Learning Target - students will write a descriptive writing piece about kitchen Chemistry. Students will choose a recipe that they will follow and prepare for at least two people to eat. The student will document any changes made to the recipe and take pictures of the process and consumption. Lastly, the food will be reviewed by the consumer. Rating it on taste and presentation. Also, the total calories for the food presented will need to be listed. https://kitchen-chemistry.com/ Cooking itself is really just chemistry. Heating, freezing, mixing and blending are all processes used in the laboratory and the kitchen Simple sugars combine with proteins in the
Maillard reaction, which is responsible for
browning food when it's cooked. https://www.amazon.com/Culinary-Reactions-Everyday-
Chemistry-Cooking/dp/1569767068
If you're thinking of becoming a chef, the training you have in mind may consist of learning different recipes by heart as well as things like how to stock a kitchen. But when you look at the curriculum for culinary arts, you may find classes you didn't expect to be on there, such as food science and chemistry. This is why culinary school is a fantastic way into the culinary world because you are introduced to many concepts that you might miss if you were just working your way up in a restaurant kitchen. https://www.amazon.com/Modernist-Cuisine-Art-Science- Cooking/dp/0982761007
While you still might learn the techniques, you might not learn why they're done or what's really happening inside the food and how that process might apply to other dishes. One thing is for sure, though: Once you learn about what food chemistry is like, you'll never forget it.
The Chef and Basic Chemical Reactions Any cooking you do involves chemistry.
The use of heat, cold, and cutting changes the composition of foods. Even simply slicing an apple
sets off chemical reactions that change the color of the apple's flesh. If you heat up sugar to turn it into syrup, you're using a chemical reaction.
If you add corn syrup to sugar because the corn syrup provides molecules that help form the final product of caramel, you're using a chemical reaction. You already know a bunch of these processes by heart, even if you can't name them, just because basic chemistry is so entwined with cooking.
How Chefs Use Chemistry, Sometimes Without Even Realizing It
Once you start learning how these specific processes work, you can use them to your advantage, creating effects in food that make plain dishes look fantastic. If you know that sugar browns in heat, you know that adding a sprinkle of sugar to the top of a product will give the final cooked product a nice caramelized look. If you change a cooking method, you will be able to tell if the final product is fine because you'll know which reactions no longer happened.
For example, cookies baked in an oven turn golden or brown as the sugar in the dough caramelizes, but if you bake the cookies in a car (seriously), the caramelizing doesn't happen, and the cookies look unbaked. But if you're expecting that, you'll know that the looks are not a problem as long as the cookies show other signs of being done. You won't keep trying to brown the cookies because you're aware that the chemical reactions will be different.
Knowing chemistry in food is also helpful when creating copycat dishes for people with special dietary requirements. If you're cooking for someone who can't have eggs, you'll know that you need to find a substitute binder for the recipe, for example.
Learning more about chemical processes in food and how one substance might affect another helps you if you're interested in cooking in the field of molecular gastronomy. This is a field that is dedicated to playing around with the chemical properties of food. The more aware you are of what can be done chemically, the more dishes you can create.
Chemistry and food also comes into play when you're trying to verify old cooking legends and advice. For example, if you know how pasta absorbs water, you'll know that you don't have to use tons of water to cook a little pasta. That's a very simple example, but it shows you how you can cut experimentation and cooking time if you already know the basic chemical reactions behind what's happening when food cooks.
Creating A Dominant Impression
The first step in using effective description is to focus on a dominant impression. A dominant impression creates a mood or atmosphere in your paper. This mood can be conveyed through effective descriptive writing. For example, pay attention to the mood in the following paragraph.
My family ate dinner at Merrymead Diner every Friday night while I was a child. We huddled close in a large, red booth as we scanned the familiar menu. The aroma of gravy over creamy mashed potatoes lingered in the air. I snuggled close to my mom’s arm as she ordered our drinks. The waitress brought our thick milkshakes out on a tray and placed them in front of us on a paper doily. The jukebox in the back played songs that we all knew the words to, and we sang along until our food arrived, hot and enticing on the table. Outside I shivered in the cold air, but in the diner I was cozy, munching on crispy French fries and enjoying a hot, juicy cheeseburger.
Can you feel the mood of this paragraph? The author is trying to convey a feeling
of safety, comfort, and happiness. Notice how the author does not tell the reader she feels safe and happy. She shows the reader through descriptive detail. Her dominant impression is one of comfort and happiness.
