Alexander Dause

KNH 103 B
12/3/15
The principle of food science is basically just the study of food on
multiple levels including the chemical and physical aspects. A food system is
the process from making to consuming food. The recipes that have been
chosen for analysis and dissection are apple pie. The concept of apple pie
has been around for hundreds of years, and the preparation has changed
even in the last hundred. It has developed to become the quintessential
American dessert. The end product of each recipe is supposed to be an outer
flower and fat based crust with fruit sugar and spices on the inside.
The first recipe is from the cookbook Reliable Recipes that was
published in 1912. It is very simple and consists of just 4 ingredients. The
directions of this recipe are very simple and not explained in a very efficient
manner. The directions do not contain a temperature for the oven, and also
does not contain a time for cooking it. The ingredients seem to be in
standard form. A possible reason for the simplicity of the recipe may be
because of the times. There were not as many options to include in an apple
pie as there are now. One of the more abnormal aspects of the recipe was
the inclusion of pie paste, which I can only assume is just a type of crust.
Because it was written so long ago there were no requirements on having
nutritional information it is not present. There are also no health claims on
this specific recipe.
The next recipe, which was written around 50 years later, is a little more
structured and complex. It was written in 1964 and in the book The American
heritage Cookbook and the illustrated history of American Eating & Drinking

The directions for the one written in 1964 were also more in depth and
useful. The second recipe has 9 ingredients and more directions. The
directions, like the previous recipe is written in paragraph form. One
difference is that the 1964 directions were written as more of a narrative
procedure. Besides having more ingredients, the newer recipe also contains
different words. The 1964 recipe uses words such as greenings where the
first recipe used apples. Another major difference between the two recipes is
that the second one had ingredients that were optional. Though it did not say
it until the directional part, the cinnamon is optional. This one, along with the
one from 1912 does not contain any claims or nutritional information.
The third recipe is from a book published in 1988 called a Taste From
the Past Good Old Food. This recipe includes 12 ingredients compared to the
4 and 9 of the two previous. It also contains ingredients and directions to
make your own crust, whereas the other two recipes called for using pre
made crusts. This one also uses narrative procedure to give directions. It
also, somewhat surprisingly, doesnt give any nutritional benefits or
nutritional information. It does seem to somewhat use standardized recipe
format. In comparison to the other two recipes, this one is more complex and
descriptive when giving the ingredients. This is mostly seen when it is
describing the apples. It says to use large baking apples, such as Rome or
Northern Spy.
The fourth and most complex recipe which I received from the food
network website was copyrighted in 2001. This one, like the first has

ingredients for both the dough and filling. This one has a combined 12
ingredients, the same number as the former. The directions to this recipe are
similar to all the others in the fact that it was a narrative procedure. It is also
very different because of how descriptive it is in its directions. It is similar to
the older ones in the fact that it does not have any nutritional claims or
nutritional information. In addition to that, it is similar to the 1964 and 1988
recipe because all three contain ingredients that are optional. The baking
process of the Internet recipe has additional instructions, which are to brush
the pie with egg and dust it in sugar directly before putting it in the oven.
Overall the four recipes were pretty similar, with the only major
changes being addition of ingredients and the inclusion of more steps. The
reason for the minimal number of changes is probably because of the
simplicity of the dessert. The complexity progressed as the recipes became
more recent. A possible explanation for this may be because there was more
information available and the ingredients were more easily obtained. The
directions for preparation also evolved from a simple 5-sentence instruction
to a multi paragraph instruction broken up into unnumbered steps. This can
also be attributed to the advancement of technology because of the
complexity and stability of ovens available. The most recent recipe, in
comparison to the others, has a longer preparation time.
My interest in recipe and product development is not a very high
interest to me, however I do think it is useful to know for everyday cooking
attempts. Having said that I do think that it would be pretty interesting to

create my own recipe book or run my own cooking show. I think it would be
interesting because I could see that being a fun and entertaining path to
take. I also would enjoy working for a food company, but I do not foresee that
being a career path that I plan on choosing.

Works Cited
"Apple Pie : Food Network Kitchen : Food Network." Apple Pie Recipe : Food
Network Kitchen : Food Network. Television Food Network, GP. Web. 6
Dec. 2015.
Chalmers, Irena. Good Old Food: A Taste From the Past. Hauppauge: Barron's
Educational Series, 1988. Print.
"Apple Pie." The American Heritage Cookbook: And Illustrated History of
American Eating & Drinking. Ed. Helen McCully and Eleanor Noderer.
American Heritage, 1964. Print.
Reliable Recipes. Chicago: Calumet Baking Powder, 1912. Print.