Food Science B

[tuftedtitmouse12]

Alright, I just got placed into this event for States. I don't have a copy of the rules yet, but with less than 5 weeks till States, what are some quick things you suggest I do?

EDIT: I can't cook.

[Skink]

Alright, I just got placed into this event for States. I don't have a copy of the rules yet, but with less than 5 weeks till States, what are some quick things you suggest I do?

Well, uh...you've got some work to do. Study up on the topics listed in 3e of the rules, and treat 3a like the list in an ID event. Instead, in this one, you need to know which group each Approved Ingredient comes from and what manipulating it does to your baked good.

What I mean is that you could make a lot of cupcakes to notice this. If you double a leavening agent, what happens? If you leave out any liquid, what happens? It shouldn't matter too much what you make (cupcakes, biscuits, pancakes, etc.) because you should be able to see the same effect in all of them, just some are more apparent in different kinds of baked goods. The best part is, I'll bet your team has already done all this! Get the binder, and see what they have. Work from there.

Oh yeah, be able to use their device to measure viscosity of an unknown fluid from the list using the standard curve. You're throwing away easy points if you don't.

EDIT: I can't cook. I've burned out our microwave so many times my parents will wait till I'm off to college to buy a new microwave. Also, I'm not the sort of person you'd trust with a stove and fire...

That's fine. I would hope they don't make you make a cupcake on-site (they did at at least one invitational)...

[GoNerdHerd]

How do you calculate viscosity in cP? I'm not a math person and all the equations confuse me. I understand it is time to break flow but how do you do pascal seconds, that sort of thing? Thanks.

[Skink]

You don't. You "estimate" it from your standard curve. Make your homemade viscometer, then make that graph of viscosity versus time. You then run the mystery fluid through your viscometer and time how long it takes. Find the point on your curve that corresponds to that time. The viscosity value for that point is the viscosity of your mystery sample.

This seems to be causing a lot of confusion and trouble. I'm considering editing how this is all done in a step-by-step fashion into the wiki. Would anyone find that helpful?

[135scioly]

Yes!!! That wouod be so helpful! When I first started Food Sci, it took me FOREVER to figure that out! I know now many ppl have probabky figured it out since regionals are coming up/passed, but for the future, it would help a lot! Thanks.

[i8maps]

Does anyone know how to calculate the calorie content in food with the nutrition label? My partner and I have been trying for a while and we always are slightly off.

[triplej]

one question:What's the best way to study for this event because I've made my cheat sheet and i feel like it's pretty good, but my regional competition was a joke because all we did was bake stuff and answer like 8 questions. So, i feel like it's a sort of weird event that's hard to study/practice for

[knittingfrenzy18]

Drill yourself.

There's plenty to know, and it always helps to graph more, practice with Benedict's/Biuret's/Iodine, density measuring, etc.

For example: Tell me how to distiguish a saturated fatty acid from a unsaturated one.

or:

What are the two main functions of different polysaccharides, and name some.

[jgrischow1]

I have read on the Internets that carbs actually have 3.6 calories per gram and the commonly cited 4 is an estimate. Is this true, and if so, will this factor into the event? Does every event supervisor adhere to the same value? Thanks.

[knittingfrenzy18]

Hello,

As a standard, use 4 C/g. If you wish to risk it for some extra points, go for it and explain your answer. Make sure you back it up well, otherwise you may receive no points.

I know 4 is an estimate, but it seems to vary. I read somewhere why it is said as 4, but i forgot why.