I don't have kids. But I'm an aunt. And the other day, I decided to involve my twin niece and nephew in a tasting designed to gauge their openness to so-called grownup cheeses. Because while I can't blame my busy sister for feeding her kids quesadillas with pre-shredded cheese, I've always wondered if she doesn't give their palates enough credit.
Here, the results on how various cheeses fared, plus other ideas for gateway cheeses to feed the kiddies.
Maybe it's precisely because I'm not a mother, but I've always kind of thought that children get the short end of the stick when it comes to food. Why do we automatically assume that they like only the most simple of things?
There's something to be said for exposing young kids to new flavors. Sharing food builds bonds, inspires a sense of family, and prepares your young'ins for a life full of unique and fulfilling food experiences. Plus, it's much more fun to raise an adventurous eater than a picky one.
Bloomy Rinded Cheese
I started our tasting with a bloomy rinded sheep milk cheese from Andante Dairy. Thought I'd begin with something creamy and mild, with just an ever-so-subtle gamey funk from the sheep milk. They both ate it up, entirely undeterred. I believe the exact words my nephew used were "yummy in my tummy." And that white, skin-like rind? Ate it without a second thought. No digging out the insides of brie wheels for these relatives of mine.
• Conclusion: If kids enjoy mild creamy cheeses like Havarti or Monterey Jack, they very well might make strides into the world of bloomy rinded cheeses, like bries, camembert, or even young and creamy mixed milk, robiola style cheeses.
• Try: La Tur, Brunet, Vermont Butter and Cheese Bonne Bouche, Rochetta, Jasper Hill Farm Constant Bliss or Moses Sleeper, Brie de Nangis, or Fromage D'Affinois.
Aged Gruyere
Next up was an 18-month aged Gruyere, sharp and nutty. Again, a pretty easy sell. "Like pizza!" said my niece. They're both big fans of grilled cheese. And I couldn't help but think how much more complex a lunch they could have with some melty Swiss Gruyere instead of their typical American singles.
• Conclusion: If you've introduced your kids to simple, mild Swiss cheeses like Jarlsberg or Emmenthaler, they'll probably go for other strong aged cheeses in the mountain cheese style, or even aged Goudas, which are also characterized by sweet and nutty flavors.
• Try: Gruyere, Comte, Aged Appenzeller, Fontina Val D'Aosta, Hoch Ybrig, Boerenkaas, Noord Hollander, Vincent Van Gogh Gouda, Prima Donna
Farmhouse Cheddar
I know they both love cheddar, and so next I tried them out on a farmhouse cheddar. Farmhouse cheddars are strong. Musty tasting, like earth or hay or a cave. I had Cabot Clothbound cheddar from Vermont, and perhaps had I chosen Keen's or another stronger English one they'd have been more opposed, but again, they were total takers.
• Conclusion: Go beyond a mild block cheddar. Try something aged and sharp to start, like a New York state block cheddar aged for a year or more, and then venture into English-style cheddars that are cave-aged and earthy. There are some interesting French cheeses that have cheddar-like qualities, too, like those in the Cantal family.
• Try: Cantal, Cantalet, Salers du Buron, Quicke's Cheddar, Double Glouchester, Fiscalini Bandaged Chedddar, Beecher's Flagship Reserve, or Cabot Clothbound Cheddar
Real Parmigiano-Reggiano
Next up was a wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano, which my nephew promptly grabbed and started eating whole. My sister has since had to figure a way to coerce him to eat parm by the slice as opposed to the entire piece.
• Conclusion: Your kids might be obsessed with Parmigiano-Reggiano, like my nephew. If you buy pre-grated or even canned domestic parmesans, try going for the real stuff. Or pecorinos.
• Try: Parmigiano-Reggiano. If your kids like this, they're set for life. And then venture into other Italian-style aged cheeses, like aged Pecorino Toscanos and Pecorino Romano.
