Abstract
A fractionation and analytical procedure is described for the measurement of the unavailable carbohydrates in foods. The scheme provides values for water‐soluble polysaccharides, hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin. Tests used to investigate the reliability of the methods are reported and the results obtained with a range of foodstuffs are presented. From the results obtained it is possible to derive values for the composition of the cell‐wall material of these foods. The results are in agreement with more detailed studies of the composition of the cell walls of plants.