Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Project Ideas: Kimchi Chemistry
In this cooking and food science fair project, the student will make a batch of kimchi, the national dish of Korea, and investigate the changes in pH and glucose concentration as it ferments. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Project Ideas: What Makes Foams Stand Up Straight
In this food science fair project, students will determine which foods make good edible foams, with high volume and longevity. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract, objective, and...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Project Ideas: How Much Water Is Absorbed by Dried Beans?
In this cooking and food science fair project, measure how the water content of dried beans changes with time. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract, objective, and introduction, followed by...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Project Ideas: Save Those Spoiling Strawberries!
In this food science fair project, the student will determine if thermotherapy can inhibit strawberries from becoming moldy and decaying. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract, objective,...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Flavor That Food! Exploring the Science of Marinades
Have you ever tasted a delicious burger and wondered how it got so much flavor? Maybe you've heard your family talk about marinating foods before cooking or grilling them. A marinade is a mixture of seasonings used to flavor or tenderize...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Project Ideas: How Much Sugar Is Really in That Soda?
In this science fair project, use a precision hydrometer to measure the amount of sugar in soda. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract, objective, and introduction, followed by a section on...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Project Ideas: Bitter to Sweet: Sugar Changes in Ripening Fruit
In this science fair project, use a refractometer to measure changes in sugar content in ripening fruit. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract, objective, and introduction, followed by a...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: How Can Tofu Pack Such a Flavorful Punch?
Spicy fried tofu. It's a delicious and savory main dish at many Asian restaurants. Stab a golden-brown piece, bite into it, and the juice inside rushes out, filling your mouth with rich flavors. Continue eating and you find the texture...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Project Ideas: Sauce to Solid: Science of Cranberry Condiments
Determine how the cooking time of cranberry sauce affects its ability to form a pectin-supported solid. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract, objective, and introduction, followed by a...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Gel Well: Which Additives Make the Strongest Gelatin?
Gelatin. It's hard to think of another food that is used as frequently on the dinner table as off. You can find it in all sorts of sweet foods, from ice cream, yogurt, and gummy bears, to marshmallows and yellow colorings for sodas. Off...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: You Want Fries With That? The Science of Crispy Potatoes
The first bite of a fresh-picked apple, the crunch of morning toast, the deep cut into rich, flaky layers of baklava, the pleasing snap of a chip. Besides being delicious, what do these foods have in common? They're crisp. They have a...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: How Sweet It Is! Measuring Glucose in Your Food
You know that sugar makes food sweet. But did you know that there are different kinds of sugar? Sucrose is the granulated sugar that you usually use for baking. Another kind of sugar, which is found in honey and in many fruits, is...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: How Do You Make the 'Best' Cookie?
The benefit to cooking food from scratch versus store bought food is that you determine the taste. In this science fair project, discover if you can perfect the taste of your favorite cookie right in your own kitchen by experimenting...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Great Globs of Gluten! Which Wheat Flour Has the Most?
Close your eyes for a moment and think about your favorite cake, pasta, and crusty bread. OK, you can open your eyes now, and please don't drool on your computer. What was the cake you pictured like? Was it light and fluffy? Did you...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Maple Syrup: For Pancakes, Waffles, and Crystal Candy?
Maple syrup is deliciously gooey and great on breakfast foods like pancakes and waffles. But it has another amazing property. It can form crystals under the right circumstances, and the crystals change in size and shape, depending on...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Old Salty: Does Age Affect the Ability to Detect Salt?
Sauerkraut, pickled fish, pickled vegetables, kimchi, corned beef, processed cheeses, smoked lunch meats. Do you like these high-salt foods? What about your grandparents, do they? Do your grandparents seem to like most foods to be a bit...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: You Are What You Eat!
Thinking about improving your sports performance? Want to help friends and family make the most of their physical fitness activities? One factor to consider is food. Whether you realize it or not, what you eat does change your body. It...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Do You Love the Taste of Food? Find Out if You're a Supertaster
To supertasters, the flavors of foods are much stronger than to average tasters. This can explain why some people are more picky about their food than others, because they experiences tastes in a much stronger form. Find out if you are a...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: From Trash to Gas: Biomass Energy
Have you ever dreamed of a world where you could take the scraps from last night's dinner and toss them into your car's fuel tank and make gas? Well, we're not quite in "Back to the Future" yet, but in this energy science fair project,...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Rooftop Gardens: Are They a Cool Idea?
Around the world, rooftops are being transformed into living green expanses. Besides beauty, rooftop gardens have a number of advantages, including growing food and taking carbon dioxide out of the air while releasing breathable oxygen....
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Race Your Marbles to Discover a Liquid's Viscosity
How do you like your mashed potatoes? Thin and whipped smooth? Or thick and mashed into chunks? Your mouth checks out not just the taste of your food, but its viscosity, or how it flows on your tongue, every time you take a bite. In this...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Spin Right 'Round With This Simple Electric Motor
If you put on clothes that were washed in a washing machine, rode in a car, ate food from a fridge, warmed up lunch in a microwave, or played a video game, you used an electric motor. Try this science fair project and you'll learn how to...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: How Much Energy Is Stored in Different Types of Food?
In this project you'll learn a method for measuring how much chemical energy is available in different types of food. You will build your own calorimeter to capture the energy released by burning a small food item, like a nut or a piece...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Which Fruits Can Ruin Your Dessert?
Here is a basic project for investigating enzymes that prevent gelatin from solidifying. This way you can understand why it is some fruits are not recommended for inclusion when it comes to making gelatin.