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Learner Reviews & Feedback for The Science of Gastronomy by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

4.6
stars
740 ratings

About the Course

This course introduces several basic scientific principles underpinning the methodology of cooking, food preparation, and the enjoyment of food. All topics covered have a strong basis in biology, chemistry, and physics application. Among others, they include the consumption of cooked food, the physiological and evolutionary implications of the senses, geographic and cultural influences on food, and the rationale behind food preparation. We will also discuss issues such as coupling of senses to improve sense stimulation; altering flavor by chemical means, and modification of the coloration to improve the appearance of dishes. Following the video demonstrations of the scientific principles of cooking, you will learn to recognize the key ingredients and their combinations for preparing good healthy food. You will also be asked to try out and practice specific cooking principles through the weekly assignments; analyze your data and make comparisons of your experiences with others. At the end of this course, you will be able to: - appreciate the scientific basis of various recipes. - develop your own recipes by integrating some of the scientific principles into new dishes. - recognize the influence of the material world on human perception from the different senses. - appreciate the art of integrating science into cooking and dining. Important Note: This course is not designed for people with special dietary needs such as vegetarian, diabetic, and gluten-free diets. If you feel uncomfortable with any part of the assignments or activities of this course, you can substitute some of the ingredients or ask friends and family members to help with the tasting of your assignments. Alternatively, you may skip that specific assignment if you have fulfilled all other qualifying requirements to pass the course. Course Overview video: https://www.coursera.org/lecture/gastronomy/course-overview-43gyz...

Top reviews

DJ

Jun 3, 2021

Very easy to understand even for someone new to food science like me. Learn a lot about the basic science of how our body works to see taste smell taste hear and touch food and how cooking works.

SJ

Sep 28, 2020

Thank you very much Professor Chow and Professor Yeung as well as to your student assistants. I find the topics, demonstrations and assignments very interesting and useful in my profession.

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151 - 175 of 182 Reviews for The Science of Gastronomy

By ann t

Feb 26, 2018

E

By Deleted A

Jul 1, 2018

A little bit long, however very insteresting. It is easier to understand with a scientific background but professors make it basic so everyone can follow the course. English is sometimes problematic for understanding (and misunderstanding) but overall everything went smoothly. I have not "cemented" all the notions in my mind yet but now when I cook / eat / drink / see / perceive, I will have this additional prism and the experience is funnier and more interesting. Thank you for this course !

By Alexandra B

May 21, 2020

The course was amazing, the information I gathered is extremely useful. However, the main weakness of the course is English. Sometimes it was difficult to watch a lot of videos at once, even if wanted because it also took a lot of energy to understand what the professors were talking about. Seemed liked they knew a lot about the topic, but could not describe some theories because of the lack of vocabulary or weak grammar.

By TRISHALA P

Dec 16, 2018

The course was very well organised , the professor's were amazing ,they were having deep knowledge in the subject, I really enjoyed this course,looking forward to take more courses like this.thank you!

By Lydia F

Aug 26, 2020

Everything went well. I don't really like book in a sense, like reading but not exam, that's why I tried so many times. Taught me patience, ...spend time wisely...cook different fish in different ways

By Claire C

Sep 11, 2016

a little succinct and could have gone in to far more chemistry details.

the teachers are a little difficult to understand at times and a little repetitive as well but overall an enjoyable course

By Sangdeun I (

May 8, 2022

The Class is cool! I like that! You like FOOD SCIENCE in class. Like Science shows and teaching, you know how to do tricks for cooking and rooting on chemicals.

By Arjay M

Dec 2, 2021

Well presented but my only suggestion for future improvement is to have Question and Answer portion on every video can be done through chatting.

By Ankur D

Jun 28, 2020

More demonstrations and more quizzes would have been better. But overall a very good course. I would love to attend version 2. :)

By Jess S

May 19, 2020

Very interactive and informative, great way to learn! I do think it could be condensed, but overall it was an enjoyable course.

By Janice L

Jul 2, 2021

I learned a lot on cooking and the different ingredients that influence the texture and taste of food. Thank you.

By Kam L

Jun 20, 2021

Extensive review of biological and chemical aspects of cooking. Science may be difficult for some people.

By sujeet s

Jun 11, 2022

cocept of teaching and content is good, you will get here so many things to learn.

By Mario S

Aug 30, 2017

Fascinating to learn the science behind our experience and enjoyment of food.

By Chris R

May 1, 2021

Quite good, very informative but a little long-winded

By Hugo A

Oct 11, 2020

There are a lot to learn from here.

By Đức T N

Sep 23, 2018

Such a great course from HKUST.

By Usha G

Jul 27, 2020

Good Knowledge about cooking.

By Eduardo A m

Jun 27, 2020

Muy buen programa y contenido

By Davide P

Sep 27, 2018

Very interesting

By Jenniffer C

Jun 27, 2020

I learn a lot.

By abhishek b

Sep 28, 2017

nice course

By Pablo H

Apr 23, 2020

I love it.

By Sarra T

Jun 7, 2020

Excellent

By Michał P K

Jun 12, 2021

Only three stars despite excellent content (delivery for a paid option should be better) • The content is extremely interesting and it is clear that a lot of effort was put in preparing the course. Very good downloadable presentations, fantastic summaries (topic summaries) at the end of each module. The second part even more interesting that the first one. • There are errors in English. The second part delivered by the second instructor was worse, the delivery sometimes hindered the understanding and thus caused frustration. Not being an English native speaker myself, I understand this is easier said than done. However, the course was made available on a global platform in English, so one expects it to be easy to understand, especially for those as myself who purchased a certificate. Does Coursera verify the course before putting it on the platform? Courses with poor content or poor delivery should be available for auditing only, without possibility to buy a certificate.

• There are many assignments. Maybe one could consider replacing some of them by short mandatory tests after each module or chapter (and not only a final test at the end). Short tests at the end of each module would allow better understanding of the material, which would be memorised longer…