Michigan Agriscience Education
For Elementary Students
Grades 3-4
PIZZA PRESENTATION
PRE-LAB:
1. Have students list all of the items that go on a pizza and how they are related
to agriculture.
PROCEDURE:
1. Bring in a pizza with the following toppings on it, present the following
information to the class through a discussion format then share the pizza.
OR
2. Bring in the following ingredients to class to make a pizza. Build the pizza
while discussing each of the topics, then cook it and eat it.
HISTORY OF PIZZA
It is believed that the Greeks first made pizza in Italy between 730 and 130 B.C.
A flat, round bread baked with oils, garlic, herbs, olives, vegetables and covered
with cheese. A rim of crust around the outside was left to hold onto.
When Italians immigrated to the U.S. they brought the pizza idea with them. The
first pizzeria was opened in New York City.
Today, each America consumes 22.5 pounds of pizza a year. As a nation that means
we eat 90 acres of pizza per day (remember an acre is the size of a football field).
Did you know which area of the U.S eats most pizza? Chicago is first and the
North Central States (that’s us) eat pizza on the average of 35 times a year.
Second are the Pacific State residents who eat pizza 20 times a year. Only
hamburgers sell more often than pizza.
CRUST
Pizza crust is made from WHEAT, which has gone through many processes before
you take a bite.
1. Farmers plant the tiny wheat kernels (another name for seed) in the ground using
a grain drill. The wheat is planted in the fall and it’s typically called winter wheat.
The seed germinates and begins to grow. It looks like fresh new grass when it
comes out of the soil and grows to a height of about 24 inches. The wheat plant
consists of roots, a stem, long slender leaves and a head, which has kernels (Some
have beards).
In July the wheat is ready to harvest. The farmer combines the wheat in the field
and unloads the hopper into trucks or wagons to haul to the country elevator. Did
you know a combine costs as much as many people pay for a house, furniture and a
car? The elevators look like giant silos and they may be the tallest structure in
small country towns.
2. The elevator operator runs some tests on wheat samples in order to determine a
price to pay the farmer. Such tests would be how much does a sample weigh the
grade (to determine to the grains use); moisture content and how much foreign
matter (Weed, seeds, beans, and stems) is mixed in. The country elevator then
ships the wheat by truck, rail or barge to a terminal.
3. At the terminals the wheat is put through a cleaning process to remove the
foreign matter. To keep the grain cool it is turned from one bin to another. This is
necessary in order to keep the grain for longer storage time and from spoiling.
Next the wheat is sold to the various industries which make food or feed and for
shipment overseas.
4. The place where wheat is shipped to make food is called the mill. The
people who process the wheat are called millers. The wheat passes through
quite a process in order to become flour.
a. It passes through a giant magnet to remove any pieces of metal, which
may have accidentally gotten mixed in with the wheat.
b. A bath removes any materials such as chaff (the thin protective
coating around the kernel) which will float off the top and stones, which
will drop out the bottom.
c. Rollers then press over the wheat kernels to break them into pieces.
Then they are shook in screens to sift out the bran and germ not used in
what flour. This is repeated three times to make a soft powdery
substance we know as flour. If wheat bread is what they want to make
bran is added back in.
d. Next the miller adds a special ingredient to the flour to whiten it and
B- vitamins and iron are also added for nutrients. The flour is shipped in
bags to the bakery or to the grocery store.
5. Bakers like to use wheat flour because it contains a magical protein called
gluten. To make crust active yeast, warm water, and oil are added to the
flour. The gluten traps the air bubbles the yeast release and cause the crust
to rise.
Did you hear me say oil was added to make the crust? Did you know that oil
comes from a SOYBEAN?
Soybeans are planted in the spring when the danger of frost is past (as
frost can kill a soybean plant). It matures as the daylight hours grow longer
and the temperature increases. The bushy plant grows to a height of
approximately three feet and has many pods hanging on it. Each pod contains
approximately five beans.
The soybeans are combined (around October) after they have fully matured.
The farmer hauls the beans to his grain bin or markets them at the country
elevator. Soybeans have many purposes therefore they go through several
processes before reaching the final form.
Soybean oil is extracted from the flaked beans and reined for use in foods,
manufactured products and industrial processes. The oil makes up only 20%
of the total weight of the soybean, but provides nearly 40% of the total
product value: Protein.
Food uses: cooking oils, salad dressings, mayonnaise, margarine, frozen
dinners, cookies, crackers, breakfast cereals, soups
Manufactured products: Caulks, putties, wallboard, linoleum backing,
enamel paints, electrical insulation, waterproof cement, pesticides,
cleansers, soaps, inks for printing, diesel fuels, swine feed additives,
grain dust suppression systems
Other uses of soybean products come from the fiber & bran, the soybean
meal and lecithin. The list of products is just unbelievable – pies, cookies,
candy, chocolate, and pasta…Oh! Don’t these sound delicious! The next time
you have something to eat, stop and look at the label to investigate what
products you are consuming.
