First Trial (Tracy)

FIRST TRIAL

How does buttering and coating the ramekin with sugar affect the height of soufflé?

Before cooking...

What?

Ingredients: unsalted butter, sugar, eggs, cake flour, milk, vanilla extract

Tools: electric whisker, bowls, butter brush, plastic spatula, electronic scale, oven, sieve, saucepan

Who?

I do the shopping and cooking. 

Where?

I buy all the ingredients from baking material shop. I got all the tools at home so no need to buy. 

When?

I do the experiment on 18, 19th March. 

Why?

By doing this experiment, I can investigate how buttering and coating the ramekin with sugar affect the height of soufflé. Also, to compare the results of buttering and coating sugar on the ramekin and without it.

How? 

I will make 4 soufflés with (1)only butter, (2)only sugar, (3)butter&sugar, (4)without butter/sugar. This can help me to compare the result of each soufflé and shows the importance of buttering and coating sugar on the ramekin. 

Independent Variables	Dependent Variable	Controlled Variables
l      Soufflé ramekin       - only butter       - only sugar       - butter&sugar       - NO butter/sugar	l   The height and fluffiness of soufflé	l      The amount of butter and sugar coverage in the ramekin l       Brand of all ingredients (butter, sugar, eggs, milk, cake flour, vanilla extract) l     The amount of other ingredients  l      Speed of mixing the ingredients l      Speed of beating egg whites l      Time of beating egg whites (until stiff peaks) l      Speed and time of mixing all the ingredients and egg whites l      Baking time l      Temperature of oven l       Volume of soufflé mixture in each ramekin l       Size of each ramekin

While cooking...

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C. 
2. Butter the ramekins and sprinkle some sugar into each. Place in freezer. 
3. Separate whites from yolks and set aside until ready to use. 
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, the flour, until it forms a smooth batter. 
5. In a saucepan, scald the milk, unsalted butter and vanilla extract over medium heat. Remove from heat when everything is melted.                                    
6. Slowly whisk the hot milk into the batter. Keep stirring to combine all the ingredients. 
7. Pour the mixture into the saucepan. Cook and stir the mixture with low heat until it has thickened. Remove from heat and let it cool until lukewarm.                    
8. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed. Add sugar at a few times. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. 
9. Pour half of the whipped egg whites into the batter at a time. Gradually fold and mix them well.
10. Divide the mixture evenly into four ramekins. Rub your thumb around the inside of the rim to create some space between the ramekin and the mixture. This will help the soufflé to rise straight. 
11. Place the ramekins into a baking tray and bake at 190°C for 10 minutes and at 180°C for 5 minutes. 
12. Sprinkle powdered sugar on each soufflé and serve immediately. 

          

After cooking...

Analysis
1. Result
The height between each soufflé was not obvious which shows that butter&sugar the ramekin does not affect much. However, the soufflé that butter and sugar the ramekin performed well and it was the tallest among those soufflés.

2. Trend/pattern/correlation between the soufflé ramekin(IV) and the height and fluffiness of soufflé(DV)
Filling the soufflé ramekin with butter and sugar did not influence much on the height of soufflé. The butter supposedly helps the soufflé mixture slide up the side as it expands, making the soufflé much easier to detach from the dish. For the sugar, it makes a nice brown crust. As a result, soufflés made in unbuttered ramekins can still rise high.


Limitations/errors
After doing the experiments, I found that placing the ramekin in different position in the oven performed differently. The temperature was uneven which directly affected the height of soufflé. Also, I think this topic is hard to investigate it deeply as there are not much scientific rationale to support.


Improvement
In order to get an accurate result for my next experiment, I should only bake 1-2 soufflé at once and place it in the same position. Plus, it is better for me to change to another topic as I was wondering how the soufflé be like if I place it in room temperature for a long period of time.

Reference
Cooking Tree. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJYvg1NhzMQ&t=342s.
Leiths School of food and wine. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.leiths.com/how-tos/how-to-whisk-egg-whites.
Hargittai, B. (2015). Culture of Chemistry: The Best Articles on the Human Side of 20th-Century Chemistry from the Archives of the Chemical Intelligencer. New York: Springer. 
Medrich, A. (2017). Cocolat: Extraordinary Chocolate Desserts. New York: Dover Publications, INC. 

First Experiment (Kristy)

Before the Experiment...

Who?

Kristy from Group 17

What?

