Sophomore Haydn Gleason enjoyed the challenges she experienced in her UPrep science classes. So much so that she wanted even more challenge. With support from chemistry teacher Mikayla Patella-Buckley, this spring Haydn pursued an independent study (IS) and designed a course for herself entitled The Science of Cooking: A Deep Dive into Culinary Physics, Creativity, and Sustainability. “I have loved cooking and baking for years, and I am ready to take this passion and apply it to my education,” Haydn explained in her IS proposal.

An IS is open to Upper School students who wish to pursue a topic of interest beyond the course offerings at UPrep. Students are required to submit a proposal for their course of study, have met the graduation requirements in the department of interest, and work with a sponsoring faculty member who oversees the student’s work.

Haydn divided her course into two topics: the physics and chemistry of cooking and environmentally conscious cooking. She chose two books to guide her learning:

• Science and Cooking: Physics Meets Food, from Homemade to Haute Cuisine, by Harvard professors Michael Brenner, Pia Sörensen, and David Weitz, helped Haydn understand the physics and chemistry underlying the recipes she would make, explained why recipes work, and answered commonly asked cooking questions with science. Topics she studied included phase transformations, heating proteins, viscosity, elasticity, volume fraction, and foams.
   
• Can Fixing Dinner Fix the Planet?, by Jessica Fanzo, looks at the intersection of the world’s agricultural, environmental, and nutritional needs, and climate change and the environment. The book also includes sustainable actions for individual consumers and cooks. Topics Haydn studied included veganism, GMOs (genetically modified organisms), and food production.

The goal for Haydn’s course was to prove that food is a lot more than what most of us know it to be. “I believe that food and cooking can teach us so much about ourselves and the world we live in,” she said. “I designed my IS to start small, quite literally, on the molecular level, and to expand so I could gain as complete
a picture as I could in one semester.”

To document her learning, Haydn designed three projects:

1. Weekly Meals

Haydn planned and cooked a meal based on what she learned that week. She created a slide deck to track the meals, which included a short write-up about what she saw and learned, remaining questions, and photos of each meal.

2. Recreating the Cake

This project tried to re-create the chocolate white chocolate cake available from Seattle’s Simply Desserts. After interviewing Deborah Sigler, a pastry chef and owner of Simply Desserts, Haydn used her own research and applied her science-related skills of experimentation and experimental design. She made four versions of the cake, altering ingredients each time, collecting and recording data for each version.

3. How Do You Cook the Perfect Steak?

This was Haydn’s guiding question at the intersection of everything she was learning. The more she learned, the better she could answer the question. “I wanted to make the most scientifically perfect food based on reactions, but also what was sustainably best for the world,” she said. “My questions included: How do proteins cook when you apply heat? How does heat affect the fat and
caramelization process? Is meat the perfect steak or is there a meatless option that is more ethical and sustainable?”

Haydn met weekly with Mikayla, who helped answer specific science questions. Mikayla also helped guide the course design, making it doable within the time frame. “She helped me understand I had to prioritize what I wanted to learn. She also helped me understand the importance of reflecting on what I learned
and why it mattered to my larger project goals,” Haydn said.

Haydn’s course also gave her a new outlook on discovery. “Innovation isn’t just about creating something new; it can be about connecting ideas that already exist and combining them in new ways so that you are creating something new,” she said.

Reflecting on her IS, Haydn encourages other students to consider designing their own course. She used to think that there was a limit to what she could do as a student, choosing from UPrep’s offerings. “Now I know if there is something I am interested in, I can take charge of what I want to learn about, and UPrep will help me go beyond what they offer,” said Haydn. “I also learned I can apply this idea to my life and learn about whatever interests me. I have all of the tools and resources I need to learn.”

Haydn continued her study of the science of cooking this summer. Her plans included attending a program at Brown University, launching a neighborhood cookie baking business based on her IS learning, and possibly beginning to write a book about the concept of the most scientifically perfect food. “I am a lot more curious than I used to be. I ask myself more questions and I’m excited to find the answers,” said Haydn. “And if the answers aren’t out there, it is exciting to think that I could be the one to find them.”