Teaching students to give back is a quality lesson worth teaching.

With over 37 million Spanish speakers in the United States, the Idaho Potato Commission’s recipe database is even more appealing.

1. Instead of investing in rolling pins for fondant (wood is too porous), I go to my local hardware or plumbing supply and buy a full piece of PVC and have it cut into 18- or 20-inch pieces. (KS)

• Make a Power Point presentation and create culinary teams in the classroom. Then the teams buzz in and answer questions like jeopardy. If the team gets the question correct, then they get the points. The highest team wins a token educational gift. (DK)

• Starting each semester, I ask students to find a dish or a recipe that they have always wanted to learn how to prepare. It gives students something to look forward to. (LP)

• My students, traditionally, have had little exposure to the wide variety of foods and cooking ingredients available. Many eat “fast food” on a daily basis and few have experienced fine dining. I like to introduce fresh produce groups (fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices and salad greens) by presenting a wide variety of items and having a tasting party. Students are given a tasting chart to complete as I introduce each new produce item. They then write comments under columns for description (can illustrate and color), aroma, taste, how used. I try to select the more common herbs and spices—sage, oregano, basil, chives, bay leaves, cilantro, ginger, cloves, cinnamon sticks, etc. As students examine these and complete tasting chart, they make a herb collection to take home for their family to used in cooking. (KB)

• Let the students plan blind taste tests. Any products they want (pizzas, cookies, etc). Compare by price, low fat versus regular, sugar free versus regular…whatever. This allows them to guess first what the customer will choose and why, and then go through the process and learn the true results. Let them run it any way they want. They learn a lot about appearance, brand power versus taste, etc. (JF)