Chemistry of Brownies
Decadently Rich and Gooey Brownies
Serves 12-14
Ready in 45 minutes
Growing up, brownies were one of the first things I learned to make independently after years of watching my grandpa make them for me every Sunday. They have a very special place in my heart because they give me nostalgia and remind me of the good old days.
I wanted to go on a quest to find the ultimate best brownie recipe to possibly pass down to my grandchildren one day, too.
Ingredients:
There is nothing like a rich, chocolatey brownie, slightly chewy, warm, crispy on the edges, soft in the middle. How do I make it perfect every time? I asked myself. Your typical box brownie mix calls for ¼ cup of water, 1 egg and ⅓ cup of oil. I didn’t want to make anything super complicated to decrease the amount of human error and variables. At first I wanted to manipulate the type of oil used in three different batches of brownies and see what properties changed but after research I came to the conclusion there wouldn’t be a very noticeable change between the three so I decided to manipulate the liquid instead.
I began researching what were good substitutes for water in box brownie mix. I saw many options like milk, half-n-half, coffee and even soda. I decided I wanted to make one batch with coffee (A), one batch with half-n-half (B) and one batch with water (C). Based on my research I thought that through a blind taste test the coffee brownies would be the most popular due to the complex flavors coffee has. On top of that I thought half-n-half would be a close second because it's way more fatty and would make the brownies very rich and creamy. It was a no-brainer that the water brownies would be last. I was right to some extent but through the bilnd taste test the majority vote came out to be that the half-n-half brownies were #1 and the coffee brownies were #2 and water brownies were #3 as expected. Overall the coffee definitely added more flavor as well as bringing out more of the chocolate flavor but it had a particular taste that based on my feedback seems like you need more mature taste buds to appreciate. As far as the half-n-half went it seemed to make it way more creamy and rich, it also seemed like it kept them softer for a longer amount of time.
Science: Why it Works
The chemistry behind this experiment mainly has to do with the amino acids and fat content in half-n-half compared to that of water. Water's job, as the liquid in brownie batter, is to be absorbed by the flour and dissolve the sugar. When you replace the water with milk, half-n-half or something with more fat, it creates stronger bonds with the gluten of flour and increases the likelihood of a richer, smoother and creamier brownie. When sugar dissolves in water the bond allows sugar to lock in moisture so that items such as cakes, muffins, brownies, and frostings don't dry out too quickly. It creates tenderness. The act of replacing water with half-n-half in this scenario highlights the long term benefits of using it instead of water because the fat in it helps to lock in moisture even better than water because it has stronger bonds. Milk also has high amounts of lysine which affects the Md effect while cooking brownies and causes them to brown and cook faster. Not to mention lysine is an essential amino acid that humans cannot produce so brownies made with half-n-half or milk are very high in protein and aren’t necessarily healthy for you but are technically more nutritious as opposed to water.
Work Cited:
https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/supplement/lysine
https://www.myfooddata.com/articles/high-lysine-foods.php
https://bakerpedia.com/processes/maillard-reaction/
https://www.britannica.com/science/lactose
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/ivytech-bio1-1/chapter/reading-types-of-carbohydrates/
Serves 12-14
Ready in 45 minutes
Growing up, brownies were one of the first things I learned to make independently after years of watching my grandpa make them for me every Sunday. They have a very special place in my heart because they give me nostalgia and remind me of the good old days.
I wanted to go on a quest to find the ultimate best brownie recipe to possibly pass down to my grandchildren one day, too.
