Know your food –
Fruit and vegetables
5-11
years
Sept 2014
Fruit and vegetable tasting
Aims of the session
• To explore the wide variety of different fruits and vegetables available.
• To taste and describe fruits and vegetables which are new and familiar.
• To develop thinking, speaking and listening skills and sensory vocabulary for tasting foods.
• To encourage children to eat 5 A DAY.
• To understand the range of fresh produce available in UK supermarkets grown in the UK and around the world. 5-11
Suitable for all primary ages
Curriculum links: science, design and technology, teamwork,
communication, investigation.
Estimated delivery time: 30 minutes.
You can choose to focus on just fruits or just vegetables and run them as
two separate tasting activities with your school.
Outline of activities
The main focus of this activity is to encourage children to explore the variety, taste, texture, colour and shapes of fruits and vegetables.
1.Children will be shown a range of fruit and vegetables. They will be asked to touch, feel and smell them and then describe the different products.
2.The children will then taste a selection of familiar and new products,
discuss and describe them and fill in the activity sheet (Activity 1).
3.If time, the children can complete the What
Sept 2014
am I? quiz.
Estimated delivery time:
30 minutes
Activity 1:
Fruit and vegetable
tasting
What you will need
Preparation
• Fruit and vegetable flashcards
• Include something they will be less familiar with and one mystery item which they might not recognise raw, or are less
likely to have tasted. • Copies of the activity sheet and What am I?
quiz
• Cool box
• Sealed containers for the tasting samples
• Select five or six products to prepare for the children to taste.
• Pick ones that you can cut up into
pieces at the store in advance, that will
• Knives, spoons, forks, cocktail sticks, tablecloths, not discolour (for example apples will disposable aprons, napkins, plastic cups, paper
go brown so you need to give them a
plates, bin bag for waste food
squeeze of lemon juice if you want to
• Antibacterial spray, gel and cleaning cloths
taste them).
• Labels
Fruit
Vegetables
Apple (green, red, cooking), pear
Salad – cucumber, lettuce, red/yellow/
green peppers, avocado, celery,
tomato (strictly speaking, it’s a fruit,
but we eat it as a vegetable)
Citrus – orange, satsuma, grapefruit, lemon, lime
Greens – broccoli, cabbage, sprouts,
spinach, peas, green beans, mange
tout, courgette
Dried Fruit – raisins, apricots
Root Veg – carrot, potatoes, parsnip, beetroot
Exotic and Tropical – banana, kiwi,
melon, pineapple, paw paw, mango
Onion and garlic
Grapes – red, green
Pumpkin, sweetcorn on the cob
5-11
Summer fruit (in season) – peaches,
nectarines, apricots, cherries, berries
In-school
KNOW your food
FRUIT AND VEGETABLE TASTING
• A selection of fruits and vegetables from the list below
Sept 2014
• You could also take a pack of something frozen
(e.g. peas, oven chips), in a tin (e.g. sweetcorn,
fruit) or in a packet (crisps, dried fruit, bottle of
squash or carton of juice) to show the produce
in a more familiar format that they might have
seen in their mum’s shopping basket.
How to run this session
In advance
Alternative ways to do your tasting:
• Using good personal hygiene practices, wash and chop the fruits and vegetables to be tasted, put them into sealed containers and store them correctly.
• Prepare a label to go with each food i.e. FRUIT A, VEGETABLE B, FRUIT C
1.Combining foods in recipes and asking them to guess the ingredients.
• Make a smoothie and ask the children to guess the flavours and ingredients. Include a coloured fruit.
• Make sure you also bring an example of a whole unprepared and part-prepared fruit/
vegetable that is being tasted.
• Dips (yoghurt for fruit, mayonnaise, houmous,
spicy dip for raw veg) are a good way to
encourage them to try new things. Choose
healthier alternatives.
Before the children arrive
• Make a fruit salad (include a ‘mystery’ fruit) and take it with some yoghurt for children to try. • Make fruit skewers. Thread different fruits onto wooden skewers or cocktail sticks using a selection of fruit to create layers of colours, shapes and sizes.
• Cover the tables with clean tablecloths.
