tweet tweet tweet, tweetly deet

Today between taste panel sessions, I made an executive decision to get a Twitter account.  My sister has been trying to convince me over the last few months to sign up, and after spending a weekend with her in Ames, I caved.  I have already received criticism from graduate student friends about joining the tweeting world: "why", "what for", "what's wrong with facebook".  Now I understand that a majority of twitter followers are the "younger" generation that post their thoughts and feelings about friends, life, and EVERYTHING else.  But the great thing about Twitter is you can choose who or what to follow!  I look at my decision to join Twitter as an opportunity to immerse myself further in the world's media outlets.  I mean, you can never be too educated right??  All of the major producer and commodity groups constantly tweet about changes in prices, proposed regulations, etc.  Even though I get daily emails from BEEF, AMSA, and ASAS, I still feel I miss out on news in agriculture.  So with that being said, I am going to give this tweeting deal a test drive to see if it shakes out.  If you have Twitter, look up farmers_gal and follow me!  Who knows, maybe I'll get the hang of these deal faster than expected :)

i passed!!!!

Yesterday afternoon I had my oral comprehensive exam.  Again, those three words together could cause one to shutter(which I may or may not have done), or question their well-being (which I did for certain after completion).  Anyway traumatic as it may sound, I did PASS!  Which means all I have left for my Masters career is to 1. finish my taste panel 2. analyze my data 3. write my thesis 4. defend.  Although this may seem like an abundant amount of work yet to do, passing both my oral and written comprehensive exam could be considered a turning point in my degree.  For one thing, it proves I am educated in the realm of meat science--duh!  Second, I was stuck in a room with 4 professors that drilled me with questions for two hours!!  Therefore I determined that I have the ability to think and reason questions on the fly--a skill that I admit could use some improvement.  I was told by one professor that completing the oral comprehensive exam will be a great way to prepare for my defense and presenting at professional conferences.  Which I now admit is true....but don't let him know that!  


But lastly, passing these exams has given me ambition to wrap up my final ties here at UNL and move onto a career in the agriculture industry.  With that being said, I have begun the tedious task of job searching.  Man is it tough!  I know what I want, but I don't know where or how to find it.  Sometimes I think I should hire a head hunter, but I like to persevere through tough times; I think it builds character!  So between job searching, thesis development, wedding plans, and house decorating, I think my spring will fly by!  Which could be a good or bad thing....only 183 days to go til the big day.  Man o man I got lots to do!! 

chillin while grillin

Yesterday we had the first taste panel training session for the remainder of my thesis project.  I arrived on campus extra early to make sure I had everything ready to go by time we would start cooking at 9:45.  To my surprise, my advisor notified me we would need to move the session a full hour earlier to accommodate a meeting that got scheduled over the weekend.  Being an assertive and organized individual, this change in plans did not settle well.  Soon after his announcement  I developed sweaty palms, a slight headache, and rapid heart rate. At the end of the day, I realized things went fairly well for planning on the fly.....something I never enjoy doing.  


Anyway, back to the process of running a taste panel.  After the product has been selected, sampling randomized, and taste panelist trained, it is time to prepare steaks for tasting.  To ensure all steaks are cooked to a proper end temperature, thermocouples (the red thermo cables below) are threaded through the steak.  We try to place the end of the thermocouple in the geometric center of the steak.  The blue plastic piece is then inserted into a thermometer to measure the change in temperature.



Once steaks reach the desired temperature they can be removed from the grill.  We use an internal temperature of 71 degrees, or medium well.  Using 71 degrees as an endpoint is fairly standard across the realm of meat science research.  It allows the product to maintain its apparent juiciness, yet allows for adequate muscle fiber degradation, or tenderness, to occur.    A simple tug on the thermocouple will remove it from the steak and it is now ready to cut.


For sample size, panelist are served a 1cm cubed pieced of meat.  To do so we use the cubing tray pictured below.  Before the steak is cubed, all excess fat and connective tissue need to be trimmed off the steak to prevent an unacceptable sample.  It works best to square off the steak so it fits better into the tray. 




Since I am such a neat freak I love cubing samples!  It can turn an ugly, un-symmetrical steak into tiny cubes of tasty perfection.  




Panelist are then served 1 cube of meat to do their analysis.  Between samples it is strongly suggested the eat a non-salted saltine crack (yum :S) and take a drink of double distilled water.   This process helps cleanse the palate and prepare the panelist for their next sample.


