Twelve modules of plant-based food science
Designed to be taken in order, but each module also stands on its own. Plan on roughly four to six hours per module, plus the time to actually cook the labs (which is the best part).
Foundations of Plant-Based Food Chemistry
What food is — at the molecular level. Macromolecules, water activity, and the lens of food science.
Plant Proteins: The Building Blocks
Legumes, grains, and novel sources. Amino acid scoring, protein isolation, and texturization fundamentals.
Fats, Oils, and Plant Lipids
Saturation, smoke points, emulsions, and engineering fat-like mouthfeel without animal fats.
Carbohydrates, Starches, and Hydrocolloids
Gelatinization, retrogradation, and the wizardry of pectin, agar, xanthan, and methylcellulose.
The Art and Science of Fermentation
Tempeh, miso, koji, and modern vegan cheese — wielding microbes to build flavor and texture.
Texturization Technologies
Extrusion, shear cell, mycelium, and 3D printing — how plants get bite, grain, and chew.
Flavor and Sensory Science
Maillard chemistry, the umami toolbox, and taming the off-notes of plant proteins.
Replacing Eggs and Dairy
Aquafaba foams, plant milks, vegan butters, and the functional roles you must replace.
Nutrition and Bioavailability
Complete proteins, B12, iron, omega-3s, and the science of fortification done well.
Sustainability and Food Systems
Life-cycle assessment, planetary boundaries, and where plant-based food fits in a fed world.
How to take this course
There's no enrollment. No grade. The course is structured as a self-guided sequence of reading + kitchen practice + a short quiz to check yourself.
What you'll need
- A digital kitchen scale (preferably one that reads to 0.1 g)
- An instant-read thermometer
- A blender — ideally a high-speed one, but anything will do
- A fine-mesh sieve and cheesecloth or a nut-milk bag
- A few jars (mason jars are fine), a pH paper roll (optional but nice)
- Patience for fermentation, and curiosity for everything else
Suggested pace
One module per week makes a comfortable 12-week course. Two modules a week works for the motivated. Don't skip the labs — the science only really lands when you've tasted the difference.
Begin with Module 1: Foundations. It introduces the framework we'll use to think about every food we encounter — the four macromolecules, water activity, and the simple but powerful idea of treating cooking as a series of controllable reactions.
Every quiz question you've answered enters a personal review queue. The Review page surfaces the questions due today using a simple spaced-repetition schedule — right answers grow the interval, wrong ones reset it. The whole thing lives on this device, no account required.