Cooking related MOOCs
Cooking related MOOCs
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Cooking related MOOCs
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Post #1 - September 26th, 2013, 6:23 pmI'm registered for this Massive Open Online Course (MOOC):
https://www.edx.org/course/harvard-univ ... uisine/639Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science
Top chefs and Harvard researchers explore how everyday cooking and haute cuisine can illuminate basic principles in physics and engineering, and vice versa.
Anyone else taken a cooking-related MOOC or interested in joining me in this one?
Some of the homework involves cooking!
Cheers, Jen
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Post #2 - September 27th, 2013, 2:03 pmMaybe mostly molecular? Anyway, Ferran Adria, Harold McGee at al are back again, but this time the class is available online and for free.
Science and Cooking classd
Feeling (south) loopy
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Post #3 - September 27th, 2013, 2:27 pmHi,
I will definitely be happy to partner with you on this one.
Shall we shoot for the certificate?
Regards,Cathy2
"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast
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Post #4 - September 27th, 2013, 3:11 pmThis looks very interesting. I just signed up. Look at me, I'm a school boy again.Steve Z.
“Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
― Ludwig van Beethoven
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Post #5 - September 27th, 2013, 9:19 pmThanks for posting. I signed up too. Not sure how much time Ill have for it,but I'd like to try.
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Post #6 - September 29th, 2013, 2:34 pmThanks all, I'm looking forward to this MOOC even more now that I "know" some people in class!
Cheers, Jen
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Post #7 - September 29th, 2013, 3:03 pmOK, I'm in too. What fun!
GeoSooo, you like wine and are looking for something good to read? Maybe *this* will do the trick!
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Post #8 - September 29th, 2013, 3:21 pmMe too
"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad." Miles Kington
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Post #9 - September 29th, 2013, 8:22 pmPie-love wrote:I'm registered for this Massive Open Online Course (MOOC):
https://www.edx.org/course/harvard-univ ... uisine/639Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science
Top chefs and Harvard researchers explore how everyday cooking and haute cuisine can illuminate basic principles in physics and engineering, and vice versa.
Anyone else taken a cooking-related MOOC or interested in joining me in this one?
Some of the homework involves cooking!
Cheers, Jen
This looks terrific -- thanks! I am going to sign up. Are you auditing the course or going whole-hog?"When I'm born I'm a Tar Heel bred, and when I die I'm a Tar Heel dead."
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Post #10 - September 30th, 2013, 6:59 amsdbond wrote: This looks terrific -- thanks! I am going to sign up. Are you auditing the course or going whole-hog?
I'm planning to go for it-- depending on how much work it involves!
Cheers, Jen
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Post #11 - October 8th, 2013, 9:09 amClass opens today with the following letter (without links):Dear Science and Cooking students,
Welcome to SPU27x "Science and Cooking"! The class is officially open! We are excited you are joining us and are looking forward to a fun, delicious, and educational semester.
Every week of the course, we will visit a great chef in their restaurant, and use their creations as inspiration for a discussion of the basic scientific principles underlying cooking. You will carry out a lab in your own kitchen, in which you cook a dish and use it to illustrate a basic scientific principle.
Cooking is a truly universal subject, and there is much we can learn from each other about what works in the kitchen, and why. A central element to the course is the discussion forum--where we can all engage with each other about the cooking and the scientific principles of the week.
The first week of the course includes (1) An introduction and overview of the class, and a welcome from Ferran Adria; (2) A lecture focusing on the History of Science and Cooking, with Harold McGee, Ferran Adria and Jose Andres; and a second lecture focusing on basic food molecules, and how many molecules of different types occur in common recipes. The lab for the first week prepares you for quantitative cooking by having you calibrate your oven, and calibrate your measuring devices.
To begin the course, you should review the syllabus and course schedule; take the 5 minute pre-course survey; and then introduce yourself to your classmates and to us! Please tell us why you are interested in Science and Cooking, and also what your favorite recipe is. You can do this in the discussion forum, and also we encourage you to make a short video of yourself and upload the link to the Class Wiki.
You are then ready to dive into Week 1, or to visit the Review section to brush up on background science concepts. You can also learn about the chefs who we will visit during the class under the About the Chefs section.
We are looking forward to a great semester!
