Grönsaker som har beretts på olika sätt

: en studie av grönsaksgillande hos barn

Abstract

Introduction: The intake of vegetables is low in children in Sweden, which means that they do not reach the recommended intake of 500 grams per day. From a sustainability and health perspective, it is important to find out how the intake of vegetables could be increased. Vegetable preparation and texture are important factors that can affect the intake of vegetables in children.

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate if the method of preparation affects children's liking of vegetables. With the goal of sustainable eating habits, three different vegetables are examined that have been prepared in four different ways.

Materials and methods: Vegetables that were used in this study were cucumber, kohlrabi and Chinese radish. In order to find out the children's liking for the vegetables that were prepared in four different ways, a sensory acceptance test was used. The test was performed by 120 students aged 10 to 15 years old.

Results: Vegetables that were prepared raw were the vegetables that the respondents generally liked the most. In particular, the crispiness of raw vegetables was well-liked, and many children expressed a desire to eat them again. The children liked raw cucumber the most. There was a significant difference between boys and girls regarding the vegetable products which meant that girls had a higher degree of liking regarding the crispness of the vegetables and more frequently stated that they wanted to eat them again. The majority of the children had never heard of kohlrabi or Chinese radish.

Conclusion: In this study, it has shown that children like raw and crispy vegetables. Non-familiar vegetables such as kohlrabi and radish are more liked when they are raw, but not if they are prepared with non-familiar methods. Preparing vegetables raw, in comparison with the other preparation methods studied, increased children’s liking, which can lead to an increased consumption of vegetables and increase sustainable eating habits and consumption.