Background Yogurt is a fermented dairy product made with live healthy bacteria, specifically Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. The bacteria convert lactose in the milk to lactic acid. The acid causes the denaturation of milk proteins resulting in curdling and thickening of the product. Materials Whole milk Instant dry milk Plain yogurt 8-oz mason jars Water bath […]
Objective To determine the total lipids in food samples Background Many processed foods contain added fats and oils. We call these fats and oils, lipids. Lipids that are solid at room temperature are fats and those that are liquid at room temperature are oils. Lipids provide us with 9 calories of energy per gram. They […]
Objective To determine if there is any difference in lactose content between whole milk, 1%, 2%, and skimmed milk. Background Milk products are marketed based on the amount of fat present i.e.,whole milk, 1%, 2% milk, and skimmed milk. However, people who drink milk give very little attention to the lactose content in milk. Lactose […]
Objective To compare physical properties (mass, volume, and length) of bean market classes. Introduction In this lab you will learn how to collect scientific data and how to organize and present them so that they can be easily understood and interpreted. You will be given market classes of beans to compare their mass, volume, and […]
Microscopes are instruments used to magnify very small objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye. In this lab, you will get familiar with the parts of the microscope and how to use it to view microscopic organisms larger than bacteria. We will observe bacteria in the next lab which will require using an […]
What is Gram Staining? This Gram staining lab is a method developed by the Danish Scientist Hans Christian Gram in 1884 to distinguish two types of bacteria based on the structure of their cell wall. Gram-positive bacteria stain purple because of its thick peptidoglycan layer in the cell wall. Gram-negative bacteria will stain pink due […]
Hypothesis: A proposed explanation based on limited evidence. It is also called an intelligent guess. You use this guess as a basis to do a further investigation. Population: The entire set of subjects or materials that you want to investigate Sample: A part of the population that you will investigate. The sample must be a […]
Microbial analysis is used in the food industry to determine the microbial content of foods and as a verification, measurement to determine the adequacy of cleaning and sanitation. Common tests that you will encounter include the following. Aerobic Plate Count (APC): This test is also called aerobic colony count, standard plate count (SPC) and total […]
You may be required to write up your food science lab in a research paper format. This will give you great practice in preparing to write and publish scientific peer-reviewed articles. Here is an outline I have created for you showing the basic elements of a research paper and their purpose. Title A Few Words […]
