Science Pub: Food Science with Sue Queisser, April 10

Rise up – raise a glass for science. April’s Science Pub is all about the stuff that makes baked goods bubble. Join speaker Sue Queisser, food scientist, engineer, and bakery owner, on Monday, April 10 at Old World Deli at the usual 6 p.m. for “Lift: The Science and Surprising History of Leavening Agents.”

Baking soda, baking powder, and yes, even yeast and all its mysteries will be the topic of discussion Monday night. Bubbles sure are friends to bakers and brewers alike. Fluffy food and frothy beverages are enough to fill anyone with joy and effervescence. Come learn a few tips on how to keep culinary convections light and fluffy as well as some of the history about how many essential ingredients came to be.

Queisser is the project manager at the Center for Sensory & Consumer Behavior Research at OSU’s Department of Food Science and Technology. She’s also the owner of Melarova Baking here in Corvallis. She has a broad range of career interests and has earned degrees in printmaking and mechanical engineering, as well as in food science. Figuring out the very best way to make anything is something of an obsession of hers.

Next month mark your calendars, or wherever else you like to record information about celestial events, for Monday, May 8, when speaker Randall Milstein presents “There Goes the Sun: The North American Total Solar Eclipse of 2017.” Learn more about Aug. 21’s total solar eclipse. May’s Science Pub Corvallis will take place at the Learning Innovation Center at Oregon State University.

Science Pub Corvallis usually occurs at Old World Deli downtown at 341 SW Second Street, the second Monday of most months from 6 to 8 p.m., and offers cool conversations and presentations about all sorts of scientific topics. No science or beer-drinking background is required.

Queisser’s presentation, “Lift: The Science and Surprising History of Leavening Agents,” begins at
6 p.m. on Monday, April 10 at Old World Deli. For more information about Science Pub Corvallis, visit terra.oregonstate.edu/science-pub-corvallis/.

By Matthew Hunt