FOOD SCIENCE

1. Undressing an egg

Necessary material
Raw egg
Tube glass or similar
Vinegar
The experiment
1. Put the egg in the glass and add vinegar until it covers.
2. Bubbles will begin to form on the surface of the egg. Leave the egg in vinegar for 24 hours
3. On the second day renew the vinegar, that is, remove the vinegar in the glass and add new vinegar
4. After seven days, remove the vinegar and carefully wash the egg with water
5. You already have a "naked" egg
Once the experiment is finished, you can try observing the egg on a light source.
What happened?
The eggshell is mainly composed of calcium carbonate (around 94%), while vinegar is basically diluted
acetic acid (specifically it is composed of about 5% acetic acid and 95% water). What happens when we dip
an egg in vinegar is that a chemical reaction is triggered between the acetic acid in vinegar (CH 3CO2H) and
the calcium carbonate in the eggshell (CaCO3).
In short, acetic acid reacts with calcium carbonate to result in carbon dioxide (which are the bubbles that
are observed when introducing the egg into the vinegar), calcium acetate (which is the foreign-looking
matter that remains floating in the vinegar) and water.
Finally, you should know that some of the vinegar can enter through the membrane of the egg, causing it
to enlarge slightly.
2. How to tell if an egg is hard or raw
Did you mix hard-boiled eggs with raw eggs in the refrigerator
1 Place the egg on a smooth, flat surface.
2 Rotate the egg. Hold the egg between your fingers and the thumb of your hand. With a sharp rotating
motion, rotate the egg sideways like a spinning top. The movement should be like when you snap your
fingers. The egg must rotate at a regular and constant rate.
3 Stop the rotation quickly. Extend your index finger as if you were pointing. Quickly place your finger in
the centre of the egg while it is turning. As soon as it stops turning, immediately remove the finger from
the egg. Press hard enough to stop the movement of the egg quickly. It should go from turning to stopping
in a second or less.
4 See what happens to the egg. Depending on whether the egg is hard boiled or raw, it will behave
differently at this point. Look at this: If the egg stays still, it’s hard. If the egg keeps spinning slowly or
wobbles, it’s raw. This happens because the egg white and yolk are liquid and they still spin inside the shell.
The egg’s centre of gravity shifts when the liquid content moves, keeping the egg moving.
5 For a faster test, watch the egg move as it spins. The above test will allow you to determine exactly
whether the egg is hard boiled or not. However, you can also tell by looking closely at the way the egg
rotates; you don’t have to stop it with your finger. This is convenient if you need to check many eggs at
once. If the egg rotates rapidly and steadily like a spinning top, it is hard. Its centre of gravity is stable. If it
spins slowly, staggers more or is difficult to turn, it is raw. The fluid inside moves as the egg rotates and
causes it to lose balance.
6 Demonstration with salt and water with flour in a bowl.

3. How to fry an egg in cold.

If you have always believed that to fry an egg you need heat, you are wrong.

Necessary material
1 egg
1 deep dish or fountain
Alcohol pharmacy.
The experiment
1. Carefully pour the alcohol into the dish, to about half its capacity.
2. Crack the egg carefully on a deep dish, ensuring that the yolk does not break.
3. Wait between 10 minutes and one hour4. Breakfast iron
What happened?
The alcohol reacts with albumin, a protein that contains the egg and ensures that the white is transparent
to white. The chemical reaction, called denaturation, is similar to that caused by applying heat, but
remember that this egg is not edible!
4. Iron breakfast

Necessary material
Cereals with added iron
A powerful magnet
A bag with hermetic closure (zip type or similar)
Water
The experiment
1. Get some breakfast cereals with added iron (the higher their content, the better the experiment will be
appreciated).
2. Put the cereals in a bag with an airtight closure and add water (you can get an idea of the quantities by
watching the video).
3. Close the bag and let it sit for at least an hour.
4. After that time, approach your magnet and you will see how iron is attracted to it.
What happened?
In this case I don't think much explanation is needed, right? When mixing breakfast cereals with water, the
added iron they contain passes into the liquid and is thus attracted to the magnet.

