The Good, The Bad And The m ouldy Essay Example for Free

The Good, The Bad And The m ouldy Essay Introduction: In 2008 a YouTube video of a lady displaying a McDonald’s cheeseburger which she had kept for 4 years, went viral. A normal McDonald’s cheeseburger which had been exposed to the elements had kept in the same state for 4 years. No mould or mildew was found on the meat patty, the only thing that was slightly wrong was the burger bun which had become stale and was beginning to crumble. The composer of the video then compared McDonald’s fries which had been around for 4 years, to sliced potatoes which had been cut 3 months ago. The McDonalds fries were perfectly intact, they still had an oily, salty and greasy feel. However, the potato cuttings were covered in mould and were incredibly hard and in an attempt to snap them in half, they did not flex at all. If ‘real’ potatoes aged like that, why wouldn’t McDonald’s fries (the main ingredient being potatoes). This leads to the main experiment, if a McDonald’s burger doesn’t age, would a burger from home prepared ingredients be any different? My experiment consists of purchasing a regular McDonalds cheeseburger and then preparing a homemade cheeseburger using the same ingredients. The homemade burger must have the same dimensions as the McDonalds burger and share the same characteristics. For example, the weight of the McDonalds beef patty must be equivalent to that of the butcher-bought patty for the homemade burger. As all McDonalds patties are frozen, the butcher patty must be cooked in advance, frozen and then defrosted on the day of the burger preparation. The McDonalds burger will be purchased within the same hour as the homemade burger will be prepared. Even though an hour is an insignificant amount of time, I do not wish for the results to be altered in any way. The two burgers will be placed in two identical containers for 30 days. The burgers will be monitored every day and must only be handled with gloves on. Once the 30 days are up, the two will be weighed and examined to see if there are any changes to either burger. Depending on whether or not the McDonalds burger decays, I plan to conduct a survey and propose the question to 20 – 30 people â€Å"If cost was excluded from the equation, would you purchase a McDonalds burger over a burger from a takeaway shop made with reliable ingredients? † This question will be asked before the experiment takes place and once again after the 30 days. References: Adriana Velez, (January 3, 2013), Cheeseburger That Stayed Exactly the Same After a Whole Year Raises Alarm, http://thestir. cafemom. com/food_party/130975/cheeseburger_that_stayed_exactly_the * More to be decided for further research Aim: To determine whether a home-prepared cheeseburger will be in the same state as a McDonald’s cheeseburger after 30 days. Hypothesis: The burger made from natural ingredients will show signs of decomposition as opposed to the McDonalds burger which I believe will stay in the same state (based on previous research). Variables: Independent Variable – The burgers used for the experiment. One will be purchased from McDonalds, the other will be prepared at home, using butchers meat and store bought ingredients. *Note: Different cooking oils may be used to prepare the meat patty Dependent Variable – The amount of days which the two burgers will under examination (30 days). Also the weight of the two beefs patties before and after the experiment. Controls – The two containers in which the burgers will be situated. They will be in the same environment (a dark room). The two burgers must weigh the same and have the same portion of ingredients. Risk Assessment: Whilst preparing the homemade burger, proper cautions must be taken to avoid injury. Following proper safety guidelines while using the stove to prepare the patty is most important. As the experiment goes on, touching the burgers for examination will be required. Proper safety gloves must be worn to prevent any form of mildew or mould from making contact with the skin. Equipment List: * McDonalds cheeseburger (freshly cooked) * Ingredients for homemade burger (butcher’s meat, cheese slice, tomato sauce, chopped onion, burger bun, pickles) * Cooking utensils (frying pan, spatula). * Two identical air-tight containers * Safety gloves * Scales * Camera * Journal (to document observations) Method: Step 1: Prepare homemade burger using listed ingredients and freeze for 2 to 3 days. Step 2: Defrost burger, cook patty and purchase a plain McDonalds cheeseburger. Step 3: Place burgers in two separate airtight containers and place in a location which each container receives an equal amount of light, heat, etc. Step 4: Conduct a survey by proposing the question â€Å"If cost was excluded from the equation, would you purchase a McDonalds burger over a burger from a takeaway shop made with reliable ingredients?† to 20 – 30 people. Step 5: Observe the two burgers each day for 30 days, taking note of any change. (Handle only with safety gloves) Step 6: Collect findings and present results. Step 7: Briefly outline results to the same 20 – 30 people who were surveyed and ask them whether their views have changed at all. Step 8: Research the health benefits of home prepared meat as opposed to commercial, processed meats. Results: Photos and descriptions of the burgers will be presented in the form of a journal. Weight of the burgers will be presented in a line graph designed in Microsoft Excel.