FYS 1218 - Food Chemistry

Credits: 4
This is a course that uses Food to introduce students to the sub-disciplines of Chemistry. We will indulge your two most chemically related senses - smell and taste in a gastronomical yet scientific journey. We will make and eat food such as popovers, fudge and liquid nitrogen ice cream/dip and dots to validate laws of Physical Chemistry. We will learn about the Biochemistry of bromelain protease enzymes that makes it difficult to prepare fresh pineapple jello. We will taste the brown glaze on teriyaki chicken that is the result of the Maillard reaction. And explore the impact of optical activity on Organic Chemistry flavor molecules, such as the enantiomers of Carvone - one that smells like spearmint and the other that smells like caraway. We will explore the Inorganic Chemistry of nitrite food preservation in how it cures and colors meat through the nitrosylation of iron. We will demonstrate how red cabbage can be used to quantify solution pH and further use Analytical Chemistry to quantify the water content of popcorn. Through examples of food experimentation such as these, students will gain a meaningful understanding of the depth and breadth of the subject that is Chemistry.
Offered: Fall only, on demand
McDaniel Plan: First-Year Seminar; Scientific Inquiry