Annie and I have been working on our “Solving a Chef’s Kitchen Dilemma” project with Lori Davidson from the Claflin Bakery on campus. We have been investigating the effects of chemical leaveners on the crumb structure and overall texture and … Continue reading
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/11/19/365213805/just-what-is-in-pumpkin-spice-flavor-hint-not-pumpkin?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2044 My friend sent me this link today and I thought I would share it. This NPR clip talks about the food scientists that have developed the artificial/natural flavor components of “pumpkin spice”, used most commonly in pumpkin spice … Continue reading
This week we made an excursion to Cambridge to attend the Harvard Food Science Lecture presented by Christina Tosi of Milkbar in New York City. The topic of the lecture, Emulsions and Foams, was a perfect follow up to our … Continue reading
This week we studied the properties of foams and emulsions using egg whites and egg yokes. Foams and emulsions are different types of dispersions in liquids. Foams, like meringue, consist of air bubbles dispersed in liquid egg whites. Emulsions, like … Continue reading
This week Annie and I started our research for the “chef’s problem” project, working with Susu Alyward of Susu’s Bakery in the ville. Our assignment is to transform one of their top selling bakery items into a gluten free item. … Continue reading
Last week, we learned about the molecular components of milk and the chemistry behind cheese making. Milk is made of three simple components: proteins (casein proteins and whey proteins), milk fat, and lactose (a complex sugar combination of glucose and … Continue reading
This week we also learned why Jell-O does not set when certain fresh fruits are added. Often on boxes of Jell-O there is a warning to not add fresh pineapple, kiwi, or papaya. We set up a few experiments to … Continue reading
In week 4, we learned about the process of agarose gel electrophoresis and how the technique can be used to separate the color components of common food dyes. Although gel electrophoresis is typically used to separate DNA or proteins, it … Continue reading