One Course Summer Institute: Chemistry and the Kitchen: Should We Be Wearing Goggles?

Do you know that everything is a chemical? Do you know the difference between baking soda and washing soda? Do you know the difference between cream of tartar and tartaric acid? Why are certain cabbages purple not green? Why does bread rise? And what makes it smell so good?! In this class, you will spend some time in the chemistry lab to synthesize your own alum, a common leavening agent, and design your own experiment to test its usefulness in the kitchen, or the dye pot, or in the bathroom—it's kind of a jack-of-all-trades chemical. You will also get to spend some time in a real kitchen where you will be able to eat your experiments. Why are cookies crunchy or chewy? Will baked goods rise better with ‘chemical’ or ‘biological’ leavening agents?