Traditionally the education of taste was developed daily at dinner time. Positive feelings created from happy meals together made the mealtime a wonderful ground for tasting new flavors while sharing and talking about food. Unfortunately this tradition of family diners has been largely forgotten. We could reverse the situation progressively by helping the children to observe, classify and compare the different tastes of food and enlarge their vocabulary about their senses. Little by little the liking for fat and sugar will diminish and will be replaced by a liking for fresh and high-quality food. We are taught reading, writing, and math. What if we learned how to listen to our taste buds? The capacity to fully appreciate the complexity of food is refined through savoring food. As we “practice” tasting, it becomes part of our permanent memory. With proper treatment, the palate can learn to recognize and differentiate between a greater variety of flavors. Nutrition and tasting education, experienced through fun activities in families are deeply connected to the child social life and it is well known that the influence of the environment could be a most effective incentive to improve healthy habits.

The apple experiment

Group of 2 children or an adult and a child. One helps with the experiment, one is the subject. Preparation and cooking in the microwave of half apples flavored differently.

Instructions

Material: 1 record sheet, 2 apples, slices of bread ( twice as many as apples), peeler, pairing knife, vanilla sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, white sugar, honey, salt, butter (1 tsp/ apple), oil. Large baking dish. Toothpicks.

Procedure

1. Wash and peel the apples 2. Cut them in half and core them 3. Number each toothpicks (indicate the number of marks corresponding to the number of each apple). 4. Place bread slices on the baking dish (no bread is necessary in the microwave) 5. Place each half apple on a slice of bread 6. Insert a toothpick in each half apple 7. Sprinkle with chosen ingredients (you can vary the ingredients and make it even more fun).

Fill out a record sheet with the following information:

Preheat oven to 350 degree Bake apples for 30 to 45 minutes or until soft to the touch, or 5 minutes in the microwave (full power). Each participant will taste the apple (slowly), guess the ingredients and write them on a paper. Compare with record sheet .

Tasting food with all five senses

Food appeals to all five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch and even hearing. This step will allow the child to understand the influence of the senses and compare them.

Group of 2 people. One helps with the experiment, one is the subject, The child will taste various food while blindfolded and have his or her nose plugged. Then unplug his nose, remove the scarf and taste again. Apple/ radish, peach/ pear, green onion/ green salad, black chocolate/ white chocolate, potato chips/ crackers.

Comparing fresh quality products and processed products

Group of 2 people. One helps with the experiment, one is the subject, Blind folded tasting, then remove the scarf and taste again. Taste fresh local products. Compare them to the ones advertised on TV. Each preparations will provide different quality, texture, consistency and flavor. Chocolate: Lindt/ Hershey Cereals: Whole grain chocolate cereals/ cacao puffs Butter: Butter/ margarine Cheese: Local Cheddar/ Craft Fruit: Fresh apples (different varieties)/ canned apples/ applesauce

Prepare a simple and healthy recipe

The child will write the recipe on his new recipe book and might want to take a picture of the cooked dish. Check simple recipes in Pace of Provence cookbook.

It is very important to help children develop a precise vocabulary. The vocabulary of flavors and smells will be introduced as early as during the first experiments. Children will record this in a note book. It will allow them to define and classify their sensations clearly. Vocabulary should not be limited to the 5 types of taste but including temperature, sounds when chewing, texture, and visual aspect. Examples: crunchy, delicate, juicy, dry, hard, bland, crisp, creamy, savory, spicy, tasteless, chewy, stodgy, fresh, hot, mild, cold, fresh, colored, etc.

• Explain the secret of the making of food and its composition
• Visit a bakery and food processing plant and observe how bread is made or other food are produced.
• Visit a restaurant or food establishment to view cooking and food preparation.
• Visit an animal farm. Milking and feeding time can be particularly educational.
• Visit a farmer’s market. Talk to the farmers.
• Visit a museum with exhibits on nutrition and health. Children’s museum may have “hands-on” exhibits about food.

Value the culinary heritage

America is known as the great melting pot because of the country’s rich culinary history. Children will learn about American culinary taste and traditions, from the first European colonist to now. They will discover how the “American cuisine” actually is a combination of original creations and imported favorites.