Cooking & Food Science Science Experiments (Page 8)

None of Your Fizz-ness – Make Your Own Sherbet!

STEM Activity

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Did you know that if you could take the acid in your stomach and put a few drops on a wooden table, your stomach acid would eat right through it? The acid in your stomach is as powerful as battery acid! Luckily your stomach isn’t damaged by this powerful acid, because it has special cells that act as a barrier to the acid, preventing it from breaking down your stomach tissue. These cells produce a basic mucus that neutralizes the acid in your stomach. Turns out, your stomach is a pretty… Read more

Oil and Vinegar Do Mix…When You Have an Emulsifier

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

In this cooking and food science fair project, you will explore the role of proteins as emulsifying agents. Emulsifying agents are substances that are soluble in both fat and water and enable fat to be uniformly dispersed in water as an emulsion. Foods that consist of such emulsions include butter, margarine, salad dressings, mayonnaise, and ice cream. Emulsifying agents are also used in baking to aid the smooth incorporation of fat into the dough and to keep the baked goods tender. Natural… Read more

Perfect Plating: Which Food Presentation Technique is Best?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Did you know that people eat with their eyes as well as with their mouths? Food presentation—also called plating techniques or garnishing—makes food appear more appetizing. Checking out how the food looks is the cook's last task and the diner's first. Food that is well-presented is beautiful, colorful, and captivating. Not only does it make the diner really want to eat, but good presentation also allows the diner to identify the food ingredients, their quality, and the technique… Read more

Processed Cheese, Please! Get Your Grilled Cheese Oooey Gooey Instead of Oily and Gloppy

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

A delicious and quick lunch is a cup of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. Biting into the toasty, butter-soaked bread and gooey cheese is very comforting. But what makes the cheese melt so nicely? Do all cheeses melt this way? In this cooking and food science fair project, you will experiment with making and determining the best recipe for processed cheese. Read more

Salty Science: Is There Iodine In Your Salt?

STEM Activity

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Have you ever noticed that the salt you’re using says it’s “iodized”? Iodine is a micronutrient, which means we need it in small quantities to be healthy. Because iodine is relatively rare in many people’s normal diets, it’s added to table salt. Then when people salt their food, like tasty turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, they’re also getting some iodine. In this science activity, you’ll use some kitchen-friendly chemistry to investigate… Read more

Save Those Spoiling Strawberries!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Fresh strawberries and summer just go together. Walking through the local farmers' market on a warm day, the bright, red strawberries call out to you, beckoning you to buy them and take them home. The next day, as you get ready to savor the delicious berries, you notice that yesterday's juicy, red strawberries are now covered in...eewwww, mold! In this cooking and food science fair project, you will investigate thermotherapy and whether this technique can preserve strawberries and prevent mold… Read more

Shattering Sugar – Make Your Own Hollywood Sugar Glass

STEM Activity

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You’re watching an action movie, and suddenly the hero dives through a glass window! Or a car window shatters as the hero navigates an exciting car chase! The glass looks so real, but believe it or not, Hollywood movie sets rarely use real glass for those scenes. Can you guess what they use instead? If you guessed candy…you’re right! Instead of using real glass, which is expensive and difficult to replace for multiple shots, Hollywood movie sets use Sugar Glass! This cheap,… Read more

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

The Curdling Properties of Different Milks: How to Avoid Little Miss Muffet's Curds

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Has a milk-based soup, sauce, or gravy ever curdled on you (formed lumps) as you were preparing it? Curdling is the process of coagulation that occurs where the proteins in the milk clump together. Sometimes curdling is desirable—for example, if you want to make a delicious cheese or yogurt—but if you are trying to make a milk-based soup or gratin, or if you're adding milk to a hot drink, curdling is very unwanted because you lose the smooth, creamy texture. Nobody likes clumps and… 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

Cooking & Food Science Science Experiments (121 results)

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