Monika Davies - Art and Culture: Desserts Around the World: Comparing Fractions

0covercover.xhtmlArt and Culture DESSERTS Around the World Comparing Fractions Monika Daviescover3page0003page0003.xhtml44page0004page0004.xhtmlTable of Contents In a Chefs Shoes 4 America, Hungary, and Spain 6 Hong Kong and Brazil 12 Turkey and Vietnam 16 Poland and South Africa 20 Simple Mistake, Disgusting Dessert 24 A Wide World of Food 26 Problem Solving 28 Glossary 30 Index 31 Answer Key 3255page0005page0005.xhtmlIn a Chef's Shoes People around the world enjoy the culinary arts. Some bake treats that tantalize your taste buds. Others make pastries with colors that catch your eye. But, there is one part of making sweet treats that everyone can agree on : every chef needs to use fractions! Recipes are like road maps. They take people on tasty trips. Without a recipe, some chefs might end up lost. They would not know how much flour to use. They would not know which ingredients to add. Fractions are a part of many recipes. Chefs need to master them. Fractions help chefs make sure recipes are successes. This biscuit recipe calls for fractional amounts of some ingredients.66page0006page0006.xhtmlThere are hundreds of recipes for French macarons.77page0007page0007.xhtmlAmerica, Hungary, and Spain Buckle up! Our road trip of world desserts begins now. The treats from the first three countries are baked to a golden brown. America's Chocolate Chip Cookies Chocolate chip cookies are less than 100 years old. Their story began in the 1930s. That's when Ruth Graves Wakefield created America's favorite cookie. She owned a lodge called the Toll House Inn. Wakefield's famous cookies were a lucky mistake. She was making cookies for her guests one day. But, she ran out of baker's chocolate. She looked through her shelves to find something she could use in its place. In the end, she cut up a chocolate bar. Ruth thought the pieces would melt. Instead, they stayed as chips! The chocolate chip cookie was born. Ruth Graves Wakefield88page0008page0008.xhtmlToll House Inn Let's99page0009page0009.xhtmlHungarys Sweet Strudels The apple strudel loves to cross borders. It was probably born in Hungary. Then, it found its way into Austrian cafs. Germans enjoy strudels, too. In fact, strudel is the German word for whirlpool. When apples and dough were put together, the swirls made some early German bakers think of whirlpools. To make apple strudels, pastry chefs need to bring their A game. The perfect strudel takes patience. First, chefs knead the dough. Then, they use rolling pins to flatten it. Chefs then stretch the dough thin. They can tell it is thin enough when they can read their writing through the dough! Next, they butter the dough. Then, they add the apple filling. They carefully use a piece of cloth to roll the pastry into a sweet cocoon and bake it until it is golden brown. At long last, they grab a fork and dig in!1010page0010page0010.xhtmlA baker rolls an apple strudel into shape.1111page0011page0011.xhtmlSpain's Champion Churros No one is sure who made the first churro. Some say Spanish shepherds were the first. They lived high up on hills and longed for a sweet treat. Churros would have been simple for them to fry. Others say sailors from Portugal traveled to China where they ate long doughnuts. The sailors took the idea back home. Their neighbors in Spain found out and gave the churro the star shape we know today. The history of the churro may not be clear. But we do know that people love them. You can find them at American carnivals. Churros pop up on Spanish breakfast plates. They are filled with cream in Mexican bakeries. Churros have fans all around the world!1212page0012page0012.xhtmlLets1313page0013page0013.xhtmlHong Kong and Brazil What is something Hong Kong and Brazil have in common? Both share a love for desserts that are as bright as the sun! Hong Kong's Excellent Egg Tarts Egg tarts are melt-in-your-mouth treats that are popular in Hong Kong. The recipe seems simple. The filling is made with water, eggs, sugar, and milk. Then, it is poured into pastry shells. Sounds easy, right? Not everyone thinks so. It takes talent to make the perfect egg tart. The shell needs to have a flaky crust. The custard must be soft and not too sweet. Everything has to come together in a cheerful shade of yellow. If that sounds complicated to you, you can leave the baking to a professional chef. If you can't jet over to Hong Kong, don't worry! You can find egg tarts in most Chinese bakeries.1414page0014page0014.xhtmlLets1515page0015page0015.xhtmlBrazil's Quick Quindim Do you have sugar, egg yolks, and milk in your kitchen? Then, you're nearly ready to start making quindim! And, you are well on your way to finding out why Brazilians love this dense dessert. Quindim (keen-JEEN) is yellow