Baking soda vs baking powder: what's the difference?

Last week, I made a blog post on how self-raising flour actually works, and through researching that, I found out that baking powder actually contains baking soda. However, not only did I already have this blog idea planned out, but I also wanted to know what the actual difference was. If baking powder is just baking soda with extra steps, why are they bought differently? Why are they both required as separate ingredients when making chocolate chip cookies? Which is my aim for this blog post. I want to know how they're so different that they warrant distinctive names, but also why I feel like it's not common knowledge that one contains the other.

As mentioned in my previous post (assuming you've read it), both baking soda and baking powder are leavening agents, which means they're used in baking to cause dough or batter to rise by releasing gas (some other examples of leavening agents are yeast, air, and steam, depending on the baking method). Though baking powder technically contains baking soda, they are both chemically different, so one shouldn't be directly substituted for the other. 

Baking soda tends to contain pure sodium bicarbonate (it's also referred to as bicarbonate of soda) and is basic (or alkaline), meaning it requires acid to activate it; this means that baking soda is ideal to use when a recipe contains something acidic such as citrus juice, cream of tartar, or buttermilk. Baking powder also contains this, but also has one or more types of solid acid and a stabiliser/filler like cornstarch (normally used to prevent an acid-base reaction occurring during storage). Therefore, it doesn't have to be activated using acid and can just be added. Recipes may contain both if they contain an acid; baking soda can be used to offset the acid to ensure it can be leavened properly.

I mentioned before that baking powder and baking soda can't be directly substituted, but you can substitute one for the other if you have the correct measurements (and other ingredients). When I was looking into this, I found a conversion guide that I've attached, which you can find using this link.

Everything I've purchased for the start of university

Unfortunately, I'm a very typical teenage girl who loves to go shopping. So it might not be a surprise to people to read that I have already overspent my allotted budget for shopping (and also food, but that's another problem entirely). The majority of this was spent the few times I went to Hollister - for example, before Results Day, I was stressed, and so I treated myself to a Hollister parcel; then on Results Day, my friends and I went to Newcastle for the day, so I spent more money on Hollister; then when I got home that day, I was given money from family members, so I spent more money on Hollister. All in all, I ended up with three new jumpers, a new top, and two new skirts. All for university, of course! My idea was that not only are they cute enough to wear going out, but they could also double as something to wear on placement!

My shopping spree only continued from there.

When I got my second meningitis jab, I went to browse in some charity shops and bought the cutest polo shirt and two skirts. All together it was about £10 (it was meant to be £11, but the worker put one of the prices in wrong, though I didn't notice until I got home. I promise I'm not a scammer). My only problem with the polo is that it sort of fits weirdly, so I've asked to get a sewing machine for Christmas, and hopefully I'll be able to fix it. But then I think that this could also lead me to spend much more money in charity shops! Obviously, if I do get any good at it, then it will be a fun new hobby for me. But at the same time, it means that I'll likely end up spending more money buying clothes in charity shops so that I can alter them. My wardrobe is already beginning to be pushed for space! I suppose I could try and buy more storage, or start storing things under my bed, but I don't know... I should probably specify that my bed is one where you can lift up a part under the mattress to access the space under it; it currently has a lot of junk in it, like my old school books that I can't bring myself to part with. I'm not sure if it's something my parents want to keep. I'll have to ask them. But I really want to buy more like storage baskets for under my bed. I bought some for all of my yarn, but they filled up veryyy quickly. Under my bed is also an awkward shape, so things can't fit too well, and a lot of it is taken up by my Vinted items (which I'm yet to post on my profile) and different packaging. Sorry that was such a tangent; I'm hoping to spend less money now that I have a lot of basics for my wardrobe, and at least charity shops are cheap. Hopefully I can get more into crochet again - I still need to finish a piano key scarf I started and sew together the leg warmer 'panels' I made. I think I'm going to try to make matching hand warmers too... I just want to make a tonne of accessories! Last January, I bought a bunch of white yarn in bulk; it was Christmas-branded, and so it was on sale for like half price. So I bought pretty much all of it (not every single one, so I could save my bank account and also because I didn't want to be selfish. From this white yarn, I could make so many cheap accessories! I think when I get more money, I'd like to buy higher-quality yarn, as the yarn I'm using now is just acrylic. I'm considering making some crochet clothes & accessories, then selling them on Depop for cheap. It would be good practice, get rid of unwanted yarn, and be a good way to earn a bit of extra money!

