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Interactive
Other

Usda: Virtual Labs: Understanding Water Activity

For Students 9th - 10th
In this science simulation, students investigate the behavior of water in food and how this can contribute to food spoilage.
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Website
Exploratorium

Exploratorium: The Science of Cooking Meat

For Students 3rd - 8th
How does muscle turn into meat? What gives meat its flavor and color? What makes meat juicy and tender? At this site from the Exploratorium you can rind out the science behind the food.
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Website
Exploratorium

Exploratorium: The Science of Pickles

For Students 3rd - 8th
What is pickling? What role does fermentation play in food? What is salt brine? Understand this and more at the Exploratorium.
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Article
Exploratorium

Exploratorium: Bread Science

For Students 9th - 10th
From Chinese baozi to Armenian lavash, bread comes in thousands of forms. Find out, on the most basic level, what chemistry ties them all together.
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: The Chemistry of Cookies

For Students 9th - 10th
Short video explains via basic chemistry principles the science of baking cookies. Stephanie Warren discusses how the dough spreads out, at what temperature we can kill salmonella, and why that intoxicating smell wafting from your oven...
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Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Project Ideas: Processed Cheese

For Students 9th - 10th
The goal of this cooking and food science fair project is to understand how processed cheese is made, and to determine which percentage of emulsifying salt produces the best processed cheese. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up...
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Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Hey, There's Corn in My Candy!

For Students 3rd - 5th
In candy making, corn syrup is known as an "interfering agent." You can find out just what this agent does by making two batches of lollipops, one with corn syrup and one without and examining the differences between the two. Once you...
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Unit Plan
University of Colorado

University of Colorado: Physics 2000: Einstein's Legacy: Microwave Ovens

For Students 9th - 10th
A series of pages that explain how microwave radiation is utilized by ovens to cook food. Includes several Java applets.
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Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Candy Chromatography: What Makes Those Colors?

For Students 6th - 8th
One of the characteristics that makes M&Ms so popular is dye that colors the hard shell, and of course the chocolate. But, many are unaware of what dyes are used to make those colors. This day long lab uses paper chromatography to...
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Website
Royal Society of Chemistry

Royal Society of Chemistry: Kitchen Chemistry: Video Clips

For Students 9th - 10th
Sixteen program clips of various kitchen chemistry topics. See chefs at work carrying out edible chemistry experiments.
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Website
Royal Society of Chemistry

Royal Society of Chemistry: Kitchen Chemistry

For Students 9th - 10th
A scientific approach to kitchen skills takes a look at the chemistry involved in preparing the food we eat.
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Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Shaking for Butter

For Students Pre-K - 1st
In this food science fair project, the student will determine the best conditions for making butter.
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: The Science of Milk

For Students 9th - 10th
Jonathan J. O'Sullivan describes how milk is made. [5:23]
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: The Beneficial Bacteria That Make Delicious Food

For Students 9th - 10th
Erez Garty shows how your kitchen functions as a sort of biotechnology lab, manned by microorganisms that culture your cuisine. [4:39]
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Graphic
Other

British Nutrition Foundation: Food a Fact of Life: Food Functions [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
This food science poster summarizes six functions that foods perform and the different ingredients that can be added to perform those functions.
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Interactive
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

Biblioteca Pre Escolar: Gorilito Va De Compra

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Help the gorilla with his shopping with this interactive site.
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Article
Famous Scientists

Famous Scientists: Artturi Virtanen

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn how Artturi Virtanen's inventions and research in agricultural and nutrition chemistry made him a Nobel Prize Laureate.
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Article
Famous Scientists

Famous Scientists: Ernesto Illy

For Students 9th - 10th
UNderstand more about the man behind the brand name, Illy, and consider what he did for coffee.
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Article
Famous Scientists

Famous Scientists: Justus Von Liebig

For Students 9th - 10th
This article will give the biography of Justus von Liebig.
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Article
Curated OER

Kids Health: Take a Look at Cooking

For Students 9th - 10th
At this site discover the world of cooking and meal preparation through these simple guidelines for finding recipes and creating meals. This article is organized into the following sections: "Kitchen Basics," "The Best Kinds of Recipes,"...
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Article
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Tween Tribune: How to Make a Tastier Tomato

For Students 5th - 6th
How do you make tomatoes taste even better? Read about a scientist whose goal is to make tomatoes taste as sweet as candy by using natural breeding techniques.
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Website
US Department of Agriculture

Usda: Safe Food Handling: Food Safety While Hiking, Camping & Boating

For Students 9th - 10th
Everything you need to know about food safety for the outdoors. What to bring and not to bring, cooking at camp, keeping foods at the right temperatures and much more!
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Activity
Maryland Science Center

Maryland Science Center: Caramel Chemistry [Pdf]

For Students 3rd - 5th
This activity demonstrates the Maillard Reaction, which explains how browning and flavor develop when something is cooked.
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Article
Other

South Coast Today: Fast Food, Faster Calories

For Students 9th - 10th
A personal account of eating at fast food restaurants. Learn how you can still eat at fast food restaurants without consuming all the calories you need in one meal.