How does the ingredient you experimented with affect the food’s overall characteristics?
The ingredient that was experimented with was the egg white in chocolate mousse. They affected the food’s overall fluffiness and density of the mousse. When beating the egg whites, you are combing the proteins in the egg with air molecules and the fats from the sugar. The protein in the egg whites and the fats combine with air pockets to create the fluffy foam that has a lot of structural integrity. The proteins are very large molecules and are changed from their natural state. The proteins are made up of amino acids which avoid oils and fats. After whipping egg whites for a certain amount of time you get a foam. Foams are made up of the proteins from the egg whites and are formed after whipping the whites or whipped cream. When you whip egg whites, the proteins unfold encountering oils and fats when combining with the sugar. The “water-loving parts” of the egg whites stay in the water and the “water avoiding” parts unfold so that they stick to the fats and air, avoiding the water. The longer you whip it, the air bubbles become smaller and smaller which are then surrounded by a film made of proteins giving it the stiff peaks. If you have a lot of small air bubbles in the mousse, the density will be more however the texture will be lighter and fluffier. In what way(s) are cooking and doing science similar and in what ways are they different? How are a cook and a scientist similar or different? Cooking and doing science are very similar in many ways such as needing specific measurements, ingredients, conducting tests, and working through lots of trial and error. When deciding to cook something, let’s say this is your first time cooking the dish, you tend to have a list of ingredients and a set of instructions on how to prepare the meal. When conducting an experiment in science, you need to know the dependent and independent variable as well as the materials to conduct the test and a list of steps to follow to conduct it. When you cook something for your first time, it is very hard to get everything perfect the first time. You have to go through and conducted many experiments, changing the variables so that you can obtain the best possible outcome. The same goes for science. You have to conduct multiple tests to find out how things change and use that to get the best results or get the results you are looking for. When conducting the test you find out what works and what doesn't aka trial and error. If you put too much salt in cookies they will taste bad, if you don't put enough vinegar in a baking soda and vinegar volcano, you won’t get a good reaction from the people. A cook and a scientist are also very similar in many ways. A scientist works with specific elements, compounds and mixtures while a cook does the exact same. A cook explores with what kind of mixtures make the best result and a scientist works with what new material can you make with two old ones and how is that result good, if not what can you change. A cook and scientist may be different because they can be looking for different things or different outcomes however they both generally go through the same process. They both usually have a question they are testing such as if I put more oregano in the sauce will it taste better? While a scientist may be testing a question such as how does the amount of carbon dioxide in the air correlate to our current emissions? A scientist will use measurements such as moles and a cook will use units of measurement such as ounces and they can both correlate/ convert to one another. They use these units when conducting a test and in need of a certain amount. A scientist will look at the chemical equation to see how much they need of an element to create the reaction and a cook can do the same with a chemical equation. Therefore, due to the process they go through, the units they use, the methods they use and a few other reasons, a scientist and a cook are very similar when it comes down to it.