Chicken Noodle Soup

The Science of Chicken Soup

Every substance that has weight (sometimes called mass) and occupies space (sometimes called volume) is called matter. In this recipe, we’ll explore this scientific question: How do ingredients combine to become a new food?

Matter can undergo physical changes and chemical changes.

A physical change means that the matter has not essentially changed. For example, cutting an onion in half would be a physical change—it is different, but it is still an onion, even if you chopped it into tiny bits.

A chemical change occurs when a substance changes into something new. For example, baking a cake is a chemical reaction. Several different ingredients are combined, exposed to heat and become something new, not really resembling the ingredients that went into making it.

Can you combine ingredients and not create a chemical reaction? Yes. The scientific term is mixture: two or more substances together but not chemically combined. A heterogeneous mixture has distinguishable components. In our soup, that would be the broth, noodles, chicken and vegetables. It also has a different composition throughout the mixture. For example, the vegetables are solid, but the broth is liquid.

1. Place a pot over medium heat and melt the butter slowly. Add the onion to the butter and cook for a minute, then add celery and carrots and cook until the vegetables are slightly translucent, about 4 more minutes.

2. Add the chicken, and stir in with the vegetables for 2 minutes, so the flavors mix together.

3. Add the chicken stock, vegetable stock, oregano, basil, bay leaves, and garlic powder. Allow soup to simmer for 20 minutes at medium heat.

4. Ten minutes before serving, adjust the heat to medium-high and bring soup to a boil. Add uncooked noodles and cook for ten minutes or according to package instructions.