Organic Chemistry: Protein

Updates on the Friday afternoon Science club, which is for older children:

Friday, March 30

• final activity for cellulose:
  the SCOBY layer on the top of homemade kombucha!

  What is kombucha SCOBY composed of?

  How to Make Kombucha Tea at Home

  How to Make Your Own Kombucha SCOBY

  This sustainable 'leather' comes from kombucha tea

• start a brand new batch of kombucha, growing a new mother first using a SCOBY which was donated to us and the instructions in Kombucha Tea Instructions (PDF) from Cultures for Health
• "Why Wood Pulp in Your Parmesan Won't Kill You" article by Bon Appetit
• draft summary and illustration for cellulose for Science Binders

  out of the carbodydrates in the plant, Starch and Sugar are all about energy and Cellulose is all about structure

• read "Proteins" on page 153 of David Mitchell


• draw on board showing that elements make up amino acids and amino acids make up proteins
• look at List of Eight Essential Amino Acids, what they do in our body, plus a list of animal and plant sources for each
• find a recipe which contains all of the eight essential amino acids from animal sources

  Leah was thrilled to find out that this was Morning Glory Bundt Cake, a cake she was already campaigning to make

  if you prefer to make a recipe which contains all of the eight essential amino acids from plant sources, try Lentil Rice Veggie Loaf

• we ended the session with a look at muscle tissue up close, with a Frog Dissection!

Friday, April 6

• make Morning Glory Bundt Cake
• read Heat 'Em, Beat 'Em, Mix 'Em Up at Science of Eggs
• crack open and look at examples of raw eggs, partially cooked eggs, and hard cooked eggs

• have a gigantic Egg Toss competition outside while cake is baking!



• taste cake
• look at growing kombucha SCOBY, brew new batch of tea

Friday, April 13

• discuss Leah's final project for Pride and Prejudice: Regency Day
• make step one of White Soup
• make step one of Blackberry and Ginger Trifle
• look at soup recipe and review the steps in making a broth, read from What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained (this is based on a suggestion from The Parenting Passageway blog post on 7th and 8th grade Chemistry)
  "Dem Bones" on page 129

  "Red, White, and Bleu" on page 125

  "Skim That Scum!" on page 149

  "The Real White Meat" on page 157

  

• look at and compare a skimmer with a wire mesh strainer, talk about scum and remember how our very first project in Kitchen Chemistry was to make plastic with milk proteins (casein)
• brush pound cake slices with cooled ginger syrup, whip sweetened cream (this will be a good transition into Fats and Oils next week)
• finish assembling trifle and set it in the fridge, strain soup and set it in the fridge to cool
• look at growing kombucha SCOBY, brew new batch of tea

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