Science Chef: 100 Fun Food Experiments and Recipes for Kids by Joan D'Amico, Karen Eich Drummond, J. D'Amico

Product Details

Synopsis

What melts in your mouth and not in your hands, plumps when you cook it, and comes in more than forty-eight scrumptious flavors? Give up? The correct answer is: Science!

With The Science Chef you'll learn loads of basic science by doing fun, easy-to-perform cooking projects. And you get to eat the results when you're finished!

Why do onions make you cry? How does yeast make bread rise? What makes popcorn pop, whipped cream frothy, and angel food cake fluffy? You'll discover the scientific answers to these and dozens of other tasty mysteries when you prepare kid-tested recipes for everything from Cinnamon Toast and Basic Baked Potatoes to Stromboli Pizzoli and Monkey Bread.

Whether you're a beginner or an experienced cook, you can become a great Science Chef. All 100 experiments and recipes require only common ingredients and standard kitchen utensils. And The Science Chef includes rules for kitchen safety and cleanup, plus a complete nutrition guide.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-9-``In baking, it is often possible to substitute applesauce or prune butter for fat.'' If for nothing else than that factoid, this book is worthy of purchase. Fortunately, there is much more in it that young scientists and cooks will find useful. There are some inaccuracies (it is gas in onions that causes tears, not oil) but that is a minor quibble compared to the fascinating sections on making curds and whey (and why it is called ``cottage cheese''), why popcorn pops, and why one bad apple can spoil the whole barrel. Scientific information is kept to a chatty minimum, as this is not a treatise on the makeup of the foods we eat, but rather a way for kids (young and not so young) to have fun cooking. Each chapter begins with facts about the topic, followed by a brief experiment to illustrate the concept and recipes that range in skill level from no experience to some experience, with one recipe for angel food cake that requires a fair amount of expertise. However, the author's view of level of experience tends to be very optimistic. Other cookbooks contain more scientific information, but this is a good basic source. Attractively illustrated with black-and-white line drawings, easy and interesting to read, and filled with tidbits of information.-Carole B. Kirkpatrick, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA

Biography

JOAN D'AMICO is a home economics teacher who currently teaches cooking to elementary and middle school students at Kings Cookingstudio in New Jersey. KAREN EICH DRUMMOND is a registered dietitian and has written and edited several cookbooks, including Cook's Healthy Handbook (Wiley).