“Full STEAM Ahead”
Exploring Sugar in Louisiana Foods
Children’s Cluster – April 6, 2013
Facts about the New Orleans Chapter of Jack and Jill of America
Organized on March 27, 1952, under the direction of Mrs. Roberta Johnson and sponsored by the Buffalo Chapter.
Last year, we celebrated our 60th anniversary.
Today, over 60 moms and 119 children are active in our chapter.
Our Team (Presentation, Arts)
Jackie Breckenridge
Maya McDonald
Gavin McDonald
Daniel Davillier
Donovan Reynolds
Tosh Barnes
Mila Barnes
Our Project Question
How is sugar used in popular Louisiana foods and its significance in our state?
How did we select our topic?
Food is popular in Louisiana, with special dishes in areas where Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Chapters are located.
Children in our chapter from ages 3 – 12 participated in cooking dishes that used sugar.
Overall, there were about 20 kids who participated in cooking the dishes, coloring, writing, and making the art.
Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Chapters in Louisiana
Dish #1 – Pralines
Baton Rouge Used brown and white sugar
Learned about caramelization
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Dish #2 – Meat Pies
Red River; Alexandria
Used a pinch of sugar in the dough for the meat pies
Learned about mixture, measuring, processing, and heat
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Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Chapters in Louisiana
Dish #3
Strawberry Preserves Hammond Northshore Chapter
Used sugar in making strawberry preserves
Learned about canning, sterilization, and evaporation
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Dish #4
Mango Sorbet New Orleans Chapter
Used sugar in making mango sorbet
Learned about freezing, measuring, and mixing
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Pralines

Caramelization
The oxidation of sugar, which is the browning of sugar used in cooking for the resulting nutty flavor and brown color.
Meat Pies – Making Dough

Mixture
A mixture is what you get when you combine two substances
Example: sugar and salt used as part of the dough
Strawberry Preserves
Sterilization
It’s a technique to prolong the shelf of food
All bacteria and microorganisms are killed in this process
Used for meats, vegetables, and fruit

Strawberry Preserves

Canning
A method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container.
Food can last from 1 to 5 years
Mango Sorbet

Freezing
This is a when a liquid turns into a solid.
The temperature is lowered below freezing
Sugar
Sugar cane is one of the major crops of Louisiana and is used in almost every food.
In 1795, the first sugar cane plantation was created in New Orleans.
Norbert Rillieux, an African American inventor from New Orleans, invented the sugar evaporation system.
Norbert Rillieux (1806 – 1894)

History
Father was a French engineer and a plantation farmer
Mother was a slave
Father sent him to France to study engineering
Sugar Evaporation System (1843)
This invention stopped the slaves from carrying boiling water to make sugar.
It increased production amounts and decreased production costs.
Lives were saved with this safer method to make sugar.
Math Facts about Sugar
Produced on over 400,000 acres of land in Louisiana
Across 22 parishes
Production expected to be about 13 million tons in 2013
Sugar: Impact on Louisiana
Sugar has an economic impact of $2.2 billion in LA.
LA produces about 20% of the sugar grown in the entire United States.
Sugar industry employs about 27,000 people in Louisiana.
Arts
Visual Arts
Pictures, coloring
Mosaic beads on the Louisiana cutout and the Jack and Jill of America, Inc. logo
Culinary Arts
Cooking all of the dishes
Pralines, meat pies
Strawberry preserves and mango sorbet
Fun Pictures Making Art


Coloring Letters for Display Board
More Art Pictures


Pictures with Culinary Arts


Strawberry Preserves


Making Mango Sorbet


Pictures of Cooked Foods
Meat Pies
Pralines
Canned Mango Sorbet and Strawberry Preserves
WE HAD FUN!!!

