Easy, Breezy, Beautiful, Lemon Bars

By Jason Caplin, Cheyenne Gaudreault, and Sabina Albright

Recipe Information When one tries to mix water and lipids

(fats and oils) they separate. Water molecules
are polar, meaning they have both positive
and negative charged ends, and are in turn
extremely attracted to each other. Lipids, on
the other hand, are non-polar. The water
molecules have such strong attraction to each
other that it seems as the two repel each
other, as the attraction between the water
molecules is so strong, the lipids cannot help
but to be rounded up, ergo the separation.
Number of Servings: 4 - 6
The act of mixing the two imerciable
substances requires a process called
For Base Crust emulsion. Emulsion can be induced, by
1 cups sifted flour introducing an emulsifier or a surfactant.
14 cup powdered sugar These are surface active, amphiphilic
1/2 cup butter molecules. Meaning it has water like
properties (hydrophilic) and lipid like
For Custard properties (hydrophobic). As these are types
2 large beaten eggs of molecules, they are chemically bonded. As
1 cups white sugar a result, they are attracted to both the lipid
13 cup lemon juice (or water) substance and the water. Meaning it will not
2 tablespoons of softened butter choose one over the other, causing it to sit in
14 cup flour the interface (the surface between the two
12 teaspoon baking powder fluids). If you have enough surfactant or
12 teaspoon fresh lemon rind (optional) emulsifiers, they completely coat the
interfaces of the imerciable liquids, causing
Directions the droplets to not float back together,
Mix the butter into the flour and sugar. stabilizing the emulsion. In the case of these
Mix with hands until it clings together. Lemon Bars, this process is pertinent and
Press into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. takes place in making the custard filling. In the
Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until lightly custard, we are mixing butter (a lipid) and in
browned. this experiment water into
For the filling, beat together eggs, sugar the filling. As stated above
and lemon juice. there is a surfactant
Sift together flour and baking powder. needed to stabilize the
Stir into egg mixture. emulsion. In the egg yolk,
Pour over baked, cooled crust. there is a chemical called
Bake at 350F for 25 minutes. Lecithin. Lecithin is a term
Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar. for any group of yellow-
Cut into bars. brownish fatty substances
The Science Behind occurring in animal and
plant tissues. It stabilizes emulsions, reduces
Emulsion
spattering during frying, and improves texture
of spreads and flavor release.
Protein Folding and Unfolding
In our experiment, we decided to
manipulate the amount of lemon juice we put
in the lemon bars. When we put less lemon
juice in, we kept the amount of liquid the
same by mixing the lemon juice with water.
One batch had the regular amount of lemon
juice and another batch we replaced the
lemon juice with water completely. Although
we were testing for the change in pH levels,
we made another interesting change. The
lemon bars
with all water
and no lemon
juice were
harder and
more densely
packed than
the regular
lemon bars. In the beginning we
hypothesized that the batch with lemon juice
would be more dense due to the acids in
lemon juice possibly cooking the egg. When
we investigated, we deduced the reason for
the unexpected result was the kind of acids
and proteins found in the eggs. Eggs have
two kinds of amino acids; hydrophilic (water
loving) and hydrophobic (water fearing). In an
uncooked egg, the two proteins are folded
together with the hydrophobic acids curled
inside the hydrophilic acids. When the egg is
heated or whipped, the proteins unfold and
the hydrophobic acids are exposed. When we
replaced the lemon juice with water, the
hydrophobic acids reacted to it. These acids
pushed the water away and caused it to
evaporate more because there wasnt room
for the water to find pockets and bubbles to
hide in, making the lemon bars dry and
dense. In the regular batch with lemon juice,
the acids did not reject the liquid so the juice
stayed in the bubbles and pockets, causing
these lemon bars to be more fluffy and juicy.
Acidity and pH levels
The pH scale (potential of Hydrogen)
is a scale used to determine the acidity or
alkalinity levels in in water or soluble
substances. In food, the acidic nature of the
food induces a sour taste, and positively
correlate with the foods pH levels. Lemons
tend to have a pH level of about three. With
this information, we can assume that a lemon
bars pH would be similar to that of its acidic
ingredient, lemon. Batch C, with water, had a
pH of 7. Batch A had a pH of 5 and batch B,
the 50/50, had a pH of 6.
Data Analysis
We conducted a taste test to
determine whether a lemon
bar with a higher acidity level
(pH) was considered better
overall. In the data we
collected from our participants,
the consensus was that batch
B, the 50 % water and 50 %
lemon juice, was considered the best. In
addition, they deemed batch A the most sour,
as it was the lemon bar with the full amount
of juice. However, batch C (100% water) had
a higher density. This went against our
hypothesis as we thought the higher acidity
levels would cook the protein in the egg,
therefore making it the more dense option.
The majority of the participants said that
batch B had the creamiest custard. This fact
alters our conception of what makes the best
lemon bar, with considering the sour level,
density, and texture, we also considered
batch B the best.