Dutch parents find it important to teach their child(ren) knowledge about food, partly by preparing the food together. Yet they do not always get around to it, according to research by Blue Band. The majority of parents (59%) would like to involve their child more often in the preparation of food and 35% would like to give their child more knowledge about food than they do now. It is often a matter of lack of time:46% would like to have more time to prepare food with their child. To make cooking and baking together easier and more fun for parents, Blue Band is introducing the Cooking Club for Kids.
Children want to
It will not be the fault of the Dutch children:according to their parents, 65% would like to try new flavors and according to their parents more than half of the children (52%) like to know more about food. Although 75% of parents see it primarily as their own task (and not that of school) to educate their child about food, the practice is unruly. For example, only 37% teach their child which country dishes come from, less than half (47%) teach their child how food is made (the production process) and 41% would like to involve their child more in making healthy choices than they do do it now.
Cooking together for knowledge transfer
Cooking together is a good opportunity for knowledge transfer and Dutch parents do this together with their children. For example, 75% of parents involve their child in the preparation of breakfast at least once a week (37% even every day) and 55% involve their child in the preparation of dinner at least once a week (33% even several times). weekly). However, this is not as often as we would like:a majority (59%) of Dutch parents would like to involve their child more often in the preparation of food, 46% would like to have more time to prepare food together with their child and 35% think their child has insufficient knowledge about food.
Wash, stir, toss and knead
We involve our children in the preparation of food because this contributes to the independence of the child (65%) and because it is a fun activity to do together (52%). Children are especially allowed to help with washing vegetables and fruit (79%), stirring and tossing (82%) and kneading (75%). When it comes to handling a heat source such as a gas stove or an oven, we are a bit more careful:only 38% let their children assist with this. Of the parents who (almost) never involve their child in the preparation of food, 58% indicate that their child is not interested in it and 43% say that it takes too much time.
Learn through play
“It is important that children are involved in preparing meals from an early age,” says Brigitte Wijnveld, Brand Manager at Blue Band. “Not only to be able to cook for yourself later, but also to learn where ingredients come from, which country a dish comes from, what is healthy and less healthy and to get to know different flavors. But we live in hectic times and parents don't always have the space for this. With the Blue Band Cooking Club for Kids we want to make cooking easier and more fun by sharing dishes from different countries in an accessible way, with all kinds of fun information about the country and the dish. For example, by watching fun educational videos with animated characters Bobbie &Blokje, children can learn about dishes and the cultures they come from in a playful way.”
Getting started together This summer, the Blue Band Cooking Club for Kids is traveling around the world. Below are two recipes as a taster to make with your child(ren). More recipes can be found here.
Japanese noodles with fried egg
Shopping list
(4 persons)
200 grams of wholemeal wok noodles
4 tbsp Blue Band Every Day liquid margarine
50 ml soy sauce
800 grams Japanese wok vegetables
15 grams fresh coriander
4 eggs
a handful cashew nuts
Lime
Preparation:
Cook the noodles according to package directions and drain. Meanwhile, finely chop the coriander.
Heat a dash of liquid Blue Band in the wok and stir-fry the vegetables in parts, only add the next portion when the previous one has shrunk a bit.
Stir the cooked noodles the vegetables and add the soy sauce. Stir well and season with pepper.
Heat a frying pan with a dash of liquid Blue Band and fry 4 eggs in it, so that you can finish each plate with this.
Spread the noodles with vegetables Transfer to plates, spoon the fried eggs on top and sprinkle with coriander, cashew nuts and lime juice.
Indonesian Spekkoek
Shopping list
250 grams white icing sugar
300 grams Blue Band for cooking, baking and frying
10 eggs
1 tsp vinegar
175 grams flour
2 tsp biscuit spices
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Shoot Blue Band Every Day liquid margarine
Preparation:
Put the margarine together with icing sugar in a bowl.
Knead the margarine with the icing sugar with your hands so that the margarine warms up slightly and mixes more easily.
Grab the mixer and now mix one Add the egg yolks one by one.
Beat the egg whites with a spoonful of vinegar to a light mixture. This may take a while!
Now fold the flour into the egg white foam and then add the Blue Band and egg yolk mixture.
Divide the batter into two equal parts. Add the vanilla extract to both parts. Mix the other spices through one part of the batter.
Heat the oven to 160 degrees top heat or with the top grill. Grease the springform pan with a dash of liquid Blue Band and line with baking paper. Divide 2 spoons of white batter over the bottom. Place the springform pan on a rack in the middle of the oven.
Bake first for 8-10 minutes, then pour the next layer of the other batter on top. Place the rack with the springform up and bake for 8-10 minutes. Continue in this manner until the batter is used up.
