Umami helps diversify children’s palates

Trying to introduce new foods into children’s meals sometimes seems like a very complicated task. Getting little ones to accept a puree with carrots or peaches is quite difficult. But try offering chocolate or French fries…

The secret is to make children know and experience the five tastes (umami, sweet, salty, sour, and bitter) from an early age. This is a way to prevent children from conditioning their taste buds to feel only some of them more intensely, “turning off” the other receptors for other tastes.

Children with conditioned palates tend to have restricted and poor diets in adulthood. Do you know that friend who doesn’t know how to deal with vegetables and avoids salad, justifying it by having a “childish palate”? Well then. He probably had poor food education when he was little.

A similar phenomenon occurs with obese children. According to a German study from the University of Dresden, they are born with less sensitivity in their taste buds compared to those of normal weight, making them less able to perceive the five tastes. This factor leads those little ones to eat more, in a relentless attempt to capture the sensation of flavors. Thus, we understand the importance of recognizing all tastes. Feeling them well means eating well!

We love umami from an early age

Getting children to eat well is the goal of everyone involved with them. To avoid fighting with your baby later at mealtime, the umami taste can be your great ally. Even before you notice it, it is already helping you. Breast milk is rich in glutamate, a substance that gives the fifth taste and also has a very important physiological function: intestinal development. Not to mention the many other benefits, such as strengthening the immune system, for example.

And studies confirm the palatability of the umami taste. Published in the book “Umami: A Basic Taste” (1987), research by Professor J. E. Steiner of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem revealed that newborns perceive and accept umami well from the very first days of life. After coming into contact with each taste, the researcher noticed that after tasting sweet and umami, the little ones showed a satisfied and “happy” expression.

After the breastfeeding phase, the official recommendation of WHO (World Health Organization) is that other foods be included two to three times a day. Between the sixth and eighth month of life, the diet should contain all tastes. And pay attention to the phase up to two years old, since it is in this period that the palate is shaped.

With ease of combining with other tastes and the ability to enhance the flavor of foods, umami makes healthy meals more appealing. An arugula salad can be veeeery bland for a child to eat. But try adding tomatoes, a bit of cheese, and a small spoon of soy sauce (all very umami). There! Much more appealing for children!