I didn't just spend all of my money on new clothes (though I spent most of my money on new clothes); I did buy some necessities for university, though I didn't really need money. Some of the other things I bought were a new calculator. The GPhC requires a very simple calculator; you can't use scientific ones because you're able to save things (which isn't allowed), so I thought I would get the simple one now to get used to it in numeracy exams, even though it looks so silly. The model I bought is the Aurora HC133, and I hope it's the right one, even though it was only like £5 on Vinted. In hindsight, I should have waited for them to tell me which calculator to buy before buying one. Oh well, too late now; I was too much of an eager beaver! I am still required to keep my scientific calculator for labs, so thankfully I didn't sell it. Then the only other thing I bought that I can think of is my backpack, which I got during the A-Level season. I feel silly when I use it because when I bought it on Vinted, I hadn't realised it was made to open like a suitcase, and it even has suitcase straps. It is also constantly really fat, but I think that's more to do with what I'm adding to it rather than the actual bag itself. It makes me look like a Year 7.

In all honesty, when I thought of this blog post idea, I thought I would have a lot more to say. I have a lot of images to add (at the time of writing this, I'm on day two of Freshers Week and am waiting for my blood test appointment, so I'll probably take the photos when I get home. I'd planned to make them fun little GIFs, but I'm now thinking maybe not because I want to get ahead on my blog posts rather than behind (as I was until today). I obviously would rather focus on university than on my blog, no matter how much I love it. 

How does self-raising flour actually work?

A year ago, I got really into exercise and wanted to eat more protein, so I tried making a protein microwave mug cake. I could have misread the recipe, but I added both baking powder and self-raising flour, not realising that they both kind of did the same thing. So, as you can imagine, it was a disaster! The mug cake spilt all over the microwave and, whilst it was still yummy, it was partially raw. Speaking to anyone who had any experience doing anything had me realising that it was obvious they were conflicting ingredients. I don't think a recipe would have said that, so either I misread something, or I was an idiot (and likely still am). That past incident is sort of what inspired me to do this post in my 'The Baking of Biochemistry' series - the first one was just to look over tasting as a thing in general.

Every self-raising flour is made from plain flour with baking powder mixed in, and sometimes they have salt added for flavour reasons - I'm assuming because sometimes too much baking powder can make things bitter. Baking powder is a leavening agent (it's used in baking so things rise, soften, and become porous) and contains three key types of ingredients: an alkali, a weak acid, and a filler. The alkali used is normally a bicarbonate of soda (also known as baking soda); the weak acid tends to be dry acid (sodium bisulfate); and the filler can be something like cornflour or rice flour, and is added to prevent a premature reaction between the acid and alkali. The real reaction occurs when the baking powder is added to a liquid - so adding your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients - as this is when they can finally undergo an acid-base reaction (alkalis are also called bases). For anyone who has done GCSE chemistry, you may know (or might remember) that when an alkali and an acid react, one of the things they produce is carbon dioxide; this gas is what causes the mixture to expand and become porous. So it's recommended to put your mixture into the oven as soon as you've mixed your dry and wet ingredients. This will obviously also happen when self-raising flour is added to things, but if you've ever walked through a bakery aisle (not the one with the baked goods, the one full of ingredients), you'll know that baking powder (and baking soda) can be bought in their own separate containers. This kind of feels like an ingredient inception, and now I'm wondering if self-raising flour actually contains baking powder, which also contains baking soda. Kind of confusing. Especially since I use plain flour, baking soda AND baking powder when making chocolate chip cookies. Weird!

There were a lot fewer websites on this sort of thing than I expected, but I suppose it's something that's really random and irrelevant. But I think I managed to understand and somewhat relay to you how self-raising flour actually works, and it was much simpler than expected! Unless there was a much more in-depth study that was somewhere on the internet that I couldn't find, and these websites just lied to me.

