15 Kitchen Science Projects Roundup!

By Amy Cowen on June 5, 2017 9:30 AM

Experiment with kitchen science with a great hands-on science project idea from Science Buddies. From molecular gastronomy to making the best grilled cheese and marshmallows, we've got suggestions for fifteen tasty kitchen-based STEM explorations for students.

Photo collage of ten food based science projects

Hands-on Science in the Kitchen. Hands-on STEM with Science Buddies. www.sciencebuddies.org

K-12 Science Projects and Activities in the Kitchen

For kids interested in chemistry or in cooking and food science, kitchen science projects are a great way to experiment with science and make something that can be eaten, too!

These 15 science projects and activities can be done in the kitchen and give students the opportunity to experiment to find the best approach to making a specific food item:

Make Yogurt Spheres Using Molecular Gastronomy: use reverse spherification to turn yogurt into semi-solid "ravioli" balls.
Comparing Cranberry Condiments: explore the difference in jellied cranberry and cranberry sauce.
Fruits Gone Bad? Discover Enzymatic Browning learn why fruits turn brown and experiment to find out how to make apple slices stay fresh longer.
Hot Ice Cream: use methyl cellulose to make hot ice cream, a dessert that is solid when hot and melts as it cools.
How Do You Make the 'Best' Cookie?: experiment to see if letting cookie dough sit in the refrigerator for 48 hours before baking makes any difference in how cookies taste.
How Far Can You Stretcha the Mozzarella: The Science of Making Cheese!: make cheese and experiment to find out which kind of milk works best.
Transform Drinks Into Semi-Solid Juice Balls That Pop in Your Mouth: use spherification to transform juice into small, semi-solid balls and experiment with the recipe to see how changing the amount of sodium citrate affects the process.
Kimchi Chemistry: make kimchi, a popular cabbage-based dish, and investigate how pH levels change as kimchi ferments.
Lactose, Sucrose, and Glucose: How Many Sugars are in Your Smoothie?: measure the concentration of sugars in common smoothie and milkshake ingredients.
Make Ice Cream in a Bag: make ice cream in a bag and investigate the role of cooling in the process.
Make Your Own Marshmallows: experiment with the ratio of sugar to corn syrup to find out how to make the best-tasting and best-textured marshmallows.
Processed Cheese, Please! Get Your Grilled Cheese Oooey Gooey Instead of Oily and Gloppy: experiment to find out how to make the best grilled cheese.
Shaking for Butter: explore the process of making butter and find out whether or not temperature makes a difference.
Shimmy, Shimmy Soda Pop: Develop Your Own Soda Pop Recipe: experiment with baking soda, citric acid, and sweetener to find the best proportions of each ingredient for the tastiest drink.
When Science is Sweet: Growing Rock Candy Crystals: use a sugar-water solution to make rock candy and investigate whether using seed crystals changes the growth rate of the sugar crystals.