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Crazy Chemical Pie
Kitchen Chemical Rockets Intro

Cook up a storm with this chemical pie! It smells and tastes like an apple pie, but there are no apples in the recipe. Get ready to trick your senses and enjoy this tasty experiment!

For a printable version of this project, click here.


Materials

Kitchen Chemical Rockets Materials

• Pre-made pie crust
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (sucrose, C12H22O11)
• 1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate, KHC4H4O6)
• 25 unsalted crackers
• Measuring cup
• Cinnamon
• 1 tsp butter
• Big pot
• Wooden spoon

Instructions
Safety First! Get an adult’s permission and help to do this project.

1. If necessary, pre-bake the pie crust as instructed on the box.
2. Pre-heat oven to 400° F.
3. Put the water in the pot and heat to boiling.
4. While the water is heating, mix the sucrose with the potassium bitartrate.
5. Add the mixture to the boiling water, a little at a time, stirring after each addition.
6. Add the crackers, one at a time, to the boiling solution.
7. Boil for about 3 minutes, but do not stir.
8. Carefully pour the mixture into the pie crust.
9. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top of the pie filling.
10. Dab butter evenly over the filling.
11. Bake in a pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes.
12. Cool and enjoy eating your experiment!

What’s Happening
This pie looks and tastes like apple pie, but it contains no apples. The cream of tartar produces a weak acid which combines with other ingredients to produce the tangy taste of apples. This acid, combined with the pieces of solid cracker, closely resembles the taste and appearance of apple pie. Bon appétite!

Copyright © 2003 Peter Piper Publishing Inc.
Last updated April 14, 2003.