Chemistry of Food and Cooking:
Gluten in Bread
Project Reflection
To what extent did your experiment yield conclusive results?
My experiment concluded that there was a strong correlation within the quantitative data. However, there was no correlation between the datasets for the qualitative data. To me this shows that I conducted the experiment correctly, but there isn’t a correlation between my qualitative data and my quantitative data. I found this incredibly surprising because I presumed that with a massive difference in the dough, there would be a noticeable difference in the bread. I used a t-test to find if there were similarities between the data sets. The test showed that there was not a significant difference between the data. For the quantitative data, I used a linear regression to show a visual representation of the data which was very apparent when looking at the graph.
How did your cooking process transform your food macroscopically and affect the food’s overall characteristics?
The important changes to the food macroscopically is mainly in the gluten network. This is developed through kneading the dough and in the addition of salt. The dough then undergoes the maillard reaction when it is cooked. In theory kneading the dough should’ve affected the texture of the bread through the size of the bubbles. The baking of the bread can affect the crust, and the dryness of the bread. I didn’t really focus on this in my food card though because I didn’t find it very unique or interesting. Looking more specifically at the gluten network, it is a lot of bonded proteins. The proteins are glutenin and gliadin. These proteins are bonded by a disulfide and hydrogen bond that form when the proteins are dissolved in water. These bonds are what provide the physical properties of the dough.
In what way(s) are cooking and doing science similar and in what way(s) are they different? How are a cook and a scientist investigating food similar or different?
Cooking and chemistry have many similarities. They both have components that come together, and through an exact process to create a final product (that often undergoes a transformation). Bakers and chemists both make important observations about the product and experimentally improve upon it. This can be done through research, experimentation, and re-evaluation. Chemistry is an integral part of baking. However, there are some important differences. Baking is a lot more loose than chemistry and has a higher tolerance for error. Chemistry is a lot more exact and controllable, iron is iron and has a known reaction with gallium. Not all flour is the same, and it doesn’t always have the same reaction with water. Personally, I find that there are a lot more similarities than differences between baking and chemistry.
My experiment concluded that there was a strong correlation within the quantitative data. However, there was no correlation between the datasets for the qualitative data. To me this shows that I conducted the experiment correctly, but there isn’t a correlation between my qualitative data and my quantitative data. I found this incredibly surprising because I presumed that with a massive difference in the dough, there would be a noticeable difference in the bread. I used a t-test to find if there were similarities between the data sets. The test showed that there was not a significant difference between the data. For the quantitative data, I used a linear regression to show a visual representation of the data which was very apparent when looking at the graph.
How did your cooking process transform your food macroscopically and affect the food’s overall characteristics?
The important changes to the food macroscopically is mainly in the gluten network. This is developed through kneading the dough and in the addition of salt. The dough then undergoes the maillard reaction when it is cooked. In theory kneading the dough should’ve affected the texture of the bread through the size of the bubbles. The baking of the bread can affect the crust, and the dryness of the bread. I didn’t really focus on this in my food card though because I didn’t find it very unique or interesting. Looking more specifically at the gluten network, it is a lot of bonded proteins. The proteins are glutenin and gliadin. These proteins are bonded by a disulfide and hydrogen bond that form when the proteins are dissolved in water. These bonds are what provide the physical properties of the dough.
In what way(s) are cooking and doing science similar and in what way(s) are they different? How are a cook and a scientist investigating food similar or different?
Cooking and chemistry have many similarities. They both have components that come together, and through an exact process to create a final product (that often undergoes a transformation). Bakers and chemists both make important observations about the product and experimentally improve upon it. This can be done through research, experimentation, and re-evaluation. Chemistry is an integral part of baking. However, there are some important differences. Baking is a lot more loose than chemistry and has a higher tolerance for error. Chemistry is a lot more exact and controllable, iron is iron and has a known reaction with gallium. Not all flour is the same, and it doesn’t always have the same reaction with water. Personally, I find that there are a lot more similarities than differences between baking and chemistry.