To test whether the amount the sugar added to the egg whites affects the height of the soufflé. The research hypothesis is that when a greater amount of sugar is added to the egg whites, the souffle would rise taller.

Where?

Kristy's home.

I have all the ingredients except egg at home so I bought some eggs from the supermarket.

I have all the tools at home.

When?

In four experiments, add a different amount of sugar while whisking the egg whites.

In each experiment, make sure the time of beating the egg is the same.

The height of the soufflé will be measured immediately after removing out from the oven.

Why?

To find out if the amount of sugar added to the egg whites affects the height of the souffle.

How?

Making soufflé according to the recipe. Measure the height of the souffle with a ruler. 

Independent Variable	Dependent Variables	Controlled Variables
Amount of sugar added to the egg whites	The height of the soufflé	Amount of all ingredients, source of all ingredients, beating speed of egg yolk and egg white, beating time of egg yolk and egg white, size of ramekins, amount of batter poured into ramekins, baking time and baking temperature

Ingredients:

1 tsp butter (for brushing ramekins)

2 tbsp caster sugar (for coating ramekins)

10g bread flour

80g milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

1 egg white

20g caster sugar

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven at 180‎°C.
2. With a pastry brush, grease the ramekins with softened butter in upward strokes (this will help the soufflé rise evenly). 
3. Coat the ramekins in caster sugar and keep the prepared ramekins in the fridge to set (this will help the butter to solidify) until ready to use.
4. Whisk egg yolk with caster sugar until even.
5. Add vanilla extract into the milk. Heat the milk in a small pan over low heat to a simmer (just when it starts bubbling around the edges). Remove it from heat. 
6. Add flour and stir until thickened. Let cool and add egg yolk mixture. Mix well.
7. Whisk the egg white until foamy. Add 20g caster sugar little by little. Whisk until the egg white becomes stiff. Scrape out 1/3 egg white with a plastic spatula and combine with the egg yolk batter.
8. Pour egg yolk batter in 2 or 3 smaller portions into whisked egg white. Mix well swiftly with a spatula.
9. Pour into cups until each cup is 90% full.
10. Bake in the oven in a tray with water at 180°C for 25 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Results

 (Height of the souffle: 6.2cm)

The souffle made are very short. This can make the experiment results not obvious to tell the difference between experiments. I would say this trail is a fail and I may consider changing the recipe later. The souffle falls down very quickly. The souffle has a shallow structure too.


Limitations/ errors
Using a ruler to measure the height of the souffle can be quite inaccurate as the height of the ramekin is counted in too. Also, I only filled up 80% of the ramekin and there could be a difference in the amount of batter poured into the ramekins. The little amount of batter poured in also contributes to the short height of the souffle.


Improvements to be made
In the next experiments, I will use a bamboo stick to insert into the souffle to measure its height to prevent possible errors. Also, I will fill the ramekin to around 90% full as to make sure the amount of batter poured in the ramekins are all the same. I will also measure the time used to beat the eggs and the egg whites in the experiments to make them controlled. 

First Experiment (Cathy)

Name: Tsang Tung Yee, Cathy                             UID: 3035690517

Research question: How does the temperature of egg white affect the fluffiness of souffle?

Before cooking:

1. What?
1.1 What ingredients and equipment need?

Ingredients: Butter, sugar, milk, eggs, cake flour (from left to right)

Equipment:
- electronic balance, oven, ramekins, electric mixer (from left to right):

- frying pan, bowls, cups (from left to right in the back)
  sieve, plastic spatula, knife, ruler (from left to right in the front)

- Cooking pot, kitchen thermometer, double lock bag (from left to right) (these are the equipment used for making the water bath for egg white)

-brush (for greasing and coating the ramekins)

1.2 What is the hypothesis?

My hypothesis is that ‘the height of souffle increases as temperature increase, however, after optimal temperature is reached, the height of souffle decrease when the temperature further increase’. This hypothesis is based on the websites, which suggest that egg whites reach greater volume (and hence fluffier) when they are beaten at room temperature than refrigerated temperature. Another website further suggest that high temperature is unfavorable for making fluffy souffle. Since websites are commonly regarded as a less trustable source, this experiment aims at investigating whether there is a valid link between temperature of egg white and the fluffiness of souffle.

