HEALTH

YEAR 9 FOOD TECHNOLOGY

Food Technology is a new and exciting concept when you start in Year 7, and it’s no wonder kids like me choose it again as an elective two years later. When learning from home over the past two years, I was limited to whatever staples were in the pantry (like bread, rice and noodles) which meant not many options existed to create a mouth watering dish. 

Now that we are back to on site learning, and with the addition of two new kitchens at the East Campus, we are able to have a similar if not better experience as we did coming into secondary school in Year 7. The new Food Technology course introduces a science element to the elective, which encourages students to seek more sustainable options in a world that is conscious about action for climate change. Students also explore the science behind multiple cooking processes as well as further understanding the chemical changes that food undergoes during cooking. Through the process of cooking, being creative and gaining an appreciation for the science behind the food we eat, this makes eating the food we prepare more enjoyable!

As an example of a new skill that we are learning, we have started off the year by exploring different food preservation techniques. 

This is through experimenting with peas and exposing peas to different methods of food preservation. The idea is that after one week, we will be able to see which technique is the most effective at extending the shelf life of the peas! Additionally, we have learnt how to pickle cucumbers in a jar in order to preserve them. 

We will have an opportunity to eat these in a few weeks’ time when we make burgers during class! The pickling process with the cucumbers can be seen in the photo.

Melanie He

Year 9 Student