Caring for your stick insects

I got my first set of stick insects when I was in Year 12 - I was in a rough patch mentally, in all honesty (not to trauma dump), and my mam's friend was offering up Indian stick insect eggs to people, and I thought having something to commit to would help me find a reason to get out of bed and do something. So I collected the eggs. Waited a few months. And nothing. No worries, I was able to dispose of the eggs and was gifted 5 Indian stick insect nymphs (babies), so thank goodness! I had those for about a year before they all naturally passed away, and tried to hatch their eggs. Nothing. So I disposed of those, with plans to get more stick insects after finishing my A-Levels, until I found a stick insect nymph on my ceiling. I must have dropped an egg in my room at some point, and it eventually hatched (they can take months). So my mam's friend said I must have been doing too much with the other eggs! I had plans to get more, but my plans happened earlier than expected. Currently, I have 5 stick insects (I was gifted 4 from one of my mam's friends - a different one from the first lady), and they are my world. They're such a unique pet that I find them a great conversation starter (hopefully it's not just for me and other people actually find it interesting, not just pretending to). When I was first doing my research, though, I struggled to find one modern source containing everything, so I thought it would be fun to write one myself!

These tips will likely only apply to Indian stick insects; they are some of the easiest stick insects to care for, and I don't know if they apply to other species.

With any small pet, I think the average Joe would assume that small animal = small enclosure, but that's not necessarily true (especially with hamsters). For stick insects, the height of the enclosure should be at least thrice their length and the width at least twice their length - they're meant to live in trees, so the tall enclosure makes sense. They moult, kind of like tarantulas, as their outer layer can't grow with them, so they shed it off and need to hang from a high place in order to do it properly. It's important to keep a large enclosure (mine is 30*30*60 for 5), as otherwise the stick insects may knock the others' legs off - they are social creatures, and so should be kept with others. It's recommended to have a mesh top as well, as it means that they can hang from it - they can climb the sides of my 'glass' enclosure, but it must be easier to cling to mesh.

The things they eat are very easy to come by; both sets of mine ate privet, but only the one I have now ate the ivy I gave to them - I haven't tried my new set with oak, but my older set had, but I don't think they ate as much of that as they did the privet, though that could have been because the oak leaves were lower down than the privet ones (due to the oak being shorter). But there are other types of things you can give them: bramble (from blackberry, and it's recommended to use older leaves rather than newer shoots), hawthorn, rose, hazel, and oak. You should ensure the food is kept fresh. I change mine about once a week, occasionally going for longer or shorter depending on how the leaves look. I keep mine inside pots meant for painting in schools; you shouldn't leave an open cup because the stick insects (especially nymphs) are at risk of drowning in it. The way they drink is by misting the leaves; the way I do it is to lightly mist throughout the day to keep it damp, and then spray them a lot at night because (at least I think) Indian stick insects are nocturnal. 

Some basic information about Indian stick insects is that after 6-ish moults (i.e. about half of their lifetime), they should begin to lay eggs - you will likely not have a male; I would be incredibly surprised if you did because of how rare they are (in culture at least). Indian stick insects reproduce strictly asexually (parthenogenesis) but are assumed to be sexual in the wild, and so all of these eggs are viable. To ensure they don't hatch hundreds of babies, you must either freeze them for a week (I would do two to be safe) or just crush them. I know people think this is cruel, but in the UK (not sure for other places), they are a non-native species, and so it is illegal to knowingly let them go free (as you likely will not have the capacity for hundreds of nymphs unless you neglect them or have a huge enclosure). So if you don't want to have to dispose of eggs, then I fear stick insects aren't the pet for you. 

And currently this is all I can think of! I will add more when/if I think of it <3

Yum! How am I able to taste this?

When I was learning about enantiomers in Year 13 (or whenever it was; sixth form is kind of a blur to me now, my memory is horrid), I remember learning about limonene. One enantiomer of limonene smells like fresh oranges (D-Limonene), and the other smells like pine (L-Limonene); for those of you who didn't do A-Level chemistry, when you look at your hands, they're identical (assuming you aren't an amputee or one hand has more fingers than the other), but no matter how you rotate them, you can never get them to fully match up. That's because they're mirror images, and enantiomers are exactly that. It requires one carbon atom to have 4 different groups bonded to it (e.g. a methyl group, a single hydrogen, an ethyl group, and an alcohol group), so it can have two versions of the exact same molecule, like our hands. Our noses are chiral, and so they can tell the difference between each molecule, which is why pine and fresh oranges smell different despite being, in the physical and chemical sense, the same molecule. I wanted to explain this because, after learning about this, I assumed taste buds worked in an identical or very similar way, and I was partially right.

