Scientifically 'chard

There are questions that have plagued mortal men for centuries. Scientific minds have baffled their wits in search of the answers. The reason they couldn't attain the answer to such questions as 'what is the meaning of life', and 'did I leave the gas on' was simple. They weren't me ('drinking and f*cking' and 'yes, your house is burning down' are the respective answers by the way). So, in this scientifically minded post, I attempt to disprove the folly that is the Serving Suggestion and the product description...

...of the humble Cup-a-Soup It was that wise and northern philosopher Peter Kay that first uttered the eternal admission that 'noone dares make cup a soup in a bowl'. Well, since I am currently struck down with tonsillitus, and Steve insisted i don't waste my time while slacking off without the ability to swallow without dying, I decided to do something worthwhile and harken back to my GCSE year science lessons. So, without further ado:

Experiment to prove whether Cup-A-Soup can be made in a bowl, despite Trade Description and Serving Suggestion.

In this experiment I will attempt to prove that the Cup-a-Soup brand is severly limiting it's own potential. I will therefore transplant the usual serving method of the cup in favour of a bowl, and test whether this adversely affects the quality of the Cup-A-Soup experience.

Plan:

I will make up the soup by the advised method on the packaging, in both a cup and a bowl simultaneously. I will be using 1 sachet of the soup granules each, and exactly 1 cup of boiling water. Each will be stirred the same amount (10 times clockwise then anti clockwise). Thne I will test how the different methods of serving the soup compare in quality, to determine which is the more successful.

Equipment needed:


The Cup-A-Soup, a bowl and a cup

A boiled kettle and secondary cup, which will be used to measure the amount of water used in the experiment.

Considerations:

Due to the fact that Chicken and Sweetcorn is the nicest brand of Cup-A-Soup available, it came to some dismay when I could only find it under the Slim-A-Soup brand. However, it should be treated as traditional Cup-A-Soup for two reasons:

1. If serving Cup-A-Soup in a bowl is mad, then how can you serve soup in a slim?
2. The instructions on the back still only outline the use of the product in relation to cups or mugs. Still no reference to bowls:

In order to keep this a fair test, everything that is done for the cup must be done for the bowl, so as not to bias the results in favour of either. The water will be freshly boiled for both, and will be the same amount for both cup and bowl (in order to keep a similar ratio of water to granules). Both of the Cup-A-Soup sachets are from the same box, and have the same batch code (note, it is assumed that both sachets contain equal amounts)


Finally, the spoons used to stir the soup will both be teaspoons of the same design, so as not to give any extra agitation and bias the results.

The Experiment!

Both the cup and the bowl have the cup a soup sachets added

and a cup of water is poured on them, careful to not spill any...

...sort of. In response to the spillage, the bowl recieves slightly less water

Then comes the sediment test. The two containers are stirred equally 10 times in circumference clockwise then anticlockwise to agitate the soup sediment.

God, I look rough... anyway, the spoons are then scraped across the bottom of the containers, and brought to the surface, in order to see how well the stirring helped dissolve the soup granules.

(note, spoons are the same size, I was just holding them funny) Anyway, it can be seen that the bowl (right) and the cup (left) are pretty much the same in effectiveness. The soups are then left to stand for a minute for the cooling test:

PING

Our intrepid (yet incredibly rough in the looks department, saved only by the hair) scientist then takes a taste of a sample of both soups:

And determines that not only had the soup cooled quicker, but that it actually tasted slightly nicer into the bargain!

Evaluation:

Ok, so the bowl had a larger area to be stirred, but the fact that the cup had more power in the stir ( due to the leser surface area) eventually ailed itself nothing. Upon eventual drinking of the soups it was actually revealed that there was still sediment remaining:
The cup


The bowl.
So the bowl won the stirring test, the cooling taste and (subjectively) the taste test!

Conclusion:

It is PERFECTLY possible, and even possibly desirable to make cup-a-soup in a bowl. However, the practicality of being able to drink your soup should not be overlooked and so, while it is possible to do so, the jury will remain at a loss to decide whether it is actually preferable to make cup-a-soup in a bowl.

Yes, I AM that bored.

Playing: StarCraft
Reading: Catch-22
Listening to: 'Supermassive Blackhole' - Muse
Annoyed with: Tonsils
Mood: Bored
Song currently stuck in head: 'You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison' - My Chemical Romance
Favourite Song of the Minute: 'You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison' - My Chemical Romance