Editing Thermal analysis (section)

==Foods==
{{unsourced|section|date=August 2018}}
Most foods are subjected to variations in their temperature during production, transport, storage, preparation and consumption, e.g., [[pasteurization]], [[sterilization (microbiology)|sterilization]], [[evaporation]], [[cooking]], [[freezing]], chilling, etc. Temperature changes cause alterations in the physical and chemical properties of food components which influence the overall properties of the final product, e.g., taste, appearance, texture and stability. Chemical reactions such as [[hydrolysis]], [[oxidation]] or [[redox|reduction]] may be promoted, or physical changes, such as evaporation, [[melting]], [[crystallization]], aggregation or gelation may occur. A better understanding of the influence of temperature on the properties of foods enables food manufacturers to optimize processing conditions and improve product quality. It is therefore important for food scientists to have analytical techniques to monitor the changes that occur in foods when their temperature varies. These techniques are often grouped under the general heading of thermal analysis. In principle, most analytical techniques can be used, or easily adapted, to monitor the temperature-dependent properties of foods, e.g., spectroscopic ([[nuclear magnetic resonance]], [[UV]]-visible, [[infrared spectroscopy]], [[fluorescence]]), scattering ([[light]], [[X-ray]]s, [[neutron]]s), physical (mass, density, [[rheology]], [[heat capacity]]) etc. Nevertheless, at present the term thermal analysis is usually reserved for a narrow range of techniques that measure changes in the physical properties of foods with temperature (TG/DTG,{{clarify|What does this abbreviation mean?|date=August 2019}} differential thermal analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and transition temperature).