A flavour of Chemistry Week '09

By Education in Chemistry, Andrew Thompson, Andrew Ross, David Jones, Peter Hoare and Louise Crabtree2010-01-01T00:00:00

Cool food - using dry ice to make mango sorbet

In November the general public was treated to the wonders of chemistry in a series of events with a food theme for the Royal Society of Chemistry's (RSC) Chemistry Week

In November the general public was treated to the wonders of chemistry in a series of events with a food theme for the Royal Society of Chemistry's (RSC) Chemistry Week. Chemistry Week is organised by the RSC's network of local sections.

Read on for a brief digest of the week's events...

Dinner in the Chemistry Centre

The RSC's new ChemistryCentre in London hosted events throughout Chemistry Week, including lectures on the chemistry of food and its components and the history of curry in the UK (both talks are available to watch online at: www.rsc.org/chemistrycentre). Education in Chemistry visited the centre to get a taste of its first event for schools Sizzling science, a demonstration lecture run by the MRC's Human Nutrition Research Centre. Over 200 local students and their teachers watched Grant Hawthorne of the Craft Guild of Chefs prepare a three-course meal using some tricks of the trade used by professional chefs, such as slow cooking vacuum-packed lamb in warm (58 °C) water to break down proteins and tenderise the meat before searing it in a frying pan. As Hawthorne prepared each dish nutritionist Claire Mac Evilly explained the important vitamins and nutrients the ingredients - scallops, potato, cauliflower and mango - provide in our diet.

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