Kitchen and Math Lessons

The kitchen is the place to practice math. It makes math very relevant and fun for kids of all ages. They might not even know they are learning math but they sure want to make a double batch of chocolate chip cookies!Here are a few exploration ideas that work for younger ages:

• How do you double a cookie recipe?
• If this recipe for soup serves 4 people, how do we make enough for 8 people? Or 2?
• How many place settings do we need? Or if we give everyone 2 forks, one for salad and one for the entree, how many forks do we need?

And here are a few exploration ideas for older students:

• What temperature does water boil? and freeze?
• How does altitude affect the temperature that water boils?
• What is the circumference of a cake so you can wrap a ribbon around it? How many inches of ribbon would you need for a cake that is 10 inches in diameter?
• How do you convert liquid measurements to pounds and ounces?
• What ratio does this grain recipe use by volume: 1 cup of oats, 2 cups of water? Now convert to weight and what is that ratio?
• What is the weight of a half cup of water compared to a half cup of flour? Why are they different?
• Explain the measurements of teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, ounces, and pounds.

My journey as a mom teaching math in the kitchen began with this Warthogs in the Kitchen Book.It is funny and silly book and a great way to introduce kids to math. And it can be a theme in your kitchen, too.

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Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there, she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world-famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland, where she focused on pastry arts and baking. After a decade in food service for Hyatt Hotels, Judy launched Food and Health Communications to focus on flavor and health. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude distinction from Johnson and Wales University with a BS in Culinary Arts, holds a master’s degree in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and runs a food photography & motion studio where her love is creating fun recipes and content.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.