and sweet. It is also easy to make. Even novice chefs can do it! First, chefs bring milk and sugar to a boil. They add egg yolks to give the treat a shiny glow. Then, melted butter and coconut go into the mix. Chefs pour the yellow mixture into molds. Lastly, they top it off with a final dose of sugar. Less than one hour later, quindim is served! Quindim is usually served whole. Any whole number can be written as a fraction using one. One whole serving can be written as 1, or 11. Or, 4 whole servings could be written as 41. quindim1616page0016page0016.xhtmlLets1717page0017page0017.xhtmlTurkey and Vietnam We are going green as we take a look at desserts in Turkey and Vietnam! Why green? Both countries offer gorgeous green desserts. Turkey's Bold Baklava What is your favorite type of nut? Walnuts? Pistachios? Almonds? You have a choice when it comes to baklava (BAH-kluh-vah). Turkey's beloved sweet is first made with phyllo (FEE-loh) dough. Phyllo has only two ingredients-water and flour. Each sheet of phyllo is stretched thinner than paper. Baklava needs 30 to 40 sheets of phyllo for one pastry! The final steps are simple. Melted butter is brushed on each sheet. Then, it is time for that important choice of nut for the filling. Pistachios are the nut of choice that lend a shade of green to the treat. The final touch is a drizzle of honey. Then, you can dig your fork in and enjoy! pistachios1818page0018page0018.xhtmlbaklava lets1919page0019page0019.xhtmlpandanus tree coconut milk and pandanus leaves2020page0020page0020.xhtmlVietnam's Wild Waffles Have you ever wanted to try green eggs and ham? What about green waffles? You're in luck! Vietnam's bright-green pandan waffles are for you. Why are they green? The color comes from the leaves of pandanus (pan-DAN-uhs) trees. These leaves are used in many Southeast Asian recipes. The trees are native to the area. Since they grow naturally here, the leaves are easy to get. They're also cheap. Some people even grow them at home. The recipe also calls for coconut milk. Combining the milk and leaves together is key. This gives pandan waffles a sweet and nutty taste. If you make these waffles, make sure you make a dozen. Everyone will want to try them! Pandan waffles are traditionally served plain, with no syrup or toppings.2121page0021page0021.xhtmlPoland and South Africa The final part of our tour takes us to Poland and South Africa. Two of their famous desserts will change the way you think about bread and pudding. babka Raisins and cranberries are popular babka fillings.2222page0022page0022.xhtmlPoland's Beloved Babka The word babka means "grandmother" in Polish. How did it get this name? It could be that the sides of the pan make swirls in the bread when it is baked. The swirls look like a grandmother's skirt. Or it could be that it is named after all the grandmothers who so often make it. In any case, many people call it delicious! Babka bakers, on the other hand, might call it complicated. This sweet bread takes almost a whole day to make. Some recipes have more than 12 steps. Chefs start by cutting and rolling out the buttery dough. Usually, they fill it with raisins or fruit. They might even add chocolate or cinnamon. Then, they roll the dough into a long tube. Finally, they put the babka into a pan to bake. All of this work makes it a special treat for special times. Babka dough is rolled flat. The dough is rolled after filling is added. The tube is placed in a pan for baking.2323page0023page0023.xhtmlSouth Africa's Popular Pudding Do you think you know what pudding looks like? Malva pudding will likely be a surprise! This is not an American pudding in a cup. It is a cake! It has tart apricot jam on top. Many people love the hint of caramel. The cake also has some vinegar and baking soda in it. The two ingredients chemically react with each other and make small bubbles. The result is a spongy cake. Malva pudding is so soft that some call it marshmallow pudding. Malva pudding is served in many restaurants in South Africa. Many people also bake it at home. Some chefs add chocolate or cherries. It might be served with custard, ice cream, or whipped cream. But, in any form, people can't get enough of malva pudding. malva pudding2424page0024page0024.xhtmlMalva pudding is traditionally served hot with custard. Lets2525page0025page0025.xhtmlSimple Mistake, Disgusting Dessert Pastry chefs have to read recipes closely. They have to measure fractions of ingredients. If they do not, desserts won't taste right. Or, they might not bake well in the oven. The desserts would probably taste awful! Different recipes call for different ingredients. Some desserts are sweet. Some are sour. Others are savory. Chocolate may be a big deal in some recipes. Fruit might be most important in others. Some have spices, jam, or