Universitair hoofddocent bij de Capgroep Clinical Psychological Science, Faculteit Psychologie en Neurowetenschappen, Universiteit Maastricht Feel your food and taste the texture The texture of food can be a reason why children reject it: It matters if food is crispy, slimy, smooth or has pips and bits in it. In general, mere exposure is the best method to increase acceptance of food: becoming more familiar with a food by repeated exposure increases liking for it. However, exposure to texture can be difficult, as children can be reluctant to try and taste it. In two separate studies, children were first exposed to the feel by hand to a non-food with a specific texture (e.g. slimy). Afterwards, the children tasted 3 foods, one with a similar texture as to which they were pre-exposed (e.g. slimy) and two foods with dissimilar textures. In both studies, it is found that children liked the food with the texture to which they were pre-exposed more, compared to the foods with textures to which they were not pre-exposed. Playing with food-textures with hands seems therefore a first step in getting familiar with food and might help to increase variety of food intake.
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