{"id":3326,"date":"2019-08-07T09:25:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-07T16:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/students-learn-the-science-of-food-and-cooking-in-general-education-course\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T12:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T19:08:09","slug":"usc-dornsife-course-teaches-students-biology-of-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/usc-dornsife-course-teaches-students-biology-of-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Students learn the science of food and cooking in general education course"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3061-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3061-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Students learn the science of food and cooking in general education course\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Students in &#8220;The Biology of Food&#8221; ignite cheese puffs, popcorn, spinach and other foods in a calorimeter to calculate their caloric content. (Photo: Mike Glier.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=student\">Student<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Students learn the science of food and cooking in general education course<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Why are students in an introductory science course setting cheese puffs on fire? To understand biology fundamentals, of course. <strong>[4 min read]<\/strong>\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Michelle Boston<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">August 7, 2019<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 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cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>Who doesn\u2019t love a beautifully browned baguette fresh out of the oven?<\/p>\n<p>With apologies to the gluten intolerant, the bread\u2019s appealing crusty finish is the result of a chemical reaction between amino acids and sugars, known as the <a href=\"https:\/\/cen.acs.org\/articles\/90\/i40\/Maillard-Reaction-Turns-100.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Maillard reaction<\/a>, which gives browned food its distinctive flavor.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the same chemical reaction that puts a sear on a piece of meat, though not the same as caramelization, which occurs at a higher heat and is the result of sugars browning.<\/p>\n<p>Students in the general education class \u201cThe Biology of Food\u201d (BISC 115Lxg), a science course for non-majors taught at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, learn these distinctions to understand the fundamentals of biology. They get a broad overview of microbiology, nutrition, biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology from the cellular level to the macro level through the lens of food and cooking.<\/p>\n<p>Why food? There\u2019s nothing more universal, says Grayson Jaggers, assistant professor (teaching) of <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/bisc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">biological sciences<\/a>, who teaches the course. \u201cWe can all relate to food and health.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Looking for a reaction<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The course combines lectures and labs, which help illustrate the various concepts that Jaggers covers from basic food molecules and tissue structure to fermentation and the biology of sensory receptors.<\/p>\n<p>In one lab experiment, students learn how to calculate calories. Using an instrument called a calorimeter, which measures the heat of chemical reactions, they take turns igniting cheese puffs, popcorn, spinach and other foods in the device\u2019s combustion chamber, which is suspended below a metal container of water. They measure the water\u2019s change in temperature to calculate the number of calories each food item contains.<\/p>\n<p>While learning about these scientific concepts, the class also gives students a way to better understand timely topics in the news such as the presence of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, in foods, which is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/04\/23\/well\/eat\/are-gmo-foods-safe.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hotly contested issue<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a buzzword all over the news and in supermarkets,\u201d said Jaggers. \u201cBut what does it mean for something to contain GMOs and what does it do in our food? That\u2019s something we also discuss in class.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As an experiment, students extracted DNA from different foods to test them for the presence of GMOs using a process called electrophoresis. Their tests showed that a popular brand of chips does in fact contain GMOs.<\/p>\n<div class=\"news-image-landscape news-image-right\">\n<figure style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/BiologyofCooking_Secondary-3061.jpg\" alt=\"electrophoresis\" width=\"450\" height=\"290\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">electrophoresis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Students use a process called electrophoresis to test different foods for genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. (Photo: Grayson Jaggers.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Following the GMO lab and lecture, undergraduate Michelle Kim was inspired to seek out some of the literature that Jaggers recommended presenting different arguments on the subject.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m hoping the books Professor Jaggers suggested will help me create my own stance on GMOs,\u201d said Kim, who is majoring in economics, math and history at USC Dornsife.<\/p>\n<p>Jaggers believes the hands-on lab experiences and relatable content helps students better understand how science relates to their everyday lives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBiology is a really interesting subject. There\u2019s so much going on that we\u2019re not aware of in terms of how things work,\u201d Jaggers said. \u201cMy goal is to demystify it. I want students to have a better understanding of the world around them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Biology with a side of cooking<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While learning to cook isn\u2019t a direct goal of the course, it\u2019s an added benefit of the curriculum.<\/p>\n<p>In a lab about protein isolation and coagulation, students experiment with ingredients to understand how their proteins are transformed to make different types of cheese. A cheese\u2019s texture and taste depend on the bacteria, enzymes and naturally formed acids that solidify milk proteins and fat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI learned how easy it is to make cheese at home,\u201d Kim said. \u201cI don\u2019t know why more people don\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jaggers is himself a home chef experimenting with different dishes, but he remembers when he was an undergraduate looking for advice to prepare the basics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember calling my mother and asking, \u2018How do I cook chicken? What temperature and how long?\u2019\u201d he said. Understanding the science of cooking helped him get a better final product.<\/p>\n<p>Kim, who plans to pursue a career as a teacher, said that she really enjoys connecting technical scientific concepts to the world around her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we talk about the senses and how olfactory nerves in our brain and tongue connect to signal how something tastes, it\u2019s much easier to grasp because of the way we relate our lessons to food,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope that one day I can make learning as fun, interactive and fulfilling for students that I teach.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Biology of Food\u201d will be offered next in the Spring 2020 semester.<\/p>\n<p><i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/stories\/highlights\/17948478850249590\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Follow along as students in \u201cThe Biology of Food\u201d make cheese on Instagram stories (login required).<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why are students in an introductory science course setting cheese puffs on fire? To understand biology fundamentals, of course. <strong>[4 min read]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":3329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[117,133,698,370,97],"class_list":["post-3326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student","tag-biology","tag-food","tag-grayson-jaggers","tag-science","tag-undergraduate"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Students learn the science of food and cooking in general education course<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/usc-dornsife-course-teaches-students-biology-of-food\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Students learn the science of food and cooking in general education course\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why are students in an introductory science course setting cheese puffs on fire? 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[4 min read]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/usc-dornsife-course-teaches-students-biology-of-food\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"USC Dornsife News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-07T16:25:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-29T19:08:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3061.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"525\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michelle Boston\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta 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