from haute cuisine to soft matter science

From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter

Amy FelderBaking and Pastry Department Chair

Johnson & Wales University

Megan LambertAssociate Instructor, College of Culinary Arts

Johnson & Wales University

Naveen SinhaPh.D. Candidate, Applied Physics

School of Engineering and Applied SciencesHarvard University

Haute cuisine surprises and engages;it’s more than just food.

wd-50http://tomostyle.wordpress.com/

Haute cuisine surprises and engages;it’s more than just food.

photo by Jen Beaudoin

Wylie Dufresne Ted Russin

Haute cuisine surprises and engages;it’s more than just food.

wd-50

chefhermes.com

Haute cuisine surprises and engages;it’s more than just food.

wd-50

chefhermes.com

Haute cuisine surprises and engages;it’s more than just food.

wd-50

chefhermes.com

Haute cuisine surprises and engages;it’s more than just food.

wd-50chefhermes.c

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DEMO: Deconstructed chocolate mousse

Megan Lambert

DEMO: Deconstructed chocolate mousse

Megan Lambert

Chocolate chantilly

Sabayon

Meringue

Sugar/cocoa

Soft matter science describes the properties of everyday materials.

EmulsionsPolymers

1 nm 100 nm

100Xsmaller

GOAL: TEACH STUDENTS TO THINK LIKE SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS IN THE KITCHEN

Undergrad High school Grades 4-6 The World

Undergrad High school Grades 4-6 The World

Science in the Physical Universe 27: Science and Cooking

“General education courses in Science of the Physical Universe teach central facts and concepts in the physical sciences and engineering, and relate them to issues that students will encounter in their daily lives.”- General Education Program at Harvard

Visiting chefs explained their cuisine and did demos for the class for 90 minutes every Tuesday.

José Andrés, 2010

Visiting chefs explained their cuisine and did demos for the class for 90 minutes every Tuesday.

Bill Yosses, 2012

Visiting chefs explained their cuisine and did demos for the class for 90 minutes every Tuesday.

Pere Planaguma, 2012

The professors gave lectures about the scientific concepts on Thursdays.

Prof. Michael Brenner

A team developed the curriculum with the Alicía Foundation in Spain.

Prof. David Weitz Prof. Otger Cámpas

Ferran Adria Prof. Amy Rowat

Each week has an equation of the week, to unify the scientific content.

In lab throughout the week, students prepared recipes and made measurements.

Ice cream Hot iced tea Spherification Molten cake

Chefs met with students in small groups at office hours in the cooking lab.

Enric Rovira, 2010

Chefs met with students in small groups at office hours in the cooking lab.

Enric Rovira, 2010

To asses their learning, students took an in-class written midterm and final exam.

To asses their learning, students took an in-class written midterm and final exam.

To asses their learning, students took an in-class written midterm and final exam.

Students presented the results of team research projects at a science fair.

Annenburg Hall, 2010

Students presented the results of team research projects at a science fair.

photo by Eliza Grinnel / SEAS

Gashaw Clark ’14 (from left), K. Lanier Walker ’14, and Rebecca Ruskin ’13 prove that their jellied meat stock is stable enough to withstand direct flame without melting.

The public lectures were filmed to distribute on iTunes and Youtube.

Grant Achatz, 2010

DEMO: Meringue Stability

without sugarwith sugar

DEMO: Meringue Stability

EmulsionsPolymers

1 nm 100 nm

+ sugar?

stabilizes

Undergrad High school Grades 4-6 The World

Cookies are an ideal system for exploring the design process.

Christi @ Love From The Oven

Cookies are an ideal system for exploring the design process.

“These lessons require that students think creatively, conduct a thorough literature search, adhere to good scientific method, and effectively use the engineering design process.

“The unit emphasizes positive and practical approaches to food preparation and healthy eating habits.” - Joan Abrams

Design Challenge: Create a healthy cookie

• What are the macromolecules in a sugar cookie?

• What are the physical and chemical changes that occur during the baking process?

• How do the macromolecules contribute to health?

• How can you modify the composition of a cookie to improve the nutrition, while maintaining the texture?

Concepts from biotechnology overlap with those in the culinary world.

Prof. Greg Verdine

America’s Test Kitchen provided their facilities and expertise to investigate baking ratios.

Geoff LukasDan Souza

The standard recipe is crispy brown outside and soft and chewy inside.

With extra flour, the cookie becomes more like a crumbly biscuit.

With extra sugar, the cookie crystallizes and becomes fragile.

With extra butter, the cookies feels greasy and leaves an oily residue.

With extra egg, the cookie becomes floppy, similar to an omelet.

Design Challenge: Create a healthy cookie

• Observation

• Brainstorming

• Prototyping

• Presentation

Undergrad High school Grades 4-6 The World

SCIENCE AND COOKING FOR KIDS July 16-27 2012

Harvard:Christina AndujarKathryn HollarNaveen Sinha

Chop Chop:Sally SampsonHana Nobel

Harvard grad students and post-docs taught science lessons.

Anna Wang Ben Wolfe

Local chefs gave cooking lessons, with recipes for the kids to try at home.

Rolando Robledo Bill Yosses

Gabe Bremer / Daniel Rosenburg

Science and Cooking for kids: SCHEDULE

8:00 to 8:30 pm students arrive

8:30 to 10:00 amscience/cooking

lesson10:00 to 10:30 am snack10:30 to 11:00 am recess11:00 to 11:30 am math11:30 am to noon lunch prepnoon to 1:00 pm lunch1:00 to 2:00 pm physical activity2:00 to 3:00 pm expert

Science and Cooking for Kids:Curriculum

Week 1 Week 2

Intro Acidity

Microbes Foams

Pickling Emulsions

Flavor Thickeners

Gelling BBQ

Undergrad High schoolElementary

schoolThe World

Coming soon: an interactive website for the course, with insights from the chefs.

Numerous additional blogs and other resources are available on-line.

Several companies sell ‘starter kits’ for your own modernist cuisine laboratory.

Modernist PantryMolecular Recipes

DEMO: Meringue Comparison

ItalianSwiss

mix sugar with egg whites pour hot syrup into egg whites

seas.harvard.edu/cooking

nsinha@seas.harvard.edu