Unit 1: The Secrets of Baking
The first of four units uncovers “The Secrets of Baking” with activities exposing the gluten generated by different types of flour, experimenting with different types of leavening, and exploring how different ingredients and mixing affects the final results of baked goods.
Activity 1.1 - Flour’s Secret Ingredient: Great Globs of Gluten
Glossary
King Arthur Flour
Bob’s Red Mill
Facts about wheat
Information about whole grains
Need help kneading?
Watch a video about growing and harvesting wheat in Oklahoma
Check out this diagram of a wheat kernel and the milling process
Watch a food scientist (Cereal Chemist) at work testing the protein content of flours.
Activity 1.2 - Baking the Best Bread: Leavening Agents in Action
Glossary
Soft Pretzel Recipe
Learn more about of yeast, including how it is manufactured
View a commercial bread operation
Activity 1.3 - Batters that Matter: Ingredients and Mixing Methods
Glossary
A recipe for plain muffins has been modified for use in the experiments.
Better Baking Mix handout
Mixing, storage, common issues
Unit 2: The Power of Protein Chemistry
Unit 2 explores “The Power of Protein Chemistry.” Activities include cracking, separating and different ways of cooking eggs, using egg whites to make soufflés and making Queso Fresco; a fresh cheese.
Activity 2.1 - Eggs are Exceptional: The Right Heat for the Eggs You Eat
Glossary
Better understand egg coagulation in baked goods, as you saw in the muffin lesson (1.3). View a video for food scientists that begins with an example of egg coagulation in scrambled eggs then moves on to baked goods.
Before the activity, view a series of videos from the Discovery Channel and the American Egg Board that describe the process eggs undergo as they travel from farm to table. The videos include jobs and career development in the poultry industry. See how science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM courses) are used on an egg farm and complete a self-evaluation. The videos are intended for middle school and older.
How to Crack an Egg 1
How to Crack an Egg 2
Instructional video for separating an egg
Directions for peeling a hard-boiled egg modified from the American Egg Board
Stirred Custard Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens
Learn more about the composition of eggs, a variety of egg products that are used in food service and manufacturing operations, and egg quality
Two students, Josh and Kenlyn research the egg industry for a school video project. Their videos include an introduction, highlights of hens, the egg, egg farming history, a road trip to Purdue University, to a farm, commercial hen house and egg processing plant.
Watch the twelve educational video programs to learn about the many functions of eggs. Students with a science background may enjoy testing their knowledge with the quizzes that are provided.
Activity 2.2 - Making Sense of Soufflés: Eggstreme Egg Makeover
Glossary
Learn more about egg advertising and marketing practices in stores
Make new recipes using eggs.
Learn about the many function of eggs in food processing. Especially for advanced or older students.
How to Make a Chocolate Souffle
Demonstration of folding ingredients into egg whites
Angel Food Cake recipe from Better Homes and Gardens
Instructional video for cracking an egg
Instructional video for separating an egg
Video of making a chocolate soufflé
View a demonstration of folding ingredients into egg whites
Activity 2.3 - Separating the Curds from the Whey: Queso Fresco Cheese
Glossary
Download this video (7:42 min.) onto laptop or tablet to view during cheese cooling time. It shows how cheese is made at Washington State University Creamery.
Find recipes using cheese and try them out - always with an adult.
Learn more about types of cheese from A - Z. Explore this website and choose some new cheese to taste with your family.
Watch a video making Cougar Gold Cheese (a white cheddar) at Washington State University.
Unit 3: The Inner Mysteries of Fruits and Vegetables
Investigate “The Inner Mysteries of Fruits and Vegetables.” Activities delve into the causes and solutions to browning in various fruits and vegetables, experimenting with various treatments for cooking appetizing vegetables, and exploring osmosis and diffusion in preserving/preparing fruits.
Activity 3.1 - Fabulous Fresh Fruit and Vegetables: Down with Brown
Glossary
From the Washington Restaurant Association and the WA State Department of Labor and Industries
From Utah State University Cooperative Extension
Washington State Apple Commission
Learn more about apple varieties at the Washington State Apple Commission
Apple Recipes
History of Raisins
Recipes including traditionally Hispanic recipes
Growing, Harvesting, Processing & Packaging Raisins
Find out how McDonald's restaurant prepares fresh apple slices
Activity 3.2 - Heat It and Treat It: The Science of Cooking Vegetables
Activity 3.2 - Heat It and Treat It: The Science of Cooking Vegetables
Italian Pasta Salad Recipe
Visit the produce manager at a grocery store. Ask how they store produce to keep it safe and if they work with farmers/growers using Good Agriculture Practices (GAPS). Visit this website before you go.