Everyone knows that our mouths contain taste buds (the name "bud" coming from the fact that they are shaped like flower buds), but what people might not know is that they are found on three different types of papillae (small nipple-shaped bumps on the surface of the tongue):

• Fungiform: this is the most common type of papilla, with people having around 200-400 of them, and they are mostly found around the tip of the tongue and the edges of the tongue. Each papilla contains around 3-5 taste buds, but these papillae are also highly sensitive to things such as temperature and texture (which also influence the taste of things).
• Circumvallate: whilst there are only 7-8 types of these papillae, they each contain thousands of taste buds, and are found in a V-shape at the back of the mouth. They each have 'trenches' around them with glands that push the taste-producing substances towards the sensory cells.
• Foliate: we all have around 20 of this kind of papillae, and they're visible to the naked eye (they sort of look like folds within the tongue?), with each one containing hundreds of taste buds.
• There's also technically a fourth type of papillae called filiform, but they contain no taste buds and are only able to detect temperature and texture.

Humans have 2000-4000 taste buds, with them renewing about every two weeks, and each taste bud contains 10- 50 sensory cells. The number of papillae someone has can determine how you taste things. For example, some people are supertasters, for whom flavours can be very overwhelming, so they prefer milder foods, and other people can be subtasters, so they aren't as sensitive to strong flavours, and so may prefer more pronounced flavours and spicier foods. When I talk about 'flavours', there are five main types that taste buds can detect:

• Sweet: this flavour comes from sugars and sugar derivatives (e.g. fructose, lactose, glucose, and sucrose) and is detected by G-protein-coupled receptors T1R2 and T1R3.
• Sour: this flavour is not detected by proteins, but from the fact its acidic. The sour flavour comes from acidic solutions, which, when they come into contact with water, begin to release their H+ (hydrogen) ions.
• Salty: this is also not detected by proteins, but also due to electrical signals to the brain. The most obvious salty flavour is table salt, which contains both Na+ (sodium ions) and Cl- (chloride ions), so K+ (potassium ions) and Mg2+ (magnesium ions) also produce a salty taste.
• Bitter: within sensory cells, there are around 35 proteins (G-protein-coupled receptors T2Rs) which can react to bitter tastes. Being able to taste bitterness was an evolutionary advantage, as a lot of poisonous plants were bitter; the back of our tongue is the most sensitive to bitterness, likely to help us spit out any foods which could be poisonous.
• Umami: when I first saw this word, I was like, "What the heck is that?" But it just means savoury. Apparently it's so it specifies the specific chemical, whereas savoury in a culinary sense just means any non-sweet food. This flavour comes from glutamate and is detected by G-protein-coupled receptors T1R1 and T1R3.
• Spiciness is not a flavour; it's the pain response to capsaicin. 

You might think that every single taste bud can taste every single flavour, but you'd be wrong! Don't worry too much; I thought the same thing until I was doing research for this blog post. Essentially, half of our taste buds can detect just one flavour, so their focus is on the concentration of the flavour (like very salty or not salty, I assume), whereas the other half can detect several and apparently have an order of flavour priorities. You might also believe that certain areas of the tongue can only detect certain types of flavours. You'd be partially correct. Do worry because I also knew this was false. As I mentioned before, the back of the tongue can detect bitterness much more strongly, but this doesn't mean it's the only part of the tongue that can detect bitterness; in general, the sides of the tongue taste much better than anything else. I'll attach a photo to show what studies show to be the strongest areas for different flavours.

source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279408/

So there isn't really as much difference as some people make out there to be. I hope that sentence makes sense because I'm not clever enough to think of any other way to word it.

Anyways, what I thought was really weird is that it seems like the tongue can't actually taste. They can sense the general flavours of sweet, umami, etc, but they can't get distinct flavours. This is because it's the smell of these foods that determines the flavour. Have you ever noticed that when you're sick and have a stuffy nose, you can't taste as well, or you have no sense of taste at all? That's because when you chew (or masticate) your food, the smell of the food goes up the nasopharynx to the olfactory receptors, which are responsible for your sense of taste and are chiral (so they can detect the differences in enantiomers). So, the sense of taste is kind of due to enantiomers, but it has nothing to do with your tongue; it's your nose! So apparently, if you plug your nose and eat something, you should be able to detect the general type of flavour, but not the specific flavour until you unplug your nose. Which I'm going to go and try now.

