Elementary School, Cooking & Food Science Science Experiments (Page 12)

Steamy Standing Time: How Food Size Impacts Carryover Cooking

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

"What? My food needs some standing time? How can food stand? I don't see any legs on those baked potatoes!" Whether you're using a traditional oven or a microwave, standing time is an important concept in cooking or baking. When you remove a food from an oven or a microwave, the food retains heat and continues to cook for several minutes after it has been removed from the heat source. This process of the food continuing to cook, using the retained heat in the food itself, is called carryover… Read more

Sweet as Sugar: Comparing the Sweetness of Sugar & Sugar Substitutes

STEM Activity

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Picture your favorite treats: chocolate fudge cake, vanilla ice cream, pink lemonade… Yum! Can you imagine what these might taste like without the sweet flavor of sugar? Your sweet tooth might be aching without the chemical compound of sucrose that is so appealing. Much of the food we eat contains sucrose or natural sweeteners such as honey. There are of course other sweetening options. Have you ever seen "zero-calorie and sugar-free lemonade" at the store and wondered how it… Read more

Tasty Arrangements: How to Position Food in Microwave Cooking

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

When you think of successful inventions from the 1900's that have dramatically changed how people live, what comes to mind? The car? Radio? TV? The computer? What about the microwave oven? You might not remember a time when microwave ovens were not a standard part of most kitchens, but your parents or grandparents probably do. They can remember when heating leftovers took a good 30 minutes in a traditional oven. Or thawing a food from the freezer meant leaving it in the refrigerator overnight.… Read more

The Effect of Roasting on Color, Flavor, and Texture of Peanut Butter

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Peanut butter is a popular ingredient in sandwiches, cookies, and many other common foods. In this cooking and food science fair project, you will roast peanuts in the oven at 350 degrees for 20, 30, and 40 minutes to produce variable levels of color and flavor. Roasting not only adds complex flavors to the peanuts, but it also destroys enzymes that produce off-flavors. Each lot of roasted peanuts will be used to make a batch of peanut butter. You will evaluate each batch of peanut butter for… Read more

Top Crops: Finding Hidden Grasses and Beans in Processed Foods

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

It's the bottom of the ninth, and you've spent a great afternoon at the ball game with a hotdog, a soda, and an ice cream in hand, but I'll bet you're not thinking about how many crops went into those classic baseball snacks. Sure, the bun contains wheat, but did you know that the hotdog might contain wheat, too? And soybeans may have been used to give that ice cream its perfectly smooth texture, while corn was likely used to sweeten the entire meal! Crops can be changed and added to processed… Read more

Invisible Marshmallow Ink – Send Sweet Secret Messages Using Marshmallows!

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When we put toast in the toaster, or add marshmallows to the top of our sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving, we expect them to turn brown, and to develop a sweet, caramelized flavor. Although we expect it to happen, do you know why certain foods take on these new colors and flavors as they are toasted? In this activity you will explore the reaction that creates these tasty, toasty treats, and experiment with speeding up and slowing down the process. Read more

Mac and Cheese Science: What Makes a Thick Sauce?

STEM Activity

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There’s nothing like your favorite comfort food after a long day, right? Maybe it’s beef stew or a really great salad, or many people’s favorite, macaroni and cheese. The sauce has got to be just the right texture, though, or your noodles are either swimming in the sauce, or just one big glob! So how can you get just the right texture? Get ready to invite some friends over to taste-test. With this science activity, you can be a scientist, a cook and a crowd pleaser all at the… Read more

Making a Sugar Thermometer

STEM Activity

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Bakers (and those who help bakers!) know that at some point in every baking recipe, the instructions will tell you to preheat your oven to a certain temperature. But if you’ve ever tried to bake cookies and they come out flat, or take too long, it’s possible that your oven is to blame. You might set your oven to 350°F, but how do you know that the inside of your oven actually reaches that temperature? You could use a thermometer…. or you could use sugar! Because we know… Read more

Saucy Science: Exploring the Science of Marinades

STEM Activity

Have you ever tasted a delicious burger and wondered how it got so much flavor? Maybe you have heard your family talk about marinating foods before cooking or grilling them. A marinade is a mixture of seasonings used to flavor or tenderize food. Most cooks have strong opinions about the best way to marinate their favorite food, be it a large steak or a tofu burger. In this activity, you will do a test to see what factors might be most important in making a marinade stick to the surface of food.… Read more

Soft-Boiled Science: Egg-cellently Cooked Eggs

STEM Activity

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Have you ever been in such a rush in the morning that you barely had time for breakfast? Eggs can be a perfect breakfast choice because they can be cooked quickly and in many different ways. Not only do eggs have a spotlight right now because of Easter approaching, but eggs have been commonly eaten for thousands of years, all year round and all over the world. A soft-boiled egg is a choice that many people make. They like the way the thickened tasty yolk coats their hash… Read more

Elementary School, Cooking & Food Science Science Experiments (121 results)

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