Steeping

High school (ages 12+)
Food & Cooking

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/steeping

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific term?Infusion (when extracting from plant matter into a liquid)
2. What is the governing principles?Mass transfer, solubility, diffusion, and reaction kinetics
3. What is steeping and why does it make food taste better?Steeping is soaking solid foods or herbs in water to let their flavors and good stuff dissolve into the liquid. This makes drinks like tea and soups taste richer and softer.
4. How does temperature affect steeping?Warming the water helps more flavors dissolve faster, but if it gets too hot it can make the drink bitter or lose some good molecules.

Mass Transfer: The net movement of anything generally from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration.
Solubility: The ability of a substance to dissolve in another substance (the solvent).
Kinetics: The study of the rates of chemical or physical processes.