Peanut Brittle 2

Partial Thermal Degradation of Carbon Dioxide Foamed Saccharides with Protein Inclusions

by Jana

Chemicals used:

Sucrose (disaccharides)

Glucose (monosaccharides)

Solidified mixed esters

H20

NaCl

Protein pellets

NaHC03

4-hydroxy - 3-methoxy-benzaldehyde

Al foil

1.  Weigh out 75 grams of sucrose into a clean 250 ml beaker.  Transfer to a clean 400 ml beaker.

2.  Into the 250 ml beaker, weight out 62g of glucose solution.

3.  Pour the glucose into the 400 ml beaker.  Use a total of 19 ml of H20 in two batches to rinse the small beaker with a stirring motion.  Add rinsings to the large beaker. 

4.  Heat this mixture slowly.  Stir constantly.  Bring to a boil.  Use as cool a flame as will maintain boiling, but avoid burning the saccharides.

5.  Weigh out 9.5 g. of solidified mixed esters

6. Add the solidified mixed esters to the boiling glucose-sucrose solution.

7.  Continue to heat and stir.  Use a paper towel to hold the beaker.

8.  Weigh out 0.3g of NaCl and 55 g of protein pellets.

9.  when the temperature is 138ºC, add the NaCl, and the protein pellets (arachin, conarchin, and oleic-linoleic glycerides)

10. Continue to stir.

11. Weigh out 3.7g of NaHCO3

12. Obtain 1.3 ml of 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde

13. Lightly coat a 25 cm x 25 cm peice of Al foil with another sample of the mixed esters.

14. When the temperature is at 154ºC, remove the flame.  Place the beaker on a paper towel near the Al foil.

15. While one partner holds the beaker and it prepared to stir, the other adds the 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde and the NaHCO3.  Stir vigorously!

16. When the beaker is nearly full to the top, pour the mixture onto the Al foil and spread thinly.

17. When cool, break into into pieces and consume at will.

18. Clean all apparatus.

Sucrose (disaccharides) = granulated sugar

Glucose solution (monosaccharides) = dark corn syrup

Solidified mixed esters = butter or margarine

H20 = water

NaCl - table salt

Protein pellets = peanuts

NaHCO3 = baking soda

4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehye = vanilla extract

Al foil = aluminum foil

~This 'recipe' was made in Jana's 8th grade science class.  Her group's reward for doing the best job with the experiment?  The teachers and janitors ate it up after school, leaving them none for the next day.