Olive Oil Tasting Woskshops for Kids

Let us take your kids a tour through their senses...

 

Our senses are the way that we explore the world and understand what is going on around us. Teaching kids about their senses is very important. Activities that stimulate the senses help the brain to develop and function at its peak. 

 

Smelling and the Nose 
We use our nose to smell things. At the top of the inside of our nose are millions of tiny little hairs called cilia. These hairs are connected to smell sensors that send signals to our brain about smell via the olfactory nerve. We smell things when they emit small molecules that float in the air and end up in our nose. We can't see these tiny molecules, but they are there. 
Smelling helps us in many ways. It first makes our food taste better. We can't really taste that many flavors, but with of help the smell we can "taste" thousands of different things. Also, the smell helps to warn us of bad things like rotten food or smoke from a fire. 

Tasting and the Tongue 
We use our tongue to taste things. The tongue uses taste buds or sensor cells to determine the type of food and send taste signals back to our brains. The tongue can taste four different flavors: bitter, sour, salty and sweet. It was once thought that each of these tastes came from a different spot on the tongue: sweet from the tip, salty from the sides, sour from the backsides, and bitter from the back. Now scientists say that flavors can be tasted from most any part of the tongue. 
 

Using Smell and Taste Together 
Maybe we can taste four distinct flavors but we can smell over 10,000 smells. When we eat something, the flavor comes from a combination of taste and smell. 

 

Through this fun and educational workshop, children not only stimulate their senses but also learn:

 

• how to use their senses in order to evaluate olive oil

• how different varieties of olive oils taste 

• what are the negative attributes in olive oil

• what it means and tastes when olive oil is fruity, bitter and spicy 

• how to know when the olive oil they are eating is good or faulty

• how the use of different olive oil on the same food can give a completely different taste

• the basic principles and health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet