January 20 - Cheese Tasting

We tasted 12 different kinds of cheese today.  I do not like cheese that much, and many of the cheeses that we tasted, I did not like.  It was interesting to see all the different kinds of cheese because they were so different from what we normally see in the stores.

Vermont Butter & Cheese Co’s Crème Fraiche

Smell – It smelled like sour cream and very creamy

Taste – It tasted pretty much like sour cream to me except more fresh.

Dancing Goat Creamery’s Cream Cheese

Smell – It smell like cream.

Taste – It had a sour and tangy taste.  It tasted like cheesecake to me.

Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog

Smell – It had a very weak smell.

Taste – It had a dry, creamy taste to it.  It did not taste that good to me. 

Berthaut Epoisses

Smell – It smelled very gross and it was very strong.

Taste – It tasted really gross too. It had a burnt, smokey taste .

Capriole Mont

Smell – It smelled like Swiss Cheese.

Taste – It has a pungent taste to it.  It was really strong, but it did not taste that bad.

Dancing Goat’s Merze Tate

Smell – It smelled sour.

Taste – It had a very mild taste.  It tasted like Mozzarella.

Roth Kase Buttermilk Blue

Smell – It had a very strong smell. It did not smell good at all.

Taste – It was very strong and sour.  It did not taste good.

Castellano

Smell – It had a very weak smell.

Taste – It was dry. It kind of tasted like parmesan cheese.  It was a lot less sour then the others

Dancing Goat’s Effie Mills

Smell – It smelled like fresh mushrooms to me

Taste – It tasted creamy and kind of like mushrooms.

Cashel Blue

Smell – It smelled very strong. It smelled like cows.

Taste – It tasted very gross. It was gritty and very strong.

Isle of Mull

Smell – It had a weak smell.

Taste – It has a sharp pungent taste to it and was very strong. 

Alpine Cheese

Smell – It smelled like Swiss cheese.

Taste – It was very strong. It was a very dry cheese.  It tasted kind of like Swiss cheese.  

January 20 - How to make Cheese?

What is Rennet?

It was discovered when they use to store milk in the stomachs of goats. The milk would then begin to curdle in the bag.  They discovered this as a way to preserve milk. They also noticed that they could separate the curds and whey, and they could dry out the curds.  They discovered that the most active portion of the young animal’s stomach was the abomasums, which caused the curdling. They then cut this sections of the stomach into strips and would add it to the milk to cause it to turn into curds and whey.  It is now produced by genetically engineered bacteria, which has the gene for this enzyme inserted into it. 

Why add salt?

Salt slows down the aging process.

Swiss cheese is soaked in salt water to conserve, hardened and intensify its taste

The salt adds flavor, aids in further expulsion of whey, and helps with preservation. (http://www.rickandlynne.com/cheese/process/index.html#salting)

How long does it take cheese to age?

For fresh cheese, it will be ready to eat the next day.  For Blue cheeses, Brie, and Camembert, it takes about 30-50 days.  For a hard cheese, it takes a few months.  (http://www.thecheesemaker.com/FreqAskedQues.htm)

For Swiss cheese, it will take about 6 months for the cheese to age and is flipped often during the process so it ages evenly.  The pieces are then placed on its side.  The cheese will be good for at least 10 years. 

Aroma’s in Cheddar Cheese

• Acetaldehyde
• Acetic acid
• n-Butanol
• Furanone
• Guaiacol
• n-Pentanoic acid

January 19 - Salsa

This is the recipe that we used to make the salsa. We kind of made it up as we went along; adding things that we thought needed to be added. 

1 can of tomato

1 whole tomato

¼ onion

2 cloves of garlic

¼ of a green pepper

3 pinches of cilantro

1 pinch of cumin

1 pinch of salt

The salsa that we made turned out really good. It had a strong tomato flavor, but you could also taste the cilantro and pepper. We first tasted it before we put the cumin in, and we knew that something was missing so we put just a little bit in to give it some flavor. 

One of the salsas that I tasted was very hot.  I do not like hot things so that salsa was not very good to me.  One group’s chili was very good. It had like a smokey flavor to it. I could really taste the cumin in it, so if they had used a little bit less of that it would have been perfect. 

January 19 - Chili and Salsa

1. To what family does capsaicin belong?

It belongs to the vanilloids family along with vanillin, eugenol, zingerone, and capsaicin.  They all contain a six-sided hexagonal ring of carbons. 

