Ingredient properties

Ingredient properties are split into groups. Ingredient may contain any number of properties from any of the groups, for example:


// ...
{
    "originalNames": {
        "en": "Organic Concentrated Apple Juice"
    },
    "id": "apples",
    "properties": {
        "processing": ["concentrated", "juice"], "quality": ["organic"]
    }
}

contains

Suggests that an ingredient may contain certain substances (typically allergens). Possible values are:

  • celery
  • crustaceans
  • eggs
  • fish
  • gluten
  • meat
  • milk
  • peanuts
  • sesame
  • soy
  • tree-nuts
  • wheat

does-not-contain

Indicates that an ingredient does not contain certain substances (typically allergens). Possible values are:

  • gluten

features

This group contains various features of an ingredient, not related to its size, origin or processing.

Possible values Description
bio (usually for products from the EU, similar to organic) produced under a certain regulated set of procedures and protocols: non-GMO, without the employment of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, antibiotics or growth hormones
cage-free (eg. eggs, poultry or other animals) means that the animals were held in open spaces instead of cages
carbonated (eg. water) with added carbonation (usually CO2)
fair-trade produced under fair trade terms
farm-grown produced on a farm or in controlled pens
free-range (eg. eggs or meat) means that the animals had at least partial access to outdoor space
fresh used in a fresh state
grass-fed means that grass and forage was the feed source consumed for the lifetime of the ruminant animal
long-grain (rice) with grains that are four to five times longer than their width
non-gmo means that the ingredient was produced without genetic engineering
organic produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming
ripe mature or full-grown
short-grain (rice) with grains that only tiny bit longer than their width
soluble dissolvable in water
still non-carbonated
wild grown or caught in wild nature

origin

These properties describe ingredient's place of origin. Possible values are:

  • africa
  • australia
  • belgium
  • bolivia
  • california
  • ceylon
  • china
  • costa-rica
  • egypt
  • france
  • greece
  • iceland
  • india
  • indonesia
  • iran
  • italy
  • mexico
  • new-zealand
  • philippines
  • peru
  • poland
  • sri-lanka
  • south-america
  • thailand
  • turkey
  • vietnam
  • ukraine
  • usa

parts

These properties specify that a certain part of an ingredient was used in the product. Possible values:

  • breast (eg. poultry) — a lean cut of meat taken from the pectoral muscle on the underside of the bird
  • claws (for crabs or lobsters)
  • drumsticks (calf part of poultry leg)
  • flowers (for plants)
  • leaves (for plants)
  • leg (for animals)
  • liver (for animals)
  • neck (for animals)
  • root (for plants)
  • seeds (for plants)
  • skin (animals, fruits & vegetables)
  • tenderloin (for animals)
  • thighs (for animals)
  • wings (for poultry)

processing

Specify the ways in which an ingredient was processed.

