Re: My project is to determine which cereal stays crunchiest in milk. Is there

Hi, Schafer.

There are instruments out there that are used to measure crunchiness, 
chewiness, softness, crispness and other textures in foods.  Unfortunately, 
unless you have a food science lab near you (business or university) that 
would be willing to help you out with your measuring, such an instrument is 
not an option for you.

So, the best alternative is to make a measuring device of your own that 
will enable you to compare the crunchiness of your cereal samples.  The 
easiest way to do this would be by using small weights.

One suggestion would be to take a small, light-weight, plastic cup (like 
those often used for mesuring medicines) and some dried beans.  Decide how 
long you are going to keep your cereals in milk.  To allow yourself time to 
test each one, don't add the milk to the different cereals all at the same 
time.  Leave three or four minutes between each.  Then, if you are soaking 
the cereal for, say, 10 minutes, you will be able to do your determinations 
and move on to the next cereal at its 10 minute mark.

Gently place the first piece of cereal on a hard surface after it has been 
in milk for the required time.  Sit the plastic cup on top of the cereal; 
it probably won't sit straight but try to center the cup over the cereal as 
best you can.

Then start adding beans to the cup, one by one.  Note how many beans it 
takes to flatten the cereal.  Do this for each piece of cereal.

The cereal that stays the crunchiest will be the one that requires the 
greatest number of beans to flatten it.

It would be very nice if every scientist could afford to buy every 
instrument to do every test. But sometimes we have to figure out other ways 
to tell us the things we want to know.

Have fun, Schafer!