 |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
DAYS OF TASTE
"We want to let kids know that real, fresh food tastes good," says Riva Kahn, chair of the Baltimore Chapter of Days of Taste, a community outreach program that operates under the umbrella of The American Institute of Wine and Food.
Founded in 1981 by a group of dedicated foodies, including the indomitable Julia Child, the AIWF is a non-profit organization bringing together folks who love food, wine, and their own communities. Today Baltimore is one of its 27 Chapters nationwide, and home since 1998 of the Days of Taste program. The brainstorm of a group of French chefs, Days of Taste sends local chefs and volunteers to seven different Baltimore City Elementary schools every September and June. Over the course of three days, the kids are guided to think about where the food they eat comes from, and about the five senses that evoke taste. On the first day, the kids are armed with Popsicle sticks, little dishes of cocoa, salt, sugar and citric acid, and pencils to note what each tastes like. Citric acid and unsweetened cocoa invariably inspire terrible faces and words like "nasty," and "gross," but with some prodding, the vocabulary gets more specific, and is recorded in the "Sensory Sleuth Notebook" using descriptors like "bitter," and "sour." The experiments go one step further when the kids are encouraged to mix flavors and discover that -Bingo, mix a little sugar with the cocoa and it tastes delicious! On the second day, everyone loads up on buses to visit a farm. At One Straw Farm, Joan Norman explains how seedlings are nurtured carefully, "like babies," so they'll grow into big, strong, "grown-up" plants. Last fall the kids were set loose on a pile of just-picked beets, each choosing their own to take home. The compost pile is less popular. Once the kids learn that the dark, steamy mound is made from manure, "They go crazy!" says Kahn. Sometimes the program goes to Springfield Farm, where the kids get to hang out with ducks, bunnies and cows. Since the beginning of Days of Taste, they've seen everything from a goat giving birth, to turkeys acting amorous during mating season. Back at school on the last day, with expanded food vocabularies and memories from the farm under their belts, the kids hunker down with a local chef, who teaches them how to make a vinaigrette with oil, lemon juice and honey. The kids whisk it together, tasting as they go, before tossing it with greens, like arugula, that they may have seen growing on the farm the week before. Then comes the grand finale, sitting down together to eat the fruits of their labor. Afterwards, the kids write about the experience. "That was the best salad I've ever eaten!" enthused one. "Canned peas are so different from the fresh ones we tasted, they're so salty," noted another. These are the reactions that Days of Taste is going for, signs that the kids have caught on to the idea that local, fresh food, is delectable. |