2. How is capsaicin different from the other molecules in its family?

The compound’s molecular weight is the highest of any of the vanilloids.  The side chain contains a polar amide group, which makes capsaicin’s volatility very low. 

3. Why is drinking water not useful for reducing the burning sensation from eating a chili or food that contains chili? If you feel “hotness” in your mouth, what should you drink? and why?

Capsaicin is insoluble in cold water that is why drinking water does not get rid of the hot sensation.  Drinking a cold beer is the best thing to drink to get rid of the hot sensation.  This is because capsaicin is freely soluble in alcohol and vegetable oils.

4. What is a Scoville Unit?

Scoville heat unite is the dilution sugar water needed to neutralize the heat of the chile.

5. Look up the 3 hottest chili’s according to their Scoville index. Google the names of these chili’s and see if you can find a picture of these chili’s to post on your blog (you may find some in the chili glossary at the above site)

Bhut Jolokia

Dorset Naga

 

Francisca

Read the following sections in the article Recent advances in the study of capsaicinoids and capsinoids (introduction, 2.1-pain relief, 2.2-cancer prevention, 2.3-weight reduction). Article is available on Moodle.

1. Capsinoids are considered less pungent than capsaicinoids. Look up the term “pungent”. What does it mean?

Pungent means to have a sharp, strong taste or smell.

2. Although you can buy creams containing capsaicin, how effective are they at controlling pain according to this article?

Creams containing capsaicin have moderate to poor efficacy for chronic pain. 

3. In table 1, what is the difference in the structure between capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin? What is the difference in the structure between capsaicin and homocapsaicin?

Capsaicin contains a double bond carbon in its carbon chain where dihydrocapsaicin does not. In homocapsicin, the second to last carbon had its carbon tail located at a different position than on capsaicin. 

4. Why is capsaicin considered a “double-edged sword” ? (see section 2.2-cancer prevention).

Capsaicin is believed to have both carcinogenic and chemopreventive properties, so it can treat cancer and it can cause cancer.

5. How is capsaicin related to weight-loss according to section 2.3-weight reduction?

Chili peppers are thought of as a potential food for obesity management. It is reported that capsaicin inhibits obesity by enhancing energy expenditure and reducing body fat accumulation in animal experiments.  

January 18 - Woodland Mall

French Bread
- This is the bread that we made. It was a bit dry and pretty salty.  We had put in 1 tablespoon of salt and it was only suppose to be 1 teaspoon of salt.  The bread was very heavy and dense. It was not like the french bread that we tasted yesterday.

Focaccia Bread
- This bread was very good.  The crust was very soft and buttery.  The bread was very dense and heavy.  This was my favorite bread that I tasted.

Sourdough
- This bread smelled very sour.  It was a very heavy and dense bread. It tasted very sour too. I did not like this bread.  The crust was very hard.  The inside of this bread was a little bit doughy and was the most sour.  

Potato Bread
- It smelled more like a white bread. It was not nearly as dense as the other breads.

Woodland Mall

Macy's
- As soon as we walked in from the mall, we could smell all the perfumes. It was quite strong in that general area, but in the other areas it smelled very fresh. It was very bright throughout all the store.  The main aisles were all tile and they circle the floors.  The clothes are all arranged by similarities and by brand.  The music was quiet but you could still hear it.

Forever 21
- The front of the store was all glass so that you can see into the store. It was very bright throughout the store.  There were two long aisles that lead all the way to the back of the store.  Everything was sorted by colors. The cashiers were in the middle of the store so they were easily accessed from anywhere in the store.  The smell was not very strong, but you can tell it was a flowery smell.  The music was a little bit loud.

Eddie Bouwer
- It smelled very fresh, and natural.  The music was quiet and slower.  Everything was aimed at outdoors, which is the "theme" of the store. They pictures on the wall showed mountains and outdoor scenes. You could hear some nature sounds that played after some songs.  They had big signs all around that advertised sales.  The store was not geared toward a certain gender.

Gymboree
- It did not have a strong smell in the store.  The music that was playing was from the sound of the TV that was playing. The had a TV and seating area for the kids.  It was aimed at wanting the kids to stay in the store so that the parents would not have them distracting them from buying.  All the racks in the store were lower; they were more at a comfortable level for kids.  Everything was in an easy reach for everyone.

Campus Store
- The music was loud and it was pop music that was playing.  There was one main aisle that led down the whole length of the store.  It did not have a distinctive smell in the store.  

