Flour:
If you walk into your local Safeway or other supermarket and head over to the aisle for baking, you may come upon six, seven, maybe even eight different types of flour. With so many options, which one do you choose?
Do you purchase the flour with the prettiest design on the box or the cheapest per-pound value? Is the brand of the flour important?
The answer lies in what is your baked good destination. Most supermarkets in the United States carry at least three types of flour on stock: all-purpose flour, bread flour, and cake flour.
The all-purpose (as its name would hint) is by far the most popular and versatile of the three major varieties. If I were to choose one type of flour to store in my pantry, I would always keep all-purpose (AP) flour on hand.
At its most basic, what differentiates the flours is protein content.
Approximately seventy-five percent of the wheat grown in the United States is hard wheat (that is, wheat that is high in protein). Most flours composed of hard wheat are marketed as bread flour. The high protein is needed to form the plastic and elastic structure demanded by crusty baguettes and chew sourdough breads.
On the contrary, soft wheat is that which yields lower levels of protein. Flours composed mostly of milled soft wheat are sold as cake flour. The lower protein content reduces the amount of elastic framework formed by hardier bread flours. This reduced protein is best suited to delicate baked goods such as light, airy biscuits, pastries, and (as the name suggests) cakes.
All-purpose (AP) flour is usually a mixture of soft and hard flours, which is why it is apt and versatile in the kitchen.
Less common flour includes self-rising flour. For the most part, self-rising flour is AP flour that has been laced with chemical leavening. This additional lift is best when working with dough that requires chemical leavening (usually baking powder) so that there is already carbon dioxide gas bubbles at work before the dough is completely formed.
Bleached or Unbleached:
You may also see several different variations of unbleached flours. They are identical to the flour of its original counterpart; except unbleached flour is void of the additional flour bleaching agents added to flour in order to make it appear whiter. Initially, when flour is processed at the mill it is slightly yellow in color. Most of the time flour is treated with calcium peroxide (CaO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), chlorine (Cl2), or chlorine dioxide (ClO2). Albeit this chemical nomenclature appears complex and dangerous, do not be frightened. These chemicals are added in small proportions and only used to whiten the flour.
So why not purchased unbleached flour to avoid the chemicals in its entirety? It would probably be safer to consume products made by them. I see no reason the flour needs to appear white.
Ehh, it may not be the best approach to purchase unbleached flour solely for the absence of chemicals. Consider the final aesthetics of the baked good. Using the unbleached yellow-tinted flour can make yellow-tinted “white” bread. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have strict regulations that govern the addition and application of chemicals to food products intended for human consumption. These laws permit only certain bleaching agents are used in precise quantitative amounts.
In the end, the choice of flour to use in your products greatly depends on the qualities sought to yield the proper processes needed to arrive at your final destination.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Genocide
Prompt 03: Human Nature – Who participates in genocide, and why? What does the commonality of genocide lead you to believe about humanity?
The expression genocide did not exist in type prior to 1944. It was not until Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin coined the word to describe Nazi policies of systematic murder. However, genocide describes more than killing of Jews during the Holocaust and it has occurred throughout all periods of human history – far before 1944 and even today in the twenty-first century. Whether it is religious, political, racial, or cultural, genocide is a deliberate and systematic killing of a group associated by some common link. Some of the earliest genocides were recorded around 150 bce during the Third Punic War. And in recent news, the situations of Darfur, Sudan are genocide.
At some point in history, all societies have connection to genocide. What event is usually associated with genocide? Most often the holocaust is linked with genocide. The holocaust was during World War II, where Nazi Germany sponsored the systematic murder of over 11 million people, including 6 million European Jews. Much other genocide has occurred throughout history. In Asia during the thirteenth century, Mongolian Empire founder Genghis Khan had genocidal killings against the territories he conquered. Khan expanded his empire through his violence and killing of his enemies.
The Americas experienced an extensive genocide – most of which is disguised in thousands of social studies textbooks. When Columbus and the other explorers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries set foot on America, the natives welcomed these conquistadors with honor – as the Native Americans thought the explorers were gods returning to their sacred lands. However, these explorers were in for a different motive – power. Back then, for a country to be powerful, it had at least one of three mechanisms: land, spices, or money. With the Spanish in Central America, Hernán Cortés found the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan with plenty of gold. Eventually, he brought down the capital to take the gold –and did so by killing millions of Aztecs.