Ingredients:
- Box brownie mix of your choice
- 1 egg
- ¼ half-n-half
- ⅓ coconut oil or vegetable oil
- Teaspoon of vanilla
- Oil for greasing pan
- Mixing bowl
- Rubber spatula
- Measuring cups
- 8”x8” baking pan
- Oven
- Toothpick
- Knife
- Wisk
- Preheat oven to said time on box brownie mix
- Empty contents of box brownie mix into a large mixing bowl
- Crack one egg into the bowl
- Add your choice of oil into the mix
- And add your half-n-half and vanilla extract
- Whisk it all together until it's smooth
- Grease the bottom and sides of your baking pan
- Poor your mix into the pan and scrape the excess into the bowl with a rubber spatula
- Tap the pan on the counter to release some air bubbles before putting it into your pre-heated oven
- Bake for said time on box brownie mix
- Using a toothpick poke the center of the brownie and when the toothpick comes out clean they're ready
- Take them out and let them cool before cutting and enjoy:)!
There is nothing like a rich, chocolatey brownie, slightly chewy, warm, crispy on the edges, soft in the middle. How do I make it perfect every time? I asked myself. Your typical box brownie mix calls for ¼ cup of water, 1 egg and ⅓ cup of oil. I didn’t want to make anything super complicated to decrease the amount of human error and variables. At first I wanted to manipulate the type of oil used in three different batches of brownies and see what properties changed but after research I came to the conclusion there wouldn’t be a very noticeable change between the three so I decided to manipulate the liquid instead.
I began researching what were good substitutes for water in box brownie mix. I saw many options like milk, half-n-half, coffee and even soda. I decided I wanted to make one batch with coffee (A), one batch with half-n-half (B) and one batch with water (C). Based on my research I thought that through a blind taste test the coffee brownies would be the most popular due to the complex flavors coffee has. On top of that I thought half-n-half would be a close second because it's way more fatty and would make the brownies very rich and creamy. It was a no-brainer that the water brownies would be last. I was right to some extent but through the bilnd taste test the majority vote came out to be that the half-n-half brownies were #1 and the coffee brownies were #2 and water brownies were #3 as expected. Overall the coffee definitely added more flavor as well as bringing out more of the chocolate flavor but it had a particular taste that based on my feedback seems like you need more mature taste buds to appreciate. As far as the half-n-half went it seemed to make it way more creamy and rich, it also seemed like it kept them softer for a longer amount of time.
Science: Why it Works
The chemistry behind this experiment mainly has to do with the amino acids and fat content in half-n-half compared to that of water. Water's job, as the liquid in brownie batter, is to be absorbed by the flour and dissolve the sugar. When you replace the water with milk, half-n-half or something with more fat, it creates stronger bonds with the gluten of flour and increases the likelihood of a richer, smoother and creamier brownie. When sugar dissolves in water the bond allows sugar to lock in moisture so that items such as cakes, muffins, brownies, and frostings don't dry out too quickly. It creates tenderness. The act of replacing water with half-n-half in this scenario highlights the long term benefits of using it instead of water because the fat in it helps to lock in moisture even better than water because it has stronger bonds. Milk also has high amounts of lysine which affects the Md effect while cooking brownies and causes them to brown and cook faster. Not to mention lysine is an essential amino acid that humans cannot produce so brownies made with half-n-half or milk are very high in protein and aren’t necessarily healthy for you but are technically more nutritious as opposed to water.
Work Cited:
https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/supplement/lysine
https://www.myfooddata.com/articles/high-lysine-foods.php
https://bakerpedia.com/processes/maillard-reaction/
https://www.britannica.com/science/lactose
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/ivytech-bio1-1/chapter/reading-types-of-carbohydrates/
Dinner Party Photos:
Reflection:
How does the ingredient you experimented with affect the food’s overall characteristics?
I experimented with the altering of liquid in box brownie mix. It typically calls for water so I mixed it up and made one batch with water, one with half and half and one with coffee. Everything else stayed the same and I proceeded to have a blind taste test with my friends to decide which was best. Half and half one the majority vote so I made that for my dinner party. I think the half and half made it premier and gave it a richer chocolate flavor which most people are looking for in brownies. I was expecting coffee to win but it altered the taste and in all honesty, despite it tasting good, it just didn't taste like brownies. It tasted more like coffee cake and the coffee made it a lot thicker and cakier. I think the half and half batch also was a lot wetter and it was darker in color then the other batches.