Blue Cheeses
Finally, I ended with blue. Sadly, and expectedly, this wasn't terribly well received. A bit of reverse psychology would have worked better, because I really went in for the kill with some positive reinforcement, presenting the sampling with perhaps a bit too much reinforcement.
• Conclusion: Maybe blues aren't the best for young kids, but it's well worth a shot. Start with mild blues.
• Try: Fourme D'Ambert, Montbriac, Cambozola, Gorgonzola Cremificato
For other ideas, use what you know your kids already like as a springboard for other cheeses to try. If they're into cream cheese and mozzarella, introduce them to other fresh cheeses that are stronger, like fresh goat cheese. And if they like the fresh goat, go towards aged versions, like Humboldt Fog, Haystack Mountain's Haystack Peak, Coupole, Chevrot, Chabichou du Poitu, and Crottin de Chavignol. And if they like munster or even red wax gouda, try slightly more stinky cheeses, like Taleggio, Fontina Fontal, or Meadowcreek Dairy's Grayson.
And if they don't like what you give them, try and try again.
What cheeses do your kids love? Anything unexpected crop up in your cheese adventures with the children?
Nora Singley used to be a cheesemonger and the Director of Education at Murray's Cheese Shop. Until recently she was a TV Chef on The Martha Stewart Show. She is currently a freelance food stylist and private chef in New York City.
Related: Gourmet Grilled Cheese: Tips from Ruth Reichl
(Images: Nora Singley)
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"Just hangin' at home, without a shirt." Love it.
Nice auntie for sharing the good stuff. And yes, also annoying auntie for thinking kids get the short end of stick. In broad generalizing, I would say kids give THEMSELVES the short end of the stick by refusing to try what is unfamiliar from two until who-knows-when. At least with veggies; most kids I know will happily eat any cheese. And I have yet to hear a mom say "I wish I could get more cheese in their diet!". Now if you had a leafy-green tasting party...
My four-year-old's favorite is Reblochon, not for the faint of heart (or nose). It's all mighty pricey stuff, but we get it from time to time all the same. I heartily support the good things in life being shared with kiddos. When you get to the veggies, I'M ALL EARS! Sigh.
I have to imagine most moms give their kids the cheaper stuff because why give a 6 year old $20 cheese.
would also add that some young kids put up a fuss about food served from their own parents...eat like champs at daycare/school or visiting others, but put the breaks on at home...maybe your sister has tried givinging them the long end of the stick and they dont take it...sometimes it's not about food, but power.
You know, I totally agree with the general sentiment of offering kids a wide variety of things to try, and the list of building block suggestions is great, AND I love that an aunt is doing that--I look to aunties / friends to do that with my own kiddo. But like others above, I just wish this--and posts like it that I've seen elsewhere--could go up without the accompanying dose of parent shaming (giving kids the short end of the stick, not giving kids' palettes enough credit, etc.).
Seriously, sometimes I feed my toddler roasted beets with blue cheese and vinaigrette, sometimes it's peanut butter in a rolled up tortilla. Some days she'll eat hot and sour soup, some days only plain bagels
Can we talk about how to try new things without framing it as parents not trying hard enough?
"gateway cheese" -- LOVE it!
I would eat things at my beloved Oma's that I never would have touched at home.
I'm the same kind of aunt you are--hey, try this, kid. Then get your parents in debt based on your love of fine Reblochon.
Now that I have great-nieces & nephews I get to remind my nieces and nephews that I was just as indulgent to them as I am to their children. They get it.
My 2.5 year old will eat any and all cheeses - I actually assumed all children would? HMy son actually prefers the expensive cheeses; however, I cannot get him to eat a vegetable to save his life. Eh, I have given up trying to understand toddler's food choices and life decisions in general. As Ralph Waldo Emerson so succinctly said, "A child is a curly dimpled lunatic."
