Food Science
A high-school laboratory course in the chemistry, physics and biology of food, from Appert’s sealed bottles and Rumford’s cannon to Pasteur’s yeast, HACCP and the taste receptors, with a real lab and a real recipe in every lesson.
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What to cover
47 of 50 lessons are MUST COVER. They are tested on the unit tests and exams, or are skills the SAT/ACT relies on. OPTIONAL lessons are enrichment. Do them if time allows. The course is complete when the MUST COVER lessons are done.
Unit 1: The Science of Food and Safe Lab Practice
- MUST COVER 1.1 From Appert to the IFT: What Food Science Is · exam
- MUST COVER 1.2 One Variable at a Time: The Cookie Experiment · exam
- MUST COVER 1.3 Safe Lab Practice: Knives, Heat, Fire and Sanitizer · exam
- MUST COVER 1.4 Fahrenheit, Celsius and the Calibrated Thermometer · exam
- MUST COVER 1.5 James Lind’s Fair Test and the Popcorn Experiment · exam
Unit 2: Water and Heat
- MUST COVER 2.1 Water: The Molecule That Cooks · exam
- MUST COVER 2.2 Count Rumford and Specific Heat · exam
- MUST COVER 2.3 Joseph Black, Latent Heat and the Steam Burn · exam
- MUST COVER 2.4 Denis Papin’s Digester: Pressure and the Boiling Point · exam
- MUST COVER 2.5 Conduction, Convection and Radiation: Percy Spencer’s Melted Candy Bar · exam
Unit 3: Carbohydrates
- MUST COVER 3.1 Sugars, Sweetness and Brix: Marggraf’s Beet · exam
- MUST COVER 3.2 Caramelization and the Candy Stages: Milton Hershey’s Caramels · exam
- MUST COVER 3.3 Starch and Gelatinization: Thomas Kingsford’s Cornstarch · exam
- MUST COVER 3.4 Retrogradation: Boussingault and the Stale Loaf · exam
- MUST COVER 3.5 Fiber and Digestion: Beaumont’s Window into the Stomach · exam
Unit 4: Proteins
- MUST COVER 4.1 Amino Acids, Protein Structure and Foam: Emil Fischer’s Peptides · exam
- MUST COVER 4.2 Denaturation, Custard and the 160 °F Egg Line · exam
- MUST COVER 4.3 The Maillard Reaction: Louis-Camille Maillard’s Brown Crust · exam
- MUST COVER 4.4 Gluten: Beccari’s Sticky Discovery · exam
- MUST COVER 4.5 Collagen, Gelatin and the Slow Braise · exam
Unit 5: Fats and Emulsions
- MUST COVER 5.1 Fatty Acids and Butter: Chevreul’s Fats · exam
- MUST COVER 5.2 Smoke Points and Shallow Frying: David Wesson’s Oil · exam
- MUST COVER 5.3 Emulsions and Emulsifiers: Gobley’s Lecithin · exam
- MUST COVER 5.4 Shortening and Flakiness: Crisco and the Pie Crust · exam
- MUST COVER 5.5 Mège-Mouriès and Margarine · exam
Unit 6: Microbes I: Fermentation
- MUST COVER 6.1 Pasteur Proves Fermentation Is Alive · exam
- MUST COVER 6.2 Yeast Biology and Oven Spring: The Fleischmann Brothers · exam
- MUST COVER 6.3 Sourdough: Wild Yeast, Lactic Acid Bacteria and the Gold Rush · exam
- MUST COVER 6.4 Lactic Fermentation: Captain Cook’s Sauerkraut · exam
- MUST COVER 6.5 Vinegar and Acetic Acid: Dip Thy Morsel · exam
Unit 7: Microbes II: Food Safety
- MUST COVER 7.1 Bacteria, Viruses and Parasites: Salmon and Smith’s Bacillus · exam
- MUST COVER 7.2 Growth Curves and FAT TOM: Fanny Hesse’s Agar · exam
- MUST COVER 7.3 Outbreak Detectives: John Snow to E. coli O157:H7 · exam
- MUST COVER 7.4 HACCP: Safe Food for Astronauts · exam
- MUST COVER 7.5 The Cold Chain and Safe Leftovers: Frederick McKinley Jones · exam
Unit 8: Preservation
- MUST COVER 8.1 Drying and Water Activity: W. J. Scott’s Discovery · exam
- MUST COVER 8.2 Salt, Sugar and Osmosis: The Salt of the Earth · exam
- MUST COVER 8.3 Acid and pH 4.6: Van Ermengem and the Botulism Line · exam
- MUST COVER 8.4 Canning and Pasteurization: Nathan Straus’s Milk Stations · exam
- MUST COVER 8.5 Freezing and Ice Crystals: Clarence Birdseye · exam
Unit 9: Taste, Smell and the Brain
- MUST COVER 9.1 Taste Receptors and the Tongue-Map Myth · exam
- MUST COVER 9.2 Ikeda and Umami · exam
- OPTIONAL 9.3 Smell and Flavor: Buck, Axel and the Receptor Genes
- MUST COVER 9.4 Genetics of Taste: Fox’s PTC and Bartoshuk’s Supertasters · exam
- MUST COVER 9.5 Reward, Cravings and Satiety: Olds, Milner and the Bliss Point · exam
Unit 10: Nutrition Science and Food Technology
