UNIT
9: FEEDING YOUR FACE
FACT: CORN IS PROCESSED INTO STARCH, SYRUP, SUGAR
AND OIL, THEN INTO OVER 3,000 GROCERY STORE PRODUCTS
LESSON
1: A, B, C.is for Corn! (Language
Arts)*
LESSON 2: Kernel Surgery
(Science)*
LESSON 3: Starch
Your Day Right! (Science)*
LESSON 4: The
Great Worldwide Corn Recipe Exchange (Multidisciplinary)*
*All Lesson plans
are adaptable for ALL ages!
DAVID
MAKES CUPCAKES
It was the night
before Thanksgiving, and David was busy in the kitchen. He was wearing
an apron that reached his ankles. His shirtsleeves were rolled up, and
he was concentrating. He was only six years old, and for the first time
had been invited to participate in the Men's Thanksgiving Dessert Contest.
He was so excited!
He could remember
some of the entries from the past. Thick, rich brownies, warm apple
pie, layered mint ice cream cake, creamy lemon pie. David had spent
a very long time in the grocery store deciding what he would make, and
had finally decided to invent his own dessert. He was going to make
"surprise cupcakes."
The "surprise" part
was a gummy worm. It was his own idea. He would put one worm in the
center of each cupcake. He could hardly wait to watch his cousin's faces
when they bit into a worm!
He'd picked out
a mix for white cake. That way the gummy worms, which were red, green,
blue, and yellow, would show up better. He chose white frosting too.
That was because he had big plans for decorating the top with candy
sprinkles. He'd also picked out eight different colors of cake decorating
writing gel.
Mixing the batter
was easy. He measured the oil, the eggs, the water, then ran the mixer
on high, carefully scraping the sides of the bowl.
He filled the paper
cupcake cups, then quickly pushed a worm into each one. He didn't want
his sisters to see. In some cups he put two worms.
When the timer buzzed
he took them out of the oven. There, before his eyes, were 24 of the
most beautiful, light brown, perfectly shaped cupcakes he'd ever seen.
He wanted to try one.
He really wanted
to try one, just one. He looked at them for a while, wondering if he'd
get in trouble. Finally he decided. "Cooks should always taste their
food before anyone else. So I will."
He took the paper
off one cupcake. It was still warm. It smelled so wonderful. The cupcake
paper was sticky on the bottom but he didn't care. He opened his mouth
and took a big bite.
There was no worm.
There was a hole
where the worm should have been. David stood there, speechless. He stared.
This was worse than his worst nightmare. The gummy worm was gone. It
had melted.
The one in his
hand had been blue. He could tell by the blue sticky stuff on the bottom.
It was awful. He
called his mom, tears in his eyes. "What happened to my worm? What am
I going to do for the contest?"
His heart was broken.
His first entry in the Men's Dessert Contest was a real loser, even
though he'd tried so hard.
His mom listened.
She felt terrible too. They pulled the empty gummy worm bag from the
garbage, talked about the ingredients and why they melted, then thought
of a plan.
The next morning
was a beautiful November day, with bright sunshine. David's family drove
to his cousin's house through the Minnesota River valley. The trees
were bare, and there were patches of snow in the woods. They drove past
field after field that had been harvested and tilled. The earth looked
like it was resting.
David proudly carried
two trays of cupcakes into the house and arranged them on the special
dessert table. He had spent a lot of time decorating those cupcakes,
and it showed. The frosting was set in perfect swirls. There were multi-colored
sparkles and designs on top.
Everyone stood around
the desserts. It was awesome! David's cousins had made gingerbread houses.
His uncles, most of them farmers, had made pecan pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate
caramel cake and rhubarb crisp. Everything had taken lots of work.
The meal began and
lasted a long time. There was a big turkey with apple stuffing, mashed
potatoes with gravy, homegrown green beans and sweet corn, three kinds
of bread, and cranberry salad. Everyone ate and ate. But they didn't
forget to leave room for dessert.
The moment arrived.
One at a time the contestants stood at the dessert table, held up their
creation and described it. Everyone listened, then cheered and clapped.
David was the youngest,
so he was last. He proudly held up his plate of cupcakes. They were
so beautiful! Everyone cheered! His eyes sparkled.
Then his mom stood
by him and said, "David made something very special for all of you today.
This is Thanksgiving, and we are grateful for our blessings. David wanted
to especially thank all you farmers for helping raise our food. If it
weren't for you, we wouldn't have had the turkey, or the bread, or any
of these desserts. So he made a special tribute. He made these CORNY
CUPCAKES for you."
Everyone clapped
again. "These cupcakes are very, very special," his mom continued. "You
all raise corn in your fields, and these cupcakes wouldn't have been
possible without corn. There is cornstarch in the sprinkles, corn syrup
in the writing gel. The frosting is sweetened with corn sugar. There
is corn oil in the cake."
"And hidden inside
each cupcake is something else very sweet. Something as light as air,
and smooth as syrup.
It's a magic ingredient,
and is also made from corn."
"Without you farmers,
the starches, sugars, syrups, and oils we use in our food would not
be possible. These cupcakes are corny. You'll find out when you eat
one! David offers them to you, and we all say 'thank you'."
