Benders'dictionary of nutrition and food technology

66remove excess salt from preserved meat, and to aid the removalof skin, e.g. from almonds and tomatoes.There can be a loss of 10–20% of the sugars, salts and protein,as well as some of the vitamins B 1 ,B 2 and niacin, and up to onethirdof the vitamin C.blancmange powder Usually a cornflour base with added flavourand colour, mixed with hot milk to make a dessert.bland diet A diet that is non-irritating, does not overstimulate thedigestive tract and is soothing to the intestines, generally avoidingalcohol, strong tea or coffee, pickles, spices and high intakeof dietary fibre.blawn fish Scottish (Orkney); fresh fish, rubbed with salt and hungin a windy passage for a day, then grilled.bleach figure (for flour) A measure of the extent of bleaching ofthe flour from the relative paleness of the extracted (yellow)pigments.bleaching The removal or destruction of colour. In the context offood it usually refers to the bleaching of flour. It also refers tothe bleaching of oils, a stage in the purification by which dispersedimpurities and natural colouring materials are removedby activated charcoal or fuller’s earth.See also ageing (3).bleeding bread A bacterial infection with Bacillus prodigiosus orSerratia marcescens, which stains the bread bright red. Underwarm and damp conditions the infection can appear overnight,and contamination of the shewbread in churches has led to accusationsand riots against religious minorities over the centuries.blewits Edible wild fungus, Tricholoma (Lepista) saevum, alsoknown as bluetail; also wood blewits, T. nudum, see mushrooms.blinding Blocking of a sieve by small particles.blind loop syndrome Or stagnant loop syndrome; stasis of thesmall intestine, permitting bacterial overgrowth and causingmalabsorption and steatorrhoea. Usually the result of chronicobstruction or surgical by-pass operations producing a stagnantlength of bowel.blind staggers Acute vitamin b 1 deficiency in horses and otheranimals, caused by eating bracken, which contains thiaminase.bloaters Salted, cold-smoked herrings.blood Various blood cells suspended in plasma; carries nutrientsand oxygen to tissues, and removes waste metabolic productsfrom the tissues. Oxygenated blood travels from the lungsin arteries, while deoxygenated blood returns to the lungs inveins; in the tissues the blood from the arteries enters smallervessels, the arterioles, then capillaries, which then drain intovenules, then the veins.