A. How does the ingredient you experimented with affect the food's overall characteristics?
In my food project, I was trying to create the fluffiest pancake possible, and I did that by manipulating the ratio of the leavening agent (baking powder) to buttermilk. From my research, I learned that the baking powder reacts with the buttermilk to form bubbles of C02, which when cooked are trapped in the pancake and give it its "fluffiness." I experimented with 3 different ratios of baking powder to buttermilk and had taste testers rate how fluffy the pancake was based on their own interpretation of fluffiness. The results of my experiment leave me with more room for experimentation. My first batch of pancakes with the least amount of baking powder was anything but fluffy. They were very much like a crepe, but with a weird spongy consistency. Batches 2 and 3 with more baking powder were better but still left much to be desired for an exceptionally fluffy pancake. Batch 3 was the best, but could be described by my test testers as nothing better than "A normal pancake"
D. In what way(s) are cooking and doing science similar and in what way(s) are they different? How are a cook and a food scientist similar or different?
When cooking and doing proper science, there are a variety of similarities and differences. When following a recipe, you must be exact in both the amounts of ingredients and methods and such is the same with a scientific experiment. If just one step is done incorrectly your final product could be very different. A good cook can deviate slightly from the recipe and freestyle a little bit, but a scientist can't really do that, as things must be very precise in order to be correctly following scientific methods.