Principles of Food Science Class Sheds Light on Chemistry

The seeds for the Principles of Food Science class were planted when my daughter commented that she hated science. My husband and I helped her to change her mind through a series of fun food-related experiments. She then wondered why all science classes couldn’t be “fun like that.”

Many students are curious about the steps in food preparation. As a result of such experiences, I began to incorporate science demonstrations into food preparation classes. During the early 1990s, a Christa McAuliffe grant helped me to develop a food science class, using the only text available at that time. Although the book covered the basics, it lacked depth in content and did not address recent research and discoveries in food technology.

Over the next 6 years, I conducted research, developed resources, and piloted the Principles of Food Science class. When the school system began emphasizing the integration of academics across the curriculum, I recognized that the Principles class was already doing that. The lessons involved math and English skills and they also integrated all the major fields of scientific study with nutrition, technology, history, and food preparation.

Principles of Food Science covers the basic principles of chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, and physics through the study of food production, processing, preservation, and packaging. Science principles relate to real-life applications with food. Every semester, students express how this class has made chemistry understandable. Several students have returned to share that they were successful in chemistry and AP biology because of the base provided in Principles of Food Science.

The labs that are part of the class integrate data collection, development of tables, observation skills, and technical writing. They are designed so that students must apply basic math and Algebra I skills through tasks such as calculating mass percentages, averages, and density. Students create lab reports to evaluate the data collected, synthesize the information, and identify related food-based applications.

Many labs are based on food preparation, showing students through scientific experimentation which procedure or ingredient works best and why. For example, which fat makes the best chocolate chip cookies? Each lab group prepares the same recipe using a different type of fat. The students analyze the types of fats used, their saturation levels, and the sensory aspects before they decide how chocolate chip cookies should be prepared.

Nutrients are chemicals that are found in food. Learning about how these chemicals work involves understanding what each contributes nutritionally as well as how those nutrients are affected by food processing, storage, and preparation.

Portions of the curriculum were integrated into the North Carolina Food Science curriculum. After 8 years of research and testing in the high school classroom, I completed Principles of Pood Science and it was published as a high school textbook with a student lab and activity manual and a teacher resource notebook.

Helping all students understand the science of food and nutrition so that they will make wise choices as consumers continues to be the ultimate goal of Principles of Food Science.

Bibliography

Ward, J. (2001). Principles of food science. Goodheart-Willcox: Tinley Park, IL.

Janet D. Ward is an FCS teacher at St. Stephens High School in Hickory, NC, and she is a culinary arts teacher for Catawba County High Schools. She was an AAFCS Top Ten Teacher of the Year in 2003.

Copyright American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences Jan 2004