Another thing, do you know what ancient Chinese civilization, Henry Ford,
and the Chicago bears have in common? In one way or another, they’re all
part of the fascinating development of the American soybean.
Chinese civilization: Soybeans had been a major food crop in China for over
4000 years. They were virtually unheard of in the U.S. until a missionary
gave A.E. Staley a handful of beans to grow in the garden. In the early
1920’s Staley convinced farmers to grow this new crop and told them he
would buy all they could grow. By 1934 farmers grew over 10 million bushels
of soybeans and two years later they made it to the Chicago board of trade
for commodity trading.
Chicago Bears: Staley employee George Halas and the original company
football team, the Staley Starchmakers, “ had moved to Chicago and started
playing under their new name of the Chicago Bears.
Henry Ford: Ford began processing soybean oil into automotive paints and
glycerin’s for shock absorbers. Soybean meal was used for gearshift knobs,
distributor cases and automobile trim.
Thanks to the early work of Staly, Ford and others, soybeans are one of the
most valuable and versatile of all crops, the second most important cash
crop, and our number one agriculture exports.
TOMATO SAUCE
Did you know that the TOMATO was one thought of a poisonous? Classified
as a member of the nightshade family people were afraid to eat it. It was
first grown as an ornamental plant called the “love apple’. Toward the middle
of the 19th century these untruths were dispelled and the tomato finally took
its place as one of our most popular vegetables. It’s the fourth most popular
vegetable (potatoes, lettuce, and onions precede it). Although we use them
as a vegetable, tomatoes are really a fruit! The luscious flavor has become an
essential ingredient in many dishes.
Tomato seeds require 75 to 85 days to develop into mature plants with ripe
fruits. The seeds are usually started indoors in areas that are too short for
outdoor development and then transplanted outdoors after the seedlings are
four to six weeks old. In gardens or greenhouses, most tomato plants are
supported with stakes or trellises to keep them from spreading on the
ground. The supports also help produce a better quality fruit and prevent a
disease called fruit rot by keeping the tomato off the moist ground.
The stem end of a tomato is where it was separated from the vine. When
the tomatoes are ripe enough to ship they are carefully packed in boxes for
shipping. The boxes are then loaded into semi trailers for transporting to
grocery stores. In most stores the tomato stems are no longer there, only a
scar depression. Tomatoes bruise easily and must be handled with care.
Whenever you place a tomato on the counter to ripen, make sure they’re
stem end up.
Some of the tomatoes are not sent to grocery stores in the form of a
tomato. They are first sent to a cannery where they are processed (cooked,
squashed, preservatives added) to make sauces or ketchup. Special herbs
such as oregano, dill, garlic, etc. are added to give pizza sauce its special
taste.
Florida ranks as the country’s largest producer of fresh tomatoes. Tomatoes
are grown under strict government food safety regulations, which are
established by the Environmental protection Agency and the U.S. Food and
drug Administration and enforced y the U.S. Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services.
CHEESE
CHEESE is a healthy tasty food that is made from milk. In addition to cows,
cheese in some countries comes from the milk goats, sheep, camels, buffalo
or reindeer. The most popular type of dairy cow is the U.S. in the Holstein.
The farmer used to milk the cows by hand but today they use little suction
cups to pump the milk from the cow. The milk goes into huge storage tanks
to be cooled until refrigerated tank trucks come to pick it up.
The process of making cheese involves five basic steps:
1. Processing the milk. The milk is heated and quickly cooled, a process
called pasteurizing. This kills any harmful bacteria.
2. Separating the curd. After the milk has been processed, it is treated
to form a soft, custard- like substance called curd. The curd contains a
liquid called why, which must be taken out through a special process
before cheeses can be made. Special knives but the curd into thousands
of small cubes and then whey oozes from them. Heating and motion force
more whey from the curd and then curd “ball” is then lifted from the vat.
3. Treating the curd. The “ball” is broken up into small pieces for pressing
(to make cottage cheese the curd is rinsed and mixed with cream and
salt). The curd for most cheeses is packed into metal hoops or molds for
pressing. The containers are put into presses that keep the cheese under
great pressure for a few hours to a few days. During pressing, more whey
drains and the curd is shaped into blocks for wheels. After it is removed
from the metal hoops, it is immediately wrapped in plastic.
4. Ripening. Cheese is aged in cooled storage rooms or warehouse (aging
helps give cheese its flavor). Aging times vary for different cheeses.
Brick cheese and others need tow months to age while Parmesan requires
about a year. The longer the ripening time, the sharper the cheese’s
flavor.
5. Packaging. After being aged, cheeses are packaged in a wide variety of
shapes and sizes. Some cheeses are sliced at the factory and sealed in
foil or plastic.
Much of the cheese produced in the U.S. is made not process cheese, a blend
of natural cheeses. Process cheese keeps better than natural cheeses and
melts more evenly when used in cooking. The cheeses are ground up and then
blended with heat and chemicals called emulsifiers. Process cheese is made
from only one variety of cheese is named for that cheese. For example,
Process Swiss cheese is made only from Swiss. Cheese labeled Pasteurized
Process American Cheese may be made from a combination of cheeses.
