I was just digging through my drive and found my chemistry final from last year. Please keep in mind that I got a 67% percent on this and passed my chemistry class with an A.
Believe in miracles.
Chemistry of Honey Buns
Olive O. O’Tierney
Generic High School Name
Marcus Mendoza
04/27/2023
Chemistry of Honey Buns
I chose to write about honey buns because according to the majority of my peers, it is where most of my nutrition comes from. I’m not saying that is a healthy decision, or even that they are right about it, but I can’t really think of anything else to write about anyways. So now you have to sit and read about honey buns. So buckle up, take a shot (of coffee, duh), and get ready for a load of useless and likely incorrect information.
Basic Description
A honey bun is a sweet bread with a sugary glaze. Many brands sell honey buns but for today I will be describing the ‘Little Debbie Honey Bun’. This one is personally my favorite. They are sold individually wrapped in thin plastic and grouped in long, decorated cardboard boxes. It sucks because I heard Little Debbie products were being taken off shelves, I mean, they have been a staple mark for so long it just doesn’t feel right.
Ingredients
I’m going to be honest, I am not going to pretend like I am actually reading the ingredients, I’m not allergic to anything, I don’t care what I consume. So here is what the Little Debbie website said: enriched bleached flour ( wheat flour, barley malt, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate [vitamin b1], riboflavin [vitamin b2], folic acid), water, sugar, palm oil, palm and soybean oils with tbhq and citric acid to protect flavor, dextrose, yeast, contains 2% or less of each of the following: soy flour, nonfat dry milk, dried honey, eggs, cinnamon, cocoa, wheat starch, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate), corn starch, mono - and diglycerides, soybean oil, salt, calcium stearoyl lactylate, calcium carbonate, agar, titanium dioxide, calcium sulfate, preservatives (calcium propionate, potassium sorbate, sorbic acid), citric acid, ascorbic acid, calcium peroxide, amylase enzymes, natural and artificial flavors (contains lemon), datem, soy lecithin, annatto extract, turmeric
Allergens: Eggs, Gluten, Soybeans
Additives
E171 - Titanium dioxide
E200 - Sorbic acid
E202 - Potassium sorbate
E282 - Calcium propionate
E322 - Lecithins
E322i - Lecithin
E330 - Citric acid
E406 - Agar
E450 - Diphosphates
E450i - Disodium diphosphate
E471 - Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
E472e - Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
E500 - Sodium carbonates
E500ii - Sodium hydrogen carbonate
E930 - Calcium peroxide
Omg Why Did I Choose Honey Buns? These Have Nothing to do With Chemistry
Quick rant paragraph because I already want to cry and I’m not even halfway through. I just know I can’t fail this and I need to turn SOMETHING in. This sucks, like I don’t know chemistry. I wouldn’t have gotten this far if it wasn’t for quizlet and studywhateverthesecondwordwas.us I don’t actually know anything. Now I’m supposed to just manifest all this information about a honey bun? I hate it here.
Biochemistry
Sorry for the breakdown in the last paragraph, I’m back in the gameish. Honey buns contribute to biochemistry because it contributes to my life and the ingredients like the wheat or whatever. Because wheat grows and it was life before, it was alive. So bio=earth/life, life=alive, wheat WAS alive, wheat is in honey buns, honey buns=biochemistry. Thank you.
Industrial
SO honey buns are made in factories which are very industrial so I think honey buns can be grouped with industrial too. I just looked at the thingy, would the bread rising count as industrial chemistry? I think it would. It does, because I say so. SO the Industrial chemistry comes in where the baking process for the honey buns is. When heat is applied to the dough it rises and kills the ecoli in the flour or whatever other bad things you get when you eat raw bread dough? If I’m being honest, I only think that because my dad once said I would die if I ate undercooked bread. I’m so smart. I should get an awesome grade on this.
Halfway There (I hope)
Okay, so I was just looking up some chemical changes that happen when you bake bread like honey buns, and one thing said this: “When dry heat is applied, as in baking, the heat causes the starch to break down by chemical reaction into sugars called dextrins. The dextrins are brown in color and have their own unique texture and taste. This process is called “dextrinization”” and that honestly sounds so cool. It made me wonder though, if there is dry heat, what is wet heat?
Is Wet Heat a Thing?
So it does not look like wet heat is a thing, but moist heat is. It is when things are cooked with water or steam. It can also be used to sterilize things. It reminded me of this one scene from shameless where Frank uses Carl’s toothbrush and he says “now I have to boil it”. So now my question is, if you can boil the germs off of something, can you boil the flavor off of something?
Could I Potentially Boil the Flavor Out of a Honey Bun?
Okay, so what I am looking for is reduction. Reduction is performed by simmering or boiling a liquid such as a stock, fruit or vegetable juices, wine, vinegar, or sauce until the desired concentration is reached by evaporation. This can change the consistency and flavor of your liquid, bun honey buns are not liquid. Their icing can be melted down though. So at a certain point, the icing can be so diluted and melted down that the sugars start breaking up and it could change the flavor, but not really lose it. Huh, interesting.
I’m Blasting Coconut Mall and Crying
I am typing faster than my brain is processing the information I’m putting down. Tears are in my eyes, I still don’t know what a molar mass is. Does a honey bun even have a molar mass? I am about to throw up because I’m pretty sure my headphones died five minutes ago and I still hear coconut mall. I will be bringing this paper up in therapy.
What Have I Learned?
I learned that I have zero focus, hand cramps mean nothing, and I never want to eat a honey bun again. This has been a very beneficial essay for me because now I genuinely believe I will be making healthier life choices. Today I will eat salad. Thank you.
Resources:
Pure willpower.