Through the preparation for taste panels in research, I have relied heavily on my fellow graduate students.  Not only have they helped me cook, clean the kitchen, and serve samples, but they have also made time in the kitchen enjoyable.  Many a conversation have been held in the kitchen...some beneficial some not so much.  But as I said, it sure makes time fly!

what i've been up to

It's hard to believe that in 189 DAYS I will be marrying my best friend!  I was reading our wedding website today, because I am a weirdo like that :) , and got butterflies in my stomach as I read our proposal story. I love that story!

I also love wedding planning!  Since I am a DIY kind of girl, I have been making a majority of our centerpieces and items for the wedding.  I have included some pictures of the tasks I have completed because I think they are all so awesome!!  I also wanted to share being creative and crafty can save one in the long run!

Here is a picture of the "redneck" wine glasses the wedding party will be drinking out of.  They are mason jars glued to candle stick holders.   If I wanted to buy these glasses from a store or online, they would cost over $15 a glass.  My costs for 15 glasses, was $20!!!

This was a Christmas present I received from my brother; I actually think it was my favorite Christmas present this year (don't tell Chasen that!).  But this lovely chandelier will hang over the cake table-which will be in the middle of the Berndes Center.  It's going to look soooo neat! Chris was able to put this chandelier together for $80, yet it was free to me :)  On Etsy.com it sells for over $200.  It definitely pays to have a skilled electrician for a brother!

One annoying thing I have noticed while planning is the wrath of wedding trends.  After looking at some pictures from Miranda Lambert's wedding (an idol of mine) I made a decision to make a brooch bouquet.  Since that time last May, I have seen a multitude of pictures of brooch bouquets and brides with them!  Not to mention a scarcity of brooches at stores!!  Anyway (sorry for that rant) my aunts and close friends have gave brooches to me, because of this I have only spent $60. These babies can be bought online from $300 to $500!!!  Not only do I love the cost of mine, but I appreciate how special each and every brooch is to me!  It's like a part of my family and friends will be walking down the isle with me :)

For those of you that know me, you understand my desire to be unique in everything I do.  During planning for the wedding, I have tried to make every aspect of our wedding different, through the same vintage/country theme.  My goal is to make my wedding not only exciting for me, but for my guests.  I want guests to notice a new element to the wedding every time they turn their head!  They have no idea what they are in for :)  Our unity candle is an example of a simple concept I have "justine-ified".

Those are just a few of the projects I have completed for the wedding since May....I don't want to give all of them away!!  From all this I have learned wedding planning is not for the weak.  When I look at my wedding planner it is mind-blowing to see all the tasks I have accomplished this year while doing research, taking classes, and helping out on the farm.  It is also a little unnerving when I look at all the things I have yet to do!  Thanks to my family and friends for all of your help and support thus far!  Love you all!

the swing of things

This week marks the third and final 4-day work week for me for the month of January.  And I must admit it terrifies me to think how long next week is going to drag on!  Aside from next week being a normal 5-day working week, I am starting taste panel training sessions for the final part of my thesis project.  Although this is exciting, I am also anxious about all the time and effort required in organizing a taste panel.  Nonetheless, I think this panel will be the best way to get back into the swing of things.

Taste panels are commonly used in meat science research to assess the palatability of new products, cooking methods, or aging techniques.  In my case, this taste panel will assess the palatability-or tasting/eating quality-of the extended sirloin cap. Taste panels are a means to detect differences in product tenderness, juiciness, flavor, connective tissue content, off-flavor, visual appearance, and aroma.  It is the true way to determine the way a product will be perceived in the industry.

With that being said, there are two types of taste panels: consumer or trained.  Consumer panels are often conducted in retail or restaurant settings where consumers have little knowledge on product background, and the process of taste analysis.  Consumer panels provide insight to how the general population will receive the product and it's attributes, and often have a large sample population.  Because of this, sample variation is quite large and statistical significance may be difficult to achieve.  Consumer panels also take an immense amount of time and collaboration with grocery stores or restaurants to plan.  Incentives are often given to consumer taste panelists, such as coupons, to increase participation.

