Eighth Grade, Cooking & Food Science Science Experiments (Page 10)

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Caramelization is the name of the cooking process that occurs as sugar is heated and the molecules begin to break apart. But what happens to the sugar as it breaks apart? And what do the physical changes mean for the flavor of the sugar? Using the Internet or cookbooks, read up on the chemistry of caramelization, then head to the kitchen with an adult to caramelize your own batch of sugar. With an adult's help, dissolve 1 1/3 cups of sugar in 2/3 cup of water. Heat the mixture in a pan over… Read more

Tough Beans: Which Cooking Liquids Slow Softening the Most?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

OK, spill the beans, what's your favorite bean-rich food? Burritos? Chili? Or maybe you prefer the spicy Indian stew of lentils, known as dal? But what about fried tofu? Soymilk? Or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Did you know those foods come from beans as well? Beans are important to the diets of many people, and in this cooking and food science fair project, you'll learn how the liquid that beans are cooked in affects how quickly or slowly they soften. Read more

You Say Po-tay-to and I Say Po-tah-to, but No Matter What, There's Starch in Those Taters!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

French fries, hash browns, mashed potatoes with gravy, potato latkes, there are so many things to make with the humble potato. The potato is a tuber from the perennial plant Solanum Tuberosum of the Solanaceae family. There are actually about 5,000 varieties of potatoes, but most of them can be traced back to the original potato from southern Peru. This single ancestor originated more than 10,000 years ago. In addition to being high in vitamins and minerals, potatoes have a varying amount of… Read more

Comparing Cranberry Condiments

STEM Activity

1

2

3

4

5

1 review

Does your family have jellied cranberry sauce with Thanksgiving dinner? Jellied cranberries are thick and retain the shape of the mold in which they are placed, which might mean a turkey-shaped mold or even the shape of the can if you use a canned version. Taking a bite of jiggly jellied cranberries can be a fun addition to a delicious meal, but cranberries can also be served as a liquid-like sauce. Both versions use the same ingredients, so what makes one turn into a gelatin while the other… Read more

Find the Missing Ingredient

STEM Activity

1

2

3

4

5

3 reviews

Food advertisements and labels bombard us with enticing slogans and attractive images, luring us into consuming the food. But have you ever wondered how nutritious the food is? Have you ever looked at a nutrition facts label and wondered what the columns of words and numbers meant? This activity will shed some light on the label. You will explore serving sizes and nutrients, and might find a discrepancy. Why would the sum of the nutrients not always add up to the total? Like a detective,… Read more

Get Saucy with the Thickening Power of Starches

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Who doesn't love soaking up the last bit of gravy on Thanksgiving? Or dipping a crusty cube of bread into a cheese fondue? Or scooping up the thick juices from a fruit pie? Sauces make eating a joy! They provide concentrated flavor in a thickened liquid form, with a pleasing texture and consistency that carries or compliments the flavor of the rest of the food. No matter if they're salty, spicy, savory, or sweet, sauces make foods richer and more special. There are many ways to thicken sauces,… Read more

Hey, There's Corn in My Candy!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

If you browse through a candy cookbook, you might notice that many of the recipes call for corn syrup in addition to sugar. Both sugar and corn syrup are sweet, so why do you need corn syrup if you already have sugar? In candy making, corn syrup is known as an interfering agent. But what does this mean and how does it work? You can find out for yourself by making two batches of rock candy, one with corn syrup and one without. For example, you could alter the science project When Science is… Read more

Hot Pot: Choosing the Right Pot in Which to Cook Your Meals

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

What is cooking? Cooking is applying heat to food in order to help make it taste good. But the decision to cook your food doesn't end there. Do you want to cook it at a low temperature for a long time or do you want to apply high heat and cook or sear it right away? You might think that a pot is just something in which to cook your food, but it is also a cooking tool. Pots and pans are made from different kinds of materials, such as aluminum, stainless steel, iron, and ceramics. Each of these… Read more

How Can Tofu Pack Such a Flavorful Punch?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Spicy fried tofu. It's a delicious and savory main dish at many Asian restaurants. Stab a golden-brown piece, bite into it, and the juice inside rushes out, filling your mouth with rich flavors. Continue eating and you find the texture is very chewy and meat-like. Did you ever wonder how those white blocks of tofu you see in grocery stores are transformed into the chewy little sponges packed with flavorful juices you see in Asian restaurants? Try this cooking and food science fair project to… Read more

Is the Soup Ready? Measure How Much Water is Absorbed by Dried Beans

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Dried beans are a major ingredient in dishes served all over the world. In their dried form, they can be stored for years and then "brought back to life" by soaking them in water. In this cooking and food science fair project, you will measure just how much water is absorbed by beans when they rehydrate (soak up water). Can such a little bean really hold that much water? Read more

Eighth Grade, Cooking & Food Science Science Experiments (120 results)

Explore Our Science Videos