The world is full of un-answerable questions. Why don’t I wake up when my alarm goes off? Are there aliens alive in the core of the earth? Does the sun want to fight me? Are regular chicken nugget meals better tasting than dinosaur nugget meals? Oh wait, that last question is answerable!
Here at the Food Science Lab we strive to answer all food related questions. One question we have seen repeatedly is whether someone should pick a regular chicken nugget or a dino chicken nugget meal for their freezer dinner of choice. We dug deep into the Walmart frozen food aisle to find the two best looking meals. We then brought these meals home and performed rigorous scientific testing on them. Our results are listed below:
- How much does each tray weigh?
- Regular: (including corn and macaroni) 6.75 oz
- Dino: (including corn and macaroni) 8 oz
- How many nugget are in each tray?
- Regular: 5
- Dino:3
- How long is a regular nugget vs. a dino nugget?
- Regular: 2 inches
- Dino: 2 1/2 inches
- How thick is a regular nugget vs. a dino nugget?
- Regular: 2/8 of an inch
- Dino: 1/2 inch
- Which kind looks more appealing to eat?
- Dino
- Do they have to cook at a different time/temp?
- Regular: 20-22 minutes at 350
- Dino: 24-26 minutes at 350
- Do they taste better in the oven or microwave?
- Oven
- Calories
- Regular: (including corn and macaroni) 330
- Dino: (including corn and macaroni) 400
- Blind taste testing
- Regular: were more flavorful
- Dino: had a better texture, more fun to eat
- Which kind do the reporter recommend after all this testing?
- Regular nuggets
- 40 random students and teachers were polled on which they prefer?
- Dino Nuggets: 37 Regular Nuggets: 3
After taking weights and measurements and other fun number facts, we examined the meals visually. Before cooking, the dino nugget meal was the obvious choice. All of the parts of the meal (corn, macaroni, nuggets) were more visually appealing than their regular nugget meal counterpart. The dino nuggets themselves were thicker and longer than the regular nuggets, and had a better coloring to them. After cooking, the dino meal was still the winner. The regular meal’s macaroni looked runny and the corn shrively, the nuggets themselves pale and unimpressive.
Blind taste testing followed the visual observations. In this category the regular nugget meal was the surprising winner. The nuggets were very flavorful and had a good crunch to them. The macaroni was in no way runny and the noodles were well cooked. The corn was still shrively and gross. The dino meal was (unfortunately) an overall disappointment. The nuggets had a nice texture to them but lack real flavor or substance. The macaroni was a runny mess, and the corn tasted like slightly crunchy nothing.
After a quick dance in the rain to clear our heads, we came to a Food Science ConclusionTM. The regular chicken nugget meal is the overall best choice. It may not be as visually appealing (or, let’s face it, fun) as the dino nugget meal but it cost less, had fewer calories, had more nuggets, and tasted better. It is clearly the better option if you are looking for a practical, palate pleasing meal. If you don’t care about things like taste or quantity and are just looking for a fun meal, the dino nuggets aren’t a terribly poor choice, and they come with candy!
