sugar detectives

Sugar Detectives: Examining How Sugar Transforms Baked Goods

Most people don’t know why sugar is in the foods they eat or recipes they make, but sugar’s unique versatility makes it an essential functional ingredient in many of the foods we eat. This lesson plan from the Home Baking Association helps students identify the many functions of sugar in food.

Many people assume sugar simply adds sweetness to foods, but sugar functions in many ways to make our baked goods more than just sweet.

Created by Elizabeth Hagan, a Family & Consumer Sciences Teacher from Bayard, IA, and produced in partnership with the Home Baking Association, this lesson plan helps students solve the mystery of why sugar an essential ingredient in baking and how it changes the physical properties of baked goods.

The 3-day lesson plan objectives include:

  1. Identify and describe the functions of different types of sugars
  2. Prepare recipes using different types of sugars and using sugar functions in a different way
  3. Evaluate each baked good and identify what type and function sugar serves in the recipe

Complete with Family & Consumer Sciences Standards, this lesson is a great complement to classroom or at-home learning.

Download the lesson plan here.

The Sugar Association partners with the Home Baking Association to provide education materials and other education outreach to students and teachers alike. You can find more resources for educators here.

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