The Science of créme Brûlée
How can we measure the qualities and desirability of a finished recipe both quantitatively and qualitatively in order to determine the success of our recipe experimentation?
The qualities and desirability of a finished recipe can be measured quantitatively by creating tests that measure specific characteristics of the desired recipe. Examples of this would be testing consistency, texture, temperature, and the time something was cooked. A quantitative test is finding something that can be specifically measured, and with those examples, there are ways to measures those in an unbiased way.
These recipes can be measured qualitatively by having people taste the food, and answer specific questions about the taste and texture. These tests are much more subjective, since most people have different preferences about food. Although it is hard to gain a definite answer with these tests, there are definitely trends that can be found in certain foods that were tested. Most people have the same preferences to a certain extent, and that was found in the food tests done in class.
In what way(s) is cooking like doing science and in what way(s) are they different? How are a cook and a food scientist similar or different?
Cooking is similar to science, because when people are testing new recipes, they usually do multiple different variations of the recipe, while testing each variation until they create the perfect recipe. With a lot of recipe, cooks will only change specific parts of the recipe at a time, which is similar to what a scientist would do.
Cooks and food scientists are also very different. For example, a cook’s goal is to find the optimal taste and texture of a food, and they are not always exact in their measuring, they are more focused on making good food. A food scientist is more focused on the actual science of the food, they still might have the goal of making sure a food has the best taste and texture, but they will be much more precise and scientific about it.