SPU 27x
Science and Cooking:
From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science
This course will discuss concepts from the physical sciences that underpin both everyday cooking and haute cuisine. Each week we will visit, or be visited by, a world-famous chef, who will show us the secrets of some of their remarkable creations. We will use these as inspiration to delve into the basic fundamental science behind food and cooking. The chefs include Jody Adams (Rialto, TRADE), José Andrés (ThinkFoodGroup, Minibar, Jaleo), Martin Breslin (Harvard University Dining Services), Dan Barber (Blue Hill Farm), David Chang (Momofuku), Joanne Chang (Flour Bakery, Myers and Chang), Dominique Crenn (Atelier Crenn), Wylie Dufresne (wd-50), Daniel Humm (Eleven Madison Park), Nandu Jubany (Can Jubany), Mark Ladner (Pasta Flyer, Del Posto), Joan and Jordi Roca (El Celler de Can Roca), Enric Rovira (Master Chocolatier), Carme Ruscalleda (Sant Pau), Carles Tejedor (Restaurante Via Veneto), Christina Tosi (Milkbar), and Bill Yosses (former White House Pastry Chef). There will also be demos and lectures by other leaders in the field, including Ferran Adrià (El Bulli Foundation), America’s Test Kitchen, authors Harold McGee (On Food and Cooking, Keys to Good Cooking) and Nathan Myhrvold (Modernist Cuisine), as well as food scientists Dave Arnold (Cooking Issues) and Ted Russin (Culinary Institute of America).
At the end of the course, students will be able to explain how a range of cooking techniques and recipes work, in terms of the physical and chemical transformations of food.
Instructors
Michael P. Brenner
Glover Professor of Applied Mathematics
Harvard University
Pia Sörensen
Preceptor in Science and Cooking
Harvard University
David Weitz
Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Applied Physics
Harvard University
Prerequisites
Knowledge of high school physics and chemistry will be useful, but not required. We want everyone to be able to start and successfully complete this course without prior knowledge. Background material will be supplied in the form of review videos and practice problems—though the course will be more challenging without a high school level knowledge of chemistry.
Course Overview
The course is divided into 10 weeks, each focusing on a scientific topic and a visiting chef. Every week includes interactive video sequences, as well as a homework, and a lab. To complete the course you have to complete the homeworks and labs by the due dates. In addition, you will have to carry out a final project in which you conduct your own scientific study of some recipe or aspect of cooking. You will do both the labs and final project in your own kitchen. After carrying out the required experiments on a dish, you can eat the results of your lab and share them with your friends and family. This class has no exams.
Interactive Lectures
Each week we present an interactive video sequence, interspersed with online exercises to help you test your learning as you watch the videos. Participation in these online exercises does not contribute to your grade.
Textbooks
Two texts will be useful for this course. Each week, recommended, but not required, readings will be drawn from these books.
On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee, Scribner, 2004 (2nd edition)
Science and Cooking: A Companion to the Harvard Course, 2015
On Food and Cooking will significantly enhance your understanding of this subject and serve as a truly invaluable resource and reference, both for this class and beyond. Harold McGee will join us throughout the class and give his insight into the subjects that we are studying.
Science and Cooking: A Companion to the Harvard Course is based on transcripts of the science videos and serves as a summary of the science that is covered in the course.
Homework
This class has 10 weekly homeworks. We encourage you to work through one homework every week since this is the pace at which new lectures are being released. However, all due dates are set at the end the semester, ie Wednesday Sept 30th at 15:00 UTC (UTC time converter), to give everyone a chance to submit their work for credit despite busy schedules or having enrolled in the class late. We encourage you to complete homeworks on a weekly basis. You can drop your lowest homework when calculating your final grade.
Labs
The first 8 weeks of the semester include a weekly lab that allows you to experiment with the scientific concept of the week in your own kitchen. As part of the lab you will make measurements and observations, and you will then be asked to submit these for credit. We will often also ask you to take a picture of your lab, submit it for credit and share it with your peers. Since the labs are illustrating concepts discussed in the lecture materials of each week, we encourage you to work through them in conjunction with watching the lectures. For more information about the labs please see the right panel on the Course Updates page.
Final Projects
The last two weeks of the course will have no labs, but will instead be devoted to final projects. You will carry out your own scientific study of some recipe or aspect of cooking in your own kitchen. Guidelines and further information about the final projects will become available on the Course Updates page a few weeks into the course.
Discussion Forum
We encourage students to actively participate in the discussion forum. You should use the discussion forum to ask questions about concepts from lectures, lecture exercises and labs—but you should not directly discuss answers to homeworks. The course staff and Community Teaching Assistants who have taken the course in the past moderate the forum but we encourage students to answer each other’s questions and upvote helpful answers. For some useful tips on how to navigate the discussion forum, please see the Forum Guidelines on the Course Updates page.
Grading
A passing grade in this class corresponds to successful completion of 60% of the material. The grade breakdown is as follows:
Homework (10 total, drop lowest score) 35%
Lab (8 total, drop lowest score) 35%
Final project 30%
Certification
Online learners who demonstrate mastery of SPU27x course materials with a passing grade may earn a certificate of completion. EdX will issue the honor code certificate for free. Verified certificates are also available for a fee. The certificates will not include a final grade.
Other books and resources
The following books cover various aspects of the science contained in the course:
The Science of Good Cooking, America’s Test Kitchen
The Science of Cooking, Peter Barham
The Science of Chocolate, Stephen T. Beckett
The Science of Ice Cream, C. Clarke
Cookwise, Shirley Corriher
Keys to Good Cooking, Harold McGee
The Curious Cook, Harold McGee
Modernist Cuisine, Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Billet
Ratio, Michael Ruhlman
Several of the guest lecturers have written cookbooks, which may be of interest:
A Day at El Bulli, Ferran Adrià
A Perfect Finish: Special Desserts for Every Occasion, Bill Yosses
Atelier Crenn: Metamorphosis of Taste, Dominique Crenn
Eleven Madison Park, Daniel Humm and Will Guidara
CR20: 20 Years of Sant Pau, Carme Ruscalleda
Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Café, Joanne Chang
Flour, too: Indispensable Recipes for the Café’s Most Loved Sweets and Savories, Joanne Chang
I Love New York: Ingredients and Recipes, Daniel Humm and Will Guidara
In the Hands of A Chef: Cooking with Jody Adams of Rialto Restaurant, Jody Adams and Ken Rivard
Liquid Intelligence: The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail, Dave Arnold
Made in Spain, José Andrés
Milk Bar Life: Recipes and Stories, Christina Tosi
Momofuku, David Chang
Momofuku, Christina Tosi, David Chang
Sous vide Cuisine, Joan Roca
For a more advanced discussion of the scientific topics in the course:
Physical Chemistry of Foods, Pieter Walstra