- MUST COVER 10.1 Atwater’s Calorimeter: Measuring Food Energy · exam
- MUST COVER 10.2 The Vitamins: Funk, McCollum and Vitamin C · exam
- MUST COVER 10.3 The Nutrition Facts Label and the Dietary Guidelines · exam
- OPTIONAL 10.4 Food Additives and GRAS: Harvey Wiley’s Poison Squad
- OPTIONAL 10.5 Food Technology and the Capstone: Freeze-Dried Space Food
36-week pacing calendar
From the course’s own 33-week pacing guide, with catch-up and review weeks added to fill a 36-week (180-day) year.
| Week | Plan | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | Day 1: Lesson 1.1 From Appert to the IFT: What Food Science Is: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 1.1: kitchen lab and notebook Day 3: Lesson 1.1: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 1.2 One Variable at a Time: The Cookie Experiment: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 1.2: kitchen lab and notebook | ||
| Wk 2 | Day 1: Lesson 1.2: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 1.3 Safe Lab Practice: Knives, Heat, Fire and Sanitizer: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 1.3: kitchen lab and notebook Day 4: Lesson 1.3: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 1.4 Fahrenheit, Celsius and the Calibrated Thermometer: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 3 | Day 1: Lesson 1.4: kitchen lab and notebook Day 2: Lesson 1.4: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 1.5 James Lind’s Fair Test and the Popcorn Experiment: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 1.5: kitchen lab and notebook Day 5: Lesson 1.5: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 4 | Day 1: Unit 1 test Day 2: Lesson 2.1 Water: The Molecule That Cooks: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 2.1: kitchen lab and notebook Day 4: Lesson 2.1: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 2.2 Count Rumford and Specific Heat: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 5 | Day 1: Lesson 2.2: kitchen lab and notebook Day 2: Lesson 2.2: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 2.3 Joseph Black, Latent Heat and the Steam Burn: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 2.3: kitchen lab and notebook Day 5: Lesson 2.3: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 6 | Day 1: Lesson 2.4 Denis Papin’s Digester: Pressure and the Boiling Point: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 2.4: kitchen lab and notebook Day 3: Lesson 2.4: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 2.5 Conduction, Convection and Radiation: Percy Spencer’s Melted Candy Bar: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 2.5: kitchen lab and notebook | ||
| Wk 7 | Day 1: Lesson 2.5: practice set and corrections Day 2: Unit 2 test Day 3: Lesson 3.1 Sugars, Sweetness and Brix: Marggraf’s Beet: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 3.1: kitchen lab and notebook Day 5: Lesson 3.1: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 8 | Day 1: Lesson 3.2 Caramelization and the Candy Stages: Milton Hershey’s Caramels: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 3.2: kitchen lab and notebook Day 3: Lesson 3.2: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 3.3 Starch and Gelatinization: Thomas Kingsford’s Cornstarch: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 3.3: kitchen lab and notebook | ||
| Wk 9 | Day 1: Lesson 3.3: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 3.4 Retrogradation: Boussingault and the Stale Loaf: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 3.4: kitchen lab and notebook Day 4: Lesson 3.4: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 3.5 Fiber and Digestion: Beaumont’s Window into the Stomach: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 10 | Day 1: Lesson 3.5: kitchen lab and notebook Day 2: Lesson 3.5: practice set and corrections Day 3: Unit 3 test Day 4: Lesson 4.1 Amino Acids, Protein Structure and Foam: Emil Fischer’s Peptides: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 4.1: kitchen lab and notebook | ||