With the Spanish in Central America, the Aztec capital Tenōchtitlan was taken and overthrown in 1521 by Hernán Cortés. A similar set of events happened north of Tenōchtitlan in present-day Eastern United States. After Columbus set foot in the Americas in 1492, explorers from many countries in Europe traveled to the East Coast. Soon, they began to colonize and claim territory for their motherland – and started to force Native American tribes out of the region. More people arrived in the Americas and colonies were densely populated. Seeking more land, and more adventurous opportunity, individuals headed to the Wild West (American Old West) to see what the earth had to offer. To no surprise, the English pushed out, and in the process they had to ‘inconvenience’ thousands of Native American tribes. Some wars amongst the indigenous people and the colonizing English broke out because the Native Americans wished not to be forced into small reserves while watching the ‘foreigners’ take over their land, resources, and homes. Records of Indian wars are available from the mid-1500s to the early 1900s – and the summation of all these mini-war battles result in the Indian massacre.
Genocidal killings murder millions of people – and millions of homicides need people to participate. During the holocaust, Adolf Hitler was able to control the information outputted by media and use propaganda to persuade the common people of Germany to enlist in the military and kill off the European Jewish population. On the contrary, in the Rwandan genocide, two divisions – Hutu and Tutsi - did not choose to kill. Neighbors and friends were sometimes told to kill each other. People of all ages participated in genocide. Children as young as 12 years of age were able to pursue direct combat – whether voluntarily or involuntarily, depending on the situation. However, International Human Rights law mandates that the military use of children no younger than 18 years of age take part in direct hostilities - and those of who are between the ages of 15 to 18 years may be enrolled in the military.
What does this mean about humanity?
People will always find ways to differentiate themselves from other people. As mentioned in the Race Video, humans have always divided themselves into groups which they see have a commonality. This relates to a more primitive tribal society and is the basis of genocide-based killings. The killing of others may be just another sign of our primitive past. So have humans, the “most evolved” and sophisticated animals truly surpassed our chimp ancestors? And are our civilizations actually “civil”…?
The expression genocide did not exist in type prior to 1944. It was not until Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin coined the word to describe Nazi policies of systematic murder. However, genocide describes more than killing of Jews during the Holocaust and it has occurred throughout all periods of human history – far before 1944 and even today in the twenty-first century. Whether it is religious, political, racial, or cultural, genocide is a deliberate and systematic killing of a group associated by some common link. Some of the earliest genocides were recorded around 150 bce during the Third Punic War. And in recent news, the situations of Darfur, Sudan are genocide.
At some point in history, all societies have connection to genocide. What event is usually associated with genocide? Most often the holocaust is linked with genocide. The holocaust was during World War II, where Nazi Germany sponsored the systematic murder of over 11 million people, including 6 million European Jews. Much other genocide has occurred throughout history. In Asia during the thirteenth century, Mongolian Empire founder Genghis Khan had genocidal killings against the territories he conquered. Khan expanded his empire through his violence and killing of his enemies.
The Americas experienced an extensive genocide – most of which is disguised in thousands of social studies textbooks. When Columbus and the other explorers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries set foot on America, the natives welcomed these conquistadors with honor – as the Native Americans thought the explorers were gods returning to their sacred lands. However, these explorers were in for a different motive – power. Back then, for a country to be powerful, it had at least one of three mechanisms: land, spices, or money. With the Spanish in Central America, Hernán Cortés found the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan with plenty of gold. Eventually, he brought down the capital to take the gold –and did so by killing millions of Aztecs.
With the Spanish in Central America, the Aztec capital Tenōchtitlan was taken and overthrown in 1521 by Hernán Cortés. A similar set of events happened north of Tenōchtitlan in present-day Eastern United States. After Columbus set foot in the Americas in 1492, explorers from many countries in Europe traveled to the East Coast. Soon, they began to colonize and claim territory for their motherland – and started to force Native American tribes out of the region. More people arrived in the Americas and colonies were densely populated. Seeking more land, and more adventurous opportunity, individuals headed to the Wild West (American Old West) to see what the earth had to offer. To no surprise, the English pushed out, and in the process they had to ‘inconvenience’ thousands of Native American tribes. Some wars amongst the indigenous people and the colonizing English broke out because the Native Americans wished not to be forced into small reserves while watching the ‘foreigners’ take over their land, resources, and homes. Records of Indian wars are available from the mid-1500s to the early 1900s – and the summation of all these mini-war battles result in the Indian massacre.
Genocidal killings murder millions of people – and millions of homicides need people to participate. During the holocaust, Adolf Hitler was able to control the information outputted by media and use propaganda to persuade the common people of Germany to enlist in the military and kill off the European Jewish population. On the contrary, in the Rwandan genocide, two divisions – Hutu and Tutsi - did not choose to kill. Neighbors and friends were sometimes told to kill each other. People of all ages participated in genocide. Children as young as 12 years of age were able to pursue direct combat – whether voluntarily or involuntarily, depending on the situation. However, International Human Rights law mandates that the military use of children no younger than 18 years of age take part in direct hostilities - and those of who are between the ages of 15 to 18 years may be enrolled in the military.
What does this mean about humanity?
