Simple Kitchen Experiments: Learning Science With Everyday Foods

Includes a variety of simple experiments involving food and cooking principles examining such questions as the effects of heat on different foods, the difference between baking powder and baking soda, and the role of salt.

Gr. 4-6, younger with adult help. Mandell's raided the refrigerator and the pantry for the stuff of the experiments in this neat little book, which turns the kitchen into a chem lab with food as the focus. There's occasionally some chopping or cooking involved, but the experiments--running the gamut from mapping taste zones on the tongue to degassing beans--should be easy for middle-schoolers to manage, especially if they're comfortable with kitchen basics. A word or two of background prefaces each experiment, with Mandell going on to provide a list of what's needed, simple instructions, and direct, unpretentious commentary on what's happened and why it has occurred. And as Mandell says herself, "Eating is a bonus!" Here, kitchen wizards learn their facts by making bread, salad, and lots more. It's science that's tasty and fun. Black-and-white cartoon sketches add a note of humor, and a helpful glossary is appended. Stephanie Zvirin