Sensory description uses sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste to sketch an impression in writing. Consider a paragraph without sensory description.
My sister and I walked along the boardwalk each afternoon of our vacation. We watched the ocean and listened to the waves. Usually we stopped for a snack at one of the many stores that line the boardwalk. Afterwards, we walked along the beach and let our feet get wet.
Now, consider this paragraph with all five sensory descriptors: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
My sister and I walked along the boardwalk one afternoon on our vacation. The hot boards warmed our bare feet. We watched the foam-covered waves topple over each other and then slide back into sea. The crashing water competed with the exuberant yells from the seagulls. We bought a perfectly oval fluff of pink cotton candy that dissolved sweetly in our mouths.
Afterwards, we walked along the edge of the water, letting the warm salty air blow our hair away from our necks as the cool water lapped over our toes.
The sensory details you select in your writing should create for your reader the same picture you have in your mind. Instead of using vague, general words, your sensory language should be concrete and sensory-packed. This makes the difference between vivid and vague language. Take a look at the comparison between vague and vivid sentences.
Vague | Vivid |
The food was unappetizing. | The pale turkey slices floated limply in a pool of murky fat. |
The sprinkler was refreshing. | The cool water from the sprinkler sprayed our hot faces. |
Vague | Vivid |
The traffic was heavy. | Our old car puffed as Main Street became clogged with a line of clamoring motorists. |
When using descriptive language, it is important to vary your sentence structure. Try to avoid using the same subject-verb pattern in all sentences. Embedding descriptive elements and combining sentences can help to avoid the routine subject-verb structure.
The hall was empty. She ran towards the classroom. She entered right after the bell rang. Varying this sentence structure by embedding descriptive detail breaks the monotonous tone and the clipped, subject-verb style.
Racing down an empty hall, she skidded into the classroom, breathless, just as the bell clanged above her.
What to Avoid When Using Sensory Detail
Too many adjectives—retain only the most powerful words in your writing, deleting any unnecessary words
Too many adverbs—verbs are stronger than adverbs. She strolled into the room is more powerful than She walked casually into the room.
Clichéd figures of speech—overused language, such as green with envy, signals a lack of imagination. Use fresh, descriptive words that go against rote thinking.
Taking time to think about the prompt and to plan your writing will improve the quality of your final essay. Planning can help you compose a more organized, polished response. Use this guide to plan your composition.
Read the prompt carefully and restate it in your own words. Think specifically about what the prompt is asking you to do (for example, make an argument, tell a story, or explain a
process).
After you have thought about the prompt and it is clear what you’re being asked to do, write one or two sentences describing your initial reaction to the prompt. This may be the basis for your thesis statement, or the main idea of your essay.
Read the reminder list (questions to ask about the prompt) that follows the prompt. (If you are still unclear about the prompt, the list may help you better understand it.) Think about those items that you have particular trouble with and write them down. Explain how to avoid those mistakes in your writing.
Brainstorm ideas, details, or information to support your response to the prompt. You may use a brainstorming technique such as free writing, making a list, or creating a web. Record anything that comes to
mind.
Review the things you wrote as you brainstormed. What ideas support your thesis statement?
What details add information to those supporting ideas? Underline or highlight the ideas and details you plan to use in your composition.
There are many ways to organize your ideas. You may wish to use a visual representation such as a web, an outline, or a chart. The graphic organizers that follow are some examples of ways to structure your ideas.
This organizer is useful for many types of writing, including expository and persuasive essays. Use the thesis statement from the Respond exercise and the ideas from the Record and Review exercises to complete the graphic organizer. You may add additional Supporting Ideas and Details as necessary.
Detail:
Detail:
Detail:
Detail:
Detail:
Detail:
Detail:
Detail:
Detail:
Concluding Paragraph/Restatement of Thesis: submit to https://turnitin.com/t_home.asp?lang=en_us#
The subject matter I chose is appropriate for the prompt.
The details I include are clearly related to the subject matter. Picture of student
associated with the topic.
I include enough details to support my main idea. Picture of topic. Use pixlr.com to alter the picture 30%.
My composition has a strong beginning, a well-developed middle, and an effective ending.
My essay follows a clear, logical progression.
I establish relationships between ideas in my composition.
I use transitional words and phrases, parallel structure, and other techniques to connect
sentences and paragraphs.
I use effective sentence structure and word choice. Write in complete sentences.
Write coherent and well-developed paragraphs.
Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.