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Who wouldn’t just love the chance to tell a “special” guest to eat dirt? Okay, okay… maybe your kids will be able to resist the urge, but truthfully… will you? I came across this fun (and educational!) recipe for Dirt Pudding when I stumbled across Dr. Dirt (who is really Dr. Clay Robinson, Ph.D., CPSSc). He provides “[h]ands-on, exploratory learning activities based on methods of scientific inquiry will encourage interest in science, soil, engineering, agriculture, and natural resources” in an entertaining and practical manner, mainly geared towards teachers but which you can do at home as well. Here he shows us how to have fun learning about the horizons (layers) in soil; recognizing the “variability in horizon boundaries, colors, depths” as well as “terminology associated with soil horizons and classification”. Whew! And then we get to eat it. Yum.
What is a soil profile?
The A horizon is the surface horizon, also known as topsoil. An ochric A horizon is low in organic matter. To get this effect, mix some crushed vanilla wafers or vanilla sandwich cookies with the crushed chocolate sandwich cookies. The C horizon is the parent material, or the material in which the soil forms. This profile represents a soil in early stages of development. The subsoil (B horizon) has not yet formed. Soils with this characteristics are classified as Entisols.
The B horizon, or subsoil, was made of a mixture of crushed chocolate and vanilla sandwich cookies. The B horizon is a subsurface zone of accumulation. It may be enriched with organic matter or minerals, and will have color and/or structure changes when compared to the parent material. The C horizon, or parent material is located under the B horizon. The darker colors in the B horizon are due to the accumulation of organic matter from plant roots and animal activity. The C horizon shows no change in color or structure (arrangement of individual particles) from the original condition. Soils with a mollic horizon are usually classified as Mollisols.
The E horizon is a zone where minerals have been removed by leaching. This removal of minerals bleaches this layer, so it is lighter than the layer above and the layer below. This sandwich appearance (dark-light-dark) is characteristic of albic horizons. They most often occur in forest soils, but are found in some grassland soils. Notice the layers vary in thickness and depth. This mimics actual soils. The mineral and chemical composition of the B horizon determines the classification. Some possibilities with this profile sequence are Alfisols, Ultisols, or Spodosols.
The E horizon, as above, is an albic. The red horizon (red food coloring on coconut) represents a spodic horizon. This is a subsurface horizon enriched in iron and organic matter. Soils with a spodic horizon are usually Spodosols.
Basic Recipe:
(Prep time: 10 minutes for the basic version. It certainly takes me longer, but I am slow in the kitchen, and I design the profiles as you see at the left.) 3˝ cups cold milk 2 pkgs. (4 serving size) JELL-O® Instant Pudding 1 tub (12 oz)COOL WHIP® Whipped Topping, thawed 1 pkg. (16 oz.) Chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed HINT: Crush cookies in zipper-style plastic bag with rolling pin or in food processor. MAKE pudding as directed on package using 3˝ cups milk; let stand 5 minutes. STIR 3 cups of the whipped topping and ˝ of the crushed cookies into the Jello OR alternate layers of crushed cookies and Jello/whipped topping. SPOON into 13” x 9” dish. Sprinkle with remaining crushed cookies. Refrigerate 1 hour.
Robinson’s modifications:
Use a variety of food items to get different colored layers (horizons): *crushed vanilla sandwich cookies *crushed vanilla wafers, *crushed graham crackers *Grape-Nuts Use coconut mixed with green food coloring for grass. Put the pudding mixture in the center and the dry ingredients around the outside. I often make one for eating and one for display. The display versions are drier. Use raisins, chocolate chips, etc. for rock outcrops. Gummy worms, frogs, etc. add animal life. Some will put a flower in the top.
The recipe below allows for individual servings.
JELL-O® PUDDING DIRT CUPS
1 pkg. (16 oz.) Chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed 1 pkg. JELL-O® Vanilla flavor Instant Pudding 8 - 10 (7 oz.) Plastic cups - Clear cups work best if students are “creating” a soil 1 tub(8oz.)COOL WHIP® Whipped Topping, thawed Gummy Worms and frogs POUR milk into large bowl, add pudding mix. Beat until well blended. Let sit 5 min. STIR in COOL WHIP® and ˝ of the cookies PLACE 1 Tbsp. Cookies into cups. Fill cups ľ full with pudding mixture. Top with remaining cookies. Refrigerate 1 hr.
DECORATE with gummy worms and frogs, candy flowers or chopped nuts.
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