Kids and food do not always have the best relationship. Taste tests are a great way to introduce children to new foods by making it a fun activity! This doubles as a way to understand their taste preferences and expand their palates. This educational activity teaches kids different tastes by categorizing them under salty, sweet, bitter, spicy, and sour.
Check out our Taste Test Recording Sheet Printable in the Embolden PDC Portal under ‘Activities & Play’. This printable worksheet is perfect for each kid to express what each item tasted like to them and whether they liked or disliked it!
Taste Test Food Ideas:
- SALTY (Pretzels, Potato Chips, Goldfish Crackers, Salted Nuts, Soy Sauce)
- SWEET (Milk Chocolate, Honey, Maple Syrup, Oreo Cookies, Marshmallows)
- BITTER (Bitter-Sweet Chocolate, Kale, Celery Stick, Coffee)
- SPICY (Medium to Hot Taco Sauce, Hot Sauce like Sriracha, Buffalo Chicken Sauce)
- SOUR (Sour Candies, Plain Yogurt, Pure Cranberry Juice, Slice of Lemon)
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Prep
- 1. Choose a theme (ex. apples, cheeses, deli meats, herbs, etc)
- 2. Buy a few types
- 3. Cut into bite sized portions
- 4. Have the whole uncut food available to look at!
Taste Test Activity
- 1. Gather the kids, a great time for a taste test is during snack!
- 2. Talk about the food you will be trying today
- Where does it come from?
- What color is it?
- Have you tried any of these before?
- 3. Pass out bite sized pieces for everyone to try one at a time
- What is the texture like?
- How does it taste?
- How does it smell?
- 4. Give each kid a 'Taste Test Recording Sheet' to fill in their experiences
- 5. Once you have tried all of the types, ask the children which one is their least and most favorite