Andrei Sandoval, Sean Roque
Middle row, left to right: Susanne Schubert and Sandra Rosario
Front row, left to right: Mona Alsaidi, Rachel Mar, Ruby Folber, Jiaxuan Qiao, Clapton Hernandez
Do you wonder why bread turns brown or whipped cream gets whipped? Biomanufacturing Club and Chemistry Club students collaborated to discover how and why food becomes more tasty.
Dr. Nicholas Kapp (Biomanufacturing Club Advisor) and Sandra Rosario (Biomanufacturing Club President) worked with Susanne Schubert (Chemistry Club Advisor) to create an event for November 15, 2024, where students could come together and apply science to everyday life. Using a mix of experimentation and edible ingredients, Dr. Kapp set up stations around the Biomanufacturing Club room with different foods to help students learn about the cool reactions of combining ingredients.
Some of the experiments conducted were:
● the “Snoop Dogg Sandwich” using the Maillard Reaction to brown bread
● “Whipped Chocolate Mousse” using heavy cream and lots of air
● Miracle berries with lemon, shutting down the sour receptors
● Amino acid tasting where amino acids generate diverse flavors: sweet, sour, bitter, etc.
● And more!
Let’s hear about the students’ discovery:
Rachel Mar (Vice President of the Biomanufacturing Club): “My favorite food reaction was the interaction between the lemon and miracle berries. I thought it was interesting how the proteins of the miracle berries could change our receptors to taste sweet instead of sour. The best-tasting food was the chocolate mousse, while the worst-tasting was the cocoa powder and the salt. I could not get the salt flavor to cancel out the bitterness of the cocoa”.
Siena Walley (Member of the Biomanufacturing Club): “My favorite food reaction was the miracle berries because I thought it was cool how you can’t taste the sourness as much. The chocolate mousse tasted the best. Nothing tasted bad, but the chocolate and salt were bland”.
The event helped us learn about the science behind food, but most importantly, it helped birth a new community and friendship between the Biomanufacturing and Chemistry Club. These events ensure that students have opportunities and have fun while studying at Skyline College.
If you want to join our next event, visit the Biomanufacturing Club on Fridays from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in Room 7-204 or contact Dr. Kapp at kapp@smccd.edu to learn more about how you can get involved with the Biomanufacturing Club.
Contact Susanne Schubert at schuberts@smccd.edu to get involved with the Chemistry Club.
Article by: Sandra Rosario
Pictures by: Sandra Rosario
