Abstract by Kyle S. |
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From wood, to rock, to metal: Comparing Corn Grinding Methods COMPARING TRADITIONAL CHEROKEE, PUEBLO & MODERN CORN GRINDING METHODS. I WANTED TO FIND OUT WHICH METHOD WAS EASIER TO GRIND CORN AND WHICH WOULD GRIND CORN FINER. THIS PROJECT IS A CONTINUATION PROJECT. I DECIDED TO EXTEND LAST YEARS PROJECT TO INCLUDE THE TRADITIONAL CHEROKEE GRINDING METHOD. THE PROJECT TOOK ABOUT 2 MONTHS TOTAL TO COMPLETE. I WORKED ON IT AT DIFFERENT TIMES OVER A YEAR. AFTER I GATHERED MY MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT, I TESTED EACH METHOD THREE TIMES, TIMING EACH TEST FOR TWO MINUTES. I SIFTED THE GROUD CORN, COLLECTING THE CORNMEAL AND MEASURED THE AMOUNTS AND RECORDED THE DATA. FOR THE MODERN GRINDING METHOD, I DIDN’T HAVE TO SIFT THE CORN, SINCE IT WAS ALREADY GRINDED FINE. I USED A BAR GRAPH TO SHOW MY RESULTS. SECOND SET OF TESTS INCLUDED BOILING THE CORN FOR 1 HOUR AND COOLING IT FOR 2 DAYS. FOR THIS SET OF EXPERIMENTS I USED THE TRADITIONAL CHEROKEE AND PUEBLO GRINDING METHODS. I FOLLOWED THE SAME PROCEDURES FOR THE FIRST SET OF TESTS AND COLLECTED AND RECORDED THE DATA. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CORN I READ INFORMATION FROM SEVERAL RESOURCES, INTERVIEWED 2 CHEROKEE TRIBAL MEMBERS ABOUT HOW THE CHEROKEE TRIBE USES CORN. I FOUND OUT THAT THE MODERN GRINDING METHOD GRINDS CORN FASTER AND FINER, WHEN IT IS GRINDED USING RAW CORN. FOR THIS PORTION MY HYPOTHESIS WAS WRONG. BUT I ALSO FOUND OUT THAT WHEN THE CORN IS BOILED AND GRINDED USING THE TWO TRADITIONAL METHODS, THE CORN MEAL IS MORE FINER, WHITER AND GRINDS FASTER AND EASIER. THE INTERVIEWS WITH CHEROKEE TRIBAL MEMBERS INDICATED THAT TRADITIONAL METHODS OF GRIDNING CORN ARE BETTER TO USE FOR COOKING. YOU CAN CONTROL THE MIXTURE BY DETERMINING HOW COARSE OR FINE THE CORN NEEDS TO BE GROUND. COARSE CORN IS HEALTHIER FOR YOU BECAUSE IT IS HARDER FOR YOUR STOMACH TO BREAK IT DOWN. YOUR STOMACH USES MORE ENERGY, WHICH HELPS IN CONTROLLING DIABETES. |
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