Biology_PT_gutbustersreport

//Done by: Jessie Lim 3/11 // __Introduction to Myth __ //Myth: Using Shortening makes cookies fluffier // Shortening is a type of lard made out of solid vegetable oils (lipids). It is similar to butter, except that it has a 100% fat content while butter is only 80% made up of fat. For data collection, fluffy refers to light and airy in this experiment. The aim of this experiment is to find out if this myth is confirmed, plausible or busted based on the results obtained. __Hypothesis __ Shortening does make cookies fluffier (as compared to using normal butter). __Methodology __ In order to test for the “lightness” and “airiness” of the cookies baked; the height of each cookie dough will be measured before and after baking for both cookies using shortening and cookies using butter, in order to quantify the results. The average percentage change of height in both types of cookies will then be compared. Higher average percentage change indicates that that type of cookies are “fluffier”. Also, to make the size of the cookie more standard, I will be using a cookie-cutter to standardize the shape of the cookies. //Experimental Procedure // 1. Wash all equipment (weighing scales, electric beater, cutlery, tray etc.) before beginning to avoid contamination. 2. Prepare two batches of cookie dough with the same ingredients. (refer to appendix) 3. In one batch, put butter, in the other, put the same amount of shortening. (this should be the only difference for a fair experiment) 4. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Put the mixtures in separate bowls and label them “Butter” and “Shortening” respectively. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">5. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Measure the height of 3 different pieces of cookie dough (cut using cookie-cutter) for each of the mixtures and record the values. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">6. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Arrange them on the tray with sufficient space between each cookie and bake for 10 minutes. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">7. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Leave them to cool before measuring and recording the height values for all 6 pieces of cookies after being baked. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">8. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Repeat steps 5-7 to obtain another set of results. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">9. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Tabulate all the results and calculate the percentage change to draw a conclusion. //<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Variables Involved // <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Independent variable: <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Type of lard used in cookie dough <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Dependent variable: <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Difference in height of each finished cookie and cookie dough <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Constant variables: <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The rest of the ingredients and their respective amounts in both batches of cookies, temperature of oven during baking, duration of baking, all equipment used __<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Observations and Results __ <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Dough Containing |||||| <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Height at 0 min (cm) |||||| <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Height at 10 min (cm) |||||| <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Total % Change (3 s.f.) || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Average <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">% change || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Butter || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1.0 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.8 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.8 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.8 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.7 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.6 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">-20 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">-12.5 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">-25 || <span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-highlight: yellow;">-19.2 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Shortening || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.9 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1.0 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.8 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.9 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.9 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.8 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">-10 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0 || <span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-highlight: yellow;">-3.3 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Dough Containing |||||| <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Height at 0 min (cm) |||||| <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Height at 10 min (cm) |||||| <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Total % Change (3 s.f.) || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Average <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">% change || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Butter || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.9 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1.1 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.8 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.7 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.9 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.6 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">-22.2 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">-18.2 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">-25 || <span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-highlight: yellow;">-21.8 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Shortening || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1.0 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0.9 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1.2 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1.1 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1.0 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1.2 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">10 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">11.1 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">0 || <span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-highlight: yellow;">7.03 || <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Higher average percentage change indicates “fluffier” cookies (Larger increase in height and weight) <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I specifically observed that the heights in the cookies using shortening changed very little, whereas those using butter sank down and reduced. The difference was significance and could be visually seen. Also, with regards to taste, the cookies with shortening were less fragrant and had a soft, crumbly texture, more so than the cookies with butter, although this might be due to preference. __<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Conclusion __ <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Since the height generally reduced more in cookies containing butter, while those containing shortening remained ‘taller’ and did not spread out as much during baking, we can conclude based on our definition that the cookies containing shortening were “fluffier”. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Myth: Confirmed __<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Discussion __ <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The main use of fat or lard in baking is to prevent gluten from forming due to the flour and wheat present in the batter/dough which will cause the resulting product to be hard and dry. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Shortening has a higher melting point than butter; hence using shortening helps the dough hold its shape in the oven longer than cookie dough using butter, thus producing an “airier” cookie. When using shortening, the cookies keep their original shape as placed when they are dough and does not spread out like cookies containing butter as butter melts at body temperature. This is why shortening is not found in the refrigerated section of the supermarket and can instead me found along with other dry baking products such as flour. It is also more convenient, inexpensive and flavourless as compared to butter. Unlike butter, it is white in colour. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This difference in melting point thus explains the different results we achieved when baking the cookies using shortening vs. using butter. The change in melting point is actually caused by different ways in which butter and shortening are made. Shortening is basically hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is 100% fat as the vegetable oil is solidified through a process of adding extra hydrogen atoms to the vegetable oil, causing it to hydrogenise and become solid. Thus, it can withstand high temperatures and will not cause the cookie to spread out, resulting in puffier and fluffier cookies. //<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Limitations // <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This experiment could be improved using more accurate equipment to measure the height of the cookies. In this case, a ruler was used, which can only be written at 1 d.p. However, in this case, the results obtained still allowed us to make the necessary conclusions. Also, we cannot say for sure that the cookies containing shortening have became fluffier, but instead that they did not sink. //<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Reflection // <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This is a useful piece of information as people have different preferences of the type of cookie they want, which they can achieve by modifying the ingredients. Besides lard, changing other ingredients (such as not adding eggs into the cookie dough for allergy reasons) could also have an impact on the cookies taste and texture. The experiment can thus be expanded in much larger areas. __<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">References __ <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061218094101AAThDBb <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://bakingbites.com/2009/07/what-is-shortening/ <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.baking911.com/howto/how_baking_works.htm <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.ochef.com/960.htm <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.bakingandbakingscience.com/cookies.htm <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> __<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Appendix __ <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Apparatus needed: <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Weighing scale <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Clean ruler <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Baking Tray <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Grease-proof paper <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sufficient cutlery <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Measuring spoons <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">At least 2 bowls <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Oven (pre-heated) <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sieve for flour <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Electric Beater <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Ingredients: <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This amount is only one-fifth of the total amount stated in the recipe, since the total amount is too much. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">72g Butter/Shortening <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">58g Brown Sugar <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">34g White Sugar <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">134g Self-raising flour (sieved) <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">½ tsp Vanilla Essence <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1tbs Milk <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">½ tsp Cocoa Powder <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Steps: <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">1. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Preheat Oven to 180 degrees C <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">2. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Line baking tray with greaseproof paper <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">3. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Cream lard and sugar together <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">4. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Add vanilla, milk and cocoa powder and beat thoroughly <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">5. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Gradually fold self-raising flour into mixture <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">6. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Arrange batter onto tray and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Biology Performance Task 2010 **
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Gut Busters - Individual Report **
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1st Attempt: **
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">2nd Attempt: **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(ensure reliability of results)
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Recipe for cookies (plain): **