Week Four had an exciting agenda of food dye chromatography and adventurous jello-making. I chose to work with apples as our experimental ingredient. We therefore made a jello with applesauce replacing 1/4 cup of water, freshly pureed apples replacing 1/4 cup of water, a control with water and no apple substitute, and an experimental sample with no additional water. I also got creative and created a sample with the normal water content and apple solids chopped into a rough mirepoix.
During the time when we allowed our samples to cool in the refrigerator, our class went into Professor Didem’s lab to conduct a gel electrophoresis experiment. We mixed various colors using the food dye colors available at the generic market. Our first gel broke because our curiosity prompted us to touch it, but I was not at all disappointed about remaking the gel because it gave me the opportunity to work with an analytical scale in measuring out the agarose solids. We ran currents through both gels but the second one was significantly more precise in the resulting bands.
Later, we returned to our jello, which after cooling had formed a loose but continuous network of gelatin molecules immobilizing the water. It had become a very moist solid, or a gel. Upon immediate observation, the fresh apple had turned a deeper brown than the canned apple. This was likely due to preservatives added to the apple sauce to prevent browning. The texture of the apple infused jello’s were slightly gritty, with a more paste-like consistency. I personally loved the texture the apple gave to the jello, it had more substance rather than an immaculately homogenous simple jello. I am eager to experiment with other fruits such as pear or persimmon. My great takeaway: when I am a mother I will certainly be making jello for the kiddos with fruit substitutes; enriched texture and nutrition!