As you may have guessed, I will be conducting a trained taste panel session within the next few weeks.  Trained sessions include taste panelists that have been educated on the attributes of a particular product.  These panelists are typically trained using product that is extremely tough, tender, juicy, etc. in order to create a organoleptic scale upon which they will later "grade" a product's acceptability. In my case, panelists will be trained on the extended sirloin cap quality.  We will utilize product from the anterior and posterior ends of the primal, where a true tenderness gradient exists.  Our primary goal for this taste panel is to determine the tenderness differences of the cap depending upon location. For that reason, each steak's location from it's primal will be maintained throughout the panel. Panelists will be asked to rate the product on a hedonic scale (1-8) on the product's apparent juiciness, tenderness, off-flavor, and connective tissue content.  Taste panel sessions will be held twice a day and will consist of 6 panelist.  These panelist will be compensated with a paycheck for their participation and offered chocolate each day--sounds like the real deal, right?!  I can say that I am jealous! haha

All things considered, taste panels are a very important part of what we do as meat scientist.  If we develop a product that consumers find tough, or dry, we need to reconsider how the product was made.  It truly is our way of creating and developing an acceptable and quality product for consumers!

a BIG week

I have been away from the blogging/internet world this week more than usual, as I was studying for my "written comprehensive exam".  Those are three words that no one ever wants to see used in the same sentence, let alone next to one another!!  It was quite frightening to prepare for this exam, as it hangs my hat on my meat science knowledge. .  I have spent the last few days looking over past notes and exams from my meat science courses trying to cram every last bit of detail about myofibril function and collagen formation and the importance of cure in processed products and muscle contraction.......and I think I will stop there because I can begin to see the white of your eyes as they roll back in your head :P


Although it was stressful and slightly painful preparing for this exam, I became gratified.  I was able to recognize again why I enjoy the discipline of meat science so much!  Understanding all the factors that play a role in meat quality, and being able to explain these aspects to producers and consumers brings much joy to my life!  I only hope I can find a job that allows me to do this act daily!


Well I know this was short and sweet, but it is still a blog!  I am getting ready to head west tonight to the NWSS on a train....wish me luck :)

Finally Friday

There are a few reasons I am glad it is Friday afternoon.  


1. I made it through the week; a four day work week that felt like five!  This week I was somewhat productive with starting my lit review and planning out the next few months so I can graduate in August.  They say it is the hardest part to get started, and from what I am experiencing I would have to say I fully agree!  


2.This weekend Chasen and I have our engagement encounter lock-in.  In approximately six hours we check in and we are "released" on Sunday at 3. I am not so much excited to check-in tonight, but more so for Sunday afternoon/evening when this deal is over.  I also have become addicted to ABC's Once Upon a Time show and they have a new episode scheduled for Sunday evening.  Soooo excited!!!


3. One week from today I will be at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO.  Through the years we have made it a tradition to travel to the stock show with friends.  And for this reason, I absolutely love the National Western!  Cattle, crown and cowboys has become the motto for Kayla and I.  This year we are riding the train out (hopefully this does not become a new tradition).  I board the train in Lincoln at midnight Thursday evening and should be to Denver by 7 am Friday!


The reason I enjoy the NWSS so much is every time I walk through the yards I realize the tradition and history behind livestock production and marketing here in the US.  Through my college years I have been fortunate enough to visit the Oklahoma City, Dallas-Fort Worth, Kansas City, and of course Denver stock yards.  During my junior year I studied abroad to the country of Argentina and had an opportunity to visit the Liniers cattle market, one of the only live cattle markets still operating.  It was simply the coolest part of the whole trip!  Ranch cowboys would drive cattle up and down alleyways on horse back to pens.  Buyers would fill the catwalks and may even ride through the pens to get a closer view of the cattle.  Over 30,000 head were marketed through Liniers per day!  This international experience allowed me to compare and contrast the different production and marketing tactics between the two countries; sometimes I think we truly take ag production in the US for granted.  Make sure to take time to thank farmers you know or work with....in fact I think I'm going to call my dad right now!

Starting fresh in 2012

Well Hello everyone once again!  I know it has been quite some time, but grad school, wedding plans, and farming will do that to ya :)

With a new year often comes resolutions.  Besides keeping in shape for the big day, I wanted to pick up blogging again.  At this time in agriculture production, I feel it is so important that our story be shared and viewed well by our consumers.  As one of my many 2012 resolutions, I will strive to blog at least twice a week--This goal should be fairly attainable with a semester offering more time at my desk, as I begin to compose my thesis. With that being said, I will need some time to take a break, dispense some frustration, and keep everyone up to date on our exciting year!  Thus a fairly attainable goal!

Something interesting I read today day is that McDonald's is using real farmers and ranchers in their advertising campaigns for 2012.  It's pretty neat, check it out!  http://blog.beefmagazine.com/beef_daily/2012/01/04/mcdonalds-features-real-ranchers-in-new-campaign/?NL=BEEF-02&Issue=BEEF-02_20120104_BEEF-02_378&YM_RID=hoschjustine@gmail.com&YM_MID=1282629.

Well I should get back to studying for my written comprehensive exam, which is one week from today!  Wish me luck!!  Chat again soon!!