Group A : 11 to 13 years
Kitchen Science Essay
by Aarohi Gaikwad
Amrita Vidyalayam, Pune, Maharashtra
This children’s essay competition was conducted by Khula Aasmaan and Science Park, Pune
Prize winning essay on Kitchen Science by Aarohi Gaikwad
Kitchen science, essay by Aarohi Gaikwad
One Sunday morning, I got all sorted and actually a little late was about to start my science studies. But suddenly, I heard the call of my mother ordering me to come into the kitchen to help her .I went there and with a disappointed tone said, why did you disturb me? I was about to start studying science ,”Hearing this she replied “Dear imagine this work as a science practical and start working listening to her words my mind was questioned. Tons of doubts and questions started running into my mind. I started relating my kitchen and the practical. But ,after spending some time on thinking about the topic and observing the things around me I got to notice hundreds of things which are based on science. Soon, I realized how influenced we are and how important the role science plays in our day to day lives. In a way it simplifies our efforts to do a task and yes! also has helped in the development of human beings.
Really ! Science has a huge impact on our lives and lifestyle science is everywhere in fact all around us. Hence as we are talking about science in our lovely and homely kitchens how could we even ignore mixers which are used for grinding food materials? Mixers which use gear driven mechanism to grind our food. This amazing machine is based on physics. Our microwave ovens which are nowadays almost in every kitchen is also based on Physics These ovens use a fan through which heat is distributed evenly and our food gets baked ,roasted and heated even more easily and quickly. The taps in our kitchen are also based on physics as the require force to pump out water. Even the soft and healthy chapatis which are routinely made almost in every kitchen are also obtained due to physics. The grits’ mill uses physics to give us flour. The grist mill grinds the grains, Sieves the bran from the grain and that's how we get flour. This is how Physics has made a huge impact in our kitchens.
Even the veggies which are rich in vitamins such as vitamin A, B and C and routinely available in our kitchens and are part of our meals are included in science. They are a part of Biology and Botany. Microbiology has also made a small but valuable corner in our kitchen. As the curd, paneer, cheese etc. cannot be formed without the bacteria called 'Lacto-bacillus, yeast also plays an important role in the process of fermentation. Talking about science in our kitchens chemistry cannot be ignored as it remains in our kitchen in the form of NaC1 (Sodium Chloride, Salt) through which our food will be tasteless. Since ancient time our kitchens had been full of medicines and had worked like a small dispensary. Our kitchens have really useful products like Turmeric (haladi) which have antiseptic properties to heal many wounds, infections and stomach aches. Water also contributed in chemistry as it’s known as ‘Universal Solvent’. This Is why water is used in many recipes, syrups, curries etc. So, chemistry also has a huge impact in our kitchens.
Thinking on this I realized that our kitchens are a meeting point of many branches of science like Physics, Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Botany, Chemistry and many more. All the branches contribute a lot to our kitchens. I would like to sincerely thank our ancestors for inventing and implementing such science in our kitchens and in the world. Really ! I realized that kitchens are really like a small science laboratory wherein we experiment through recipes.
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