nuts as the key ingredients. That variety is what makes these treats special. Every perfect pastry display starts with recipes. Skillful chefs help, too!2626page0026page0026.xhtmlLets2727page0027page0027.xhtmlA Wide World of Food Each country has its own culture. Food is part of that. People around the world enjoy special foods. Learning more about a culture can begin with recipes. Try some new food. Maybe try a dessert from this book! It's an easy way to get a taste of another country. You don't even have to leave home. Tasting new foods can introduce you to new favorites and help you learn about cultures other than your own. Fractions can make or break a recipe. Chefs everywhere can agree on that. So, crack open a cookbook and let fractions lead the way.2828page0028page0028.xhtml2929page0029page0029.xhtmlProblem Solving Alisha and her dad are planning a family baking day. Alisha's favorite color is yellow. So, they decide to make quindim. 1. Alisha and her dad only have a 14 cup measuring cup. How can they use this cup to measure the sugar and water? 2. Uh-oh! Alisha's dad made a mistake. He measured 18 teaspoon of vanilla. Is that more or less than 12 teaspoon of vanilla? Show your answer using the symbols > or <. How can he correct his mistake? 3. To make the recipe, each mold needs to be 34 full. Alisha fills one mold 34 full. Her dad fills the other mold 38 full. Which mold has more batter? Use the symbols > or < to show your answer. 4. How can 6 egg yolks and 50 g shredded coconut be written as fractions?3030page0030page0030.xhtmlQuindim Recipe (makes 4) 2 250-milliliter baking molds and 1 pie dish 1 cup granulated sugar W cup water 50 g shredded coconut 1 tablespoon butter, melted W teaspoon vanilla 6 egg yolks 1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C). 2. Mix all ingredients in one bowl. 3. Grease molds with butter. Place molds into pie dish. Fill pie dish halfway with water. 4. Fill each mold r full. Bake for 20 minutes. 5. Let quindim cool before eating. Enjoy!3131page0031page0031.xhtmlGlossary compared-having looked at the features of two or more things culinary-relating to or used in cooking culture-the beliefs and ways of a group of people dense-tightly compacted equivalent-having the same number or value flaky-breaks apart easily into smaller pieces fractions-numbers that show how many equal parts are in wholes and how many of those parts are being described knead-to use your hands to press native-existing naturally in a certain area novice-beginner partition-divide into separate sections savory-spicy or salty spongy-soft and moist3232page0032page0032.xhtmlIndex America, babka, baklava, Brazil, chocolate chip cookie, churro, egg tarts, Hong Kong, Hungary, Malva pudding, pandan waffles, Poland, quindim, South Africa, Spain, strudel, Turkey, Vietnam, Wakefield, Ruth Graves,3333page0033page0033.xhtmlAnswer Key Let's Explore Math page 7 : A and D page 11 : 1. 24, 36, 48 2. 26 3. 68 page 13 : 1. 46 or 23 2. 26 or 13 page 15 : 1. 31 2. 81 3. 121 page 17 : Every row of baklava would cost the same because the wholes are the same. page 23 : 1. Set A : <, >, > 2. Set B : <, >, > 3. Answers will vary. Drawings should show equal-sized wholes partitioned into equal-sized pieces to make the comparison. page 25 : 1. chocolate chip cookies 2. churros 3. chocolate chip cookies; butter could be written as 11 Problem Solving 1. They can measure the sugar by using the 14 measuring cup four times (44 = 1 cup). They can measure the water by using the 14 measuring cup twice (24 = 12 cup). 2. 18 < 12. Alisha's dad can add 3 more 18 teaspoons to correct his mistake. (48 = 12 teaspoon) 3. 34 > 38 4. 61 and 5013434page0034page0034.xhtmlMath Talk 1. What are the parts of a fraction? 2. How is a fraction different from a whole number? 3. Katie uses 12 cup of flour to make paste. Stu uses 24 cup of flour to make paste. Their paste turns out exactly the same! Draw a picture to prove they used the same amount of flour. 4. When have you needed to use fractions instead of whole numbers? 5. A mom is at a bakery with her 8-year-old and 12-year- old sons. She tells the clerk, "Please break a cookie in half for my kids. Give the bigger half to my older son. What is her mistake? 6. At a local bakery, Jules ate 18 of a bagel. Dagmar ate 13 of a bagel. Enzo ate 16 of a bagel. Jules says, "We all ate one piece. So, we all ate the same amount. Do you agree with Jules? Use words, numbers, or pictures to prove your reasoning.3535page0035page0035.xhtmlArt and Culture Desserts Around the World Comparing Fractions Fractions are a part of every recipe in every kitchen. That means that pastry chefs need to be fraction experts. Enter kitchens around the world to taste test different desserts. Step into a pastry chef's shoes and compare a fraction or two! Fractions36