for my children: cheese tasting
I am a huge advocate of getting my children to try new foods. What I mean to say is, I believe our palates evolve (or so I tell my kids). When I was a kid I wasn’t a big fan of tomatoes and avocados (to name 2 of at least 300), but now I adore them. Does your child eat roasted onions or olives, goat cheese or brussel sprouts? (Okay, be proud if they do, but my point is: don’ t we all like a lot more foods as adults than we did as children)?
My 11 year old likes more foods this year than he did last year (he recently added poached eggs and goat cheese to his repertoire; he disdained both for many years). Your taste buds are growing up, too, I tell him. And if it is a certain right of passage to maturity for your taste buds to develop, well, you have piqued their interest and even more importantly: their palate.
And besides, kids love to have opinions; and they love to share those opinions with adults… Parents in particular.
So why not give them an opportunity to decipher their palate, to navigate through flavors and textures, to think banana and avocado texture are gross, shrimp is chewy and chocolate mousse is really, really chocolatey?
And then they notice when their siblings like things other than them, and proudly discover they prefer Asian pears to other pears and are partial to kalamata olives. Maybe you should start with their favorite flavor of Kettle chips (mine adore the Honey Dijon)? And there are so many foods they still have to try, and retry, since their palates are growing up too.
The other day I was at the market, and discovered these little nubs. At almost any cheese counter, they have little pieces of cheese left over. Not worthy to stand alone, these are mere samplings, wrapped, weighed and marked: $ .57 for an ounce, $2.11 for a large chunk, $1.02 for a good taste of farmhouse white cheddar. Ultimately, for about $5 I came home with 6 different varieties of white cheddar. One was aged, one was from Vermont, others were specifically farmhouse cheddar and at least two came from England.
And I opened them, cut them into bite size pieces, marked their origins on some parchment, threw on some almonds and pears to cut the flavors and we all sat around and tasted cheddar. And shared opinions. Very, very sharp was one. Sweet and mild was another. And a third… what flavor is that? Interesting… it is the only one that says: ‘Aged.’
So we ate, and learned, and payed attention and shared. Those are the moments we live for.
Comments
I am especially grateful that children’s palates evolve, because my daughter hates cheese.
Smart lady. What a great plan. I didn’t put a cooked green vegetable in my mouth until I was 20. (I am now 50+). Of course, growing up they were all canned or frozen. The ones I finally tasted were fresh from the garden. Now I love vegetables, even brussels sprouts and rutabaga. My son wasn’t keen on a lot of things either, but he grew up experimenting, and now, he too, loves just about everything.
I don’t think anybody is too old to try the experiment you did with these cheeses.
That would be a great way to introduce anyone to cheeses…not just kids. I would love to use this concept on my kindergarten students! They love feeling grown-up and this would be a perfect way to expand their palates and play grown-up!
Thanks!
I enjoyed reading this post.
Hi Jannelle! Funny you should write about your 11-year-old trying more things this year than last - I made the same observation about my 11 year old this week, when she ate my “guilt-glop” (see blog for gory details). My seven year old wouldn’t touch it because it had “stuff” on it (artichoke hearts, sundried toms and pesto…)And I’m hugely heartened that kids will grow out of their pickyness if given the chance. I love your idea about the cheeses, too, if only because it gives me the perfect excuse to go back to the cheese place in Silverlake. Thanks for a great post!
Looks delightful and fun. My husband and I are hosting a Wine and Cheese party next Saturday. We thought it would be fun.
Sharona May
I totally agree, may parents make the mistake of feeding their children something once and if they say “yack”, that’s it. Research has shown that we should feed our children something for ten days in a row and chances are good that they will like it. So you are right on track. I tried the same and my children have very adventures palates…Well done!
Hi there .. I often read your blog and find it great .. can I ask what you and the kids thought of the Dubliner Irish Cheddar ? I work for the company that produces that cheese and its really popular over here in Ireland and I am wondering what you really thought .. did the kids like it ? and how did it measure up to the other types ?
Hockeysticks
Several years ago my husband and I and three boys did ‘cheese of the week’. We live close to a cheese farm-Appel Farms(once featured in Oprah’s magazine), and each week we tried a new cheese with our kids. Sort of a ‘happy hour’ before Friday night dinner. They make many kinds and it was so much fun to find a favorite and then move on to a new one. Now, we know all the best ones and our kids even came to like chocolate chip gouda! Or quark or squeaky cheese. Our kids have grown up to be adventurous eaters and have good manners too. We wanted them to be comfortable with wherever and whatever they are eating. Keep trying.
PS- Friends and family would hear our boys talking about cheese of the week and thought it was an organized club. Ummm, no just us.
Matthew: all I can say is, at least you don’t have to share:)
Lynne: I hear you! I am amazed at how much I adore vegetables compared to when I was a youngster.
Mimi: the idea of you bringing it into the classroom makes me smile from my toes; let me know if you do, and how it goes!?!?
Cynthia: thank you for reading it!
Bad Home Cook: wow, I am impressed with your 11 year old; tell her your blogger friend thought her palate was mature beyond her years:).
Sharona: I hope the party was lovely; the more wine and cheese parties the better, don’t you think?
Nina: Thank you so much. The encouragement is very, very welcome!
Hockeysticks: How fabulous to hear from you; I asked my kids and they really liked the Dubliner compared to the others, within the top two out of six, they told me. Very approachable, not too sweet or sharp. We will buy it again!
Tami: Brilliant. What is next? How about nuts or dried fruits of the week?
My kids love doing taste tests, too. We’ve done some with goat cheese 3 ways (chevre, a crottin, something more aged), but not different takes on the same cheese. It looks fun. They both love cheddars of all sorts- we’ll have to give these a go.