I am a sophomore student at Dickinson College, working towards a double major in English and Medieval and Early Modern Studies as well as a music minor. Growing up, I didn’t cook very often, but my mother has always been a phenomenal chef and I’ve learned a lot about cooking from watching her in the kitchen. Now that I’m at school, I’ve realized just how much I love cooking. My friends and I tend to cook together a lot – whenever we all have a free night, we like to hang out, make a good meal, and enjoy each other’s company. This past semester we’ve gotten creative with our meals and branched out from our usual recipes, trying to find ways to cook healthy, satisfying meals with ingredients we can find on campus. This course has helped me understand how to put recipes together by helping me understand the science behind why certain reactions occur. Take baking soda and baking powder, for example – I was making banana bread one day, but found myself out of baking powder halfway through the recipe. I was able to substitute baking soda and lemon juice, however, drawing on the knowledge I gained from this course. So much science goes on in the cooking process that lots of people are unaware of – I hope the recipes and explanations on this site help shed some light on the chemistry of cooking!
