AuntPol Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 My daughter wants to do Kitchen Chemistry for her 7th grade science. I know there is an MIT openware course. I've not really looked it over so I don't know if it would be too hard or not. I also know about the book "What Einstein Told His Cook" but have only flipped through it. Has anyone already desgined this wheel???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matilda Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I just checked out "Science Experiments You Can Eat" by Vicki Cobb and "Soda Science" by Zubrowski from the library. Neither one would work as a spine, but perhaps as a supplement to something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usetoschool Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Gourmet Lab is a complete science book published by the National Science Teacher's Association. I own it but won't be using it until next month when start a unit on the scientific method. I like the book and am excited about the experiments but I haven't actually done it yet. It is more of a using food to learn scientific principles than the science behind food. I also like (for the science behind food) as a reference and for fun Kitchen Science, Molecular Gastronomy and How to Read a French Fry. I bought at the Exploratorium in San Francisco a book called The Inquisitive Cook. It gives you the background info like the books above but also ideas for little experiments and demonstrations. It isn't as much serious science as Gourmet Lab but does give more ideas for what ifs than the the others. Apparently I like the science behind cooking because I have collected these over the past 15 years but having them all seems a little odd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 A couple of great books you could use: On Food and Cooking: The Science Lore of the Kitchen The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore Sounds like a fun course you are planning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Not a curriculum, but for inspiration... I like to watch the PBS show, "America's Test Kitchen". They explain the why of how foods react. Sometimes they will say stuff like, the protein bonds in the eggs form better this way etc. It would be an easy addition to your course. I am very interested in learning what you are planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 My girls did the MIT class when they were 11 and 12. It was not hard at all. We got the textbook (On Food & Cooking by McGee) and did the reading throughout the week and on Fri or the weekend we would do the cooking. There were 14 lessons in all. Lesson 12 called for making liquid nitrogen ice cream and we didn't have access to that so we did UTube videos. Lesson 13 is a Peer Teaching unit and the girls just chose a recipe to make and they shared with each other what they did and made notes. One of the best was lesson 10 (molecular gastronomy). It wasn't much as far as taste but the girls had fun making cola caviar! I organized the course into lessons that I compiled into a spiral-bound book. The book had the reading assignment, some pictures, the recipe and the assigned questions to be answered. It was one of the better elective projects we've done. We're doing Advanced Kitchen Chemistry (also MIT) in the fall and I'm doing a similar approach. We can't wait! In Advanced KC we'll be making caramel lollipops like the ones that See's Candy sells. Love Love Love those lollipops!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntPol Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 I found this neat website http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Amanda~ Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 :lurk5: I'm totally following this thread; my DD is so interested in cooking. this is neat. I've never heard of the MIT program; do you just follow it along or is there a way you have to sign up for the course? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntPol Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 The way I read it -you just follow the syllabus on your own. I scheduled it for research days and cooking days w/ some good eats videos off youtube to supplement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 I would try checking them at the library or borrowing from a friend to see if they float over your daughter's head, but some of Alton Brown's cookbooks are actually more chemistry than cooking ( just like his show Good Eats used to be). Not all of the, so look before you buy. The King Arthur Flour cookbooks go into a fair amount of background on the ins and out of why this ingredient works and this fails and why this gets prepped this way so it can react with that-- not as much detail as Alton, but readable; but limited to baking. More detail than the generic Cookbooks from Pillsbury or BC can definitely be found there. One or both might be a good 'real book' to round out a kitchen chem course if your daughter really dives deep into the subject. Jen http://hillandalefarmschool.blogspot.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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