People will always find ways to differentiate themselves from other people. As mentioned in the Race Video, humans have always divided themselves into groups which they see have a commonality. This relates to a more primitive tribal society and is the basis of genocide-based killings. The killing of others may be just another sign of our primitive past. So have humans, the “most evolved” and sophisticated animals truly surpassed our chimp ancestors? And are our civilizations actually “civil”…?
Friday, February 5, 2010
The Chewy
This is the final installation in this three-blog series on cookies. I have taken the chocolate chip cookie further past the ingredients, past the procedure and technique, and into the science! Again I propose the question “How do variations in the proportions of ingredients affect a final product?”
The chewy cookie variation is my favorite. It provides the best characteristics of the Thin and the Puffy – a flat, dense consistency from the Thin, yet a moist interior from the Puffy.
For the chewy, the Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe must be modified to support more moisture. If you have become a dedicated reader to this series, you will remember the most important factor in cookie baking – the fat. Chewy cookies require something in order for it to have a slight chew. If you look at the ingredients list, none of them are chewy. Flour, salt, baking soda, brown sugar, white granulated sugar, butter, and chocolate are all powdered or soft solids. Vanilla extract and eggs are liquids. So where does the chew come from and why do the other cookies (which follow similar ingredient lists) not have such a defined chewy texture?
The answer lies in the flour. The starch in the flour is contains of two proteins, gliadin and glutenin. When water is added to the flour and agitation is applied, the two proteins cross-link to form this water-insoluble network of proteins called gluten. This gluten is responsible for the chew in baguettes, sourdoughs, bagels, and other breads.
Water is still needed to activate the production of gluten. So instead of using softened butter, it will be melted to take advantage of the water phase in butter. Therefore, when the flour is introduced to the batter, more gluten will form leading to a chewier cookie.
While on the note on flour, the type of flour matters just as much as what kind of fat is used. There are many varieties of flour, but at its most basic, three flour varieties will be available at the local supermarket: all-purpose [AP] flour, bread flour, and cake flour. The only difference amongst these varieties is protein content. Bread flour (as the name suggests) is excellent for baking bread because it has higher protein content. High protein is directly proportional to high gluten production. Conversely, cake flour contains low protein content, and thus lower gluten potential. And all-purpose is the middle-of-the-road flour, a balance of both worlds.
Because of the high demand for gluten, using bread flour that is high in protein will increase the chewiness of the final product. Also, bread flour has the ability to absorb more liquid, so more moisture will remain in the cookie.
In contrast to the increased white-to-brown sugar ratio for the Thin, we want more moisture to be in the cookie. Brown sugar is coated in molasses – and molasses loves moisture. The more brown sugar (and less white sugar) added to the batter will increase the moisture content and will be more likely to attract moisture from the air.
Recall in the Puffy that more egg whites make a cookie ‘puff’ more. Also, egg whites dry out batters and in order for a chewy cookie to live up to its reputation, it has got to stay moist. Removing one egg white and replacing it with two tablespoons of milk would be an appropriate modification to keep the cookie moist. Other than that, follow the procedures to make a standard chocolate chip cookie.
Follow some simple guidelines and you can modify any recipe for any food to your liking. That is what the science of cooking should encourage – taking a foundation of a well known recipe and adding the personal decorations to make that product your own.
I hope in this series of blog posts, I have opened your eyes to the science of the chocolate chip cookie and that anyone can make their own, unique cookie from slightly tweaking a few ingredients to produce Good Eats.
With that note, I bid you good eating...
The chewy cookie variation is my favorite. It provides the best characteristics of the Thin and the Puffy – a flat, dense consistency from the Thin, yet a moist interior from the Puffy.
For the chewy, the Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe must be modified to support more moisture. If you have become a dedicated reader to this series, you will remember the most important factor in cookie baking – the fat. Chewy cookies require something in order for it to have a slight chew. If you look at the ingredients list, none of them are chewy. Flour, salt, baking soda, brown sugar, white granulated sugar, butter, and chocolate are all powdered or soft solids. Vanilla extract and eggs are liquids. So where does the chew come from and why do the other cookies (which follow similar ingredient lists) not have such a defined chewy texture?
The answer lies in the flour. The starch in the flour is contains of two proteins, gliadin and glutenin. When water is added to the flour and agitation is applied, the two proteins cross-link to form this water-insoluble network of proteins called gluten. This gluten is responsible for the chew in baguettes, sourdoughs, bagels, and other breads.
Water is still needed to activate the production of gluten. So instead of using softened butter, it will be melted to take advantage of the water phase in butter. Therefore, when the flour is introduced to the batter, more gluten will form leading to a chewier cookie.