Are the carrots in this picture real? Investigate "Colorful Carrots"
Look up the amount of nutrients in foods at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database
From USDA Agricultural Research Service. Some plant pigments are phytonutrients and important to human health. Studying plant pigments is interesting to horticultural researchers, medical researchers, food producers, and food marketers as well as consumers.
Carrot Processing
Packaging and Distribution
Quality Assurance and Food Safety
Processing Peas
From Cornell University, food safety for fresh and processed vegetables begins on the farm and ends at your table.
Activity 3.3 - The Science of Cooking Fruit: All about Osmosis & Diffusion
Glossary
This video uses a substance called "urea" as an example. We're using sugar. So while watching this video, substitute the word "sugar" for "urea."
How Diffusion Works
Find out more about dried plums, including recipes and learn how to make dried fruit at home.
Make your own dried fruit.
Complete instructions in this free publication from Colorado State University
History of Raisins
Recipes including traditionally Hispanic recipes
Growing, Harvesting, Processing & Packaging Raisins
Unit 4: Be a Food Scientist
The fourth and final unit, “Be a Food Scientist”, looks at a day in the life of a food scientist by inviting guest speakers or utilizing videos, creating a new beverage, and experimenting with sugar crystallization and caramelization.
Activity 4.1 - Exploring Food Science Careers: A Day in the Life of a Food Scientist
Glossary
What is Food Science, Anyway
Undergraduate programs in the US and Canada recognized by the Institute of Food Technologists)
Washington State University and University of Idaho School of Food Science
Interviews with Food Scientists: Online Exclusives
Food scientists working for a university, Disney, NASA, and in food packaging.
Fu-hung Hsieh: Food Science Professor
Brian Thane - Food Packaging Professional
Disney Consumer Specialists
Michele Perchonok - Food Scientist at NASA
Find a speaker from the Institute of Food Technologists for an interview. Several of their member scientists are interested in doing such interviews.
Examples of careers in food science and food technology.
Activity 4.2 - Make a New Beverage: Creative Product Formulation, Taste Testing, and Labeling
Glossary
Information on Umami
Learn more about an international flavor company
Specializing in flavor and fragrances. Their staff travels the world to find different flavors and then put them into products.
Flavor Chemists at Givauda
What is carbonated water?
Recipes for Fizzy Fruit Drinks
Sunkist Drink Recipes for Kids
Review the guidance and regulations to get an idea of everything that is involved in properly labeling a food or beverage. Near the top of the Index on this webpage is a section on "Juices."
Pineapple Juice Processing in Italy
Orange Juice Processing in the US
Develop and Produce a New Beverage
Create a Nutrition Facts label for the beverage you developed.
Website data is from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Nutrient Data Laboratory. It's a searchable database with nutrient information on foods
Find out the calories and nutrients in food with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "Food-A-Pedia." You can compare two foods side by side.
Learn about taste and smell (useful for elementary school students)
Activity 4.3 - The Art and Science of Sugar Crystallization & Caramelization: Chemistry is Sweet
Glossary
How Candy is Made: Jelly Belly
How Candy is Made: Lollipops
How Candy is Made: Candy Canes
How Candy is Made: Fudge
Recipe for Peanut or Almond Brittle
Discover the story of chocolate starting with harvesting cocoa through candy bar production
Extracting Sugar
Unit 1: The Secrets of Baking
The first of four units uncovers “The Secrets of Baking” with activities exposing the gluten generated by different types of flour, experimenting with different types of leavening, and exploring how different ingredients and mixing affects the final results of baked goods.
Unit 1 Glossaries
Unit 2: The Power of Protein Chemistry
Unit 2 explores “The Power of Protein Chemistry.” Activities include cracking, separating and different ways of cooking eggs, using egg whites to make soufflés and making Queso Fresco; a fresh cheese.
Unit 3: The Inner Mysteries of Fruits and Vegetables
Unit 3 investigates “The Inner Mysteries of Fruits and Vegetables.” Activities delve into the causes and solutions to browning in various fruits and vegetables, experimenting with various treatments for cooking appetizing vegetables, and exploring osmosis and diffusion in preserving/preparing fruits.
Unit 4: Be a Food Scientist
The fourth and final unit, “Be a Food Scientist”, looks at a day in the life of a food scientist by inviting guest speakers or utilizing videos, creating a new beverage, and experimenting with sugar crystallization and caramelization.
Shop 4-H Healthy Living Curriculum
From food science to health and fitness, Shop 4‑H offers a variety of healthy living curriculum.