Testing ground

When I arrived in Wales this week my great-niece told me about a blindfold taste test she was due to have in school as part of their science curriculum. They’ve already done ‘scents and smells’ during which she learned that sniffing too hard at a pile of curry powder isn’t something you want to repeat. 

The taste test wasn’t something she was looking forward to as a 6 year old whose tastes are rather regimented (although if anything comes with a Hello Kitty wrapper she’s more likely to try it) but the test was cancelled, much to her relief, and the class are moving onto ‘materials’ next week. I wonder if ‘Elf and Safety’ had anything to do with that?

‘Why don’t we do our own taste test?’ I suggest.
‘No,’ she says without a moment’s hesitation.
‘Come on,’ I coax. ‘I promise I’ll only give you things you’ll like.’
‘Okay,’ she says.
‘Sunday,’ I say.
‘Is that the day after tomorrow?’ she asks.
‘Yes.’

I made a list of things I know she likes and wouldn’t be alarmed to find at the end of a spoon: nutella, strawberries, grated parmesan. And then a list of things that she hasn’t tried before, or has refused to try, but I’m pretty sure will be a hit, or at least acceptable: ripe peach (without the skin), green pesto, honey.  I want to respect the trust she has placed in me, a trust I wouldn’t want to shake in the slightest, but at the same time I want to encourage new experience.

But today she changed her mind. ‘I don’t want to,’ she said. So we didn’t but then she tried the dessert I made, a mixture of tastes she hadn’t tried before, so we are now back on for the Great Taste Test sometime this week. Watch this space...

This is the dessert:

If you’re a regular follower you might remember that I posted the recipe earlier this month but forgot to take a photo of the finished dish! So if you’re avoiding desserts this early in the New Year, just enjoy the photo. Or click here to make your own.

Hungry Writing Prompts

Write about wearing a blindfold.

Write a list of all the things you like to eat.

Write about an occasion when you did something for the first time.

Write about changing your mind.

Write about abstinence.