South SFV Today

In a setting that resembled a cooking competition, the aroma of chocolate wafted through the air as students extended a nearly invisible strand of sugar up to six feet from a pan. This activity was part of MATSCI 121: Edible Materials: The Science of Texture, a new course at Stanford University that teaches materials science through culinary experiments.

Haoxue Yan, the instructor and co-developer of the course and lecturer in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford's School of Engineering, explained the course's approach. "We’re taking all of the fundamental material science topics – like elasticity, viscosity, surface energy, and phase diagrams – and mapping them onto food, in the context of how that changes the food texture," Yan said. "We’re hoping that by making it a kitchen-focused class, more students can be exposed to STEM in a less scary way, and pick up laboratory and experimental skills in a more fun, applicable way."

Students explored concepts such as diffusion by cooking mushrooms and creating fruit caviar. They also interpreted phase diagrams by tempering chocolate. On sugar-work day, they learned about nucleation kinetics to make sugar glass, long sugar fibers, and fudge by controlling sugar crystal sizes.

The course offers practical life skills alongside academic learning. Classes are held at Stanford's Residential & Dining Enterprises Teaching Kitchen. This facility provides professional-grade equipment for students to enhance their cooking abilities. Anna-Katharina Preidl, chef and Stanford graduate student co-developed this unique curriculum.

Yan noted the diverse culinary backgrounds among students. "The class had a wide variety of background skills in the kitchen," Yan said. "So, in addition to learning about material science topics, I also wanted to help students gain kitchen skills through our labs. Even if they don’t pursue STEM careers, we hope these practical skills can still remain."