• Use some stir fry mixes, pre-prepared vegetables or coleslaw and get the children to identify the different vegetable pieces.
• Set out your display.
2.‘Item in the bag’ is a good activity where a child has a fruit or vegetable hidden in a bag,
unseen by their partner, and they give clues
about its colour, shape and taste, so that
their partner guesses the item. This is good
for developing vocabulary.
• Put bite-size pieces on cocktail sticks for the teacher to give out to the children. Sept 2014
• Lay out your tasting samples on plates with labels a, b, c etc.
Activity
1.Introduce yourself and tell the children
that they will be learning about fruits and
vegetables from all around the world, and
that you will be setting them a fun challenge
to taste something new.
2.Show them your display. Then get them to
sit in pairs or small groups, so they can help
each other answer your questions.
Older pupils will be able distinguish between
the different categories (words for taste, words
for texture). Ask them to write additional words
they can think of on the sheet.
6.Guess the fruits/vegetables – make this a
guessing game. Ask the teacher to pass one
item at a time around to the children so that
they can try it.
Ask them what they think it is and to describe it. 3.Ask them some of these questions:
Then they should put their answers on the activity sheet. Use simple language Do they know why it is important for us to
and demonstrate what you want them eat fruits and vegetables?
to do using one as an example with a How many can they name? How many have group before starting.
they tried in the display?
7.Finally, ask the children to guess what each Which ones are their favourites? Why do
mystery food was.
they like that so much?
• What have they learnt?
What do you think it looks like inside?
• Which foods did they like? Why did they like
Does this have pips, seeds, or something
or dislike it?
else inside?
• Which was their favourite?
What might we have to do before we eat
this? How do you prepare/cook it?
• Who tasted something that was new?
What can they make with these ingredients? • What have they learnt about trying
new foods?
4.Explain the tasting activity – set some ‘rules
for tasting’ with the help of the teacher. Everyone is going to try a little piece, and to
put it on the plate if they do not like it.
5.Words for tasting – for younger children, read
out the words on the activity sheet and ask
them which ones best describe the products
you are discussing.
5-11
In-school
KNOW your food
FRUIT AND VEGETABLE TASTING
A
sk older children to suggest words for taste,
texture (what it feels like to hold or when chewing in the mouth), colour and shape.
Sept 2014
Activity 1 sheet:
Fruit and vegetable
tasting
Taste something new
Try the mystery fruit or vegetables.
• Do you know what it is?
• If you like it, tell us why you do.
• If you don’t like it, tell us why not.
Can you describe the…
taste? texture? shape? colour?
5-11
Taste
sweet, juicy, sour, fruity, bitter, fresh
Texture
crisp, crunchy, smooth, chewy, hard, soft
Shape
round, oval, long
Colour
yellow, red, orange, green, speckled
In-school
KNOW your food
FRUIT AND VEGETABLE TASTING
Here are some words that
might help you to describe
the foods. Can you think of
some more words?
Sept 2014
Xerox Code: CLSK012
Draw a picture of it
or attach a photo:
Draw a picture of it
or attach a photo:
Food A
Food B
Did you like it?
Did you like it?
Describe it:
Describe it:
What do you think the food is?
What do you think the food is?
Draw a picture of it
or attach a photo:
Draw a picture of it
or attach a photo:
Food C
Food D
Did you like it?
Did you like it?
Describe it:
Describe it:
What do you think the food is?
What do you think the food is?
Draw a picture of it
or attach a photo:
Draw a picture of it
or attach a photo:
Food E
Food F
Did you like it?
Did you like it?
Describe it:
Describe it:
What do you think the food is?
What do you think the food is?
My favourite is
Sept 2014
Xerox Code: CLSK012
Extension
activities
If you have time, you can do the What am I?
quiz, or leave copies behind for the teacher to do
it after your visit.
• Read out the quiz questions to the class. Tell
the children not to shout out the answers as
another team might hear the answer. Instead,
they should write down their answers in the
spaces provided on the activity sheet and
select the correct picture from the images on
the activity sheet.
• At the end, ask for the answers from the class and ask everyone to mark their own answers.
