Molecule of the week

Water
Compared to most molecules in food, water is one of
the simplest and smallest. In most food materials water
is found in high concentrations. The significance of
water is often overlooked, but it is very important for a
number of reasons:
1. It is an essential nutrient. This is emphasised in
Australian dietary guidelines most recently issued
by the National Health and Medical Research
Council (NHMRC) in 2005[1]. The guidelines are
to drink plenty of water and to choose water as a
drink.
2. Water affects the textural characteristics and makes
food enjoyable. Viscosity, gel formation, snap,
crispiness all involve water in one way or the other.
Thus the palatability and digestibility of foods
depend on the amount of water present.
3. The extent to which other molecules attract water
and bind them is one of the major determinants of
both the structure and sensory attributes of foods.
4. Product quality is determined by the water
molecules because it is important to the growth of
micro-organisms as well as determining the rate of
chemical reactions.

Polarity of water The four pairs of electrons repel

each other and get as far away from each other as
possible giving the tetrahedral structure
. The
electrons in the bonds between the hydrogen and
oxygen atoms are not shared fairly. The oxygen is
greedy and takes more of the electron cloud. This is
shown by the - symbol where the Greek letter implies
a small amount (rather than a full charge). This results
in hydrogen bonding between water and many other
molecules in foods. This is shown in  where water is
forming close links with two ethanol molecules.
H 2O

HOH

2
+
H

Water and the stability of foods During the

processing of many foods and in final products, water
molecules provide the environment that allows many
chemical reactions to occur by bringing together
reactant molecules. These may have desirable or less
desirable consequences for food quality, involving both
sensory and nutritional significances. In many cases,
food molecules are more stable at low water levels.
However some hydrophobic molecules react more
readily at low water contents.
Structure of water This can be represented in
various ways. Although the structure is simple, it is
important to understand the shape. Diagram 4 shows all
eight of the electrons in the outermost shell of the
oxygen atom. There are four pairs and two of these
form the single bonds with the hydrogens. The
molecule of water is bent (structures 3, 4 and 5).

Prepared by Assoc Prof Darryl Small (v4 July 2012)

HO
H

lone pairs

O H
H
a tetrahedron

water, a
tetrahedral
molecule

Water and micro-organisms The availability of

water also plays a key role in determining whether
particular groups of micro-organisms can survive /
grow / multiply. The response of particular bacteria,
fungi, moulds, yeasts will vary quite widely. A
knowledge of these factors is important in either
encouraging growth during fermentation or controlling
those organisms causing spoilage or responsible for
food poisoning. Water is also important in the
deterioration of food quality caused by a wide variety
of enzymatic and non enzymatic chemical reactions.

+
H

Types of water in food Although the molecules

are chemically identical a number of distinct categories
of water may occur in foods. Free water is that which is
mobile and can be readily removed during processing.
In contrast, constitutional water molecules are very
difficult to remove
H
because they are part of
H +
the internal structure of
C O
+
other molecules including
H
H
proteins. Another
+
O
H
H
category is the vicinal or
H

H
O C
monolayer water: tightly
bound to the surface of
H
H
hydrophilic components.
alcohol/water
In foods the interactions
with proteins and

carbohydrates are
particularly significant.
References and further reading
[1] The guidelines are available at nhmrc.gov.au.
[2] The food chemistry texts by Fennema and [3]
Coultate both have very useful chapters on water.
[4] The NUTTAB database includes water content data
for Australian foods (see foodstandards.gov.au).

questions/feedback to <darryl.small@rmit.edu.au>