Very well put, jenawithonen. Seems a waste for your average parent and the average budget, especially when kids grab the whole chunk like that (even with just-washed hands, not sure I'd eat something a small child has just put their hands all over and bitten off of...). It's one thing to avoid too much processed cheese and stuff like Velveeta, but it's not much of a sin to use something cheaper if all you're doing it giving kids grilled cheese or a quesadilla.
My 4-year-old is obsessed with soft goat cheeses. She says they taste "like butter." She too would eat a chunk of Parm with her bare hands and she considers crumbled feta in a bowl an appropriate snack.
This is perfectly said. I cringed when I read that comment. Kids palets are ever changing and it can be challenging and frustrating to keep up with them. One week my son will only eat Gouda - can't get enough of it. The next week he wants nothing to do with it and says that it is gross. Sigh. I do try - hard - to give his palet credit, but that palent can be darn frustrating at times. And I am responsible to feed it 3 times a day, 365 days a year. The fun aunt coming by with some new and exciting foods - well, of course that will be more appealing than typical mom.
P.S. My comment was in response to jmccourt
My kids have always liked Emmenthal, Edam, Cheddar, Red Leicester, Cantal, Camembert, and buffalo Mozzarella.
I'm not a parent, but I've read that children respond to simpler-tasting foods because, like their brains or any other part of their bodies, their palates go through developmental stages.
I don't think OP was trying to shame parents; it's just an observation. Sometimes I see it too when parents don't bother letting their kids try something. Not saying that all parents do this or even that it's wrong to do so, but I've seen it on occasion.
Anyways, ADORABLE KIDS.
I offer my two year old the same food I eat, fancy cheese included. Some foods are definitely more successful than others!
I also didn't read the original post as shaming parents so much so as calling out a broader attitude in society that kids won't or can't eat flavourful foods. For example, I'm not a parent, but I am at that stage in life where people like to comment about what life will be like when my husband and I do have kids. And one of the things I get asked a LOT is how I'll cope when I have kids who "can't" eat the spicy curries that I like to cook.
Although I have to admit that when it comes to cheese, well, I might be one of the people keeping the really good stuff all to myself. For the sake of my kid's health, of course. ;)
I love this! My son has tried tons of different cheese and so far, he loves them all and he's only 2!
I will say, being on a tight budget as most mom's are, I can only do so much in the way of crazy and generally expensive foods but I do bring variety and so far the only thing my son has turned down is a crappy potato salad someone brought, premade, to a bbq.....which I find awesome.
An example meal (from today), is carrots and sweet mini peppers with ranch, yogurt covered raisins, and cheddar cheese. Another meal he had today was three eggs cooked with tomatoes and cilantro. Flavor is amazing.
Nora, I'm a mom, and I agree with you completely! In fact, you've put your finger on a really important issue -- taste is developed, and you have to start young. I don't feel your comments talk down to parents at all, and I will freely admit that I was on the wrong track with my picky eater (my son) by feeding him what he wanted to eat, and avoiding what my husband and I wanted but were afraid would lead to a food strike (with good reason -- last time we tried that approach his appetite dwindled to almost nothing).
But in the past couple of weeks, I've come across a brilliant book which supports the point you are trying to make, and then some -- French Kids Eat Everything.
French parents see their role to be to train develop their children's taste. They know they have a very small window of opportunity -- before age 2 -- to make them familiar with and appreciative of a broad range of flavours and textures -- and believe it or not, the cheese they start with is blue cheese (cheddar only comes towards the end because it is a hard cheese). After age 2 is the picky stage, and then things pick up again.
We were lucky -- we lived in Suisse Romande when the children were quite young, and they enjoyed classical French meals at school. As a result, my daughter is a cheese fiend (she could live off goat cheese alone), and happily eats vegetables. But we found that their food habits changed when we moved back here, and so I've been searching for a way to turn things around again.
