~ MMGM S.T.E.A.M. FEATURE SCIENCE YOU CAN EAT ~

~ MARVELOUS MIDDLE-GRADEMONDAY S.T.E.A.M. FEATURE ~ --  'SCIENCE YOU CAN EAT: 20 ACTIVITIES THAT PUT FOOD UNDER THE MICROSCOPE'  -- AUTHOR STEFAN GATES




 LEARN MORE ON GOODREADS 

ABOUT THE BOOK {from Goodreads}:
Discover the seriously impressive science that goes on every time you cook or eat. This children's book explores the science of food by asking questions you're hungry to know the answers to, and putting them to the test through fun experiments.
Science You Can Eat will transform your kitchen into a lab through fun food experiments. Cooking is chemistry, and the fun science experiments - such as tricking your taste buds, making slime taste delicious, and investigating some of the strangest flavours around will prove it. This exciting kid's book tackles all the tasty science questions you have about food, plus plenty more that you hadn't thought of! Once you understand science, you understand food, so find out why popcorn go "pop" as you test it out for yourself, explore how taste is affected by smell, then discover whether eating insects is the future of food.
Examining interesting ingredients and exciting eating, as well as peeking into the future of food, Science You Can Eat helps you understand what's happening with our food and why. Each page is guaranteed to leave you hungry for more.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR {from the Publisher's website}:
Stefan Gates AKA “The Gastronaut” is an author, presenter, and self-professed “Food Adventurer” with the mission to make food fascinating. The author of seven books on food and science, including Incredible Edibles and Gastronaut, Stefan has also produced and appeared in more than a dozen TV shows including Food Factory, Gastronuts, Newsnight, and This Morning, as well as the documentary Can Eating Insects Save the World?.  
MY THOUGHTS:This is an awesome science book written in an entertaining tone. The book is colorful, well-formatted, and kid-friendly. What more can a parent or teacher ask for from a middle-grade S.T.E.A.M. book?
I was amazed at how much information this author packed into each and every chapter of his book. He begins with an introduction to food and moves through taste and taste buds, smell, why we love food, ways of cooking, unusual foods, vitamins and minerals, on through some fascinating and fun food experiments. The author closes the book with three timely subjects--fake meats, foods of the future, and eating bugs. 
The meaning of the color of various foods is covered along with a head-on discussion about artificial colors. Did you know that "Artificial colors are mostly made from a coal extract"? {page 23}. I was shocked to read this.
The section on vitamins and minerals includes some easy-to-read tables listing important vitamins and minerals, their function, and sources.  Here I learned that the function of phosphorous is to aid in bone and cell health and that good sources of this mineral include diary, chicken, oats, rice, and red meat.
Fun topics covered in this volume include:  'What is Gum Made Of?' - 'Why Does Popcorn Pop?' - 'Drinks That Glow!' - 'Exploding Food!' - 'What Makes Bread Rise?' - and 'Why Do Onions Make Us Cry?'. Serious topics such as food allergies and bad mold are covered here too. 
Highly recommended! This is an excellent resource for children and adults interested in learning more about the chemistry of food and who are willing to try some of the author's unique and interesting experiments in the kitchen.
I borrowed this book from the children's collection in the local public library.