The independent variable is the temperature of the egg white before whisking. As temperature increase, surface tension decrease, this low air-to-liquid interfacial tension facilitates the attachment of hydrophilic part of protein to water and the hydrophobic part to air, result in the formation of air bubbles (foam), which expands upon baking and make the souffle rise, thus causing the increase in height of the souffle. In addition, it is suggested that under high temperature, too many bonds will be formed between egg white protein molecules, which reduces the formation of air bubble and hence causing a decrease in souffles’ height. Therefore, it is shown that temperature of the egg white affects the height of the souffles, which is the dependent variable of this experiment. The height of the souffle is used as a quantifiable indicator of the fluffiness of souffle. This is because the more the air bubble inside the souffles, the greater the increase in souffles’ height during thermal expansion under baking, which contributes to souffles fluffiness.

For the controlled variables, the amount and brand of all the ingredients, the time and strength for same heating and mixing process in different sets, the way in greasing and coating the ramekins, the amount of souffle mixture added in each ramekin, the positions in which ramekins are put in the oven and the immediate measurement of the souffles’ height  have to remain identical.

Independent variable, dependent variable and controlled variables summarized in a table:

Independent variable	Dependent variable	Controlled variables
- temperature in which the egg white is stored before whisking. (0 °C, 10 °C, 20 °C, 30 °C, 40 °C, 50 °C, 60 °C, 70 °C and 80 °C)	- the height of the souffle, which implies the fluffiness of the souffle.	- brand of all ingredients (butter, sugar, milk, egg and cake flour). - volume and the amount of all ingredients (butter, sugar, milk, egg and cake flour). - speed of whisking the egg white by electric mixer. - time of whisking the egg white by electric mixer. - the length of baking time. - the temperature of the oven used. - the fire temperature of the stove used. - time for mixing the cake flour in the stove. - time for mixing the egg yolk mixture. - time for mixing the egg yolk and egg white mixture. - the volume of souffle mixture in each ramekin. - the amount of butter used for greasing each ramekin. - the amount of sugar used for coating each ramekin. - the length of time in which the egg white is stored under different temperature. - the position in which the ramekins are put in the oven. - the time to measure the height of souffle after baking is completed.

2. Who?

2.1 Who do the shopping, cooking?

I (Cathy from group 17) will do the shopping, pay for the ingredients needed and cook all those nine sets of souffle.

2.2 Who do the measurement?

I will take part in the measurement to reduce measurement error that due to inconsistent measurement methods that may arise if I ask my mum for help. I will do the measurement quickly as the souffle will quickly deflate once it is removed from the hot oven. 

3. Where?
3.1 Where to obtain ingredients, equipment and tools?

Ingredients are bought in local supermarket while equipment and tools are bought in both bakery store and JHC.

 3.2 Where to cook?

I cook in the kitchen at my home.

4. When? _ When to start cooking?

Cooking starts at the 20^th March, 2020.

5. Why? _ Why is this investigation important?

This investigation is important as it aims at finding the best temperature of the egg white for making the fluffiest (highest) souffle. This best temperature obtained is craved by people as this increases their opportunities for baking fluffy souffles successfully.

6. How?

In each set, 4 souffles are baked. In total, there are nine sets of souffle, in which the temperature of the egg white (before whisking) range from 0°C to 80°C at every 10°C interval, that is, (0°C, 10°C, 20°C, 30°C, 40°C, 50°C, 60°C, 70°C and 80°C). Once baking is completed, measure the height of souffle quickly by a ruler and record them. If the height of souffles are not within the range of plus or minus 0.5 cm, it will be eliminated and viewed as error. Then, calculate the average height of each set of souffle. Eventually, a graph that shows ‘How does the temperature of egg white (x-axis) affect the height of souffle (y-axis)?’ will be shown to show under which temperature of the egg white will the highest souffle be produced.

 

While cooking:

Step 1: Separate the egg yolks from egg white.

Step 2: Pour the egg white into a double lock bag and then put it into a water bath. Photo graph below shows the water bath of 20°C.

       

Step 3: Use the electronic balance to precisely measure the weight of different ingredients.

    

Step 4: Brush butter and sugar for greasing and coating the ramekins respectively.

Step 5: Bring milk, sugar and butter to simmer for 2 minutes.

                                         

Step 6: Sift in cake flour to the mixture. Blend while sifting in the flour. Stop blending when no cake flour granule remains.

Step 7: Add egg yolk to the mixture and mix it for 1 minute.

 

Step 8: When the egg white reach thermal equilibrium with its surrounding water, pour the egg white into another bowl and add sugar into it.