| Wk 11 | Day 1: Lesson 4.1: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 4.2 Denaturation, Custard and the 160 °F Egg Line: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 4.2: kitchen lab and notebook Day 4: Lesson 4.2: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 4.3 The Maillard Reaction: Louis-Camille Maillard’s Brown Crust: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 12 | Day 1: Lesson 4.3: kitchen lab and notebook Day 2: Lesson 4.3: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 4.4 Gluten: Beccari’s Sticky Discovery: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 4.4: kitchen lab and notebook Day 5: Lesson 4.4: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 13 | Day 1: Lesson 4.5 Collagen, Gelatin and the Slow Braise: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 4.5: kitchen lab and notebook Day 3: Lesson 4.5: practice set and corrections Day 4: Unit 4 test Day 5: Lesson 5.1 Fatty Acids and Butter: Chevreul’s Fats: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 14 | Day 1: Lesson 5.1: kitchen lab and notebook Day 2: Lesson 5.1: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 5.2 Smoke Points and Shallow Frying: David Wesson’s Oil: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 5.2: kitchen lab and notebook Day 5: Lesson 5.2: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 15 | Day 1: Lesson 5.3 Emulsions and Emulsifiers: Gobley’s Lecithin: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 5.3: kitchen lab and notebook Day 3: Lesson 5.3: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 5.4 Shortening and Flakiness: Crisco and the Pie Crust: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 5.4: kitchen lab and notebook | ||
| Wk 16 | Day 1: Lesson 5.4: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 5.5 Mège-Mouriès and Margarine: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 5.5: kitchen lab and notebook Day 4: Lesson 5.5: practice set and corrections Day 5: Unit 5 test | ||
| Wk 17 | Catch-up and review week (no new lessons) | ||
| Wk 18 | Day 1: Review day for the midterm Day 2: Midterm exam Day 3: Lesson 6.1 Pasteur Proves Fermentation Is Alive: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 6.1: kitchen lab and notebook Day 5: Lesson 6.1: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 19 | Day 1: Lesson 6.2 Yeast Biology and Oven Spring: The Fleischmann Brothers: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 6.2: kitchen lab and notebook Day 3: Lesson 6.2: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 6.3 Sourdough: Wild Yeast, Lactic Acid Bacteria and the Gold Rush: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 6.3: kitchen lab and notebook | ||
| Wk 20 | Day 1: Lesson 6.3: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 6.4 Lactic Fermentation: Captain Cook’s Sauerkraut: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 6.4: kitchen lab and notebook Day 4: Lesson 6.4: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 6.5 Vinegar and Acetic Acid: Dip Thy Morsel: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 21 | Day 1: Lesson 6.5: kitchen lab and notebook Day 2: Lesson 6.5: practice set and corrections Day 3: Unit 6 test Day 4: Lesson 7.1 Bacteria, Viruses and Parasites: Salmon and Smith’s Bacillus: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 7.1: kitchen lab and notebook | ||
| Wk 22 | Day 1: Lesson 7.1: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 7.2 Growth Curves and FAT TOM: Fanny Hesse’s Agar: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 7.2: kitchen lab and notebook Day 4: Lesson 7.2: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 7.3 Outbreak Detectives: John Snow to E. coli O157:H7: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 23 | Day 1: Lesson 7.3: kitchen lab and notebook Day 2: Lesson 7.3: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 7.4 HACCP: Safe Food for Astronauts: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 7.4: kitchen lab and notebook Day 5: Lesson 7.4: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 