While on the note on flour, the type of flour matters just as much as what kind of fat is used. There are many varieties of flour, but at its most basic, three flour varieties will be available at the local supermarket: all-purpose [AP] flour, bread flour, and cake flour. The only difference amongst these varieties is protein content. Bread flour (as the name suggests) is excellent for baking bread because it has higher protein content. High protein is directly proportional to high gluten production. Conversely, cake flour contains low protein content, and thus lower gluten potential. And all-purpose is the middle-of-the-road flour, a balance of both worlds.
Because of the high demand for gluten, using bread flour that is high in protein will increase the chewiness of the final product. Also, bread flour has the ability to absorb more liquid, so more moisture will remain in the cookie.
In contrast to the increased white-to-brown sugar ratio for the Thin, we want more moisture to be in the cookie. Brown sugar is coated in molasses – and molasses loves moisture. The more brown sugar (and less white sugar) added to the batter will increase the moisture content and will be more likely to attract moisture from the air.
Recall in the Puffy that more egg whites make a cookie ‘puff’ more. Also, egg whites dry out batters and in order for a chewy cookie to live up to its reputation, it has got to stay moist. Removing one egg white and replacing it with two tablespoons of milk would be an appropriate modification to keep the cookie moist. Other than that, follow the procedures to make a standard chocolate chip cookie.
Follow some simple guidelines and you can modify any recipe for any food to your liking. That is what the science of cooking should encourage – taking a foundation of a well known recipe and adding the personal decorations to make that product your own.
I hope in this series of blog posts, I have opened your eyes to the science of the chocolate chip cookie and that anyone can make their own, unique cookie from slightly tweaking a few ingredients to produce Good Eats.
With that note, I bid you good eating...
Friday, January 29, 2010
The Puffy
How do variations in the proportions of ingredients affect a final product?
The Thin focused on deviations from Ruth Wakefield’s TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe to produce a flat, crisp cookie that spreads before it sets. However, there are other variations of the chocolate chip cookie. As I have mentioned several times, there are three basic styles of the chocolate chip cookie: the thin, the puffy, and the chewy. All these styles are defined by its texture or appearance.
The Puffy suggests the baked cookie is airy. The texture should be light and soft – like a cake. What is needed to obtain such a texture? Consider…the fat.
From The Thin, I quote myself, “nothing affects the texture of a cookie more than the melting characteristics of its fat.”
Wakefield’s original ingredients call for butter. As mentioned in The Thin, butter has a low and sharp melting point. That means that the range of temperature at which the solid butter melts into a liquid phase is relatively narrow and is low – not much warmer than room temperature. With such a low temperature, the butter would melt and promote spreading of the batter.
However, for a puffy cookie, the height of the cookie must remain tall. A taller cookie decreases its surface-to-mass ratio.
Why would the surface-to-mass ratio affect cooking?
Remember that heat from an oven is multidirectional. This is possible due to three distinct types of energy acted upon the food. Conduction from the direct contact of the metal of the cookie sheet heats the bottom of the cookies. Radiant heat from elements or coils sends direct energy to the food through heat. Convection is the energy of the air inside the oven circulating all around the food.
Notice: Conduction is the direct contact with metal, radiation is the energy transferred from the heating element as heat, and convection is the circulation of heated air in the oven.
With this quick background in the multidirectional heat of ovens, the more surface there is on the cookie, the more energy is acted upon the food ruins the puff factor of a puffy cookie.
Egg whites contain a lot of protein. When the proteins in egg whites are cooked, they coagulate to form a network that can “catch” pockets of steam to provide. Yes, steam provides some of the “lift” needed for that airy texture. The other pockets are full of air from the carbon dioxide formed from mixing an acid and base.
The Thin focused on deviations from Ruth Wakefield’s TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe to produce a flat, crisp cookie that spreads before it sets. However, there are other variations of the chocolate chip cookie. As I have mentioned several times, there are three basic styles of the chocolate chip cookie: the thin, the puffy, and the chewy. All these styles are defined by its texture or appearance.
The Puffy suggests the baked cookie is airy. The texture should be light and soft – like a cake. What is needed to obtain such a texture? Consider…the fat.
From The Thin, I quote myself, “nothing affects the texture of a cookie more than the melting characteristics of its fat.”
Wakefield’s original ingredients call for butter. As mentioned in The Thin, butter has a low and sharp melting point. That means that the range of temperature at which the solid butter melts into a liquid phase is relatively narrow and is low – not much warmer than room temperature. With such a low temperature, the butter would melt and promote spreading of the batter.
However, for a puffy cookie, the height of the cookie must remain tall. A taller cookie decreases its surface-to-mass ratio.
Why would the surface-to-mass ratio affect cooking?
Remember that heat from an oven is multidirectional. This is possible due to three distinct types of energy acted upon the food. Conduction from the direct contact of the metal of the cookie sheet heats the bottom of the cookies. Radiant heat from elements or coils sends direct energy to the food through heat. Convection is the energy of the air inside the oven circulating all around the food.
