Bring On The Spice: How To Teach Science With Garlic
Pop Quiz: What are four things you SHOULDN’T eat when on a date?
If you said…
Onions, Garlic, Mustards, and Chili Peppers
…you are correct!
Your breath will pay a heavy price after tackling this clan of vegetables. Without doubt, your date for the evening will thank you dearly by going easy on any of these guys!
Last week, we looked at how onions can bring tears to your eyes. This week, we are turning up the heat and looking at a member of the onion family which contains nearly 100 times the chemical weaponry that is found in the onion. And so, I am proud to introduce the one, the only…
Garlic
Before we get started, let’s review the four main concepts of science that you will be using today:
Both onions AND garlic spend an entire growing season storing nutrients and water within underground “bulbs.” These bulbs are the plant TISSUES we commonly call “garlic” and “onions.”
WHAT ARE TISSUES?
TISSUES are nothing but groups of CELLS that are made up of MOLECULES which are actually groups of ATOMS.
The CELLS of onions and garlic have separate areas where certain molecules chemicals can be found. Once you cut through these cells, these chemicals have a chance to DIFFUSE into each other which causes their ATOMS to rearrange into different molecules.
All of this follows the LAW OF CONSERVATION perfectly! No ATOMS are ever created or destroyed when making these new molecules!
This rearrangement of atoms takes place in both onions AND garlic. However, as I stated earlier, there is one large difference between these two family members:
Garlic produces nearly 100 times the amount of irritating molecules during this rearrangement!
GARLIC BREATH > ONION BREATH
It is without doubt that onions can irritate your eyes. However, with so many irritating chemicals within garlic, you might think that your eyes may EXPLODE if you peel a bulb of garlic.
But this is not so!
Chopping garlic does not produce the same molecules that can be found after chopping up an onion. More specifically, the molecule known as “The Lacrimator” is not produced at all within garlic. So you can relax and not worry about crying your eyes out when handling garlic. However…
…the oils found within garlic have a nasty habit of giving you REALLY bad breath – for a very long time!
The foul-smelling molecules within garlic cannot be defeated with gum, mouthwash, or other forms of oral weaponry! Why?
Well, it appears that the DENSITY of these molecules within garlic are so high that it takes a long time for your body to get rid of them.
Think of it this way –
You chew on some garlic bread and instantly your breath starts to smell pretty bad. No worries. You simply brush your teeth and the smell is gone… for now.
The same time you are fighting off those foul-smelling molecules within your mouth, your body is digesting that garlic. The DENSITY of those smelly molecules pass through your body via the blood, and end up collecting in your lungs. Once they reach your lungs, you breathe them out. Yep!
It’s like the monster in every bad horror movie – they always come back!
Because the DENSITY of these molecules is so high, you could easily have garlic breath for up to 72 hours after eating that garlic bread!
MY BREATH CAN MELT PAINT OFF THE WALLS
So how do you get rid of this nasty odor from your mouth? Well, to be honest, not much.
You can chew on a few leaves of fresh parsley which tends to keep your breath from smelling so bad at first. However, this will not stop you from breathing out the molecules several hours later.
I guess the only real way to keep from getting garlic breath is to not eat garlic. But let’s not go crazy here. No more pizza sauce and garlic bread? I don’t think so…
Learn more about chemistry concepts in Classic Science: Chemistry for the Family and be certain to come back every Thursday or subscribe to The Blog of Mr.Q to learn more about how to teach science during breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
