The molecules we eat: Food as a medium to communicate science

Each day we consume a very large quantity of molecules. For example, a glass of water and a serving of steak each contain over 1024 molecules. These molecules are major determinants of food texture and flavor; they are also essential for an array of physiological functions in plants and animals that we eat. In particular, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids are major determinants of the physical and mechanical properties of cells and nuclei. For example, the gluten protein network imparts a remarkable stretchiness to strudel dough; the carbohydrates that constitute plant cell walls are important for vegetable texture. Understanding the physical and molecular origins of the texture of cells, tissues, and biological materials is a major focus of research in our laboratory. Naturally, the major themes of our research share many commonalities with food; our findings may thus also provide unique perspective into the foods that we eat.Using food as a medium for teaching, we have been developing methods to captivate people in science. Engaging students in science education through food and cooking has been successful in many contexts around the world [1-6]. Food can incite curiosity about everyday foods that we eat and is also an excellent, inexpensive tool for experimentation. Here we highlight some central concepts of our interactive approach to communicating science for a general audience.aScientific lectures are an important component of teaching science. We also provide interactive demonstrations and activities to more fully engage participants in scientific concepts. For example, taste tests are an enticing way to further draw people in to learning scientific concepts. To demonstrate phase transitions and the effect of molecular composition on phase behavior, a popular taste test involves comparing milk and dark chocolates. Such a gustatory method also requires that individual audience members become scientists as they make observations of chocolate texture and flavo