Notice: Conduction is the direct contact with metal, radiation is the energy transferred from the heating element as heat, and convection is the circulation of heated air in the oven.
With this quick background in the multidirectional heat of ovens, the more surface there is on the cookie, the more energy is acted upon the food ruins the puff factor of a puffy cookie.
Egg whites contain a lot of protein. When the proteins in egg whites are cooked, they coagulate to form a network that can “catch” pockets of steam to provide. Yes, steam provides some of the “lift” needed for that airy texture. The other pockets are full of air from the carbon dioxide formed from mixing an acid and base.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Semester 01 Final
Writer’s Block:
Writing has never been one of my strong points and I have always experienced writer’s block. A major cause for this is the assignment of writing on a particular topic or using styles which I am uncomfortable. With blog posts, I am able to write about any subject without limit. This eliminates one of the factors writer’s block, but there are still other contributors.
An issue I have had for many years is taking ideas and molding them onto paper. I become greatly distracted and sometimes attempt to evade the assignment. Either that or I try to manipulate my writing to avoid answer the question and changing the initial topic. Sometimes, I may even take the topic and provide an extensive amount of research and background information.
For example, in the quick-write “I do, I have, I am,” the question is what do you think Steinberg is getting across? Instead of analyzing the meaning of the art, I described the painting in great detail. I explained the use of laws of perspective, the use of certain colors and textures, the positioning of specific aspects. But in the end, I failed to mention any thought of Steinberg’s message.
How did I overcome writer’s block? Simple: I wrote about topics that appealed to me and used a linear method of writing. With the exclusion of mandatory posts, most of my blogs are about science.
Once I began talking about science, the thread of science-related blogs continued. Thereafter, I had limited issues with writer’s block on my blog; of course I still had issues with other writing assignments. Because of the volume of research available for topics of my blog, many times I would continue my post from previous weeks by adding more information. I would always have an available topic in which I was interested to explore in my blog without the need to brainstorm for new ideas. This is not to say that writer’s block was cured.
There was still the issue of putting ideas into text. Sometimes this task is as easy as taking a resource and paraphrasing its text in a way which is non-plagiaristic and/or simplifying the text such that it is easier to read and understand.
In The Basics of Science, I dedicated a half-hour of research searching through old textbooks, notes, and the internet to find the most accurate and precise information to educate the views. I also spent additional time ensuring several words from the Academic Vocabulary List were incorporated to fulfill that week’s blog post requirement. Although not exactly writer’s block, it is a level in which thoughts are transcribed or ‘translations’ of the texts decelerate the momentum.
There are other occasions when I need to compose some aspects of the blog – like the analogies.
One analogy is a favorite of my English teacher. It compares the difference of mass in large marbles and small marbles to the mass of kosher salt and standard table salt.
In the end, writing with comfortable styles and knowledgeable topics (and also subjects you take interest) are the best defenses against writer’s block. The patterns I notice associated with writer’s block involve the lack in motivation and sometimes background knowledge required in some styles of writing.
Blog Post Analysis: The Thin
My most recent blog post The Thin featured a question I posted on a previous post. On “Cooking – More than fun” from 2009 October, one of the questions is: “How do variations in the proportions of ingredients affect a final product of food? “ I answered this question by using science – mainly chemistry. In order to modify a chocolate chip cookie recipe, I would need to acquire a recipe. I used the “Magna Carta” of American cookie recipes – the Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookies.
The initial creator of the recipe was Ruth Graves Wakefield – and she sold her secret to NESTLÉ® for a life-time supply of chocolate. The recipe had become so popular with Americans; NESTLÉ® began to manufacture NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Morsels.
Hundreds of cookie types exist. There is the sugar cookie, Nabisco’s OREO™, triple chocolate cookie, M&M’s® cookie, chocolate chip, oatmeal and oatmeal raisin, snicker doodle, peanut butter, amongst many others. To further add to classifying cookies, the chocolate chip cookie can be classified into three variations. These variations are defined by the texture or appearance of the cookie.
The Thin cookie, as the name suggests, is flat. Its texture is usually crisp around the edges, and depending on the baking time, the center may be crisp or soft. For such a cookie to bake properly, the batter (which is dropped onto the baking sheet) must spread prior to setting. This requires the better to have a fat which melts at a sharp and low temperature. The less moisture that can accumulate during the mixing or baking process will reduce the amount of steam needed for batters to rise.
The Puffy cookie is light and airy. The consistency is more related to a cake than any of the other variations. The cookies produced using puffy recipes are usually small in diameter and tall in height. Contrary to The Thin, puffy cookies require steam build up in order to acquire the aerated texture. The proteins of egg whites tend to puff when agitated, similar to the foam produced when whipping egg whites for meringues, soufflés, mousses, and chiffon.
