocimum tenuiflorum is tulsi, and Withania somnifera is ashwagandha.
Further reading: Peter (ed.), Handbook of Herbs and Spices
A 1 g sample of ground pepper contains 50 mg of piperine. Its piperine content is
A. 5.0%
50 mg ÷ 1000 mg × 100 = 5.0%. 0.5% misplaces the decimal; 50% treats mg as per cent; 2.0% inverts and scales wrongly.
Further reading: FSSAI, DART: Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test
Ten here, 61 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF in this subject, marked as you go, with timed papers, a jump-to-unanswered list and a certificate when you pass at 70 per cent.
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