For most people, mac & cheese is a household staple that everyone can enjoy.
The one downside, however, is that you can quickly stain your plastic stirring spoon a gross yellow color.
Jen here took the time to make a fun video that not only teaches you how to eliminate that nasty stain, but also explains the process with simple science!
After Jen explains that she ruined her friends spoon, get gets right into explaining how she will fix it, using a friendly yet scientific approach.
She explains, “Kraft Mac & Cheese uses artificial dyes to make their Mac and cheese look yellow and dyes are made out of proteins.”
Now that we know that the coloring comes from proteins, she tells us that we’ll need to ‘break’ the proteins to get rid of the stains.
Jen then goes over the different ways that you can break a protein’s structure, explaining, “You can use extreme heat, ions, a strong acid, or a strong base.”
Not surprisingly, she does not want to use a strong base or a strong acid since that can be really dangerous.
So, she opts to use a combination of the other two options…Heat and ions.
Heat is easy, but what are ions?
That’s right, she uses salt.
She goes on to explain that while she could use common table salt, she opts for Epsom salt because it has stronger ionic bonds, which will make it more effective.
Once she brings the salt water to a boil, she stirs it with the stained spon for about a half hour. Once it is removed, the spoon is almost completely stain-free!
Check out the full video here:
@alltheusernamesrtaken1
Such a simple solution to a common problem!
Here’s what other folks had to say about this helpful (and educational) video:
“Bunny” hits the nail on the head! Why can’t all science be this entertaining?
This commenter says she learned more from this video than she ever did in school!
Now this comment speaks truth!
I just love it when TikTok is not just entertaining, but also informative!
This is why we want to keep it forever.
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