When developing new food products, it is important to understand the major mechanisms of food macromolecule interactions. The first edition of this book provided a useful scientific and theoretical base describing the reasons for polymer action. The second edition updates the substantial progress that has occurred during the last ten years in many aspects of understanding, measuring, and utilizing functional macromolecules. The shift to analyzing mixtures rather than single polymers is assessed and the relevant interactions that are known to take place between the large molecules are examined. A new chapter on high pressure processing is included to show the importance of new methodology to texturize proteins. The book is an essential reference for food scientists who need to understand the fundamental principles that underlie functional behavior of interacting food macromolecules.