Rice, Rice, Baby

Rice is a simple luxury that goes well with almost anything.  So why not figure out the best way to make the rice as fluffy as possible!

According to our textbook, "The Science of Good Cooking," the conventional way to make rice is to have two cups of water for every cup of rice.  The book suggests doing three cups of water for every two cups of rice instead.  They state that it makes it much more fluffy and full.

Didn't even cry

My experiment consisted of trying out the two ways of rice cooking with the recipe for rice pilaf in the book.  Long grain rice was used for the experiment because it gets the most fluffy and full.  All rice has a starch that helps it cook a certain way, and the starch with a high percentage of amylose starch, like long grain rice, causes it to rise more than other types of rice.  I also tested the absorption rate of the rice with the amount of water used.  Rice that is too watery at the end is obviously not as tasty as rice with no water left.

My hypothesis was that the rice with the 3 cups of water for 2 cups of rice would have more volume and absorb the water faster than the rice with 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice.  The absorption rate is based on the water in it, nothing more.  The fluffy factor is based on the fact that the book says it works of course! And that the rice was rinsed beforehand, so water was already absorbed.  Too much water will effect the absorption and fluffiness of the rice.

The recipe I used:
-2 Cups of long grain rice
-3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
-1 small onion chopped
-3 cups of water (4 cups for batch 2)
-Salt
I cooked the onions then added the rice.  I then added water, brought it to a boil, covered it up, then moved the setting to low and let it simmer until all of the water was absorbed.

Batch 1: The Best One

My independent variable was the amount of water I put into the rice recipe
The dependent variable is the absorption rate and the volume of the rice
My standardized variables were the sauce pan, measuring cup, and every ingredient except the amount of water.

Batch 2: To Be Eaten Tomorrow

What did I learn from this? Well, the rice that had less water in it did get fluffier and absorbed all of the water faster than the batch with more water in it. I used the measuring cup to measure the volume, and the batch with three cups of water measured 4.5 cups.  The batch with 4 cups of water measured 3.75 cups.  The absorption rate for the batch with less water was 15 minutes, while the absorption rate for the batch with more water was 18 minutes.

If I were to do this experiment again, I would use more samples.  Anything could have happened to skew the results from some water evaporating before I put the lid on to some rice falling out of the strainer when rinsing it.  I would want to see if the results were consistent with what I found, or if mine is an odd finding.  I would also probably skip the onions and do straight rice because the onions could have affected the absorption rate as well.

Selfie as I waited for the rice to absorb

Enjoy

Sources: The Science of Good Cooking by Guy Crosby

Fluffy Eggs

If the police were to raid my house in search of evidence of eggs, they would be greeted with some of the best scrambled eggs that I could make and not cocaine (Shoutout to Justin Bieber!).

My experiment came out of our book "The Science of Good Cooking."  In it they discuss what makes the perfect scrambled eggs and the reasoning behind that.  It says that dairy in eggs ensure that the eggs coagulate and remain tender.  The book uses half-and-half in their eggs which keeps them from over-coagulating (coolest word ever) and squeezing out too much liquid, and the moisture causes more steam which makes the eggs extra light and fluffy.

My experiment used the dairy aspect of eggs to see what would be better.  I used half-and-half in one batch of eggs and skim milk in another batch of eggs.  My hypothesis was that the half-and-half being added to the eggs would make the eggs more fluffy, and therefore add more volume to the eggs than the skim milk being put in the eggs because of the fat content of the half-and-half keeping the moisture in causing it to be fluffier.

"There's only one thing I hate more than lying: skim milk. Which is water that's lying about being milk."
-Ron Swanson

How did I make them you ask?  I followed the recipe from our good ol' textbook!

-8 eggs and 2 egg yolks
-1/4 cup of half-and half (one batch) 1/4 cup of skim milk (other batch)
-salt

I mixed those ingredients up in a bowl then dumped them on to a pan on the stove that had been heated between medium and hot and lined with melted, unsalted butter.

First batch ready to go

Second batch: Bubbly

I first did a batch with the half-and-half added.  The second batch was with skim milk. After the eggs were done I used a measuring cup to get the volume of the eggs.

