By The Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff. Text Level 2Science.
The science of cooking offers lessons bursting with flavor.
Text Level:2
By The Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff.
When you make popcorn, you can watch it change. The dry kernels turn into a fluffy treat. Have you ever wondered how that happens?
It's science! In fact, science is everywhere in the kitchen.
What Makes Popcorn Pop
Molly Birnbaum is the editor of a book. It is called "The Complete Cookbook for Young Scientists." She explained how popcorn works.
She said that popcorn is a corn kernel, or a seed. The seed is surrounded by a hard shell. This is called the hull.
Two important parts of a corn kernel make it pop. The first part is the endosperm. It gives the earliest form of the plant what it needs to grow. The endosperm is made of starch. Starch is a nutrient found in food. It gives living things energy. The second important part of the corn kernel is water. All corn kernels contain a teeny-tiny bit of water.
When you make popcorn, you heat up the kernels. The water inside turns into steam, Birnbaum said. The steam pushes up against the hull.
Eventually, the hull pops. The starch bursts through, Birnbaum said. Then it hits the cooler air outside of the kernel. This makes it solidify. It turns into a fluffy bubble, she said.
Why Chopping Onions Makes Us Cry
Many foods can teach us about science. Popcorn is one example. Onions are another.
Hold an onion up to your face and nothing happens. But if you slice into one, your eyes start watering. What gives?
When you slice an onion, you break open its cells. Cells are the building blocks of life. They are too tiny to see with your eyes.
What happens next is a chemical reaction. This is when chemicals change from one substance into another. The reaction creates a brand-new substance. It gets into the air. From there, it can irritate your nose or your eyes. Your body reacts by trying to wash it away. You might tear up or get a runny nose.
Science like this is everywhere in the kitchen. The best part comes when you're done cooking. You get to eat your experiments!