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Edible science: Teaching your kids while they cook
By VIRGINIA JUSTICE
Many people don’t realize that
cooking is a science and recipes are
actually formulas. It’s true – and
it’s one of the best ways to teach
children science while making it
enjoyable. Crea ng ex-
periments you can eat is a
great way to share the joy
of science with children.
Author Vicki Cobb has
wri en two books on the
subject, en tled “Science
Experiments You Can Eat”
and “More Science Ex-
periments You Can Eat.”
Both books focus on easy,
edible science experi-
ments that can be done
in the classroom or at
home. Since the release
of the fi rst book in 1984,
the idea caught on and others have
wri en books demonstra ng the
science of cooking for children
such as “The Science Chef: 100 Fun
Food Experiments and Recipes for
Kids” by Joan D’Amico and Karen E.
HEATHER A. BACON, PH.D. &
JENNIFER K. COOPER, PSY.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologists
Helping parents discover new ways to shape
behavior and reconnect with children.
Currently accepting new patients.
Most insurance and private pay accepted.
860 W. Elm Ave., Suite 204, Hermiston, OR 97838
541-289-7777 • hermistonpsych.com
Drummond or “Exploring Kitchen
Science” by The Exploratorium.
Beyond teaching science, cook-
ing and food are an excellent way
to teach math skills, especially frac-
ons. For example, use a pizza to
teach the concept of frac-
ons. Typically, pizzas are
cut into eight slices; howev-
er, you can cut one into as
many slices as you like. By
bringing math and science
into food and cooking, you
are making it a real-world
applica on, something
tangible and more easily
understood. Using a pizza
you can demonstrate how
2/8 is equal to 1/4 and 4/8
is equal to 1/2. Then you
can eat the lesson!
Did you know that
wintergreen lifesavers spark when
chewed? Take children into a com-
pletely dark room with a mirror and
allow them to watch as they bite
down on one. On a side note, you
may want to hide the lifesavers if
you buy them in a large bag; I found
the empty bag and many broken
lifesavers in our downstairs bath-
room a er showing my girls this
scien fi c trick.
Bread making is great to high-
light chemistry and biology. Start
with warm water, yeast and a bit
of sugar or honey. Yeast is a living
organism that grows in warmth
and feeds on the sugar. This organ-
ism produces gases, which, when
combined with fl our (another
food source for the yeast), salt,
and other ingredients, infl ates the
dough with air (gas) bubbles, giv-
ing bread its light, fl uff y texture.
You might not think salt would be
that important in bread making,
however, it is essen al. Salt acts as
Education
a control for the yeast. Without it,
the yeast would produce more and
more gas and your bread dough
would expand out of control.
An easy and inexpensive experi-
ment to demonstrate the need for
salt is to take two bowls, fi ll each
with one cup warm water(not over
110 degrees), 1 tsp. of yeast and 1
tsp. of sugar/honey. Mix the yeast
and sugar well into the water, place
both bowls on a cookie sheet in a
warm area free from dra s. A er
about half an hour add ½ tsp. of
salt to one of the bowls, allow the
bowls to sit undisturbed for an-
other hour or more. You should see
a considerable diff erence between
the bowl without salt, depending
upon how fresh the yeast is. It may
even fl ow over onto the cookie
sheet.
For addi onal edible science ex-
periments, do a Google search for
“kitchen science,” “science experi-
ments you can eat,” or “edible sci-
ence.” Pintrest is another excellent
resource for recipes, lesson plans
and other ways to connect learning
with fun. And you’ll fi nd more ideas
at www.cookingwithkids.org.
Studies show that reten on is
greater when learning is meaning-
ful, and most children fi nd ex-
perimen ng and ea ng enjoyable.
Learning is FUNdamental – why not
make it tasty, too!
________
Home economist Virginia JusƟ ce
holds an educaƟ on degree. The
Pendleton resident and her husband
have two college-aged daughters.
