Chemistry of Food and Cooking: "Poofy Pancakes"
Reflection Questions-
In what ways are cooking and doing science similar and in what ways are they different? How are a good cook and a food scientist similar or different?
Cooking and doing science are similar in a lot more ways than we think. For example, there is both a chemical and physical reaction that takes place when you are cooking food and when you are doing a science experiment. In food, you measure the exact amount of ingredients that you need to get the desired outcome. So let’s say when you are going to make bread, you measure out the ingredients that you need, and typically put it in the oven. After you take it out of the oven you notice that it looks significantly different than it was before. That’s because a physical reaction took place, changing the bread into a different texture than it was before, and a chemical reaction took place, leavening the bread after carbon dioxide is released. The same goes for a science experiment. Although, instead of measuring chemicals by tablespoons and teaspoons, you measure by volumes and quantities, graduated cylinders and scales. When you are doing a science experiment, you look for changes. You look for any physical differences, such as texture and color, and whether or not a chemical reaction took place like combustion or rust.
However, there are also differences between cooking and science. With food, you are trying to make the best thing you could possibly make so that it could taste good. You are more concerned with how it will turn out rather than how and why something is happening. With science, you are trying to understand how you are getting to the outcome you are, and why it is happening. Science is more of a process to understand than to appease.
However, there are also differences between cooking and science. With food, you are trying to make the best thing you could possibly make so that it could taste good. You are more concerned with how it will turn out rather than how and why something is happening. With science, you are trying to understand how you are getting to the outcome you are, and why it is happening. Science is more of a process to understand than to appease.
How can we design an experiment and measure the qualities and desirability of a finished recipe both quantitatively and qualitatively in order to determine the success of our recipe experimentation?
I think we can design an experiment and measure the qualities and desirability of a finished recipe qualitatively by deciding which experiment is the best. Meaning, if we are dealing with food, we decide the desirability by which one tastes the best. We can do this by doing blind taste tests, like we did for our food project. By asking people which type of food tastes the best, we know which experiment is the most desirable. We could ask various different questions that pertain to how our experiment was modified or changed in a way that made us get the outcome that we got.
Quantitatively, we can measure the qualities and desirability of a finished recipe by measuring the fluffiness or moisture. In most cases, we like things to be fluffy in our mouths and moist to the point where it won’t crumble or be dry in our mouths. We can measure this by either using the height for the fluffiness or weighing the food before it is cooked and to after it is cooked to see how much moisture is in our food. To measure something quantitatively, you typically deal with numbers and data, to know that what you are getting is not just a mere observation to determine the ‘worth’ of something.
Quantitatively, we can measure the qualities and desirability of a finished recipe by measuring the fluffiness or moisture. In most cases, we like things to be fluffy in our mouths and moist to the point where it won’t crumble or be dry in our mouths. We can measure this by either using the height for the fluffiness or weighing the food before it is cooked and to after it is cooked to see how much moisture is in our food. To measure something quantitatively, you typically deal with numbers and data, to know that what you are getting is not just a mere observation to determine the ‘worth’ of something.