You know sweet and salty, sour, and bitter. But do you know what umami is?
Chemical educator and Compound Interest blogger Andy Brunning takes a peek inside the delectable molecular world of chocolate
Chemical educator and Compound Interest blogger Andy Brunning packs in the science involved in preserving your home-grown fruits and veggies
Learn all you need to know how to become a food scientist: What is this career like? What skills are needed? What is the pay? What education is required?
From cheesecake and dough to marinades and gelatin-based desserts, experiment with food science projects!
So many fun science projects and experiments with food! Learn and explore right in your kitchen.
Everyone’s favorite snack is actually a scientific example of physical change. Popcorn itself wasn’t really invented, but discovered, and might have very well been at the first Thanksgiving feast. Let’s look a little deeper into this delicious discovery!So
Try this cool kitchen chemistry experiment~ make homemade gummy juice noodles! This chemical reaction makes the juice solid.
Learn about polymer science while making some yummy homemade fruit gummies.
My kids would be thrilled to learn about genetics with this edible DNA strand. You find the lesson plans and instructions on the Genetic Science Learning Center website.
Teach kids about space with this astronaut ice cream recipe! It's a fun addition to any space or astronomy lesson or when learning about astronauts.
Get ready to eat your science with fun food activities for kids that are completely edible! Easy set up & tasty makes the perfect activity.
Spherification is a cool technique that kids can use to transform liquids (Hot sauce! Cranberry juice!) into solid, edible spheres.
If you want to avoid developing an apple shape, then you should eat salmon and walnuts, new research suggests. Swedish researchers discovered that people who eat a lot of polyunsaturated fat gain more muscle - and less fat - than those who eat a lot of saturated fat. People who eat mainly polyunsaturated fat - which salmon and walnuts are rich in - also store less fat around their waists and their internal organs. This was the first study on humans to show that the fat composition of food not only influences cholesterol levels in the blood and the risk of heart disease, but also where in the body fat will be stored. The findings have recently been published in the American journal Diabetes. The study Researchers at Uppsala University studied 39 young adult men and women of normal weight, who ate 750 extra calories a day for seven weeks. The goal was for them to gain 3% of their starting weight. The project received considerable attention when it started in 2011, partly because the extra calories were ingested in the form of muffins with high fat content, baked in the lab by Fredrik Rosqvist, a doctoral candidate and first author of the study. One half of the subjects were random to eat surplus calories from polyunsaturated fat (sunflower oil), while the other half got their surplus calories from saturated fat (palm oil). Both diets contained the same amount of sugar, carbohydrates, fat, and protein; the only difference between muffins was the type of fat. The increase in body fat and the distribution of fat in the body was measured using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI scans) before and after the weight gain, as was the muscle mass in the body. Gene activity was measured in the abdominal visceral fat before and after the weight gain with the help of a gene chip that studies several thousand genes at a time. The findings Despite comparable weight gains between the two diet groups, the surplus consumption of saturated fat caused a markedly greater increase in the amount of fat in the liver and abdomen (especially the fat surrounding the internal organs, visceral fat) in comparison with the surplus consumption of polyunsaturated fat. Moreover the total amount of body fat was greater in the saturated fat group, while, on the other hand, the increase in muscle mass was three times less for those who ate saturated fat compared with those who ate polyunsaturated fat. The researchers believe their findings also suggest people who eat lots of polyunsaturated fat are less likely to develop heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Bottom line Thus, gaining weight on excess calories from polyunsaturated fat caused more gain in muscle mass, and less body fat than overeating a similar amount of saturated fat. Since most of us are in positive energy balance, and consequently gain weight slowly but gradually over time, the present results are highly relevant for most Western populations. "Liver fat and visceral fat seems to contribute to a number of disturbances in metabolism. These findings can therefore be important for individuals with metabolic diseases such as diabetes. If the results regarding increased muscle mass following consumption of polyunsaturated fat can be confirmed in our coming studies, it will potentially be interesting for many elderly people, for whom maintaining muscle mass is of great importance in preventing morbidity", says Ulf Risérus, associate professor at the Department of Public Health and Caring Science and director of the study. Not only how much fat your body has matters, but also WHERE the fat is stored When it comes to the risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, it seems more important where in the body the fat is stored than how much fat the body has. Visceral fat, along with a high proportion of fat in the liver, is closely associated with increased risk for developing type-2 diabetes. These fat depots are therefore important targets for new drugs and dietary strategies. A number of studies have indicated that a higher intake of polyunsaturated fats from plant oils and nuts is associated with a decreased risk of type-2 diabetes, but the reasons for this remain unclear. The present study proposes a potential explanation for such an association, showing that polyunsaturated fatty acids can affect fat distribution in the body more favorably than saturated fats, probably by regulating increased energy combustion or decreased storage of visceral fat in connection with calorie-rich diets. Fat affects body's genes The researchers were also able to see that over-consumption of saturated fats seems to be able to "turn on" certain genes in fatty tissue that increase the storage of fat in the abdomen and at the same time hamper insulin regulation. Polyunsaturated fats, instead, can "turn on" genes in visceral fat that in turn are linked to reduced storage of fat and improved sugar metabolism in the body. The discovery may also be a contributing factor regarding the tendency of some individuals to accumulate fat in the liver and abdomen. The new findings suggest that the fat composition of the diet, in the long term, might play a role in preventing obesity-related disorders, like type-2 diabetes, at an early stage, before overweight develops. "This is of great interest, as we lack preventive treatments for fatty liver and visceral fat today. The new findings also support international dietary recommendations, which, among other things, recommend replacing some saturated fat from meat, butter, and palm oil, for example, with unsaturated fats from plant oils and fatty fish", says Ulf Risérus. Sources: http://www.eurekalert.org/, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/, http://www.sciencedaily.com/, http://medicalxpress.com/, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health
Edible water bubbles are a fun way to learn about food science and molecular gastronomy. Plus you can turn them into a delicious recipe for popping boba.
