ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Hello Diana,
One of the selling points of ceramic knives is that they help prevent oxidation of fruit when cut.
(http://www.myceramicknives.com/my-30-day-test/ceramic-knives-keep-apples-fresh)
You could do a -steel knife/steel knife with lemon juice/ceramic knife/ceramic knife with lemon juice- comparison, but it might take a while. Possibly set it up, do some other stuff, and then come back to check on it.
The crystal structure of chocolate is neat thing to go in to, specifically how tempering and seeding changes the resulting feel. If you've got ~$500 you could buy a chocolate tempering oven, which opens up a lot of possibilities. You can also just buy chocolate (good bars of non-milk chocolate, you want something with a snap), melt some of it in a microwave and let it cool on a counter, and compare them (including letting folks eat them and feel the difference in their mouth, depending on your ingestion/food waivers/insurance).
Chocolate is already straying from the fruits and veggies theme. If you want to go broader into cooking, Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking" (http://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012) is a nice place to geek out about the Maillard Reaction and such at a public engagement level.
Coming back to fruits and vegetables and ripening, there's the phrase "one bad apple spoils the batch" which has to do with the gasses given off by ripening (or overripe) fruit that can speed the process in other fruit. Not sure if the time scale is pertinent to what you're looking to do.
The potato battery (or lemon, if you prefer) is another chemistry tie in you could do with veggies (http://www.miniscience.com/projects/PotatoElectricity/).
I'm sure there's more, but those are the top of my head ones. I look forward to seeing what else folks come up with.
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Diana Pinus
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2011 8:06 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: The Chemistry of Cooking - fruits & vegetables
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Dear Friends
We are having a closure of the year of Chemistry in December and we are planning an event on the chemistry of cooking. We are thinking about making a demonstration on the chemistry of fruits and vegetables (ripening, texture, colors and colors change in cooking, nutritional values, water content). Any ideas for good demonstrations?
Thank you
Diana
Diana Alderoqui Pinus, Ph.D.
Curator of Visitors
Bloomfield Science Museum Jerusalem
http://mada.org.il<http://mada.org.il/>
***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]
***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]
|
