Food Science Curriculum Guide for 2025
I’m sharing this guide to help you start the new school year with confidence!
It can be a headache figuring out the best sequence to teach food science, especially if you’re teaching it for the first time.
So let me make it easier for you.
Fortunately, I’ll be teaching a new class called Kitchen Science this semester, which I think you can model.
Here is how I have organized my syllabus, and how you can too.
I’ll start with an introduction to scientific inquiry. This helps students understand how scientists think and trains them to think like scientists.
From there, I plan to cover basic chemistry to give students a foundation for understanding the role and function of nutrients.
This will lead me to other relevant topics such as microbiology, heat transfer, packaging, and taste-testing, all with the goal of finally diving into how these principles apply in cooking and food processing.
Here’s the setup. Feel free to adapt it.
Week 1: Scientific Inquiry in Food
Students will learn how scientists study food by asking questions, forming hypotheses, setting up experiments, and collecting data. This topic sets the foundation for thinking like a scientist in the kitchen.
Tip: Start with a simple kitchen experiment, like testing how different liquids affect apple browning. Guide students to create a hypothesis, observe, and record their results.
Week 2: Chemistry Basics
Students will explore the building blocks of food, including atoms, molecules, and chemical reactions. They’ll learn how chemical changes happen during cooking, like browning or caramelization.
Tip : Use a cookie recipe to explain chemistry concepts—point out how baking soda causes dough to rise through a chemical reaction that releases gas.
Week 3: Water in Cooking
This lesson covers the structure of water and how it behaves in cooking. Students will learn about boiling, freezing, and how water helps transfer heat and dissolve ingredients.
Tip: Do a hands-on activity where students observe the three states of water—ice, liquid, and steam—and discuss how each is used in food preparation.
Week 4: Carbohydrates
Students will discover the role of carbohydrates in food and health. They’ll also learn how carbohydrates affect texture, sweetness, and structure in baked goods.
Tip: Bring in examples of starches and sugars (like flour, cornstarch, and sugar). Have students predict and observe what happens when these ingredients are cooked.
Week 5: Lipids (Fats and Oils)
This topic explores fats and oils as nutrients and functional ingredients. Students will learn how lipids contribute to texture, flavor, and cooking techniques like frying.
Tip: Let students compare the feel and taste of low-fat vs. regular versions of the same food (like yogurt or milk) to understand the role of fat in texture and flavor.
Week 6: Proteins
Students will study proteins in food, including their nutritional role and how they change during cooking. Topics include denaturation and coagulation.
Tip: Have students observe what happens when they cook an egg. Discuss how heat changes the protein from a liquid to a solid.
Week 7: Enzymes (Function in Food)
Students will learn what enzymes are and how they affect food. Examples include ripening fruit, browning apples, and tenderizing meat.
Tip: Use apples or bananas to demonstrate enzymatic browning. Ask students to try different treatments (lemon juice, saltwater) to slow the process.
Week 8: Microbiology and Food Safety
This lesson focuses on the microorganisms that affect food, both good and bad. Students will learn about bacteria, viruses, and molds, and how to prevent foodborne illness.
Tip: Use a glow germ activity or handwashing challenge to show how germs spread and why proper hygiene is essential in food handling.
Week 9: Heat and Energy in Cooking
Students will study how heat moves through food and how different cooking methods work. They’ll learn about conduction, convection, and radiation.
Tip: Have students list their favorite foods and identify how each is cooked—by conduction (grilling), convection (baking), or radiation (broiling).
Week 10: Food Packaging and Labeling
This topic teaches students how food is packaged and labeled to keep it safe, fresh, and informative. They’ll learn how to read nutrition facts and ingredient lists.
Tip: Ask students to bring in food packages from home. Have them practice reading the labels and identifying important information.
Week 11: Sensory Properties of Food
Students will explore how the five senses are used to evaluate food quality, including taste, texture, aroma, appearance, and even sound.
Tip: Set up a sensory test with different food samples. Use a simple form to have students rate appearance, smell, taste, texture, and sound (like crunchiness).
Weeks 12–15: Food Processing Principles and Techniques
Students will study basic food processing methods, including fermentation, drying, concentrating, salting, pasteurization, and canning. They’ll learn why processing is important for safety, quality, and shelf life.
Tip: Choose one simple food process to try in class, like fermenting yogurt or drying fruit slices in a dehydrator or oven. This helps students connect theory to practice.
Final Thoughts
I’ll be sharing more resources throughout the year to help you teach food science with confidence—even if you’re just getting started. Free subscribers will get occasional updates of free resources that I have available.
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Want a printable version of this curriculum outline? Download it here.
Drop a comment below to let me know what topics you’ll add, as you adapt it for your class.