On January 11, the Food For Thought Club hosted a Peppermint Bark Lab, led by club presidents Audrey Cheng ’24 and Gabriel Green ’26. The club and its members learned about how chocolate is made, and the history behind peppermint bark. They tempered chocolate, meaning that they stabilized the ingredients by carefully heating and cooling them with hot liquid in a controlled manner, using a hot plate from chemistry class.
The goal of the club is to learn about food and food science while making snacks such as bubble tea, cheese, and chocolate in a fun and crafty way. The club attracts people interested in food chemistry. During their meetings, the club members create food lab experiments. They also have guest speakers, Instagram influencers, and food science Professor Joe Regenstein, who is the head of the food science department at Cornell University.
Last year, Professor Regenstein hosted three Zoom meetings in which he educated SHS students about his work in the dairy, kosher, and halal industries. For this event, the Food For Thought Club paired with the Jewish Culture Club to learn about kosher food science.
The club has made donations to food banks and charities, particularly the Westchester Food Bank. The biggest events take place during Thanksgiving. In the future, the Food For Thought Club plans to collaborate with the Garden Club and the Chinese Culture Club to create more delicious snacks.
The Food for Thought Club meets once a month on Thursdays in room 388.
Email [email protected] for more information.