All last week, I served different cheeses after the main course. I would have 3 or 4 different cheeses, and we would do tastings with our kids, asking them to serve as food critics, and to try to describe what they were tasting. We even had them guess where the cheese came from -- and to our surprise, the youngest (the picky eater) got them all correct! Anyways, they loved doing it, and it has really made them more open to different tastes.
I encourage every parent to run out and get a copy of French Kids Eat Everything -- it's not about getting your child to eat blue cheese, it's about developing good eating habits for life.
My daughters (6 & 5) love cheese. I haven't ever seen them refuse to try anything labeled cheese. They love blue cheese, soft goat cheese, smoked cheese. Whole Foods cheese samples are their favorite part of the store.
My first grader wanted me to pack up cheese, crackers, and apple slices for her school lunch. I got out the sharp cheddar and she said, "No, the good cheese please." So I cut her some extra aged gouda. I laughed since I am sure she is the only one in her class eating aged cheese. I am so happy my daughters eat anything I place in front of them, but I'm afraid I may be creating snobby food monsters.
I don't feel the author intended to make parents feel bad at all and her advice about introducing new foods early is wonderful! It would just be nice to skip the part about not giving kids pallets enough credit, that's all. Most parents try, very hard.
Quick question re: when you start introducing these nice cheeses... I have a 9 month old son, and I give him bits of any cheese I bring home (he's happily gobbled up Port Salut, sharp cheddar, and goat cheese), but I've avoided giving him anything that isn't pasteurized. Unfortunately for him, most of the cheese I like is made with raw goat's milk, or something else unpasteurized. Any idea when it's safe for him to try... everything?
My kids had great taste in food when they were babies. Thai curries, fancy cheeses, Ethiopian food, etc. I patted myself on the back for being a mother who didn't shelter her kid's palates. Then when they became toddlers, it was like they'd gotten a memo that they're only supposed to like some combo of white flour, orange cheese, and ground beef. The oldest is 6 now, and still hasn't grown out of it, despite our best efforts. They've been gardening and cooking with me since they were babies, and they love it, but once the food hits the table they're totally not interested. Now cooking is so much less fun for me than it used to be. I've been wondering if there's some evolutionary or developmental reason for this (like Erin EO suggests). Maybe I'll read the French kids book too.
Anyway, an aunt's influence can be helpful, so keep it up! The kids may turn up their noses to the same food when it's served by their own parents, but hopefully the taste you're helping them develop will emerge more consistently down the road.
By no means was I trying to shame my sister or my niece and nephew's palates. And my "short end of the stick" and "not giving kids credit" comments were meant to be humorous. I'm sorry that they didn't come off as lighthearted remarks.
Indeed, as many of you have commented, this post is meant to express the merits of encouraging kids to try new cheeses, plain and simple, as a way to expose them to different flavors and taste experiences.
@lkb: I'm no doctor so I'm reluctant to give advice about this. I'd ask your physician.
Is there anything cuter than a little one with glasses? Of course I wouldn't wish vision problems on any person, but kids in glasses = major cuteness!
Re: French Kids Eat Everything. It's not just French kids, it's kids in most parts of the world, where ADULTS decide what's for dinner, and kids just eat what's put in front of them, like everyone else.
"Why do we automatically assume that they like only the most simple of things?" Again, I think that is not an assumption about kids in most parts of the world. Not every culture is so child-centric.
As a kid, I wasn't too fond of cheese. But that was because I didn't like the mild cheeses that we have in Austria. When I moved to Holland I discovered the world of aged Goudas and stinky French cheeses and now cheese is my favorite food in the world. With my 18 month old, I give her whatever we have and I found like myself, she prefers strong tasting cheeses over mild cheddars. Her favorite cheeses are Cotswold, Feta cheese and surprisingly - Jasper Hills Harbinger. She is CRAZY about the Harbinger, especially with some honey on it.
My son (4) unerringly picks the most expensive cheese on the plate as his favorite and eats it all up. I'm always happy to share - I'd give the little guy my kidney without hesitation, so why be stingy with the "good food"?