Chemistry in the Kitchen Spring 2023
Scientific Food Blogs by Dickinson Students
In this version of the recipe, we adapted the original recipe to give the brownies a fudgier texture. To do so, we added a bit more oil and used a little less flour in the batter. Within a recipe, the oil adds moisture and richness to brownies, making them denser. Since oil is …
In this recipe, we decided to play with the textures of the brownies. In this adaptation, we tried to produce a brownie with a more cake-like texture. In order to make cakier brownies we added baking powder. It is important to use baking powder as opposed to baking soda because baking powder is …
Photo from : https://whatsinthepan.com/buckwheat-crepes/ The significance of flour in forming the structure and texture of the batter is one scientific component of preparing French crêpes. The gluten in the flour provides the batter for crêpes its elasticity and stretch, and the starches add to the batter’s thickness and viscosity. However, the final texture of the …
Don’t be fooled by the lack of eggs – the science behind vegan macarons is just as important and complex as their traditional counterparts. These pastries also rely on a delicate balance of ingredients and techniques to achieve their characteristic texture and shape. While many traditional macaron recipes rely on egg whites to create a …
Some cooks swear by cream of tartar as their secret ingredient to achieve the perfect macaron- but what exactly is this mysterious powder, and how does it work its magic? Cream of tartar, also known as potassium bitartrate, is an acid salt that is created during the winemaking process as a byproduct5. In most recipes, …
The original recipe: https://sugarspunrun.com/the-best-banana-muffin-recipe/ Partner Isaiah Akinsanya made a few adjustments to the recipe and tried the recipe out a few times to get the best result. We will try four different types of banana bread muffins for our experiment. The first one will be the original recipe, with nothing added or taken out. We …
This is the science of how I altered this Banana Bread recipe to test a hypothesis. The science of the original recipe can be found HERE. The adjustment that I decided to do to the recipe was to use under ripe bananas instead of overripe bananas. I thought about using normal bananas instead, but I …
There may be only five ingredients in popovers, but they undeniably are not the healthiest. The main culprit of this would be the butter. 15g grams of it into the batter, and the popover cups/muffin tins must also be heavily greased with butter to ensure the pastry doesn’t stick and is moist enough. This is …
Baking Soda can form carbon dioxide by two different methods. The first is by thermal decomposition, which is what happened with these muffins. The draw back to this method is that the product is also base. Bases tend to have a bitter taste. In addition, upon basic conditions Maillard Browning is accelerated. Hence the dark …
Below is a photo of the results of the adapted muffins. From top to bottom: A – no leavening agent, B – baking soda, C – baking soda and cream of tartar, D – baking soda and vinegar, E – baking powder, F – twice the baking powder, G – yeast. Click here to return …