In the Dough - Lesaffre August 2018 - 6

Getting Personal

WITH SHERRILL CROPPER, NEW PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT LAB MANAGER, R&D AND TECHNICAL
SERVICES FOR LESAFFRE
Sherrill Cropper, PhD, new
product development lab
manager, R&D and technical
services for Lesaffre, grew
up with her hands in the food
industry. "I know how to milk a
cow by hand," she said. "I grew
up on a dairy farm in Ohio."
Throughout her childhood, Dr.
Cropper was an active member
of 4-H and Future Farmers of
America (FFA), winning several
awards for her Self-Determined
Projects in 4-H.

"I THINK MY
FAVORITE
THING
ABOUT BEING
A FOOD
SCIENTIST IS
THAT THERE'S
ALWAYS
SOMETHING
TO LEARN."
SHERRILL CROPPER,
NEW PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT
LAB MANAGER FOR
LESAFFRE

While she didn't always
think she would go into food
science - she initially wanted
to be an air traffic controller
or OB/GYN - Dr. Cropper
went on to pursue a BS and
MS in food science from The
Ohio State University and a
PhD in grain science from
Kansas State University. Her
professional experience prior
to Lesaffre includes working in
R&D and production for some
of the top food companies.
Dr. Cropper brought her
experience and knowledge
to Lesaffre where she creates
ingredients for industrial

bakery applications. Her love of
learning has continued beyond
her educational career into her
professional one at Lesaffre.
"I think my favorite thing about
being a food scientist is that
there's always something to
learn, and I am able to set
up and run experiments to
solve problems," Dr. Cropper
said. "I also enjoy sharing my
knowledge with others."

If she were to have a day to bake
with - and learn from - any
person, Dr. Cropper chose Julia
Child. "I believe that her vibrant
personality would make it really
fun and entertaining," she said.
Dr. Cropper's life motto - life is
about the people you meet -
certainly would be fulﬁlled with
that day.

While she may not get the
opportunity to learn from Julia
Child, the people she works with
Running experiments dominates, every day at Lesaffre have been
a source of knowledge. The
Dr. Cropper's day-to-day at
Lesaffre. You can often ﬁnd her biggest lesson she's learned on
the job: Always ask the expert
in the lab running baking tests
bakers if she's not sure about
on ingredients and evaluating
those test loaves with the texture issues related to ingredients
analyzer and C-Cell. All of those and baking. "They have a lot
of experience and knowledge
tests pay off, however, when
she's able to develop ingredients from the ﬁeld, and they can
that will truly meet the needs of always teach me something," Dr.
Cropper said.
Lesaffre's customers.
"I'm most proud of being able
to develop successful dough
improvers for customers in
the industry," she said. "I have
recently developed a couple that
have worked really well."

For young people thinking
of pursuing a career in food
science, Dr. Cropper encouraged
the value of hands-on
experience. "Go out and get
some experience, whether it
be with a small bakery or an
internship with a big industrial
baking company," she said.
"That will help give you a better
understanding of how the
industry works and to see if this a
career you are really interested in
pursuing."

DOUGH TESTING:
MIXER SERIES
Mixing is the most critical step in dough
development. See how our series of ﬁve
mixers can help us test how different
ingredients change dough development.
This dough testing technology allows
us to customize more effective dough
improvers to meet our customers' needs
through scientiﬁc measurements and baking
expertise.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In the Dough - Lesaffre August 2018

In the Dough - Lesaffre August 2018 - 1
In the Dough - Lesaffre August 2018 - 2
In the Dough - Lesaffre August 2018 - 3
In the Dough - Lesaffre August 2018 - 4
In the Dough - Lesaffre August 2018 - 5
In the Dough - Lesaffre August 2018 - 6
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/lesaffre/in-the-dough-lesaffre-september-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/lesaffre/in-the-dough-lesaffre-december
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/lesaffre/in-the-dough-lesaffre-august-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/lesaffre/in-the-dough-lesaffre-april-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/lesaffre/2020_10_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/lesaffre/2020_08_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/lesaffre/2020_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/lesaffre/2019_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/lesaffre/2019_07_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/lesaffre/2019_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/lesaffre/2018_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/lesaffre/2018_08_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/lesaffre/2018_05_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/lesaffre/2018_03_01
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com