PEPPERONI & SAUSAGE
Did you know one sow (mother pig) can have as many as 32 little pigs in one
year! The average cost for a litter of pigs is $25 per year.
1. A few days before the sow (A mother pig) is ready to farrow, the farmer
puts her in a special pen called a farrowing crate. The crate has been
carefully cleaned because the risk of losing little pigs to disease and other
difficulties is quite high.
The little pigs drink milk from their mother and are weaned within a few
weeks. They are fed a special blend of ground corn, soybeans, vitamins, feed
supplements, minerals and antibiotics. For a period of time before the animal
goes to market the antibiotics are withheld so that consumers are not
exposed to any traces when they eat the meat. The pigs go to market in only
five or six months at the weight of 240-260 pounds.
Sometimes farmers specialize in the initial phase of the growing processproducing feeder pigs and raising them until they weigh about 40 pounds.
Then they are sold to other farmers who feed them to the market weight of
240-260 pounds.
2. Pigs may be sold at an auction market or sale barn, or may be bough
directly by an order buyer who comes to the finishing houses to buy for a
packer.
3. Meat inspectors employed by the United States Department of
Agriculture inspect live hogs, hog carcasses and then entire packing plant to
make sure that pork is safe to eat. Many of the hog carcasses are cut into
large sections, packaged in heavy plastic bags and placed in boxes for
transportation to other parts of the U.S.
The pork is ground up and special seasonings are added to make sausage,
salami, hot dogs and pepperoni.
4. About half of the pork produced in the U.S. is sold in supermarkets. The
remaining pork is eaten away from home in restaurants, hospitals, schools,
and business cafeterias.
MUSHROOMS
There are about 3,300 species of MUSHROOMS throughout the world, only
3,000 grow in the U.S. (2000 of which are not poisonous).
Mushrooms lack chlorophyll, the green substance most plants use to make
food, but survive mainly by absorbing food material from their surroundings.
The two parts of the mushroom are the mycelium’s, which grows beneath the
surface of the soil and absorbs food materials, and the fruiting boy, which is
the part most people consider the mushroom. The fruiting body parts, which
are familiar to us, are: the stalk and it is topped by a rounded cap, and most
mushrooms have thing, vertical, and growths on the underside of the cap
called gills.
The most popular mushroom is known as the table mushroom. When a table
mushroom is young it has a white or tan cap with pink gills, as it matures the
gills turn brown. This mushroom is commercially cultivated in specially
designed mushroom houses where the farmer carefully controls the
temperature and moisture.
Did you know red squirrels collect mushrooms in the summer and put them
out to dry on tree branches to use as a winter food? Did you know caves are
ideal for mushroom cultivation because of their consistent cool and damp
conditions?
Pennsylvania, which has many caves, ranks as one of the major U.S.
mushroom growing states.
PEPPERS
There are many varieties of garden PEPPERS, but the large- fruited sweet
pepper is the favorite most American gardeners: They are usually eaten in
their immature green stage but are also delicious after they have fully
ripened and turned red or yellow.
Green peppers are grown on small bushy plants. The peppers have seeds in
them so they are the female part of the plant, thus they are actually fruits.
Don’t confuse the pepper you grow in your garden with the pepper you use
for seasoning. When Columbus found the West Indian natives growing a hot
tasting vegetable, he thought he had found one of the spices he was seeking
on his voyage, and he named it “pepper”. The garden pepper is not related at
all to the true pepper used in your kitchen with salt.
ONION
ONIONS were first cultivated in middle Asia and later became a favorite
food of the Egyptians from “sets”. Onion bulbs grow underground and have
long green tops. Young onions, before the bulb develops, are called scallions.
Onions are often picked by hand or machine cleaned and sent just as they
are to grocery stores or processing plants. At the processing plants they
may be diced or processed to become ingredients for foods such as
spaghetti or BBQ sauce.
* Original can be found at Illinois Ag in the Classroom, www.agintheclassroom.org
Pizza Math
PROCEDURE:
Let’s take a survey! Ask the students to interview their family members and
friends as to what their favorite pizza toppings and or pizza restaurants are
and graph the results.
Here are some sample questions, and sample graph ideas for your students
to use to record and report their data.
1. How many times per month do you eat pizza?
2. What is your favorite pizza restaurant?
3. What is your favorite pizza topping?
Graph your results: This is an opportunity to introduce or review with your
students how to read and create different types of graphs for different
kinds of data.
Want to go a step further? Ask the class to expand the population to
another city, ask another class in a different town, or a class in another
state to conduct the same survey and compare the results.
Another option would be to survey local pizza restaurants and compare their
responses to question number three.
Favorite Pizza Restaurant Pie Cart:
Favorite Topping Bar Chart:
For example, color the bars:
Black= olives
Yellow= cheese
Green= green peppers
Red= pepperoni
* Original can be found at Utah Ag in the Classroom, http://extension.usu.edu