The Chewy is obviously chewy in texture. Usually flat, the chewy cookies have a texture that gives the true American chocolate chip cookie. It is the texture imagined when biting into the warm, fresh baked delights grandmother makes. This method requires a lot of moisture in a wet batter, which does not set like that of its puffy counterpart. Adding more brown sugar to the batter is the best way to yield high moisture content, as it absorbs water from the air even after the baking process.
Writing has never been one of my strong points and I have always experienced writer’s block. A major cause for this is the assignment of writing on a particular topic or using styles which I am uncomfortable. With blog posts, I am able to write about any subject without limit. This eliminates one of the factors writer’s block, but there are still other contributors.
An issue I have had for many years is taking ideas and molding them onto paper. I become greatly distracted and sometimes attempt to evade the assignment. Either that or I try to manipulate my writing to avoid answer the question and changing the initial topic. Sometimes, I may even take the topic and provide an extensive amount of research and background information.
For example, in the quick-write “I do, I have, I am,” the question is what do you think Steinberg is getting across? Instead of analyzing the meaning of the art, I described the painting in great detail. I explained the use of laws of perspective, the use of certain colors and textures, the positioning of specific aspects. But in the end, I failed to mention any thought of Steinberg’s message.
How did I overcome writer’s block? Simple: I wrote about topics that appealed to me and used a linear method of writing. With the exclusion of mandatory posts, most of my blogs are about science.
Once I began talking about science, the thread of science-related blogs continued. Thereafter, I had limited issues with writer’s block on my blog; of course I still had issues with other writing assignments. Because of the volume of research available for topics of my blog, many times I would continue my post from previous weeks by adding more information. I would always have an available topic in which I was interested to explore in my blog without the need to brainstorm for new ideas. This is not to say that writer’s block was cured.
There was still the issue of putting ideas into text. Sometimes this task is as easy as taking a resource and paraphrasing its text in a way which is non-plagiaristic and/or simplifying the text such that it is easier to read and understand.
In The Basics of Science, I dedicated a half-hour of research searching through old textbooks, notes, and the internet to find the most accurate and precise information to educate the views. I also spent additional time ensuring several words from the Academic Vocabulary List were incorporated to fulfill that week’s blog post requirement. Although not exactly writer’s block, it is a level in which thoughts are transcribed or ‘translations’ of the texts decelerate the momentum.
There are other occasions when I need to compose some aspects of the blog – like the analogies.
One analogy is a favorite of my English teacher. It compares the difference of mass in large marbles and small marbles to the mass of kosher salt and standard table salt.
… Cooking with kosher salts can cause a slight problem.[…]Consider the
following: Two jars of equal volume are filled with marbles of similar density
[…]. The first jar is filled to the rim with small marbles, the latter with
large marbles. […] would you expect them to be equal in weight? No. Because the
second jar is filled with larger marbles there is more room between the marbles,
and therefore less weight compared to the more compact smaller marbles.The same
principle can be applied to kosher salt and plain table salt. Because there is
more room between the grains of kosher compared to grains of plain table salt in
1 unit, there is technically less salt mass in 1 cup of kosher.
In the end, writing with comfortable styles and knowledgeable topics (and also subjects you take interest) are the best defenses against writer’s block. The patterns I notice associated with writer’s block involve the lack in motivation and sometimes background knowledge required in some styles of writing.
Blog Post Analysis: The Thin
My most recent blog post The Thin featured a question I posted on a previous post. On “Cooking – More than fun” from 2009 October, one of the questions is: “How do variations in the proportions of ingredients affect a final product of food? “ I answered this question by using science – mainly chemistry. In order to modify a chocolate chip cookie recipe, I would need to acquire a recipe. I used the “Magna Carta” of American cookie recipes – the Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookies.
The initial creator of the recipe was Ruth Graves Wakefield – and she sold her secret to NESTLÉ® for a life-time supply of chocolate. The recipe had become so popular with Americans; NESTLÉ® began to manufacture NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Morsels.
Hundreds of cookie types exist. There is the sugar cookie, Nabisco’s OREO™, triple chocolate cookie, M&M’s® cookie, chocolate chip, oatmeal and oatmeal raisin, snicker doodle, peanut butter, amongst many others. To further add to classifying cookies, the chocolate chip cookie can be classified into three variations. These variations are defined by the texture or appearance of the cookie.
The Thin cookie, as the name suggests, is flat. Its texture is usually crisp around the edges, and depending on the baking time, the center may be crisp or soft. For such a cookie to bake properly, the batter (which is dropped onto the baking sheet) must spread prior to setting. This requires the better to have a fat which melts at a sharp and low temperature. The less moisture that can accumulate during the mixing or baking process will reduce the amount of steam needed for batters to rise.
