For our project we chose to make Rice Crispy Treats and investigate how much butter added to the recipe would change the stickiness of the treat. We’ve both made Rice Crispy Treats before but we both made it by the original recipe, we were curious to see how the taste and how enjoy the treat would be at different sticky levels.
The Science of Rice Crispy Treats
For the first step of four, you'll need 1 stick of butter which is key ingredient. This will be your first physical reaction throughout the making of the treat. The stick of butter will be turned from a solid into a liquid within seconds from the heat of the stove fire. The next step will be adding the Marshmallow into the pot over the fire which is one high, this makes the butter melt into the marshmallows and helps the Marshmallows become less sticky when removing it from the pot and putting it into the cereal. Finally we put the cereal and Marshmallow mix together and make the individual treats.
Gelatin is a flavorless transparent thickener obtained from animal collagen that dissolves when heated and congeals when cooled, allowing foods to set, such as it did for the Rice Crispy treats causing the treat to stick together when the marshmallows were added in the cereal mix.
Experiment and Results
The Independent Variable in our experiment was the amount of butter put into the pot. All of the utensils, ingredients, time, and methods were kept constant throughout the rest of the experiment.
Recipe and instructions
- Melt 8 tbsps of butter in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until melted and well-blended. Cook for 3 mins, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
- Add cereal. Stir until well coated.
- Using buttered spatula or waxed paper, press mixture evenly and firmly in buttered 13 x 9 inch pan. Cut into 2 x 2 inch squares when cool.
- Repeat steps 1-3 twice, but with 4 tbsps of butter and 2 tbsps of butter.
Trial One - 8 tbsps of Butter
Marshmallows had a yellow tint color. Marshmallow fluff was very easy to manage. Had a very nice consistency of fluff.
Trial Two - 4 tbsps of Butter
Marshmallows were slightly unmelted. Medium yellow tint color. Not as sticky but was still tacky to touch. Medium clump consistency but not as smooth.
Trial Three - 2 tbsps of Butter
Marshmallows were still very fluffy after the 3 mins of cooking time. Stuck to bottom of pan. Pure white color (darkest of both batches). Full marshmallow pieces still left after cooking. Very clumpy when mixed.
To summarize, there were three major differences to the Rice crispy treats based on the amount of butter we added to each batch. First, the treat became a bright yellow color the more we added butter. Butter is a fatty acid that receives its color because of the natural pigment carotene. Carotene is also why butter is a source of vitamin A. Carotene comes from the cows' diet, which consists mostly of hay, silage, grains and cereals, which are converted by our body into vitamin A. Next, the treat got thicker and more solidified the less we added butter to the marshmallows. This can be justified because throughout the process, butter is making the marshmallows more manageable. The more butter amounts were taken away the more the treats became harder to maintain. Lastly, the taste went from very buttery and enjoyable in Trial One to unsweet in Trial Three. This is because the sugars like fructose and sucrose are responsible for the sweetness. Butter is usual in fatty foods and are often more flavorful because many flavors dissolve in fats. Butter works very well as a flavor carrier for spices.
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