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Nutrition Science Fair Project

Regular vs. Low-Fat Taste Detection

Easy
Regular vs. Low-Fat Taste Detection | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
Can people taste the difference between regular and low-fat versions of the same food? Many products now come in reduced-fat options. This project tests whether the change in fat content also changes the flavor enough to notice. You give ten volunteers both versions of six foods from the same brand. The foods include cookies, ice cream, brownies, chips, crackers, and pudding. Each person reports which one tastes low-fat and whether they detect an aftertaste. The results show whether people can reliably pick out the low-fat version.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that people can taste the difference because the ingredients are changed, therefore it alters the taste as well.

Method & Materials

You will test five boys and five girls, all in the same age range, with various fat and low-fat foods. You will measure if they think it is low fat or regular and if an aftertaste was detected.
You will need fat and low-fat versions of Nilla wafers, ice cream, brownies, potato chips, graham crackers, and vanilla pudding from the same manufacturer.

Results

The results showed that people can tell the difference between some fat and low fat foods. This experiment proved the hypothesis to be correct.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it tests people's ability to taste the difference between regular and low-fat foods.

Also Consider

Experiment variations to consider include testing different types of food, or testing people of different ages.

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.
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