The prestigious Hollister Style Club

 Okay, so whoopsie, I'm behind on my posts and forgot to finish my Sunday post! I was ahead on my blog posts, and now I'm behind again. Not that anyone reads these, but I like to pretend. It's called LARPing. Anywho, I wanted to make a cutesy little post on (as you can tell by the title) the Hollister Style Club. If you're uneducated - as I was about a month ago - the Hollister Style Club is a scheme(?) you can apply for if you're in the USA or UK (separate application links for both) for content creators with over 1,500 followers who have a love for fashion and Hollister. 

Some of the benefits are that Hollister can send you gifted items for PR (I'm assuming this is for massive creators), first access to their new pieces & collections, and discounts when shopping. These are the ones that massively appealed to me, but I also found out that some other benefits are that you can inspire new campaigns & products, be featured on their channels, and get access to IRL events. I think these events are like networking events with other content creators? Which I suppose could be good just for making friends, but also for getting tips on how to work the algorithm on different platforms, maybe? I have no idea, but it's so intriguing to me!

When I was looking more into the Hollister Style Club, if you get accepted, you set up a storefront where you can add 15 of either your favourite items or items from your wishlist. I'm not entirely sure how it works. I'm thinking maybe like an Amazon storefront, but you have to tag the item in a video you've made before you can add it to the storefront. I think, anyway, I wasn't entirely sure, so I could be completely misunderstanding what they meant. I believe the way you get rewards for things such as discounts is by completing challenges, and with each challenge you complete, you can get to different levels, and there are up to 7 levels. I'm not sure how easy it is to gain points through the challenges, but once you get to level 4, you can start earning commission from people buying items through your link. I'm not sure what the challenges may entail, but at some point in the process, the Hollister team has to approve or reject your video, as they have to follow guidelines on mentions and the number of hashtags or something? It's not like it's mega complicated, but more complicated than I thought when I first saw it. They mentioned in the FAQ (where I'm getting this info from) that some challenges are repeatable, so there's probably some where I could rinse and repeat the exact same format of video multiple times. I used to do this when I was a Simplestudy Ambassador; if there was a trend on Studytok, I would make one version that was like 'personal' and another that was for Simplestudy. I wish I had locked in more on that so that I could have gotten a certificate for the number of videos I made, but I wasn't locked in like that - they also only introduced it near when I was done with my time there, because why would I make videos about an A-Level revision video after finishing my A-Levels?

I think the only downside to the programme is that they can deactivate your account if you haven't been active for three months (which makes sense), if you purchase something using a Style Club code, you can't return said item (Vinted reselling?), and the fact that they can reject some of your videos! Like, guys, this is free promo because I'm parasocial with a company? But I don't really care too much, in all honesty. I think the benefits outweigh the cons, as I can't see myself hating Hollister anytime soon, and I can add it to my LinkedIn. I'm still trying to become a LinkedIn warrior. But actually, my TikTok and fashion stuff kind of has nothing to do with wanting to be a pharmacist, but I suppose it shows I have interests and commitments outside of education, so I'm more of a well-rounded person?

photo from here

Book Review: 'The Summer I Saved You' by Elizabeth O'Roark

 My Rating: 4/5

Genre: Contemporary romance

Books remaining in my physical TBR: 30

(Spoilers ahead)

This book contains adult themes & sensitive topics, and this review will cover those, so this is a trigger warning, as this review will contain themes of drug abuse/addiction, divorce, the death of a baby (off-page), and emotionally & financially abusive relationships.

I actually enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. Was it realistic? Maybe, my life isn't as unlucky/tragic as either of these characters', but I only care that the book was 'action'-packed and entertaining, even if the pace of things seems somewhat unrealistic.

Our main characters are Lucie and Caleb.

• Lucie is the 'illegitimate' child of Robert Underwood, who is famous and has some sort of big company; I didn't care too much to remember what kind of company, in all honesty. He was a very minor, minor character. Back to Lucie, she has twins, Sophie and Henry, and is currently going through a divorce with Jeremy, who is extremely rich and seemed (to me) to be emotionally abusive (at least during the divorce process). Luckily, Lucie's aunt left Lucie her house, meaning she and her kids have somewhere to stay, and this happens to be the house her mother would 'abandon' her at over the summer. It would also be where she developed a huge crush on this boy, Caleb, and would watch him and his friends play in the lake next to both of their houses.
• You must be really clever if you can guess who the male main character is... Caleb! He's 4 years older than Lucie and has grown up to inherit his father's company, TSG. I also don't know what this company does; he just has one and is the CEO of a generic company. Maybe TSG stands for Totally Super Generic? Anyways, he's technically married, but his wife has been away for a year... ooo mysterious.