5. Invisible refreshment

Necessary material
Cola soda
Milk
The experiment
1. Open a bottle of cola and add 2% milk.
2. Watch what's happening
Changes occur slowly, but are easily appreciated. You can take a look every half hour, or every hour.
What happened?
As we have already explained repeatedly, the most important proteins in milk are caseins, which are
forming a colloidal dispersion, which in other words means that they are in balance within the fluid. This
balance is due to the fact that, with the pH of the milk (around 6.6) the electrical charges that predominate
in these molecules are negative, so that the net charge is negative. That causes there to be a repulsion
between the proteins and so they remain in balance.
A cola contains different acids (mainly carbonic acid and, above all, phosphoric acid), so its pH is quite low
(around 3). When we add milk to the soda, the protein load changes, so that as the pH decreases, the
number of positive loads increases. There comes a time (pH=4.7) when the net charge is zero, that is to say
the negative charges and the positive charges are equalized (this is called the isoelectric point), so that the
proteins bind to each other and the equilibrium that had until now is broken. These joints form large
aggregates of high weight that cannot be kept in suspension, so precipitate dragging other substances,
such as those that bring colour to the soda.

6. The chemistry of red cabbage

Material required
Lombarda. If you can’t get it easily, you can try cherries, red grapes, blackberries or blueberries.
Water
Blender
Strainer
Three glasses
White paper
Apron (stains are difficult to remove)
Test substances: baking soda, lemon juice, vinegar, and anything else you can think of.
The experiment
1. Crush 6 red cabbage leaves together with 12 glasses of water (the ratio should be about 1 red cabbage
leaf per two cups of water)
2. Pass the crushed leaves together with the water through a sieve
3. Fill three glasses to half with the juice obtained
4. Add vinegar in one of the glasses and you will see how the colour goes from purple to red. It is because it
is an acid
5. Add baking soda in another glass and you will see how the color goes from purple to green. It is because
it is a base.
6. Use the third glass to experiment with other substances and find out if they are acidic or basic. You can
go further and use red cabbage juice to make your own pH indicator paper. Just dip some filter paper into
the juice and let it dry. Then cut the paper into thin strips and that’s it. You can dip it in different liquids to
know its pH: the redder it gets, the more acidic the substance will be, and the greener, the more basic it
will be.
What happened?
Red cabbage, and other vegetables such as red grapes or blueberries, contain pigments called
anthocyanins that give them red, purple or blue colour. These pigments, which are soluble in water,
change colour when the pH varies, so that they turn red in acidic environments, with a pH lower than 7,
and bluish green in alkaline (basic) environments, with a pH greater than 7.

7. Strawberry DNA

Necessary material
Strawberries
Isopropyl alcohol (5ml)
Dishwasher soap (10 ml) Salt
Airtight closing bag (zip type)
Water (90ml)
Measuring utensils
Strainer
Glasses
Tweezers
Spoon

Experiment
1. Put the isopropyl alcohol in the freezer (we will need it later)
2. Pour 90 ml of water into a glass
3. Add 10 ml of dishwasher soap
4. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt
5. Mix everything. This is going to be our DNA extraction solution.
6. Insert a milling cutter into a sealed bag
7. Pour the solution we have just prepared inside the bag, together with the strawberry
8. Expel all the air you can from the bag and close it
9. Crush and knead the bag until the strawberry is reduced to porridge
10. Pour the mixture into a glass through a strainer
11. Use a spoon to press the strawberry pieces against the strainer
12. Transfer about 50-100 ml of the juice to a small glass
13. Add 5 ml of isopropyl alcohol and keep the mixture at eye level to observe the changes
14. Do you see a separation? Do you see a half-floating «white thing»? That’s the strawberry DNA. Use
tweezers to get it out of the glass.

What happened?
So much fears have put us in the body with transgenic foods that 65% of Spaniards think that the tomatoes
they eat do not have genes The truth is that absolutely all living beings have genes, and strawberries would
not be less. Why do I talk about genes? Wasn’t it about DNA? Well, actually, a gene is a segment of DNA
(here you can know the differences), but what we were going for. Strawberries are ideal for this
experiment for two reasons: from them you get more DNA than with any other fruit and they are also
octoploids, that is, they have eight identical sets of chromosomes (human cells are diploid, meaning they
have two sets of chromosomes, with the exception of gametes). These circumstances make the strawberry
DNA easy to extract and see. To extract DNA, each component of the extraction solution plays a role. Soap
helps dissolve cell membranes. Salt is added to break down the protein chains that bind nucleic acids,
releasing DNA chains. Finally, DNA is not soluble in isopropyl alcohol, especially when the alcohol is very
cold.

8. Lava Lamp

Necessary material

1 plastic cup or glass bottle

Dye or paint of any colour
Effervescent tablets
Oil
Water
Torch to see the effect
Tips: the higher the glass or glass jar you use, the more beautiful the effect will be.

