The chemistry of the Berry dye found in McCormick's Color From Nature food colors is explored. This is part two of a three-part series in which the chemistry of McCormick's Color From Nature food colors is presented.
Food chemistry is an interesting and fun class for students. Read the article for some suggestions about resources along with an outline of a unit developed around water in cooking.
Fostering Creativity in Chemistry
The February 2017 online issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available to subscribers. Topics featured include: surface chemistry; chemical identity thinking; conceptual understanding; communicating science to the general public; activities and labs linking chemistry and art; history and chemistry; early access to research; technology as instructional support; synthesis laboratories; from the archives: bottle chemistry.
The chemistry of the Sky Blue dye found in McCormick's Color From Nature food colors is explored. This is part one of a three-part series in which the chemistry of McCormick's Color From Nature food colors is presented.
It is the holiday season, and here in Colorado, it is finally starting to feel like winter with a storm predicted for this afternoon!
To squash any misconceptions, I would like to say first and foremost I am not a great cook. My husband graciously does most of the cooking in our house. However, as a chemist, I am fascinated by the complex reactions involved in everyday life. Pair this curiosity with the requirement to teach an elective, and the Chemistry of Cooking elective was born.
In Chemical Mystery #7, a can of Coca-Cola was observed to sink in one container of water and yet float in another! This trick made use of the fact that the density of water changes with temperature. See the video below.
Teaching the Relevance of Chemistry
The May 2015 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers at http://pubs.acs.org/toc/jceda8/92/5. This issue includes articles on drugs & pharmaceuticals; health; food; plants; exploring viscosity; new approaches to teaching organic chemistry; computer-assisted learning; scents & flavors.
In this Activity, students investigate flavorings by making artificial "cooked apples" from a mixture of crackers, sugar, cream of tartar, and water, as is done for the filling in recipes for Mock Apple Pie. This Activity focuses on consumer chemistry, and can be used to introduce natural and artificial flavors or lab experiments that make esters.
In this Activity, students determine how many calories are released per gram when marshmallows and cashews burn and then compare the quantity of energy available from carbohydrates versus fats. Students burn the food items beneath a metal soft drink can containing water and measure the resulting change in temperature of the water.