My lord, this book annoyed me a lot, though. Like, Lucie had no backbone whatsoever, and I know it's hard to confront people, but like? Okay, for example, there's a part of the book where Jeremy, Lucie's ex-husband (I should mention he cheated on her with their teenage babysitter, and he's 6 years older than Lucie), sends her a bouquet of flowers and a note asking her to dinner. Lucie, obviously, calls and says no, so he gets annoyed and basically says she'll regret it. Can you guess what he did? He steals her car. I genuinely thought there was no way he managed to do that. Because, first of all, is the USA not meant to be extremely walker-unfriendly? So how unemployed must he be to have the time, during the night, to, presumably, walk to Lucie's house and steal her car with his spare key? SO odd. Fortunately, I've never met many evil people, so for all I know, this could be a common thing for evil ex-partners to do.

I also thought that Caleb was a very weird character. His whole thing at the start is that he is married (to a woman called Kate), but he hasn't seen her in a year. Because she's in rehab for drug addiction. This book has it all. She went to rehab for a few months, checked herself out of rehab, then returned to it - he only knows because of the bills he's receiving. Caleb must also be an invertebrate! In a whole year of having no contact with your wife, you don't contact her? But also, the reason she went to rehab is that she cleared one of the company accounts, and going to rehab was the compromise for the company not pressing charges. I can kind of sympathise with Kate, though; drug addiction is likely such a difficult thing, and it's probably something she fell into when her baby died shortly after giving birth. Oh, but it's okay for Caleb; he wasn't there for the birth of his child because he was too busy working. You know who was there, though? His best friend, Beck, who has a massive crush on Kate. What is it with this friend group and wanting a piece of your friend's long-term partner? Such an odd theme to have in multiple books. Another thing, though, is that Caleb did not even stay to comfort her whilst she mourned her child. He worked more. No wonder she became a drug addict! I really don't understand why he didn't divorce her earlier when he didn't seem to like her that much.

They were both just so incredibly hard to find relatable. Obviously (maybe?), I'm only 18 and so don't have all of the life experiences that these characters will have, but normally the characters in books I read will be somewhat relatable; like even Katniss Everdeen was relatable through her internal monologue! In the scene when she's being hunted by the Career pack, she's clearly being a snarky teenage girl when she says Glimmer can barely use the bow, because she's obviously annoyed that she (Katniss) doesn't have the bow, which would have easily allowed her to do better in the games. Sorry, that was a bit of a tangent, but I hope it makes sense. I feel as though Lucie could maybe be relatable to divorced mothers, but even then, her children aren't really mentioned, and I can imagine that two 6 year-olds would take up a lot of your time, especially as a single mother! She's also constantly being hit on by characters in the book, and maybe this could be realistic, but not everyone is drop-dead gorgeous! So maybe someone like Zendaya or something would be able to relate? Then Caleb is already a man, which I find hard to relate to, and he's the CEO of the company? Maybe Jeff Bezos could relate, but even then, he (hopefully) isn't seeking relationships with his employees. But I suppose books don't have to be relatable, just entertaining, which I thought this one was.

I think my favourite character was Lucie's friend, Molly. I wish we could have some sort of book or short story on her - like an end-credit scene kind of thing? I'm thinking A Minecraft Movie with Jennifer Coolidge's character and the villager in her office, and her ex-husband comes crashing in. I really hope that the people reading this have seen the Minecraft movie end-credits scene.

Anyways, yes, I did rate this book 4 stars, even after all of my complaints, but it's because I kind of enjoyed it the way my aunty enjoys watching American Housewives or whatever it's called, and in the way chavvy girls love Love Island. It was just such an engaging read because of everything that happened. I still wouldn't reread it like.

My tips for the ideal apple crumble

I would like to start this blog post off by saying that I actually really do not like apple crumble, which is weird considering I like the flavour of the actual crumble and apples, but I don't like them together. I'm not even sure what it is about them that I don't like; I just know it isn't for me. However, I still make it because people in my family really enjoy it, and I've been told by numerous people that it was the best crumble they've ever had; I know this is true, as, unfortunately, my family is extremely honest about my baking. So I think I have sufficient credentials to make some recommendations.