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?
I'm going to start by saying all cooking is chemistry but not all chemistry is cooking. Whenever you heat, mix, freeze or blend something, you're using chemistry. Cooking and science are very similar for sure and there is a very fine line between the two. Although, I feel like in cooking it's more of the synthesis of a meal, that involves the dining experience as a whole, ingredients, and using known methods of cooking to produce a product for another individual or yourself. In science, it's more of the synthesis of an experiment using defined materials and scientific equipment to obtain data about how something works that may not already be known.
How does the ingredient you experimented with affect the food’s overall characteristics?
I experimented with the altering of liquid in box brownie mix. It typically calls for water so I mixed it up and made one batch with water, one with half and half and one with coffee. Everything else stayed the same and I proceeded to have a blind taste test with my friends to decide which was best. Half and half one the majority vote so I made that for my dinner party. I think the half and half made it premier and gave it a richer chocolate flavor which most people are looking for in brownies. I was expecting coffee to win but it altered the taste and in all honesty, despite it tasting good, it just didn't taste like brownies. It tasted more like coffee cake and the coffee made it a lot thicker and cakier. I think the half and half batch also was a lot wetter and it was darker in color then the other batches.
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?
I'm going to start by saying all cooking is chemistry but not all chemistry is cooking. Whenever you heat, mix, freeze or blend something, you're using chemistry. Cooking and science are very similar for sure and there is a very fine line between the two. Although, I feel like in cooking it's more of the synthesis of a meal, that involves the dining experience as a whole, ingredients, and using known methods of cooking to produce a product for another individual or yourself. In science, it's more of the synthesis of an experiment using defined materials and scientific equipment to obtain data about how something works that may not already be known.
The Chemistry of Decorative Metal
Essential Questions:
1) How does the structure of matter on the atomic, molecular, microscopic and
macroscopic levels determine its physical, chemical and biological properties with
emphasis on their use in building construction?
2) How do the design of a building, selection of building materials, construction process
and use of a building affect the overall sustainability of a building project and the user
experience in the building?
Reflection Questions:
What new information did you learn through doing this project?
Going into this project I had virtually no idea what metal was past its physical appearance. I came to learn about the difference between structural and decorative metal, the molecular makeup of metal, the oxidation process of metal and what exactly it means to rust as well as the different types of metal being used in the new school.
When I discovered how metal rusts on a molecular level which interested me more. It happens as an electrochemical process. On a molecular level, essentially, electrons transfer from iron molecules to the surrounding oxygen molecules, changing the makeup of the iron and turning it into rust.
What new skills, dispositions, or lessons did you learn from this project?
I learned how to manage my time, I think. I realized you can't put things off until the last minute if you want them to be quality and show great work. I also used a program I've never used before called Venngage and I think I mastered it to some degree which will be a great tool moving forward in school and life in general, along with time management skills.
1) How does the structure of matter on the atomic, molecular, microscopic and
macroscopic levels determine its physical, chemical and biological properties with
emphasis on their use in building construction?
2) How do the design of a building, selection of building materials, construction process
and use of a building affect the overall sustainability of a building project and the user
experience in the building?
Reflection Questions:
What new information did you learn through doing this project?
Going into this project I had virtually no idea what metal was past its physical appearance. I came to learn about the difference between structural and decorative metal, the molecular makeup of metal, the oxidation process of metal and what exactly it means to rust as well as the different types of metal being used in the new school.
When I discovered how metal rusts on a molecular level which interested me more. It happens as an electrochemical process. On a molecular level, essentially, electrons transfer from iron molecules to the surrounding oxygen molecules, changing the makeup of the iron and turning it into rust.
What new skills, dispositions, or lessons did you learn from this project?
I learned how to manage my time, I think. I realized you can't put things off until the last minute if you want them to be quality and show great work. I also used a program I've never used before called Venngage and I think I mastered it to some degree which will be a great tool moving forward in school and life in general, along with time management skills.