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.
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.
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)
I think this is a very interesting experiment though I agree you should have made sure the liquids were at the same temperature. How did you decide to use mountain dew and vodka? I understand the reasoning behind the mountain dew since its acidity was tested earlier in the day but where did the idea for the vodka come from? I think it would have also been interesting to test it with something that contrasted an acid, like a base. Maybe the next time the experiment is repeated you could soak one apple in lemon juice and one apple in milk.
ReplyDeleteAndy, wow! What an interesting experiment! Maybe next time try putting it in water to see if that would effect the browning rather than being exposed to just air? But that was a great hypothesis and experiment. I would have guessed the apple would have browned more with the Mountain Dew rather than the alcohol. Very interesting! Or even, next time, maybe try with some lemon juice and see whether that would last longer than the Mountain Dew? Great job! :) Kept me intrigued :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Cooking!