The recipe that I use has been adapted from the recipe available on the BBC website, and I am by no means a professional baker; I purely enjoy doing this as a hobby, and so it's something I want to talk about, as what else would a blog be for!

    What to buy

When I buy my ingredients, I'm actually not too picky about where I get them from and usually go to multiple shops. I first started baking when I was still at sixth form, so tended to buy ingredients before going home, which usually meant I was buying things from Tesco, but I don't think there's much of a flavour difference between brands. I always buy whatever is cheapest.

For a basic apple crumble, all you need are apples, brown sugar, unsalted butter (though I find no flavour difference in using salted butter), plain flour, and salt. But obviously some of these are better when you buy certain kinds; for example, the type of brown sugar you buy. I tended to just buy the light brown sugar just because it was normally the one that was on the left, and hence the first one I saw, but when you do some research, the type of sugar you pick is actually meant to make a big difference.

The recommended brown sugar for crumbles is demerara sugar; it's also ideal for mixing into hot drinks! Essentially, demerara sugar is (allegedly) the most unprocessed sugar you can buy, meaning that it still contains a high molasses content, which gives it that darker colour. A greater amount of molasses gives it a somewhat toffee or caramel flavour (especially compared to caster sugar, which has all of its molasses content removed), but it also has more trace minerals and a higher moisture level. The minimal processing also means that demerara sugar has larger crystals than other sugars, which works well for aesthetics when sprinkled on top of things such as cakes, but also gives the crumble a crunchier texture. So I think this type of sugar is one that I'll be sticking to in future. For a crunchier texture, I also normally add a pot of Quaker Original oats, which also has the benefit of added fibre, and I've heard adding Honey Nut Crunchy Nut cornflakes is also meant to be a nice addition! Obviously if you don't have a nut allergy.

And the most important part of an apple crumble: the crumble filling. When I was looking into what recipe to use before making my first apple crumble, I saw a single Reddit comment saying the best apple crumble they ever had had nine different types of apples, and suggested that more apple types meant a more delicious crumble. Hence, when I make crumble, I tend to use three or four types. I think the staples that I always look for are Granny Smith and Pink Lady apples. Both Granny Smiths and Pink Ladies keep their form even after being cooked, but whilst the Granny Smiths go tart and crisp, the Pink Ladies are naturally acidic, which means they supposedly help balance the crumble's sweetness and tartness. Any other apples I add are just the side show. I tend to go for Braeburn, Bramley or Gala apples (I always pick one as I can very rarely find them in anything other than packs of six, and I only need one), but you can pick whichever ones are your favourite, but never omit the Granny Smiths. I think Galas are a good staple too though as they go quite sweet when baked, and Bramleys can give a nice soft and fluffy texture to the filling if that's something you like. For some more added flavour, for 450g of apples I also add a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon.

    When actually baking

I think that crumble is one of the easiest things to bake, but it has a lot of tedious cutting. I always like to cut the butter that I'm going to use in the crumble into small little cubes, as I find it makes the whole rubbing part of the crumble-making much easier. I have also perfected my apple cutting; once I core it, I begin to cut the apple into very thin slices (like 1cm thin, not paper thin) before cutting it in half long ways, then into little strips the other way.

I also find that 45 minutes is a good time for the crumble to be in the oven for; I've never had one burn at all having it in for that long, but obviously that will depend on your oven and your crumble. Definitely begin checking on it after 40 minutes. I always use a glass dish as whilst you can obviously see on the top whether the crumble has browned or not, I also like to see whether or not the apple filling has begun to bubble yet, as that's when I know it's truly done. If your oven is also narrow like mine, or if you struggle picking up baked dishes, I would recommend placing the baking dish you're using onto an oven tray, as I find them much easier to pick up; otherwise, my hand would be caressing the walls of the oven.

I'm not sure if these tips are in any way helpful. But hopefully they were; I always get compliments on my apple crumble!

