Science Smarts: A little something to treat your holiday guests to

By Patty Rooks on December 7, 2024.

I can hardly believe it is December already. Time surely flies these days. As the Holiday Season is fast approaching, I have been doing a bit of planning and experimenting myself in the kitchen. It is important to try out new things before the guests arrive – as this is taking a bit of my extra time, I thought I would share a winner you could also use while entertaining this year.

Let’s get started!

*Remember to ask an adult before you do this experiment.

Materials

– Oven

– Measuring spoons

– Measuring cups

– Mixing bowl

– Mixing spoon

– Cooking brush

– Blender

– Muffin tin

– Oven mitts

– Flour

– Butter

– Salt

– Milk

– Eggs

– Sugar

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

2. Melt three tablespoons (45 mL) of butter.

3. Use just one tablespoon (15mL) of this to brush on the inside of the muffin cups.

4. Place the tin in the oven for about five minutes to heat up while you make the batter.

5. In the blender, measure one cup (250 mL) flour, one tablespoon (15 mL) sugar and one teaspoon )5 mL) salt. Pulse one or two times JUST to mix.

6. Add two eggs, one cup (250 mL) milk and the rest of the melted butter.

7. Blend up.

8. Using the oven mitts, remove the muffin tin from the oven and place on a heat proof surface.

9. Have an adult help you pour the batter into the muffin cups. You only want them to be about 2/3 full.

10. Ask the adult to put the muffin tin back in the oven.

11. Set the timer for 25 minutes.

12. Once the timer goes off, turn on the light and peek into the oven WITHOUT opening the door. This is important.

13. If the popovers are puffed up and golden, remove. If NOT, watch them for a couple more minutes through the window.

What is going on?

I always receive questions and comments that say cooking is not science. Respectfully, I have to disagree! There is so much science going on in the kitchen when we are in there. In this popover experiment for instance, there is a great deal of science going on.

When you use the blender to combine the mixture, it forces a lot of air into the batter which is important in order to get light fluffy popovers! It is also important that your tin is piping hot because this allows the batter to start cooking or set up immediately trapping those air bubbles instantly. As the popovers heat in the oven, those air bubbles continue to expand and creating a balloon-like experience blowing up the batter into these light fluffy popovers. I hope you enjoy these with a holiday meal with friends and family soon!

Patty Rooks, senior scientific consultant PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community.” Contact Praxis at praxis@praxismh.ca, http://www.praxismh.ca, Tweet or follow us @PraxisMedHat, or friend us on Facebook. Address: 12 826 11th Street SE, Medicine Hat, AB, T1A 1T7 Phone: 403-527-5365, email: praxis@praxismh.ca.

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