The photo below shows the egg white in different temperature:

[first column:      0°C, 10°C, 20°C from left to right]

[second column: 30°C, 40°C, 50°C from left to right]

[third column:     60°C, 70°C, 80°C from left to right]

Step 9: Whisk the egg white for 3 minutes.

 

Step 10: Mix 1/3 of the egg white mixture to the egg yolk mixture.

Step 11: Pour the above egg yolk and egg white mixture and mix them for 1.5 minutes.

Step 12: By using an electronic balance, add 20g of mixture into each ramekin.

Step 13: Bake the souffle in the oven at 180°C for 16 minutes.

 Step 14: Repeat the whole experiment and change only the temperature of the water bath in step 2. 

Video clips showing the making of one set of experiment:

 

(I am sorry for the instability of the videoes)

After cooking:

The height of the souffles are measured by using a ruler once the oven dings. The measured height is then typed on the computer. 

 

Temperature of the egg white  (before whisking)	The appearance of the souffle  (after baking for 16 minutes)	Measurement method
0°C		Ruler outside the ramekins
10°C		Ruler outside the ramekins
20°C		Ruler outside the ramekins
30°C		Ruler outside the ramekins
40°C		Ruler outside the ramekins
50°C		Ruler outside the ramekins
60°C		Ruler inside the ramekins
70°C		Ruler inside the ramekins
80°C		Ruler inside the ramekins

Preliminary trial result

The temperature of egg white before whisking (°C) [INDEPENDENT variable]	Height of the souffles (cm) [DEPENDENT variable]	Average height of the souffles (cm)
0°C	5.8, 5.8, 6.0, 6.2	5.950
10°C	5.8, 5.8, 6.1, 6.2	5.975
20°C	3.5, 3.5, 3.5, 3.8 (original trial) 6.1, 6.2, 6.5, 6.5 (repeated one)	6.325 (repeated one)
30°C	5.0, 5.1, 5.6, 5.8 (original trial) 6.3, 6.5, 6.5, 6.7 (repeated one)	6.500 (repeated one)
40°C	7.3, 7.3, 7.4, 7.6	7.400
50°C	4.9, 5.0, 5.1, 5.3	5.075
60°C	1.4, 1.8, 1.8, 1.8	1.700
70°C	0.8, 0.9, 0.9, 1.0	0.900
80°C	0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 0.9	0.825

Visualization of trial result (graph titled "Effect of temperature of egg white on the average height of souffles")

Correlation between independent variable (x-axis) and dependent variable (y-axis):

The experimental results fulfill my hypothesis of ‘the height of souffle increases as temperature increase, however, after optimal temperature is reached, the height of souffle decrease when the temperature further increase’. As shown in the graph above, when temperature of egg white increase from 0°C to 40°C, the average height of souffles increases from around 6cm to over 7cm, a positive correlation between temperature of egg white and average height of souffles is shown. However, as temperature of egg white increases from 40°C to 80°C, the average height of souffles decrease drastically from over 7cm to below 1cm, a negative correlation is shown.From the graph, 40°C seems to be the temperature in which the higher souffle is produced. However, a further experiment that are conducted with smaller temperature interval (for example,1°C between the temperature rang of 20°C and 40°C) should be used to determine the best temperature more accurately.

Problems identified and its corresponding improvements:

1. The temperature of water bath is inconsistent as there is constant heat loss to the surrounding. As a result, I have to heat it again and again to maintain the experimental temperature. Although I have use thermometer to measure the temperature of egg white before whisking, these interruption may still affect the accuracy of the result. For further improvement, a larger volume of water can be used for the water bath and insulators like plastic box can be used for holding the water bath.

2. The measurement of souffles' height using a ruler is fine if the souffle rises above the ramekin. However, for temperature like 80°C, the souffle stay inside the souffle and I can only 'dip' the ruler to measure the height, measurement error may arise. Therefore, to improve it, I may use a bamboo stick to measure the height of souffle and record it by a marker, such that I can maintain a consistent measurement method throughout the entire experiment.

3. During the recording of videos (by my friend) and short clips (by myself), errors occur as I am nervous and distracted. As a result, errors occur, for example, in the video, I accidentally forget to add sugar into the egg white and pour some souffle mixture out of the ramekins. As a result, the experiments set of 20°C and 30°C has been repeated to find the 'normal' average height.

Reference:

https://www.preparedfoods.com/articles/112210-creating-egg-white-foams