Half-and-half batch

Skim milk batch

My independent variable was the type of dairy being used in my eggs: the half-and-half and skim milk.
My dependent variable was the volume of the eggs.
My standardized variables were the ingredients (eggs, butter, salt), the pan used, the temperature, and the bowl used to mix the ingredients up.

My hypothesis was rejected in my results. I scooped the amount of eggs into a measuring cup to find the volume afterward.  I found that the eggs made with the half-and-half had less volume than the eggs with the skim milk, though not by much.  The half-and-half had 3 cups of volume, while the eggs with skim milk had 3 and 1/4 cups of volume.

Fluffy and Delicious graph to be added someday

I did find that the eggs made with half-and-half were still fluffier and better to eat.  The eggs with the skim milk were more watery and that is most likely because of the lack of fat in the skim milk.  That caused the liquid to squeeze out of the eggs, which could have led to the extra volume of the eggs.

I would most likely change the way I measured the eggs if I had to do this again.  There could have been pockets of air in each cup I had to measure, which could have led to a seemingly larger volume than what was actually there.  I also would do a control of the eggs without any dairy to see what the volume of those would be.  Unfortunately I used almost all of my eggs since I made 16 of them, so I probably would cut the recipe in half next time as well.

I would also do more samples if I had the resources available to see if I would get the same results.  I feel like the results would be almost identical because reaction of the two dairy products should always be the same, but science is tricky so who knows for sure.

I would be interested to see if whole milk would be just like half-and-half in the fluffiness results because of the fat content.  That would be another experiment I would like to try sometime.

Also: I was told that the fluffy eggs tasted just like they do at restaurants, so I have that going for me.

All-American breakfast

Overall, this experiment taught me about the importance of the fats and coagulation in eggs. I would never have had any idea about using half-and-half to make delicious scrambled eggs.  SCIENCE IS COOL!

Sources: The Science of Good Cooking by Guy Crosby

I say Potato...

For this mini-experiment, I wanted to find a difference between microwaving a russet potato and putting the potato in the oven.  I came about this because I love potatoes. Almost as much as I love bacon. So I tried to figure out what would be a good experiment that would have to do with potatoes, and I decided on this one.

Hot and fresh out the kitchen

My hypothesis for this experiment was the potato in the oven would have a browner and crispier outside, while the microwaved one would have a softer peel.  I also believe that the middle of the oven-baked potato would be mushier, while the microwaved baked potato would be firmer.

My reasoning for the above hypothesis had to do with the starch content and what happens when starch is heated up.  The starch to moisture ratio in russet potatoes is large, which causes the potato cells to absorb moisture, swell, and burst. (Science of Good Cooking)  This is why russet potatoes are perfect for mashed potatoes.  Using an oven, it gives it the time it needs and the temperature for the inside to burst, leaving it soft.  The microwave doesn't give it enough time, therefore the potato will be firmer on the inside.

I grabbed 4 potatoes and rinsed them each off.  I put one in the microwave for 5 minutes and one in the oven for 55 minutes.  I then did that a second time with the last two potatoes.  I then would had three people taste and give me a rating on a scale from 1-10 of the crispiness of the outside, and the firmness of the inside of the potato.

 Before

 Before

My independent variables were the oven and the microwave. My dependent variables were the potatoes, mainly the texture of the inside and the texture of the outside.  My standardized variables were the oven temperature (425 degrees), the people tasting and rating, the microwave, the oven, and the pan used for baking the potatoes in the oven.

Left: Oven
Right: Microwave
Table Cloth: Hawaiian

Left: Microwaved
Right: Oven
Right: Delicious
Left: Not-so-much

My results supported my original hypothesis.  I found that the firmness of the potato on the inside was much higher in the microwaved potato than in the oven-baked potato.  I also found that the outside was much crispier and firm in the oven-baked potato than the microwaved potato.

O= Oven... M=Microwave
Potatoes are always 10 in deliciousness

There were clearly some limitations as well.  Neither me nor the two people who tasted the potatoes are professional tasters, so it is possible that we made errors in judgement.  The potatoes used were also not exactly the same size, though I tried to match them up evenly.  Each set of potatoes also may not have been cooked the exact same as the time before due to possible temperature changes, or overall setting of the potato.

