ABSTRACT
Water is a major component even in fabricated food products, such as foam, emulsion, and gel-type products, and the state of water in such products strongly infuences their texture, appearance, and favor. Food preservation techniques, such as freezing and dehydration, involve transformation of liquid water into ice or its removal as vapor, respectively. Water performs various functions, such as modulation of body temperature, as a solvent and carrier of nutrient and waste products, and participation as a reactant in hydrolysis reactions. Since the economics of these processes are infuenced by the physical properties of water under various pressure temperature conditions, a fundamental understanding of the structure and properties of water in the liquid and solid states is quintessential for understanding water's infuence on food stability in a broader context. The numerous anomalous properties of water implicitly suggest that its structure, both in the liquid and solid states, is quite abnormal compared to other substances.
