From Yuck to Yum!

Grandpa Scotto with a banner crop of tomatoes!

From Yuck to Yum

I’ve always said, “Garlic is mother’s milk to me.” Let me explain. When I was growing up, almost every dish my mother made contained garlic. All my recipes start with “Sauté garlic in olive oil.” It’s a good thing I do not bake!

My taste for garlic is rooted in science. Bee Wilson, in her book First Bite: How We Learn to Eat, notes that babies develop flavor preferences while in their mother’s womb. Mary Roach in Gulp: Adventures in the Alimentary Canal, writes “Breast milk and amniotic fluid carry the flavor of the mother’s foods, and studies consistently show that babies grow to be more accepting of flavors they’ve sampled while in the womb or breastfeeding.” Studies proved that babies whose mother’s ate garlic preferred garlic-scented milk. My Italian mother ate a lot of garlic. Yum!

So the key to having children who like what you like is to eat it before they are born. But what about those little darlings sitting at your table now turning up their noses at Brussel sprouts or stuffed peppers? Yuck! Is it too late to change their “Yuck” to “Yum”?

Taste preferences are generally set by the age of two. Before two, children are more open to new foods. After two, mouths clamp shut and mothers despair. Is there any way to get kids to try new foods?

Bee Wilson offers a strategy called “tiny tastes” developed by researcher Dr. Lucy Cooke. Parents sit down with kids, outside of meal times, and offer kids “microbites” to sample. Moms and dads taste too. Kids take part in choosing the foods to try. These tiny tastings help kids add to their accepted tastes and encourage them to open their minds and mouths to new foods. Tiny tasting becomes a fun new game.

Preschools in Finland tried this strategy. Instead of lecturing students on what foods are good for them, they provided these foods during play time. Kids played “dinner” or “restaurant” and tried the new foods. Before long, they were asking for them at home. Parents tried the new foods too and before long, the entire nation had moved toward healthier eating. 

Another suggestion for getting kids to try new foods comes from food scientist Paul Rozin: “Normally disgusting substances … that are associated with admired persons… cease to be disgusting and may become pleasant.” In other words, when an admired person likes it, children are more likely to try it. That’s why, in my day, kids who liked Popeye ate spinach. Kids ate the cereals sports stars did. Unfortunately, many of today’s celebrities tout unhealthy food (and other) choices, so it is very important for parents and grandparents to step into the hero role and lead children toward healthy eating.

So the key to turning kid’s “Yuck” to “Yum” is offering new foods in a fun way and being willing to try them yourself. Parents are “gate-keepers” for their children, letting in good choices and locking out bad. Share your adventures in eating with your children. 

About twenty years ago, my husband, in an overly-enthusiastic gardening moment, planted twenty tomato plants. Tomatoes almost marched out of the garden and banged on the back door. Growing up, I loved tomato sauce but hated tomatoes. I gamely processed tons of tomatoes into sauce and foisted dozens on friends until I finally gave in and decided that if we were going to have so many tomatoes, I had better learn to like them.

I did and I do. 

They taste great with garlic. Yum!