Very Veggie Conversations

     Fresh vegetable tasting- an interesting and often challenging aspect of my program. Children and adults alike have rather strong opinions regarding their relationships with vegetables. Naturally, the great reveal of any given veggie often meets with the standard 'ewe', 'yuck', and other various noises used to get the point across. So how do we manage to get the veggies considered and tasted?

     1. Five seconds free opinion. Before I open the bag, students are given five seconds to make whatever reaction/sound they want. Once the time is up- no more negatives!

     2. Conversation observation. Whatever their opinion of the item, we need to figure out the why of it and see if it is a valid disagreement. What do we observe?
          A. Appearance. How does it look? Shiny, bright, dull.. tell me about the color, visual texture, shape, and what comes to mind when you look at it.
          B. Texture/touch. When you hold it in you hand, is it: soft, hard, firm, mushy.. what does it make you think of?
          C. Scent. Smell it. Does it have a fragrance? Does it smell sweet, savory, juicy? Does it remind you of something familiar?
          D. Taste. Finally, we taste it. How does it feel? Soft, hard.. does it crunch.. juicy? Is it a bright flavor or dull? What do you think goes well with this texture/flavor? What comes to mind with this flavor?

      3. Recall. Where have you seen this item before? What form do you generally find it: a sauce, raw, cooked.. is it generally alone or with other items?

      4. Give reason. What about this item did you like? (color, texture?) What would you change about this item? Do you think it would be better fresh or cooked? There are some things we just do not like and that is okay- the key is to know why or what we don't like about it, and to realize we may refer the item fresh over raw, cooked over raw, or even with other items but not by itself.

      While this seems intensive and rather cumbersome, it really isn't. In only a few minutes we have evaluated every aspect of a veggie and then share what you learned about the veggie and yourself. After tasting and evaluating, we get ready to prepare the item in a dish. By the time we complete the recipe, most are ready to try it in another way and see how it changed and what may have improved their opinion of it. Not everyone is won over, but many realized the reason this particular veg is or isn't their top pick. Seeing them investigate and evaluate is my absolute favorite part of the day!