PHC: University vaccination schemes

When I applied to university, I had no idea that I would be required to receive certain vaccinations. It wasn't until after my last A-Level (which happened to be the last overall) that the head teacher of my sixth form sent an email to the whole of Year 13 outlining what to expect before university in September (should that be your chosen route), and this included the MenB vaccine. At least before this, I knew that being a pharmacy student required me to pass the fitness-to-practice, which included being up to date with my vaccinations. But I had just assumed that this was to make sure people had all of their childhood vaccinations - which I think I have, but I'll have to look into it. My university said it's very rare that people fail the fitness to practice, and it's usually resolved in the first week. I hope I pass; otherwise I won't be able to complete my degree. Anywho, this inspired me to make a blog post on the recommended vaccinations for university students, to hopefully prevent any confusion from passing on to the following year.

The UCAS website itself does have a list of recommended vaccinations, but let's be honest, who really uses it for anything other than applying to universities? Unless that was just me. I can imagine they have some helpful stuff on there, but I was lucky enough to have a dedicated careers and UCAS team at my sixth form, so I was able to ask them about anything I was confused about. Anyways, the four recommended vaccinations for university are the MenB vaccine, MenACWY vaccine, HPV vaccine, and MMR vaccine. I believe the MenB vaccine is a brand new scheme following meningitis outbreaks in some areas of the south of England, as university students are at high risk for developing meningitis. This is because of the residence/halls and being in close contact with new people, especially with international students possibly carrying unique strains of the meningococcal bacteria. Both the MenACWY and HPV vaccines are offered to secondary school students aged 12-13, though they can both be offered up until someone is 25 (the HPV vaccine is also available for men who have sex with men). MMR is offered if someone didn't receive their MMRV vaccine as a child. MMRV is for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella, which is chickenpox. Since most adults built immunity against chickenpox as a child, it isn't typically offered to people older than 12, hence why the vaccine recommended is only MMR.

I think the recommendations make sense when you think about it or look into it a bit more. Most of the diseases these vaccines protect against can lead to meningitis (MMR, MenB, MenACWY) - it's in the name of the MenB and MenACWY vaccines, as they all just protect against different strains of the meningococcal bacteria (meningococcal B, A, C, W, and Y). Meningitis is a serious disease as it can lead to sepsis and septicaemia, as well as permanent disabilities such as limb loss, blindness, and hearing loss. Whilst they're effective, they don't protect against all types of meningitis. MMR protects against diseases which can all easily be spread amongst people, and can also lead to meningitis, hearing loss, and blindness. If you're pregnant, measles can also lead to premature birth, with the premature foetus also possibly having the same deformities that meningitis causes.

Whilst the HPV vaccine doesn't have anything to do with meningitis, it's just as important. It protects against 9 strains of the human papillomavirus, which can lead to problems such as cervical cancer, mouth cancer, head and neck cancer, anal cancer, and cancer of the genitals. This is spread through skin contact, though most commonly through sex. Up until 2019, it was only offered to Year 8 girls within schools, but now it is offered to Year 8 boys as well. I think this is a great change, though I only found out from researching it that boys could also have it. I don't remember any boys in my secondary getting the vaccine (and this was around 2021), as I believed it was 'promoted' to us as a way to prevent cervical cancer. Through my research, I believe that the HPV vaccine was initially pushed out due to HPV being one of the leading causes of cervical cancer, and, allegedly, this led companies to push people to believe it was only something women could have, as it was more cost-effective. Which is quite sad, and it shows how parts of healthcare can be heavily influenced by money and a few elites.

I believe that there should be more of a scheme explaining what's in vaccinations, as I remember there being a lot of fear-mongering during COVID about the fact that the vaccine includes strains of COVID in it. Which, for people who don't know how vaccines function, is how vaccines work. If I remember rightly from GCSE biology, most vaccinations contain either a weak or a dead version of the virus or bacteria, or whatever the vaccine is designed to protect against (or at least certain proteins), to train the immune system to recognise and fight it. Think of being in a gym: you can't move onto the heavier weights before you've perfected your form with no weights or a lighter weight, which is kind of what's happening here. The lymphocytes in your body are learning what the antigens on the weakened/dead disease look like, so that it can perfect the antibodies to be remembered for if the actual live disease enters the body. I hope that makes sense, and it could be wrong as I'm going based on memory, so don't take my word as law.

I hope in future, fewer people fear-monger vaccines and stop being anti-vax, and begin to take action to protect themselves, their families, and the people in their communities. Everyone deserves to receive the healthcare they need.

photo from here