CHEM 155: Science of Cooking Italy

CHEM155

4 Credits

4 Weeks in Italy

Professor Marcia France

This a non-majors science course that satisfies FDR SC. Course material includes an introduction to the structure of molecules as well as their inter-and intra-molecular interactions, with an emphasis on those species of importance to food and cooking. Additional science topics include cell structure of plants and meats and methods of heat transfer. Chemical reactivity as it relates to cooking, fermentation, food preservation, and spoilage will also be discussed.

The course will consist of daily lectures as well as 12 cooking lessons at a nearby cooking school. (Students will get to eat what they cook.) Field trips will include a winery, a saffron production facility, a cheese factory, a pastry and cookie factory, a gelateria, and a chocolate manufacturer. Students will have access to library and computer facilities as well as internet access at IES Siena. Accommodations will be in shared apartments with kitchens.

Prerequisite: CHEM 154 (1 credit, Introduction to the Science of Cooking, Winter 2012). Permission of the instructor required.

Program Fee (paid to W&L): $3050. This includes cost of cooking classes, field trips, group meals, group transport from and to airport in Rome, and supplemental health insurance.

Estimated Additional Costs: Airfare ($1,500); meals ($500); miscellaneous spending money ($250-300).

Mandatory Pre-departure Orientation: Monday, March 12, 2012 at 7 p.m.

Contact Professor France for further information.