FOOD
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support and energy to an organism.[2][3] It can be raw, processed or formulated and is consumed orally by animals for growth, health or pleasure. Food is mainly composed of water, lipids, proteins and carbohydrates. Minerals (e.g. salts) and organic substances (e.g. vitamins) can also be found in food.[4] Plants, algae and some microorganisms use photosynthesis to make their own food molecules.[5] Water is found in many foods and has been defined as a food by itself.Water and fiber have low energy densities, or while fat is the most energy dense component. Some inorganic (non-food) elements are also essential for plant and animal functioning.[7]
Human food can be classified in various ways, either by related content or by how the food is processed.[8] The number and composition of food groups can vary. Most systems include four basic groups that describe their origin and relative nutritional function: Vegetables and Fruit, Cereals and Bread, Dairy, and Meat.[9] Studies that look into diet quality group food into whole grains/cereals, refined grains/cereals, vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, eggs, dairy products, fish, red meat, processed meat, and sugar-sweetened beverages.[10][11][12] The Food and Agriculture Organization and Organization use a system with nineteen food classifications: cereals, roots, pulses and nuts, milk, eggs, fish and shellfish, meat, insects, vegetables, fruits, fats and oils, sweets and sugars, spices and condiments, beverages, foods for nutritional uses, food additives, composite dishes and savoury snacks.[13]
The seed kernels are commonly roasted like coffee beans, then pounded and poured into a mold before being added to boiling meat and vegetables. The seeds are also used to adulterate chocolate and ground to make flour. The fat is extracted from the seeds for soap and candlemaking. A relish made from the dika nut is customarily eaten with plantains.
The tree of the sweet orange often reaches 6 metres (20 feet) in height. The broad, glossy, evergreen leaves are medium-sized and ovate; the petioles (leafstalks) have narrow wings. Its white five-petaled flowers are very fragrant. The fruit is a modified berry known as a hesperidium, and the flesh is divided into segments called carpels. The usual shape of the sweet-orange fruit is round and the colour of its pulp orange, but there are variations. The mandarin, for example, is distinctly flattened, and the blood orange has red pulp. The pulp of the sweet orange is agreeably acidulous and sweet; the leathery peel is comparatively smooth; and the oil glands are convex. Oranges are picked when fully ripe, for, unlike some deciduous fruits, they do not ripen or improve in quality after being picked. The trees bear abundantly from 50 to 80 years or even more, and some old orange trees whose age must be reckoned by centuries still produce crops.