Little chefs
Meals should be varied, healthy, tasty and prepared as quickly as possible on the family table. And preferably every day. Not an easy task! And one where it's worth involving all family members and letting them help decide. This is how children learn to plan a balanced meal and incorporate their own ideas into the menu plan. A few simple tips can make it easier for parents to cook together and make it a fun experience for children.
For example, it is worth keeping a few cookery books with appealing pictures to hand. These can provide help and inspiration.
When it comes to preparation, tasks at the cooker and kitchen buffet should be divided up according to age. Give your child the opportunity to choose between two or three tasks so that they can make their own decisions and take responsibility.
How much waste is actually left over when you prepare a chilli pepper? Boys and girls learn by observing and imitating. They look at how food is selected and processed. Explain to your children where a food comes from, whether it can be eaten raw or needs to be cooked and what is currently in season. Food science can also be approached in a playful way: Blindfold them with a cloth and let them smell the chilli, aubergine and fennel. The brave can also try a piece.
Admittedly, table rituals and rules such as careful table setting and clearing the table together are not popular with most children and young people. But it is worthwhile for parents to insist on them: Despite grumbling, these are automatically memorised and maintained in the long term. «We only start when everyone is sitting at the table», «We taste before we judge» or «We say thank you for cooking» could be important guiding principles, for example. Mums and dads are always role models. If a parent judges the food as boring or even inedible, children will quickly come to the same conclusion. It is better to let your offspring find out for themselves what they like and what they don't like.
Baking with children often ends in creative chaos and costs nerves. As with all activities with children, it is advisable to plan enough time and stay as relaxed as possible. Boys and girls love to get their hands dirty when baking, mixing the dough, kneading it vigorously and decorating the finished treats at the end. There should be no limits to their creativity. Children want to contribute and realise their own ideas. Parents would do well to let them do this whenever possible so that their child feels that their co-operation is needed.
Cooking together - but safely
Wherever there is chopping, chopping and heating, there are dangers lurking. It is important that children learn about these sources of danger and how to deal with them properly. Young children should only ever work in the kitchen under supervision. A suitable activity for small children can be, for example, removing and putting away drawers. Drawers with Tupperware or other sturdy and childproof items are particularly suitable here. In this way, even very young children can be indirectly involved in the cooking process and perceive the various sounds and smells.
Older children can try their hand at chopping vegetables. Precise instruction from parents is crucial here:
- Stabile Sitzmöglichkeit einrichten.
- Rutschfeste Unterlage benutzen.
- Immer in Richtung «weg vom Körper» schneiden.
The following applies to other tasks:
- Flüssigkeit immer von sich weg abgiessen (Spaghettiwasser, Tee).
- Nur wenig Fett zum Anbraten verwenden, damit es nicht spritzt.
- Falls der Backofen auf Kinderkopfhöhe ist, diesen grosszügig umgehen, da oft heisse Luft ausströmt.
Incidentally, the finishing touches just before the finished meal is served are particularly popular with children. When seasoning and tasting, they get to know the wide range of spices and learn how they can make a dish hotter, spicier, sweeter or even more colourful (for example with saffron or turmeric).
Give your children as many insights as possible into everyday life - namely cooking - and let the young and older gourmets and their ideas surprise you.
Picture: iStockphoto
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