24 | Day 1: Lesson 7.5 The Cold Chain and Safe Leftovers: Frederick McKinley Jones: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 7.5: kitchen lab and notebook Day 3: Lesson 7.5: practice set and corrections Day 4: Unit 7 test Day 5: Lesson 8.1 Drying and Water Activity: W. J. Scott’s Discovery: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 25 | Day 1: Lesson 8.1: kitchen lab and notebook Day 2: Lesson 8.1: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 8.2 Salt, Sugar and Osmosis: The Salt of the Earth: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 8.2: kitchen lab and notebook Day 5: Lesson 8.2: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 26 | Day 1: Lesson 8.3 Acid and pH 4.6: Van Ermengem and the Botulism Line: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 8.3: kitchen lab and notebook Day 3: Lesson 8.3: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 8.4 Canning and Pasteurization: Nathan Straus’s Milk Stations: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 8.4: kitchen lab and notebook | ||
| Wk 27 | Day 1: Lesson 8.4: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 8.5 Freezing and Ice Crystals: Clarence Birdseye: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 8.5: kitchen lab and notebook Day 4: Lesson 8.5: practice set and corrections Day 5: Unit 8 test | ||
| Wk 28 | Day 1: Lesson 9.1 Taste Receptors and the Tongue-Map Myth: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 9.1: kitchen lab and notebook Day 3: Lesson 9.1: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 9.2 Ikeda and Umami: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 9.2: kitchen lab and notebook | ||
| Wk 29 | Day 1: Lesson 9.2: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 9.3 Smell and Flavor: Buck, Axel and the Receptor Genes: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 9.3: kitchen lab and notebook Day 4: Lesson 9.3: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 9.4 Genetics of Taste: Fox’s PTC and Bartoshuk’s Supertasters: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 30 | Day 1: Lesson 9.4: kitchen lab and notebook Day 2: Lesson 9.4: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 9.5 Reward, Cravings and Satiety: Olds, Milner and the Bliss Point: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 9.5: kitchen lab and notebook Day 5: Lesson 9.5: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 31 | Day 1: Unit 9 test Day 2: Lesson 10.1 Atwater’s Calorimeter: Measuring Food Energy: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 10.1: kitchen lab and notebook Day 4: Lesson 10.1: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 10.2 The Vitamins: Funk, McCollum and Vitamin C: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 32 | Day 1: Lesson 10.2: kitchen lab and notebook Day 2: Lesson 10.2: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 10.3 The Nutrition Facts Label and the Dietary Guidelines: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 10.3: kitchen lab and notebook Day 5: Lesson 10.3: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 33 | Day 1: Lesson 10.4 Food Additives and GRAS: Harvey Wiley’s Poison Squad: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 10.4: kitchen lab and notebook Day 3: Lesson 10.4: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 10.5 Food Technology and the Capstone: Freeze-Dried Space Food: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 10.5: kitchen lab and notebook | ||
| Wk 34 | Day 1: Lesson 10.5: practice set and corrections Day 2: Unit 10 test Day 3: Review day for the final Day 4: Final exam | ||
| Wk 35 | Catch-up week: finish any MUST COVER lesson not yet done | ||
| Wk 36 | Year-end review, portfolio and records |
Grading: Practice sets (completed and corrected) 15%, Kitchen labs (safety, technique, measurement, analysis) 25%, Lab notebook (organization, honesty, error discussion) 10%, Unit tests 30%, Midterm exam 10%, Final exam 10%. Scale: A 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69, F below 60.