Kids hate bitter. (But not kids who get 50% of their first month of Kids Cooking Club.)
And it's probably not why you think.
They're not being picky. They aren't being difficult.
They are actually tasting the bitterness more than we are as adults.
Babies are born with an increased sensitivity to bitterness. It's a feature we developed as humans to help us avoid eating poisonous plants—most toxins taste bitter.
As adults, we have come to enjoy (tolerate?) bitter things (black coffee, dark chocolate, arugula) for 2 reasons:
- A general loss of tastebuds as we age.
- Peer pressure.
As we get older, we perceive bitterness less. We see cool people drinking coffee. We see healthy people eating vegetables. And we gradually bring ourselves to consume those things.
Let's take a lesson from coffee.
My first taste of coffee was from my grandma. Not bearing the nutritional responsibility of a parent, she happily put a scoop of chocolate chip ice cream into a few tablespoons of coffee. Of course, I LOVED the resulting coffee-tinged milkshake.
The bitterness of freeze-dried Folgers was offset by the sugar and fat from the ice cream.
In Kids Cooking Club, we offset the bitterness of roasted eggplant by adding rich tahini and sour lemon juice. We enjoy arugula by adding fatty olive oil and sweet agave.
Here's one that's not hard to love👇
Action Steps
- Try a taste of unsweetened cocoa powder with your child—no more than ⅛ teaspoon.
- Ask what they think, and share your honest opinion with them.
- Make my hot fudge sauce, starting with the same cocoa powder.
- Compare the difference once sugar and fat are added.
​Download Hot Fudge Sauce Recipe (PDF)​
Bitter is just one of the 5 flavors we're exploring in Kids Cooking Club. Understanding how flavors work together is what transforms kids from "picky" eaters into adventurous, healthy eaters.
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