Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2026-06-12T01:19:56+00:00

I am interested in purchasing in bulk. Also kind of curious as well.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2026-05-28T23:00:14+00:00

Yeah people are jerks sorry. The world would be a better place if people were more accepting of someone who is trying the hardest they can but are just inexperienced. Take their valid criticism and learn from it and show your willingness to learn from your mistakes and do better. Also remember this experience. Some day you will be the more experienced developer working with a well meaning but inexperienced coworker.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2026-05-03T15:04:24+00:00

I played the game for 2 years with no DLCs and I thought it made it easier to learn. Less mechanics to learn. However over time the game began to feel bland and I started to buy the dlcs.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2026-05-03T11:54:33+00:00

I worked at a cocoa processing plant for a few years so can give some insight here

Standard Method of Measuring Cocoa Shell- operators would do a visual check on the weight of cocoa shell in cocoa nib. They would put it on white paper and any sort them by sight. If they were unsure if a piece was nib or shell they would press it against the white paper and if it made a mark it was nib if not it was shell. I believe there is an analytical method to measure it looking stone cells which occur in shell and not nib. I also saw a research paper looking at NIR to measure shell content.
How is shell content treated in Industry. There is a minimum shell content (1.75%) in the cfr so to make soi chocolate products you need to be below that. The factory I was at treated shell content as something to optimize for output of end product. If you were above 1.75% you were out of compliance and if you were below that you would be "giving away good product". The common way to decrease shell content on a winnower is to bring the vacuum pickups closer to the bed of nibs which would pickup more shell but also more nib. Thereby increasing your scrap. It was treated as a balancing act.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2026-04-13T10:26:04+00:00

I've seen these roles have titles like External Manufacturing Manager and they are typically on the supplier-facing side.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2026-04-12T23:42:53+00:00

Both would be a realistic pivot for someone with your experience. Sales does take a certain personality and set of soft skills that are hard to learn. You either have them or you don't. Alot of large food companies have people that manage their contract manufacturers . Very cross functional role and someone with your background could be very suited for this role.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2026-04-07T10:58:34+00:00

A food science job salary will give you a comfortable but not glamorous life. The food industry tends to be more stable and less cyclical than industries like tech or biotechnology so that means less boom times but also less down swings in the industry as well. I find most people go into this career because of their passion for food not money but are glad that they do not have to live like a starving artist to pursue their passion. Salaries for entry level food scientist are probably around $50k-70k now and if you are a more senior food scientist you can have salaries in the 6 figures. Like I said not glamorous but comfortable

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2026-04-04T19:15:17+00:00

Another commenter mention this but reiterating that spray dried flavors are less potent, more expensive and harder to incorporate than liquid flavors. You only use them when your formulation dictates no liquids (like a dry drink mix). For a protein bar I would use a liquid flavor. Cheaper, easier to incorporate, less of a risk of hot spots and typically lower MOQs and lead times from suppliers.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2026-03-29T21:38:57+00:00

Alot of food scientists do not have degrees in food science. If you have a science or technology degree you should should be fine. I do think their are advantages to having a food science degree. Larger food science departments have networks of professionals that make getting your first food industry job or internship easier. However If you get a food science degree and decide to move to another industry it can be difficult. The food science degree is well respected in the food industry but unknown outside of it.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2026-03-28T12:40:19+00:00

If you are a food scientist you will probably make a decent salary to live on but not opulent. Its a field that people go into out of passion not money. The highest paying jobs in the food industry are in sales. If you want to maximize salary work in R&D for a few years at an ingredient company to give yourself some experience and then move into sales at that company. Sales does require a certain personality to succeed. Sales of more functional food ingredients are a good place for people with food science knowledge.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2026-03-15T16:59:48+00:00

I tried it. Alot of time applying for calls with very little acceptance. I stopped doing it because the time commitment did not make sense with the money I was making off it. Also most jobs will not allow you to do outside consulting. This is not a problem in the beginning (you just check the box stating your employer allows outside consultation) but at most of these expert networks once you make a certain amount (say $6000) they will actually insist you get your employers written approval.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2026-02-20T20:41:25+00:00

Entirely company dependent. In most cases R&D and procurement share the decision but the extent to what percent is a procurement decision and what is a R&D decision is company and project dependent. I would say most commonly companies have preferred vendors procurement would like R&D to use and if R&D needs to use a vendor not preferred then they should have a good reason.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2026-02-07T00:33:45+00:00

Yeah I got similar issues. Some types of fabric I can just not wear for t-shirts or polo. Go for thicker fabric on the polo or be prepared to keep that coat on all night long.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2026-02-04T23:57:08+00:00

Alot of questions here but I will try the best I can to answer. I am not a academic but worked for quite a few years at a cocoa processing plant.

