This is a 40-hour, self-paced course on Culinology (restaurant and commercial food production) that was created for the Research Chefs Association and the American Culinary Federation. It is designed for people who work with food professionallly, but home cooks and others interested in learning the science behind commercial food production will find it interesting and useful.

The course is available here.

Overview

Culinology I is a 40-hour, self-paced course for culinologists, food scientists, developers, food professionals, or anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of working with food, especially in a commercial production environment, whether a restaurant or a food manufacturing company.

Culinology®, a registered trademark of the Research Chefs Association (RCA), is the blending of culinary arts and the science of food. This area of study is vital for commercial food production as well as for restaurants and other hospitality services. RCA is the premier source of global and inclusive culinary and technical information for the food industry and the non-profit accreditation body for the Certified Research Chef™ and Certified Culinary Scientist™ programs, which provide the food industry with today’s most valuable, sought-after product developers. RCA also sets the standards for accrediting university degrees in Culinology.

The course covers many areas, including food molecules, ingredients, formulations, shelf life, flavor balance and flavor enhancers, heat transfer, water activity, phase transitions, microbial activity management, chemical reactions, food processing and preservation, advanced processing and cooking technologies, food safety and packaging, and scaling production.

Culinology I is part of a three-course series that comprises Food Science, Culinology I (this course), and Culinology II. While the Food Science certification course is not a prerequisite for the Culinology course, it will give you a much stronger foundation in the fundamental food science that culinology is built upon. Together these three courses provide you with a very deep foundation and understanding of the many key concepts you’ll need if you want to make a career of culinology.

Areas Covered

You will complete this specialized certificate course by reading through a series of content modules and will be quizzed on the content at the conclusion of each module. At the end of the course there is a final exam, and you must earn 80 percent to complete the course and earn the ACF Specialized Certificate in Culinology I (certificate and online badge) and 40 ACF continuing education hours.

By the end of this course, you will understand:

• The foundations and importance of Culinology
• Kitchen math and quantitative problem-solving in food systems
• The product lifecycle from concept to commercialization
• Food molecules
• Acids and bases
• Emulsions and foams
• Browning reactions
• Fermentation
• Water activity and the role of humectants and water binders
• Sweeteners, sugar alternatives, and taste-modifying ingredients
• The science of key ingredients (meat, poultry, seafood, plants, eggs, and dairy)
• Ingredients as functional tools (thickeners, gelling agents, emulsifiers, stabilizers, and leavening systems)
• Leavening agents and gas-generation systems in foods
• Food formulation
• Shelf life and preservation
• Fundamentals of food microbiology and its role in safety, spoilage, and fermentation
• Flavor
• The physics of heat transfer and mass transfer
• Sensory and consumer science