We all had foods we didn’t like – would almost risk our lives to avoid – when we were kids. Some of us have made those dislikes life-long. But there is distinct class of foods that adults overwhewlm-ingly love, but kids hate…
Pete Seeger wrote Turn!Turn!Turn! in 1962. Judy Collins recorded the version we all know best in 1964…
What was your most-hated food when you were a kid? I’ll bet you’ll find it in the following compend-ium of comestibles highlighting the all-time most-disliked foods by the under-12 set…
You’ll notice that most of the following foods are also among those which turn out to be most healthy!
Here we go…
Broccoli
Even former US President George H.W. Bush hated Broccoli. He forbade the White House and Airforce One chefs from serving it. Then, a ‘militia’ of broccoli farmers dumped a truckload of it on the White House driveway…
Brussels Sprouts
It’s generally accpeted that we don’t even try to sevre kids Brussels Sprouts. They’re just not having it. Period. My best friend, when I was in elementary school, said they tasted like ‘dirt’. But I maintain – if you prepare them properly, you CAN get kids to eat them. Same goes for a whole horde of other veggies kids just naturally seem to turn their noses up at… For sprouts, in particular, crust them with something kids love: Corn flakes, Cheetos, Panko Bread Crumbs, Parmesan Cheese – or whatever turns your crank. Spices should include Cinnamon, Nutmeg, a pinch of cloves and/fennel. But NOTHING hot!
Rare Beef
Kids really hate rare meats. I think they are innately wary of under-done meats – which is a wise stance with any other animal protein aside from beef. It might have something to do with the bloody juices usually running out of the steak…
Mushrooms
Another food older folks covet, but kids disdain. And another one the kid up the street said tasted like dirt. ‘Nuff said…
Tofu
Western kids just don’t know what to make of Tofu. Asian kids, brought up with it from infancy, us-ually love it. Or, at least, pay it no special regard, one way or the other. Kids I’ve talked to about tofu say they don’t like the texture, and they’re suspicious of the bland flavour. I’ve found many will eat tofu if you fry it in cubes and add mild savoury (not spicy) Asian flavours. Breading it also helps.
Olives
Everybody from the Mediterranean basin eats Olives. And uses Olive Oil to cook with, and dress a wide variety of foods. I once asked a kid who had just tried (and spat out violently) her first olive what was ‘wrong’ with it? Turned out she had been expecting it to taste sweet, like a grape. The visual resemblance is, actually, remarkable…
Dark Chocolate
In a word, kids disdain Dark Chocolate as ‘bitter’. Of course, they’re right. They’re used to ‘Light’ or Milk Chocolate which are heavily sweetened. I remember one kid who, watching me make a pan of brownies, wanted a square of my Baker’s Chocolate to eat, straight-up, out her hand. I gave her a small piece and she reacted as if I’d fed her… Dirt.
Alcohol
This one’s no surprise. Alcohol was invented by accident thousands of years ago. And it’s been a fave of many adults every since. It’s not, however, a matter of flavour, as such. Alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine – even the mildest of them – are tart by mature. And it’s not a matter of texture or mouth feel. It’s just straight liquid. It’s the expectation of a good buzz that drives many older folks to crave it. Not to mention its natural chemically-addictive properties…
My take
Actually… Alien mouth feel and texture are common complaints of kids who hate certain foods. Unfamiliar flavours come close behind in their list of reasons to reject those foods. But I’ve realized that one factor unites all the foods in the forgoing list. To kids at least – they all taste more or less like ‘dirt’. What the kids don’t realize is, they’re experiencing concentrated umami! And they’ll get to know and appreciate it as they grow through their teens into adulthood…
SO… Go easy on little kids who won’t eat certain foods. There are certain ways (via thoughtful pre-paration) to introduce them. And a time that will be right for success.
To paraphrase Ecclesiastes 3:5 (and Pete Seeger’s & Judy Collins’ folk hit Turn!Turn!Turn! (1962)): “There’s a time to cast away Sprouts… A time to gather Sprouts together…”
~ Maggie J.