I think that stores do use different aromas to entice people to buy their products.  They get people to enter their store and stay longer because it smells good in the store.  People will be interested in the store if there is pleasant smells.  I think that stores do aim at certain genders to be interested in their store.  Stores aimed at females want to use a smell that is flowery. Stores that are aimed at males want to use a smell that is more natural and fresh.   

January 18 - Buy-ology

I have heard of this type of marketing. Most of the stores in the mall use this type of marketing. They have the scent of the perfumes or cologne that they sell in the store.  When you walk in the store that is the first thing that you smell.  I think that it is very effective.  When you smell that, it makes you tempted to buy it if you think it smells good.  I think that it is ethical. It is a type of manipulation, but I think that it is fine to use this as marketing.

Describe one example in which marketers ―created new solutions for busy lifestyles. What do they appeal to in people?

The Apartment store – The lay out of the store is the exact lay out of an apartment. They have everything fully functioning and they aim to get people to buy more then one thing from the store. They have everything that they need in one place. They want people to not just buy one item but buy an entire layout to a room. This appeals to people because they don’t have to go all over, this store had what they need.

How might the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul serve as a model for modern shopping malls? How does the retail chain Lush build on markets like the Grand Bazaar?

Open food stores – The colors and smells excite the senses to get people to buy the product. You need to create an experience for the people to get them to buy the product.  The customer can see the colors, and smell the products. 

Lush was trying to sell fresh cosmetics.  It set up the store to look like open food stores. He was trying to sell the product like food stores.  He made the cosmetics out of fresh products and presented the products like fresh food.   Appealing to our senses get us to buy their products.

How can stores specifically target men or women with music and aromas? Pay attention in particular to this segment, as you will need to reflect on it in class on Tuesday.

Music is becoming the norm in retail stores. The music is aimed at the type of people they want to buy their product. Supermarkets play music aim to slow you down so you buy more of the products.  Smell is now becoming more of a factor because we sense smell faster then the other senses.  It has a major influence on our behavior.  Stores can distinguish itself by using smells.  Stores can use a smell that is aimed at a certain gender. 

Discuss the use of space to encourage people to slow down, see the whole store, and to keep them inside to buy things.

The layout is designed to get you to walk around the entire store.  They use color and light to get them to focus on a certain spot in the store. They want them to see as much of the product as possible. Oasis set up seats and makeup areas to get the customers to slow down.  They want to get people to want to spend time in a place so they stay longer and will spend more money.

Note how the Forum in Las Vegas keeps shoppers inside. If you’re ever inside a casino, note that you will have a hard time finding any clocks.

They manipulate time inside the mall. They change the ceiling from day to night in an hour so that customers do not know what time it is.  People will spend hours at the mall because they do not have any idea of what time it is.  They make time seem like it is never ending.  They want to keep the customers distracted so that they stay longer.  

January 17 - Bread - class

Wealthy Street Bakery

French Bread

This was my favorite bread; it was so delicious. It smelled so fresh.  It was fluffy and airy, but it had a heavy taste to it.  The toast was tough and chewy. 

Healthy Bred – Whole grain

I don’t really like whole grain because of the grains in the bread. This bread was not bad, but I did not like the pieces in it because they were so hard and chewy.  It was very dense and heavy bread.  The crust was very crunchy.

Sourdough

This bread was pretty good. I don’t know if I have had sourdough bread before. It did taste a little bit sour, but it wasn’t too sour.  The bread was very light and airy.

Recipe

We choose to make the Basic French Bread

• Dissolve 1 package dry yeast in ¼ cup warm water and ¼ teaspoon sugar
• Combine 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon margarine, and 1 tablespoon salt in 1 cup boiling water
• Cool to lukewarm and add yeast mixture
• Stir in ~4 cups flour
• Knead for 10 min. or until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl (margarine or olive oil), turning once. Let rise until doubled. Punch down and let rest 15 minutes. On a floured surface, roll to a 12x15” rectangle. Roll up, starting at 15” edge. Place on a greased cookie sheet and make 4 or 5 slashes diagonally across top. Let rise until doubled.
• Mix and brush on 1 egg, beaten and 1 tablespoon milk
• Bake at 400 for 20 minutes

When we first started kneading it, it was hard to get all the flour mixed it. It took a lot of kneading to get it to all stick together.  At first, when you pulled it apart, it felt like you were pulling strings a part. As you kneaded it, it could feel it getting harder and more elastic.  We kneaded it for about 15 minutes, to get it all mixed it and for it to be smooth and elastic. Rachel took it home to bake it.