Michael Brenner
Pia Sörensen
Dave WeitzCathy2
"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast
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Post #12 - October 8th, 2013, 10:18 amI'm on for the full ride. Loving it so far.
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Post #13 - October 8th, 2013, 10:20 amBill/SFNM wrote:I'm on for the full ride. Loving it so far.
I would have been surprised had you not.
Cathy2
"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast
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Post #14 - October 8th, 2013, 10:28 amCathy2 wrote:Bill/SFNM wrote:I'm on for the full ride. Loving it so far.
I would have been surprised had you not.
I signed up for it back in June and promptly forgot about it. Had it not been for the email they sent out this morning, I might have missed out on this great opportunity.
What do you think of discussing the coursework here in the LTHforum? The discussion forum at edx.org already seems out of control. I feel more comfortable here with old friends.
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Post #15 - October 8th, 2013, 10:33 amFolks,
I'm in on it too (natch! : ) and I'm with Bill: discussion would be better here. I guess we could just start an independent thread and take if from there. Or is there some special 'discussion mode' in our software??
GeoSooo, you like wine and are looking for something good to read? Maybe *this* will do the trick!
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Post #16 - October 8th, 2013, 12:43 pmHi,
I like the idea of discussing this here. I think we should also participate or at least read what is going on their forum, too. I'd hate to miss a good point or idea.
I'll be in class this evening! Can't wait!
Regards,Cathy2
"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast
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Post #17 - October 8th, 2013, 1:51 pmLove that we have a group doing this--now I just need to find the time to do it!!!!"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad." Miles Kington
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Post #18 - October 8th, 2013, 1:57 pmboudreaulicious wrote:Love that we have a group doing this--now I just need to find the time to do it!!!!
Same here.Steve Z.
“Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
― Ludwig van Beethoven
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Post #19 - October 8th, 2013, 2:43 pmOK- I'm in too!
"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home."
~James Michener
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Post #20 - October 9th, 2013, 6:51 amI've completed the first week's coursework. I found it very enjoyable. Couple of random observations:
1. Good thing we didn't have email, cell phones, RRS feeds, Twitter, SMS, etc. back when I was in school. I really had to shut off everything in order to give the coursework proper attention. Seriously.
2. There are some organizational problems which I hope are fixed by now: videos out of order, quiz questions before material presented, etc. They seem to have rushed to put this together at the last minute.
3. Ferran Adria is undoubtedly a remarkable and innovative chef, but his skill as a teacher is less than impressive. The video on spherification was disappointing. I am fluent in Spanish and have also dabbled a little in spherification and found myself confused during the demos. The running translation by Jose Andres was entertaining, but did little to clarify the concepts. Some simple captions showing what compounds were being used for each demonstration would have gone a long way.
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Post #21 - October 9th, 2013, 8:07 amBill/SFNM wrote:3. Ferran Adria is undoubtedly a remarkable and innovative chef, but his skill as a teacher is less than impressive. The video on spherification was disappointing. I am fluent in Spanish and have also dabbled a little in spherification and found myself confused during the demos. The running translation by Jose Andres was entertaining, but did little to clarify the concepts. Some simple captions showing what compounds were being used for each demonstration would have gone a long way.
I agree. I found myself having to stop the video because it was just too much work to try an understand what Ferran was saying; and reading the translation distracted me from watching the presentation. I know it's cool to have Ferrin on camera and all, but his material would have been better served by having it be readable text with accompanying photos or videos of the actual demonstrations.
If I'm going to get through this course, I'm going to have to set aside some time where I can concentrate on nothing else, which in my case won't be easy.
As an aside, when Ferrin Adria was on a speaking tour for his book release, I went to see him. He appeared with a translator on stage and would say one thing, then the translator would translate what he said, then he would speak another sentence or two and that would be translated. At times, I felt the translator was ad libbing a bit. I also found this to be distracting and not particularly enjoyable. In fact, I wasn't motivated to buy his book at all.Steve Z.
“Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
― Ludwig van Beethoven
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Post #22 - October 9th, 2013, 12:54 pmThere are three years' worth of video podcasts available for past lectures from Harvard's Science and Cooking series on iTunes U that you can download and view (the Joan Roca one from the first year was especially good):
https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/sc ... d399227991
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Post #23 - October 9th, 2013, 10:35 pmBill/SFNM wrote:3. Ferran Adria is undoubtedly a remarkable and innovative chef, but his skill as a teacher is less than impressive. The video on spherification was disappointing. I am fluent in Spanish and have also dabbled a little in spherification and found myself confused during the demos. The running translation by Jose Andres was entertaining, but did little to clarify the concepts. Some simple captions showing what compounds were being used for each demonstration would have gone a long way.
Bill,
In class one, Ferran Adria made introductory talks. I assume this reference to spherification is unrelated to the materials presented this week. If I am mistaken, let me know.
Testing the ovens tomorrow, I hope they get a good nights rest.
Regards,Cathy2
"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast
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Post #24 - October 10th, 2013, 4:47 amCathy,
There are 5 videos in this week's Lecture 1. The last one is on spherification:
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Post #25 - October 10th, 2013, 8:31 amHI,
Thanks, glad you mentioned it because I missed that.
Regards,Cathy2
"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast
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Post #26 - October 10th, 2013, 2:23 pmI just finished Lecture 1, which seemed to be a bit of a grab bag-- a little history from Harold McGee, a little spherification. I agree with having to give it full attention-- I had to go over some of McGee's stuff twice to find the answers to the questions. Looking forward to more...
Cheers, Jen
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Post #27 - October 11th, 2013, 5:54 amThe recommended readings from McGee's book may be the most valuable part of Week 1. I had the old 1984 edition which I have exchanged for the latest 2004 one, which is a major rewrite. I learned or relearned more from the book than from this week's lectures.
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Post #28 - October 11th, 2013, 1:51 pmHi,
For those who have not yet calibrated your oven with the melted sugar test. I can offer some ideas having spent more time on this than I thought I ever would:
When you raise your temperature from 350 to 360 or beyond, take your sample of sugar out of the oven first. My oven when it is increasing temperature, will turn on the broiler heating element. Instead of gently increasing heat from 350 to 360, this element produces a false sugar melting temperature beyond the 366 melt point.
When I raised the heat from 360 to 370, I also took out my sugar to allow the oven to reach temperature and stabilize. When I returned the sugar, it melted in the 10-degree range expected.
I eventually did put in a temperature probe to follow the heating arc more closely. When I heated the oven to 300, both my oven gauge and temperature probe agreed.
Regards,Cathy2
"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast
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Post #29 - October 11th, 2013, 6:40 pmCathy2 wrote:Hi,
For those who have not yet calibrated your oven with the melted sugar test. I can offer some ideas having spent more time on this than I thought I ever would:
When you raise your temperature from 350 to 360 or beyond, take your sample of sugar out of the oven first. My oven when it is increasing temperature, will turn on the broiler heating element. Instead of gently increasing heat from 350 to 360, this element produces a false sugar melting temperature beyond the 366 melt point.
When I raised the heat from 360 to 370, I also took out my sugar to allow the oven to reach temperature and stabilize. When I returned the sugar, it melted in the 10-degree range expected.
I eventually did put in a temperature probe to follow the heating arc more closely. When I heated the oven to 300, both my oven gauge and temperature probe agreed.
Regards,
Thanks for the tips! It's on the menu for tomorrow... a rainy day and a little kitchen science!
How are you liking the rest of the course? I rather enjoyed thinking about chocolate chip cookies in terms of moles of each ingredient.
My Brownie troop is working on a Kitchen Science badge-- we did Diet Coke and Mentos, slime (borax and glue) and we are doing rock candy this week. I hope I can find something fun for them too. I think I will start another thread for that, though...
Cheers, Jen
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Post #30 - October 12th, 2013, 2:43 pmBased on Cathy's tip, I allowed 10 minutes for temperature equilibration each time I increased the temperature. So, it worked out okay.
The home work was a bit challenging-- it's been a long time since high school chemistry! Also I found the question about why cookies would be thinner with all white sugar interesting-- it required a bit of knowledge (molasses is acidic) that the course did not provide. However, the grading rubric didn't require a correct answer.
On the chocolate chip cookie front, my grandmother-in-law's oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe calls for 1 tsp of hot water. I've always wondered what is up with that-- how could such a tiny amount of water (even compared to the eggs) affect the final product. Might make an interesting final project. Is anyone else thinking about their final project?
Cheers, Jen
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