Book excerpt: This is a new book on food process engineering which treats the principles of processing in a scientifically rigorous yet concise manner, and which can be used as a lead in to more specialized texts for higher study. It is equally relevant to those in the food industry who desire a greater understanding of the principles of the food processes with which they work. This text is written from a quantitative and mathematical perspective and is not simply a descriptive treatment of food processing. The aim is to give readers the confidence to use mathematical and quantitative analyses of food processes and most importantly there are a large number of worked examples and problems with solutions. The mathematics necessary to read this book is limited to elementary differential and integral calculus and the simplest kind of differential equation.