Did you know that certain fruits have enzymes that when mixed with gelatin they prevent it from setting? We had to try it out, of course! So, read on to learn how to do this
Your kids are going to be amazed at this simple molecular gastronomy kitchen experiment that allows them to eat water instead of drink it.
Ice cream is a mainstay of summer – for many, a trip to the beach would be incomplete without one. Despite its seeming simplicity, ice cream is a prime...
Fruit Caviar - Molecular Gastronomy: This instructable explains the basics of fruits spherification.It gives example of desserts with orange, lemon, raspberry and kiwi. For your first try I recommend a fruit with strong taste like lemon.
An erupting lemon volcano is the perfect kitchen science activity or chemistry experiment to try with the kids.
Learn the science of baking with this complete cake guide that includes tips to help you bake perfect cakes with properly measured ingredients that react to create the chemical reactions cakes need to rise and bake! With these baking basics, you'll be able to master cake baking in no time.
Digestion experiment for kids! An easy science experiment from at-home materials about how the stomach breaks down food. Anatomy science for kids.
Baking is a fun (and often tasty!) hobby. Here are some ways to teach science through baking activities, for children of all ages.
Have some fun with one of these kitchen science experiments. Experiment with ice, learn the science behind food, or do some classic experiments.
Over 50 fun science experiments for kids! Simple science activities you can do at home or in the classroom.
How does popcorn pop? What is the volume of popcorn? Answer these questions and more with these fun popcorn science experiments for kids.
Get ready to eat your science with fun food activities for kids that are completely edible! Easy set up & tasty makes the perfect activity.
As the chemistry of chocolate is a topic that's been pretty much exhausted on the site (see here, here, here, here, and here), for the Easter weekend we're instead homing in on the 'egg' side of Easter Eggs. For such a simple staple of the...
Explore the science of pancakes. Try with and without baking powder, and with and without whisking eggs. Which combination makes the BEST pancake?
Edible boogers, for one.
Ever had questions about food safety? Here are 8 things you need to know to make sure the food you prepare and eat is as safe as possible.
Have you ever made banana water (also known as banana peel compost tea)? I'm a skeptic that banana peel tea is actually as great for plants as social media trends imply but the process of
Get the kids excited about food AND learning with these super fun Food Science Experiments - inspired by Penn College's Modernist Kitchen Class.
TONS of ways for kids of all ages to explore chemistry, biology, physics, and earth science with food items you have in your kitchen! EPIC LIST!
50 fun and easy kitchen science experiments for kids. Make honeycomb, a bouncy egg, colour mix with jelly, sugar crystals and more!
Science of Baking Class: We’ve all enjoyed a light and tender muffin, or a moist and delectable slice of cake, but have you ever thought about why the texture and crumb are the way they are, or what it takes to achieve such results? Welcome to the Science of Baking wher…
Edible science experiments are a great way to incorporate food and science into one activity. Kids will love learning the science behind the projects and watching how things work together.
Edible water bubbles are a fun way to learn about food science and molecular gastronomy. Plus you can turn them into a delicious recipe for popping boba.
Play, learn, eat, repeat.
Food science experiments are fun, educational activities to teach kids about kitchen science.
From cheesecake and dough to marinades and gelatin-based desserts, experiment with food science projects!
