By: Ms. Kara/Instructional Paraprofessional

Developing a taste for new foods is an important aspect of learning how to cook.  As someone who loves to cook myself, it has always been exciting to try new things.  While to some, this is a scary thought.  To others it is an adventure.  Trying anything new requires a certain bravery and the students in Ms. Catalano’s culinary class got to experience this firsthand during their taste testing of exotic fruit and an assortment of cheeses.

The students’ first culinary journey challenged them to try exotic fruits.  While some were familiar with the flavors of fruits like the clementine and kiwi, students got to try their first dragon fruit and prickly pear.  Students quickly learned that this was not just an exploration into flavor, but texture as well.  The perfect example of students being conflicted in their opinion between texture and flavor came when students tried pomegranate for the first time.  The sweet and tart juice of the fruit was enjoyed by most while the crunchy, tough center of the seeds proved difficult to get past.

Cheeses were next on the culinary journey for students at OA.  Again, students were familiar with some of the cheeses presented to them such as cheddar and Parmesan.  Both fresh and smoked mozzarella were also on the menu, giving students a great opportunity to compare differences and form new opinions on their preferences.  The daring OA students also got to try some funky blue cheese which seemed to be the unanimous least favorite cheese of the day. The surprise favorite cheese however was the cranberry Stilton, a salty, sweet cheese students couldn’t get enough of.

Watching the reactions of students experiencing new flavors for the first time was both entertaining and exciting.   Students were surprised when they liked a new fruit or cheese and even came back for seconds, proving to them they can always be expanding their culinary palette.  This was the perfect lesson about being open to new things which is not just a culinary lesson, but a lesson for life.

Special thanks to the Para’s in Ms. Catalano’s room for preparing the fruit and cheese for tasting!