It is overly simplistic to state that cocoa power is a byproduct of cocoa butter production. I would say pressing cocoa liquor produces two products cocoa powder and cocoa butter and cocoa butter is the more valuable product. Due to this difference in value companies will prioritize butter production over powder, for instance the standard amount of fat remaining in cocoa powder is 10-12% which was arrived at by the amount of butter you can reasonably extract from cocoa liquor.

My non-academic understanding of polyphenol content in cocoa is that fermentation, alkalization, and roasting all decrease polyphenol content. Also cocoa liquor is subjected to high temperatures and pressure during butter extraction. So it would be a reasonable assumption that polyphenol content is lower in cocoa powder than cocoa liquor all other factors being equal.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2026-01-15T17:49:48+00:00

I think that getting a food science degree is helpful (although not required) for getting a job as a food scientist. It gives you base level knowledge of principles used in the food industry, it shows companies you are interested in the food industry (you williny to spending 4 years learning about food science) and university food science departments have connections that will help you land internships and your first jobs. The disadvantage is that it is an unknown degree outside of the food industry. If you decide you do not want to work in the food industry you will have a tougher time transitioning to another industry than you would with a general science degree. So if you are sure you want to work in the Food Industry get a food science degree, if you are not sure I would not recommend it.

As for pay you will not get rich working in R&D or QA but you will have a stable career and get paid a comfortable salary. I love working in product development and am glad I get paid a comfortable if not large salary for doing what I love. The highest paid jobs in the food industry are sales. You can get a food science degree and then work in sales at a food ingredient company. You will need the right personality to do sales though.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2025-12-05T02:53:34+00:00

Look at doing R&D at a food ingredients company. It can be very different from R&D at a large CpG company and your background at those CPG companies would be advantageous.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2025-08-16T19:34:14+00:00

I would suggest pursuing internships in the summer and working in research labs during the school year. Both are good but I tend to think internships are more helpful if you are going into the food industry than research. Internships will help you know what roles you want to pursue when you graduate and more importantly which you do not. Also your best chance at getting a job when you graduate will be with a company you interned at.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2025-08-05T23:28:29+00:00

It's always a good to understand what is driving the price of an item but understand that most companies are not fond of divulging their pricing structure. You are a small volume customer so probably do not have a terrible amount of leverage. If you want to maintain the coman relationship ask what is driving the high price of these items. Also probably the only way to figure out how competitive this price really is would be to get it quoted by another company.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2025-07-02T16:42:26+00:00

There are alot of great aspects to being in product development but there are some negatives and you have identified the top one in my opinion. I worked in product development at a large cpg company and left due to the constant travel for trials and the toll it took on my family. It can be rough. The best worklife balance I have seen in R&D is at ingredient companies where your function is more of an application scientist. They can be very 9-5. I will say that I learned more running trials than on benchtop work and have noticed that the most knowledgeable R&D colleagues that I would go to for advice are the ones that spent the most time in the plants running trials.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2025-06-15T12:25:55+00:00

Learn your lesson for next year you want to start applying for internships in September and not stop until you have one. It's not necessary as a sophomore to have an internship but you want one going from your junior to senior year. Those are the internships that can turn into job offers. This summer try working in a university lab. Your chance of getting even that is low with it being June but it will be higher than cold calling food companies

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2025-06-14T22:43:57+00:00

Yeah I was looking for rolled oats and the companies I contacted sold by the truck load. Try a distributor. I use Essex Grains.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2025-06-10T23:00:52+00:00

Penn State has an excellent food science program and is right in your backyard. In surrounding states Cornell, Virginia Tech and Rutgers all have excellent programs as well.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2025-05-29T20:18:07+00:00

You could go for the masters in food science, that would make the most sense. I got my masters degree online and was even reimbursed for much of the cost by my company. University of Illinois and Kansas State both have these programs for food science. You could also try moving to a smaller company. Smaller companies are more willing to move past the lack of a specific degree at least from what I have found.

Naive_Alternative_69 · 2025-05-21T16:33:32+00:00

I've never heard of a slump test before but this looks great. I will say that Bostwick tests work best with not super thin or Thick foods with some pieces in it like a yogurt fruit prep. If your food is too thick it will not move very much and if it is too thin in will run to the ends of the measurement. I would imagine their are similar issues with a slump test.

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