Eating the oven-baked one

If I were to do this again, I would have used more samples, and also more people to taste and rate the firmness.  Firmness is also a hard variable to measure, so it could have been subjective rather than objective.  There was definitely a difference between the potatoes, but putting a number on it was a tough thing to do.

Professional Potato Tasters

I'll leave you with a recommendation, take the time to oven-bake a potato.  Way more delicious.

Hey everyone, I baked something

Today I baked cupcakes. I don't bake... ever.. so this is an accomplishment.

Stirring power stance

                                                         
The goal of today's baking session was to figure out what control we will use for our big experiment at the end of the class.  I used a simple recipe I found here: http://www.food.com/recipe/basic-cupcakes-215703.  The cupcakes came out just like the picture on the website! Basic.

This dough, tho

Anyways, the recipe was simple enough. It involved only seven ingredients.  Because neither me nor my housemates ever bake, I had to go out and buy a few things, but in a normal kitchen, all of the ingredients are basic.  It was also very simple to bake, so that would be no problem if we used this for our control.

The dough was thicker than I expected, and it didn't make a full 12 cupcakes, so the recipe would have to be changed just a bit in order to make it consistent with our plan for the experiment.

Cupcake master

I would use this one for a control if we needed, depending on what the other group members came up with in their recipe.  The cupcakes tasted delicious, and I bet they'd be even better with frosting (of course I didn't have that at my house either.)  The height on mine may have been a bit small though.  I wasn't able to measure the height, but comparing it to the other group members, I believe mine averaged 1 or 2 centimeters shorter.

Seriously, how perfect do those cupcakes look?

Until next time my friends.

Raw Milk?

We frequently hear stories of people getting E.Coli and other bacterial infections from consuming raw materials.  Raw milk is no different.  We hear about the dangers of raw milk, so that begs the question, should it be legal to sell raw milk?  What are the risks and benefits to raw milk?

On a personal level, I believe that it should be legal to sell raw milk.  One has a right to consume what they feel appropriate.  Much like raw meat, I believe that if someone sells raw milk, that a warning sticker should be required to warn people about the dangers of raw milk consumption.

Raw milk has benefits, and the risk is actually lower than one might think.  According to an article online by Chris Kresser who has been studying medicine for 8 or so years,"We found that, though the relative risk of becoming ill from drinking raw milk is about 9 times greater than it is from drinking pasteurized milk, the absolute risk of developing a serious illness (i.e. one that would require hospitalization) from drinking raw milk is exceedingly small: about 1 in 6 million."

Raw milk also has a number of nutrients not found in pasteurized milk.  According to realmilk.com, which lists a number of nutrients and a protective system that is healthy to the human body, "This five-fold protective system destroys pathogens in the milk, stimulates the Immune system, builds healthy gut wall, prevents absorption of pathogens and toxins in the gut and ensures assimilation of all the nutrients."  There are white blood cells in unpasteurized milk that helps fight off illnesses as well.

The FDA is constantly making raw milk out to be a serious health concern.  Although the risk for disease is higher, the risk is still relatively low.  Although those with immune problems, small children, elderly, and those susceptible to illness should probably stay away, it should not be illegal to sell raw milk.  People should know what they are consuming, and many consume raw milk with perfect knowledge of what they are putting into their bodies.

Frequently, the media coverage will talk about the dangers of raw milk if there is even one incident of raw milk causing a sickness.  For every person that gets sick from raw milk, there are millions of people who do not get sick from raw milk.  It's important to be cautious, but it is not necessary to completely ban the sale of raw milk.

Again to reiterate...
It is known that their is a higher number of bacteria in raw milk, but that should have no effect on whether or not it is legal because people should know what they are consuming before they consume it.

There are many ethical questions that get brought up when thinking about raw milk.  One is about the selling of raw milk and if that is even ethical.  The people selling the raw milk have responsibility to ensure that their milk is not contaminated.  Sometimes those standards are not met, which can be unethical. Many times, however, the people selling raw milk are local farmers who sell it to local people who know what they are drinking.