Experiment
1. Fill the glass or glass jar half full of water.
2. Now add a few drops of colouring or tempera in the colour of your choice. Stir well so that it mixes with
the water.
3. Fill the glass with oil - to the top!
4. Let stand for a few minutes. Now it's ready. Get ready to see the effect. Put a light under the glass or
glass jar (e.g. your smartphone torch).
5. Pour in the effervescent tablet. And now... watch! ... it's magic!

What happened?
Lava lamps are based on the physics phenomenon known as intermolecular polarity. In this way, water
molecules are attracted to other similar water molecules. Oil molecules, on the other hand, behave as if
they were magnets, being attracted only to oil molecules.

9. How to dye coloured flowers

A simple activity such as a walk in a field or park can stimulate children's five senses. What they tend to
notice most is the flowers, as they are abundant in these environments. They come in different sizes,
colours and smells and attract their attention, but what if we told them that we can dye flowers in different
colours?

Materials:
White flowers (carnations or roses).
Jar
Water
Food colouring
Knife

Experiment
1. Fill the jars or glasses with water. You don't need a lot of water; two or three fingers is enough.
2. Add as many drops of food colouring as necessary. The more you use, the more colour the water will
take.
3. With a knife, cut the flowers diagonally down the stem. With the same knife or a scraper, try to tear the
stem a little so that the water can penetrate the flower better. As you can imagine, this is a step that
should be carried out by an adult, to avoid mishaps.
4. Put the flowers in each jar or glass with water and leave them to stand for two or three days in a dry
place with a little sunlight. In this way, we will be facilitating photosynthesis and water absorption.
Repeat these four steps using different dyes of different colours to obtain a bouquet of rainbow flowers.
What happened?
The flowers absorb the water mixed with the dye thanks to capillarity and transpiration, so that both the
stem (through the diagonal cut we have made) and the petals can see how they take on colour.

Thanks to the water we prevent the flower from wilting as soon as the stem has been cut.

10. Secret Messages

Do you want to become a secret agent? With this activity you can send your messages without anyone
being able to read them... Let's see how to do it.

1st Invisible ink. Secret message with lemon or milk:

Material
- Sheet of paper
- Milk or lemon juice
- A toothpick
- A griddle, oven or a candle.
Procedure

On a white sheet of paper we will write a message with milk or lemon juice, using a pen or a wooden stick
(it is advisable to use thick strokes), we will let it dry.
Reveal the message: The message can be revealed by heating the sheet of paper with a very hot iron or in
the kitchen oven, or carefully approaching the letter to a candle without touching the flame.

What happens?
The brown letters will appear

Explanation:

When lemon juice is heated it oxidises and turns brown.

This technique can be used to hide messages (invisible ink).
The combustion of organic substances produces not only carbon dioxide (CO2) and water, but also carbon
residues.
Lemon juice is a mixture of different organic substances (mainly citric acid), so when it is heated a
combustion takes place, which leaves some carbon residues, which are responsible for the darkening of
the letters.

Precautions
Care must be taken - because of the possible combustion of the paper - and patience in the process.
Another way to reveal the invisible writing is to rub the paper with a cotton wool soaked in a substance
indicating acids and bases (red cabbage water, methyl orange...): the area of the letters will appear with a
different colour to that of the revealing substance.

2nd Secret message with cornstarch or flour

Material
- Cornstarch (maize flour) or wheat flour
- Water
- Flask

Procedure
Mix water and cornstarch (1 tablespoon of cornstarch or wheat flour with 1/4 cup of water),
Heat the mixture to boiling point and then let it cool down.
In a bowl put 1/4 cup of water and a few drops of iodine (betadine).
Dip a paintbrush in the iodine solution and wipe it over the leaf with the secret message.
The writing appears in blue on a light blue background.

3º Invisible writing. Invisible ink.

Material
- Lemon juice
- Paintbrush
- Iodine
- 1 sheet of white paper
- Rectangular container, shallow
Procedure
Squeeze lemon juice and with a paintbrush write a word with the brush dipped in the juice.
Pour 1/4 cup of water and 3 or 4 drops of iodine (betadine, lugol) into a shallow container (basin, tray).
Put the paper in the basin. After a few seconds we take out the sheet of paper.

What happens?
The paper is coloured blue, but the word is perfectly readable, it appears white.

Explanation
Sheets of paper are made of cellulose. Cellulose, like starch, is a polysaccharide, and although they have
different configurations, they are very similar, so in the presence of iodine they both have the
characteristic of taking on a very similar violet blue colour.
Iodine reacts with cellulose paper and turns blue, but where citric acid is present, it will remain white.
It is advisable to do several tests, you have to find the right concentration of iodine, too much iodine for
example will turn everything blue, and if it is left too long submerged it will also turn blue.