aged kept in certain conditions over an extended period of time to aid in improving the flavor
bleached whitened (treated with bleaching agents)
boiled cooked in boiling water
chopped cut into (usually large and non-uniform) pieces
chunks cut into chunks
cold-pressed pressed using a hydraulic press
concentrated with excess liquid removed (for juices this also usually means the removal of pulp and/or pasteurization)
crushed squeezed or pressed so that the shape of an ingredient is destroyed
decaffeinated with caffeine removed
dehydrated with water removed to prolong shelf life
deodorized stripped of all the odoriferous compounds (usually by steaming)
desiccated dried or dehydrated (sometimes grated or powdered beforehand)
diced cut into (usually rather small and uniform) pieces
dewaxed (for oil) with wax removed (usually by chilling)
dried with liquid removed (by air-drying, freeze-drying, evaporation or dehydration) to prolong shelf life
enriched with specific nutrients added
expeller-pressed extracted with a screw (expeller) press
extract an essence / flavor concentrate made by extracting a part of an ingredient using solvents like alcohol, oil or water
filet (for meat or fish) a strip of boneless meat
filtered passed through a strainer or a filter to remove unwanted material
flakes processed or formed into flakes, for cereals this usually means steaming, flattening and cutting groats into flakes (and possibly toasting to aid in preserving form)
freeze-dried dried at a low temperature, lyophilized, sublimated
frozen preserved by a freezing process
granulated formed into granules by grounding or crystallization
grated produced by grating or shredding the original ingredient
grilled cooked by direct (and usually high) heat (in the grilling surface or over fire or charcoal)
groats hulled kernels of various cereal grains
ground reduced to smaller pieces by crushing (usually with a grinder), for meat — sometimes with addition of other ingredients like fat, water, etc.
halved split into halves
homogenized processed to achieve a uniform texture (eg. breaking down fat globules in milk to a uniform size)
hydrogenated with added hydrogen to turn liquid fat into a solid fat at room temperature
hydrolyzed processed by hydrolysis
juice squeezed or pressed into juice
loose-leaf (usually for tea) not prepackaged in tea bags
malted grain that has been made to germinate and then dried with hot air
mechanically-separated (for meat) produced by forcing pureed or ground meat under high pressure through a sieve to separate the bone from the edible meat tissue
minced finely cut into small uniform pieces or pressed through a mincer into a paste, for meat – a meat grinder might be used and usually no additional ingredients (like water or fat) are added
non-fat with fats removed
non-hydrogenated not processed by hydrogenation
normalized (for milk) processed in a way that its composition is brought to a certain level of milk fat content
parboiled pre-boiled or semi-boiled
partially-hydrogenated partially hydrogenated, for oils this usually means containing trans fats
pasteurized processed with pasteurization (heated and then rapidly cooled down)
peeled with the outermost layer or skin removed
pieces split or cur into pieces
pitted with pits removed
polished milled to remove the husk, bran and germ
powder reduced to powder
pre-cooked preliminary cooked in some way
prepared fully cooked in some way
pressed processed with mechanical press in order to extract oil, fat or juice
puffed (usually for grains) expanded through applying high temperature, pressure, or extrusion
pulp the soft center of a fruit
puree processed (ground, pressed, blended or sieved) to the consistency of a creamy paste or liquid
purified mechanically filtered or processed to remove contaminants, impurities and undesirable substances
reduced-fat with reduced (lower than ordinary) or low fat contents
quartered split into quarters
raw uncooked, unrefined or unprocessed
reconstituted produced from a concentrate or powder that has been diluted with water
refined with impurities or unwanted elements having been removed by processing
roasted cooked by indirect heat (usually in an oven)
salted with added salt
shelled with outer covering or shell removed
sliced cut into slices
smoked cured or preserved by exposure to smoke
sprouted seeds, grains or nuts that have begun to sprout (typically after soaking and nurturing in warm and moist environments)
sun-dried dried in the sun, rather than by artificial heat
toasted cook or browned by exposure to a grill, fire or other source of radiant heat
ultra-pasteurized processed with ultra-pasteurization (exposed after initial pasteurization to even higher temperature and then rapidly cooled down once again)
unbleached (eg. flour) not treated with bleaching agents
unfiltered
unrefined not having been passed through a filter
unroasted not processed by roasting
unshelled with shell or outer covering intact
unsalted without added salt
whole intact, not divided into pieces
whole-fat with full fat contents
whole-grain made from grain that contains the endosperm, germ and bran

quality

Attributes describing the quality of an ingredient.

  • extra-virgin
  • first-grade
  • grade-a
  • highest-grade
  • high-quality
  • highest-quality
  • second-grade
  • virgin

varieties

Lists the varieties of a certain ingredient that are used in the product, for example:


// ...
{
    "originalNames": {
        "en": "Arabica Coffee"
    },
    "id": "arabica",
    "properties": {
        "varieties": ["arabica"]
    }
},
{
    "originalNames": {
        "en": "White Basmati Rice"
    },
    "id": "rice",
    "properties": {
        "varieties": ["basmati", "white"]
    }
}