Give the team/child with the most correct
answers a clap for doing well or use your
Answers to the quiz:
1. C – Brussels sprouts
2. G – Carrot
3. J – Banana
4. A – Orange
5. B – Cabbage
6. F – Grape
7. D – Potato
8. I – Cauliflower
9. E – Lemon
10.H – Peas
reward stickers.
For older children, or if you have more time, you
can extend this tasting activity by:
5-11
• Talking about and tasting some of the selection
of packaged products you have brought, so
that they can see how processing can change
the taste and texture. Many children will be
interested to understand how raisins are linked
to grapes. Some children may not like pickled
beetroot, but like fresh beetroot. The objective
is to ask children to try new things or versions
of the same thing (grapes/raisins), as they
might like them.
In-school
KNOW your food
FRUIT AND VEGETABLE TASTING
• Playing with the Fruit and Vegetable flashcards. Split children into four groups and select a
leader for each. Give each seven cards. The
leader holds up the card and shows the group
the picture. The rest of the group have to guess
the information on the reverse.
Sept 2014
Xerox Code: CLSK013
Extension activity:
What am I? Fruit
and vegetable quiz
B
A
See if you can work out which fruit or vegetable is being described and fill in the answer in the space provided. See if you can match the pictures to the descriptions. s
I grow in winter and I am famou
for being eaten at Christmas.
I am small, round and green.
People love or hate me.
I grow on a stem.
I need to be cooked.
I am grow
n in the su
mm
autumn bu
t I am eate er and
n all year
round.
I am long
and orang
e in colour.
I can be ea
ten raw in
salads
or with dip
s but I’m a
lso
delicious c
ooked.
What am I?
What am I?
A: ……………
………………
………………
…
I grow in a hot country.
.
I am long and yellow and curved
Lots of children like me.
You need to take my skin off to
eat me.
I taste delicious in smoothies.
I am round and orange.
I grow on a tree.
You need to peel me to eat me
.
I make delicious juice for
breakfast and some people
make me into marmalade.
What am I?
What am I?
……
A: …………………………………………
C
J
Sept 2014
4
A: …………………………………….....
In-school
KNOW your food
FRUIT AND VEGETABLE TASTING
……
A: …………………………………………
3
G
5-11
1
2
Xerox Code: CLSK013
5
I am leafy and green or white.
I get chopped up to make col
eslaw.
Some people like me cooked
too.
I am grown mostly in winter
and spring.
D
What am I?
6
A: …………………………………………
……
7
le
aped vegetab
I am an oval-sh
.
underground
which grows
lly
in which usua
sk
n
w
ro
b
a
e
v
I ha
ff at home.
gets peeled o
UK.
I grow in the
e
ke me, boil m
a
b
,
e
m
y
fr
n
a
You c
and roast me.
crisps.
d for making
I am very goo
of vitamin C.
I contain lots
K’s
d to be the U
I am suppose
etable.
favourite veg
What am I?
………
……………………
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
:
A
9
I am yellow and ov
al in shape.
I grow in a warm
country and need
lots of sunshine.
I taste bitter.
Grown ups somet
imes slice me up
to put in their drin
ks.
I’m a very popula
r flavour for fizzy
drinks.
What am I?
A: ………………………
………………………
H
I
Sept 2014
8
E
F
urple
nd can be p
a
d
n
u
ro
m
Ia
or green.
etimes
at and som
e
to
y
ic
ju
I am
have pips.
vine.
I grow on a
raisin.
I’m called a
d
e
ri
d
m
I’
When
make wine.
to
d
e
s
u
o
ls
I am a
is autumn.
My season
What am I?
…………
…………………
…
…
…
…
…
…
A: …
I am called a flower but I am not a
garden flower.
I am a vegetable.
I have green leaves on my outside.
You eat the white part of me
which is shaped like trees.
What am I?
A: ………………………………………………
10
d in
d grow in a po
I am green an
the UK.
most parts of
mmer.
My season is su
store
usually need to
At home you
zer.
me in the free
chips,
with fish and
n
te
a
e
n
e
ft
o
I am
s.
ast or in currie
the Sunday ro
What am I?
……
……………………
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
A:
Xerox Code: CLSK013