The Puffy cookie is light and airy. The consistency is more related to a cake than any of the other variations. The cookies produced using puffy recipes are usually small in diameter and tall in height. Contrary to The Thin, puffy cookies require steam build up in order to acquire the aerated texture. The proteins of egg whites tend to puff when agitated, similar to the foam produced when whipping egg whites for meringues, soufflés, mousses, and chiffon.
The Chewy is obviously chewy in texture. Usually flat, the chewy cookies have a texture that gives the true American chocolate chip cookie. It is the texture imagined when biting into the warm, fresh baked delights grandmother makes. This method requires a lot of moisture in a wet batter, which does not set like that of its puffy counterpart. Adding more brown sugar to the batter is the best way to yield high moisture content, as it absorbs water from the air even after the baking process.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Writing Groups
Blog 2010.01.13
Writing Groups –
There are four questions that have been asked concerning ‘writing groups’ and its effectiveness.
1. What are some things you would like to get out of writing more collaboratively with peers?
2. What are some things you'd be willing to contribute to a writing group?
3. Is it more important to you to work with friends, or with people who are writing the same types of things you are? Explain why.
4. What are some “rules” (or guidelines) you would like to see in a writing group?
Question 01: Things you would like to get out of writing collaboratively
Understand that writing collaboratively provides more accurate proofreading and editing (as opposed to reading one’s own writing). In this sense, we both reinforce our own knowledge in addition to receiving different perspectives on enhanced vocabulary, proper (or concise) grammar, accurate syntax, and formal conventions. Collaboration avoids writers’ block by giving the opportunity to communicate one’s topic and discuss his opinion. Collaborating increases the diversity of input, which can validly produce a prose with wide range of information.
Question 02: Things you would be willing to contribute to a writing group
Being a member of a community, from a community of a small group activity to a community of residents in a neighborhood, requires participation and contribution that is essential to make the best production of one’s time. Although I think of contributing in a writing group to be proofreading and editing an essay of one’s peers, contribution can come in many forms. He may provide topic on which to write. He may comment on the ideas of someone else (or constructively criticize). He may provide insight on the topic to move a conversation.
Question 03: Work with friends or work with associates…?
Working amongst one’s friends is always comfortable. For the most part, friends will be willing to contribute on one’s writing. However, friends are also a major distraction – especially when a topic of interest sparks. When collaborative development evolves into casual chat, a line should be drawn to mark a professional exchange to a social conversation. Working with associates (that is, those people who are partners – working with topics or styles in similarity) limits the amount of diversity in any one topic. Nevertheless, they can perfect their own specific style of writing which they share and meld ideas that all members of the writing group can understand. In the end, which is better: friends or associates? Truly, only the Zen Art of balance can effectively produce a study group. There is a shared interest, but not all the members can become socially disassociated from the group as a whole – assuming the outlying members maintain order.
Question 04: Guidelines or Principles
Guidelines are the key to any stable establishment. They provide order and direction. In a writing group, what guidelines should be in effect? Initially, the predetermined rules may (in the end) seem to be unproductive. Thus, the ability to alter the guidelines after settlement is crucially important. As far as I am aware, writing groups can only be beneficial if members actively participate to his fullest extent. It is respectable that one has no input (albeit unlikely) on a particular text. When group discussions (if any) are recognized by the floor, basic principles of respect would be appropriate. There will be order. If at any time the principles are unclear, they are to be reported for consultation.
Writing Groups –
There are four questions that have been asked concerning ‘writing groups’ and its effectiveness.
1. What are some things you would like to get out of writing more collaboratively with peers?
2. What are some things you'd be willing to contribute to a writing group?
3. Is it more important to you to work with friends, or with people who are writing the same types of things you are? Explain why.
4. What are some “rules” (or guidelines) you would like to see in a writing group?
Question 01: Things you would like to get out of writing collaboratively
Understand that writing collaboratively provides more accurate proofreading and editing (as opposed to reading one’s own writing). In this sense, we both reinforce our own knowledge in addition to receiving different perspectives on enhanced vocabulary, proper (or concise) grammar, accurate syntax, and formal conventions. Collaboration avoids writers’ block by giving the opportunity to communicate one’s topic and discuss his opinion. Collaborating increases the diversity of input, which can validly produce a prose with wide range of information.
Question 02: Things you would be willing to contribute to a writing group
Being a member of a community, from a community of a small group activity to a community of residents in a neighborhood, requires participation and contribution that is essential to make the best production of one’s time. Although I think of contributing in a writing group to be proofreading and editing an essay of one’s peers, contribution can come in many forms. He may provide topic on which to write. He may comment on the ideas of someone else (or constructively criticize). He may provide insight on the topic to move a conversation.
Question 03: Work with friends or work with associates…?