Farmers need to also ensure that the cows they are using are healthy.  The equipment should also be sanitary as to try to minimize the potential for deadly bacteria living in the milk.  It is tough to get it all because the bacteria is in the milk itself, and sometimes not a result of a sick cow or unsanitary equipment for retrieving the milk.

Other ethical issues may arise from the people who buy the raw milk.  Many people want to support local farmers who sell the milk, and don't want to give money to the big companies.  Sometimes that means buying and consuming the raw milk.  It is tough to decide whether that is ethical or unethical because most of the farmers they buy from you would think are trustworthy that they wouldn't sell milk with deadly bacteria in it purposely.

I, myself have never had raw milk before, but I wouldn't be opposed to trying it.  Raw milk clearly has some benefits and some risks to it.  I've heard that raw milk even has more flavor than pasturized milk, but I cannot say whether that is true or false.  I would like to give it a try sometime, but in the meantime, I am still against raw milk being illegal.  People know what they are consuming, so if they choose to put themselves at a low-risk of putting bacteria in their bodies, they should be allowed to do that.

                                   Just a reminder that happy cows come from Wisconsin, not California.


                                                 http://www.saawinternational.org/cow2.jpg


Until next time my friends.

Liquid Apple Browning

I decided that for my first experiment, I would see if certain liquids would make an apple turn browner faster or slower than just leaving the apple out in the open.  The question got brought up in class and I decided I would try to figure out if an apple browns differently in certain environments. I was going to do outside but it's cold and that would be awful so I decided to go to some liquids I happened to have in my house.

I took 2 apples and cut each of them in half.  I kept one out in the open in my kitchen to see how long it took to turn brown. I then put one half in a cup of Mountain Dew, and one in a cup of vodka.  I ate the other half because it looked delicious and I couldn't think of what else to do with it.

My hypothesis was that the apple that was left out without any liquid would brown quicker than the apple left in the Mountain Dew, but longer than the one soaked in vodka.  The Mountain Dew has enough acid in it to keep the apple from browning. The pH of Mountain Dew is 2.8, which was learned in the last class, so that is more than enough acid to keep the apple looking edible.  The vodka has alcohol in it, which I believed would dry up the apple and turn it browner quicker.

The independent variable in this is the liquids (Mountain Dew and Vodka) or the lack thereof for one of the apples.  The dependent variable is how brown the apple is. (I just decided when it seemed brown enough then timed each one to that point.) My standardized variables included location (my kitchen), and an object to put the liquid, which was a bowl and cup.

My results were almost as I thought they would be.  The apple outside of the liquid browned after 68 minutes.

                                                                How appetizing

The apple in the vodka browned after 73 minutes.

                                                   
                                                        Don't worry, I didn't drink it


The apple in the Mountain Dew didn't brown in the 4 hours before I decided that it had been long enough and I needed to write this blog.

                                                      Guess what I had for dinner? Hint: Arby's



Obviously my experiment could have gone better with better planning and execution.  I should have maintained a certain temperature of the liquids.  I also probably would have used a variety of environments with more halves of apples if I had that available to me.  Also, it is tough to decide when an apple is "brown enough," so I had to figure that one out on the fly.  I wouldn't use honey crisp apples if I were to do this again because I feel like those already take the longest to brown.  If it were ideal, I'd pick the apple right off the tree and try it out. (That'd be fun)

                                             Mountain Dew keeping my graph from looking official

Intro

My name is Andy Michlig and I'm a senior at Loras.  I am enrolled in a Science of Cooking course, and am looking forward to experimenting with different kinds of ingredients.  Like most people I know, I was born and raised on food so this is no doubt a relate-able course for my life.  Being from Wisconsin, my diet consists of brats and cheese curds.  Since moving to Iowa, I've expanded my diet to whatever the cafeteria serves, eggs, pizza, sandwiches, and spaghetti.

My goals for the course:

1. Actually attempt to cook food beyond frozen dinners, eggs, and spaghetti. Experimenting with different ingredients will help me expand my cooking.

2. Learn some science. Being an accounting major, I have yet to take a science course at Loras.  This will expand my boundaries, and possibly be the most fun way to learn science because it involves food.

3. Try to experiment with food that I normally never eat. Including new meats and veggies.  Might as well go all in if I'm going to be experimenting

Chef in the house

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