Working amongst one’s friends is always comfortable. For the most part, friends will be willing to contribute on one’s writing. However, friends are also a major distraction – especially when a topic of interest sparks. When collaborative development evolves into casual chat, a line should be drawn to mark a professional exchange to a social conversation. Working with associates (that is, those people who are partners – working with topics or styles in similarity) limits the amount of diversity in any one topic. Nevertheless, they can perfect their own specific style of writing which they share and meld ideas that all members of the writing group can understand. In the end, which is better: friends or associates? Truly, only the Zen Art of balance can effectively produce a study group. There is a shared interest, but not all the members can become socially disassociated from the group as a whole – assuming the outlying members maintain order.
Question 04: Guidelines or Principles
Guidelines are the key to any stable establishment. They provide order and direction. In a writing group, what guidelines should be in effect? Initially, the predetermined rules may (in the end) seem to be unproductive. Thus, the ability to alter the guidelines after settlement is crucially important. As far as I am aware, writing groups can only be beneficial if members actively participate to his fullest extent. It is respectable that one has no input (albeit unlikely) on a particular text. When group discussions (if any) are recognized by the floor, basic principles of respect would be appropriate. There will be order. If at any time the principles are unclear, they are to be reported for consultation.
Friday, January 8, 2010
The Thin
My first Blog on cooking listed many, many questions on the science of cooking. One of the questions I want to answer is: How do variations in the proportions of ingredients affect a final product of a food?
Consider the chocolate-chip cookie: America’s second favorite cookie only preceded by Nabisco’s Oreo™ Cookie.
As long as you can obtain a good, solid chocolate-chip cookie recipe and you have the customization know-how, you can bake almost any ‘style’ of cookie by modifying the ingredients and its proportions to yield the desired result.
There are three ‘styles’ of chocolate-chip cookie: the thin, the puffy, and the chewy (personally, I like the chewy).
First it is necessary to obtain a recipe:
Original Nestlé® Toll House® Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 cups All purpose flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Butter (softened)
3/4 cup Granulated sugar
3/4 cup Brown sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 large Eggs
2 cups Semi-sweet chocolate morsels
The Thin:
Thin, crisp cookies need to be able to spread easily after being deposited on the cookie sheet.
Consider the eggs. Because eggs tend to "puff" when baked, replacing one egg with 2 oz. of milk would reduce puffing (which would be desired for ‘the puffy’) and promote spreading.
Nothing affects the texture of a cookie more than the melting characteristics of its fat. Butter has a sharp melting point (i.e. the temperature at which the solid butter becomes liquid is a specific, narrow range) that is low. Because it melts at a relatively low temperature, the butter will melt before the batter starts to set up. This melting will spread the better to produce the thin cookie we desire.
Although the fat is very crucial, it needs not to be modified.
Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate NaHCO3) is an alkali – that is, a compound which has a pH greater than 7. By adding additional baking soda, the pH of the batter rises – becoming slightly more alkaline. This change in pH is enough to raise the temperature for the cookie to set. This higher temperature provides more time for the cookie to spread before it sets.
So, the next time you take that bite (or shove down your mouth) of a cookie, think about its texture – is it thin, puffy, or chewy? What ingredients could the baker have used to make your dessert? With that note…I bid you good eating.
Consider the chocolate-chip cookie: America’s second favorite cookie only preceded by Nabisco’s Oreo™ Cookie.
As long as you can obtain a good, solid chocolate-chip cookie recipe and you have the customization know-how, you can bake almost any ‘style’ of cookie by modifying the ingredients and its proportions to yield the desired result.
There are three ‘styles’ of chocolate-chip cookie: the thin, the puffy, and the chewy (personally, I like the chewy).
First it is necessary to obtain a recipe:
Original Nestlé® Toll House® Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 cups All purpose flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Butter (softened)
3/4 cup Granulated sugar
3/4 cup Brown sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 large Eggs
2 cups Semi-sweet chocolate morsels
The Thin:
Thin, crisp cookies need to be able to spread easily after being deposited on the cookie sheet.
Consider the eggs. Because eggs tend to "puff" when baked, replacing one egg with 2 oz. of milk would reduce puffing (which would be desired for ‘the puffy’) and promote spreading.
Nothing affects the texture of a cookie more than the melting characteristics of its fat. Butter has a sharp melting point (i.e. the temperature at which the solid butter becomes liquid is a specific, narrow range) that is low. Because it melts at a relatively low temperature, the butter will melt before the batter starts to set up. This melting will spread the better to produce the thin cookie we desire.
Although the fat is very crucial, it needs not to be modified.
Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate NaHCO3) is an alkali – that is, a compound which has a pH greater than 7. By adding additional baking soda, the pH of the batter rises – becoming slightly more alkaline. This change in pH is enough to raise the temperature for the cookie to set. This higher temperature provides more time for the cookie to spread before it sets.
So, the next time you take that bite (or shove down your mouth) of a cookie, think about its texture – is it thin, puffy, or chewy? What ingredients could the baker have used to make your dessert? With that note…I bid you good eating.
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