A Sorting Task with Emojis to Understand Children’s Recipe Acceptance
Food acceptability in children is a complex, multi-dimensional process influenced by sensory perception, expectations, and context. The present study investigated children’s perception and acceptance of 20 Mediterranean recipes chosen from five different gastronomy cultures (Lebanese, Egyptian, Ital...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Foods |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/11/1839 |
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| author | Olatz Urkiaga María Mora Elena Romeo-Arroyo Sara Pistolese Angélique Béaino Giuseppe Grosso Pablo Busó Juancho Pons Laura Vázquez-Araújo |
| author_facet | Olatz Urkiaga María Mora Elena Romeo-Arroyo Sara Pistolese Angélique Béaino Giuseppe Grosso Pablo Busó Juancho Pons Laura Vázquez-Araújo |
| author_sort | Olatz Urkiaga |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Food acceptability in children is a complex, multi-dimensional process influenced by sensory perception, expectations, and context. The present study investigated children’s perception and acceptance of 20 Mediterranean recipes chosen from five different gastronomy cultures (Lebanese, Egyptian, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese) using photographs as stimuli. A total of 184 children (10 to 13 years old) from three countries (Italy, Lebanon, and Spain) participated in a sorting task with emojis to express liking. In addition, Spanish and Lebanese participants completed a Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) activity to label the recipe groups they had created. The results from the sorting task, analyzed using ANOVA, revealed that recipes including meat/poultry and cereals were most preferred, while legume-based and vegetable dishes received lower acceptance. Children grouped recipes primarily by main ingredient, irrespective of the origin of the recipe (gastronomy culture). Spanish children showed higher acceptance of foreign recipes compared to Lebanese and Italian, demonstrating a significant “country x recipe origin” interaction. The CATA analysis revealed that children associated descriptors such as “healthy”, “tasty”, or “delicious” with highly rated recipes and descriptors such as “too many vegetables” and “bad taste” with lower-rated dishes. While participants showed a positive predisposition towards the “healthy” term, a negative response to recipes based on vegetables and legumes was evident. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0b998bf1b9914993ba2cb1d09ea8a230 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj-art-0b998bf1b9914993ba2cb1d09ea8a2302025-08-20T02:23:04ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582025-05-011411183910.3390/foods14111839A Sorting Task with Emojis to Understand Children’s Recipe AcceptanceOlatz Urkiaga0María Mora1Elena Romeo-Arroyo2Sara Pistolese3Angélique Béaino4Giuseppe Grosso5Pablo Busó6Juancho Pons7Laura Vázquez-Araújo8GOe Tech Center, Technology Center in Gastronomy, Basque Culinary Center, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, SpainGOe Tech Center, Technology Center in Gastronomy, Basque Culinary Center, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, SpainGOe Tech Center, Technology Center in Gastronomy, Basque Culinary Center, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, SpainProvincia d’Italia dei Fratelli Maristi delle Scuole, Via Fratelli Maristi 2, 80014 Naples, ItalyFrères Maristes au Liban, Dik el Mehdi, Beyrouth 70540, LebanonDepartment of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, ItalyTechnological Institute for Children’s Products & Leisure AIJU, 03440 Alicante, SpainEditorial Luis Vives (EDELVIVES), Carretera de Madrid, 50012 Zaragoza, SpainGOe Tech Center, Technology Center in Gastronomy, Basque Culinary Center, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, SpainFood acceptability in children is a complex, multi-dimensional process influenced by sensory perception, expectations, and context. The present study investigated children’s perception and acceptance of 20 Mediterranean recipes chosen from five different gastronomy cultures (Lebanese, Egyptian, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese) using photographs as stimuli. A total of 184 children (10 to 13 years old) from three countries (Italy, Lebanon, and Spain) participated in a sorting task with emojis to express liking. In addition, Spanish and Lebanese participants completed a Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) activity to label the recipe groups they had created. The results from the sorting task, analyzed using ANOVA, revealed that recipes including meat/poultry and cereals were most preferred, while legume-based and vegetable dishes received lower acceptance. Children grouped recipes primarily by main ingredient, irrespective of the origin of the recipe (gastronomy culture). Spanish children showed higher acceptance of foreign recipes compared to Lebanese and Italian, demonstrating a significant “country x recipe origin” interaction. The CATA analysis revealed that children associated descriptors such as “healthy”, “tasty”, or “delicious” with highly rated recipes and descriptors such as “too many vegetables” and “bad taste” with lower-rated dishes. While participants showed a positive predisposition towards the “healthy” term, a negative response to recipes based on vegetables and legumes was evident.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/11/1839gastronomyacceptanceappearancemealsMediterranean diet |
| spellingShingle | Olatz Urkiaga María Mora Elena Romeo-Arroyo Sara Pistolese Angélique Béaino Giuseppe Grosso Pablo Busó Juancho Pons Laura Vázquez-Araújo A Sorting Task with Emojis to Understand Children’s Recipe Acceptance Foods gastronomy acceptance appearance meals Mediterranean diet |
| title | A Sorting Task with Emojis to Understand Children’s Recipe Acceptance |
| title_full | A Sorting Task with Emojis to Understand Children’s Recipe Acceptance |
| title_fullStr | A Sorting Task with Emojis to Understand Children’s Recipe Acceptance |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Sorting Task with Emojis to Understand Children’s Recipe Acceptance |
| title_short | A Sorting Task with Emojis to Understand Children’s Recipe Acceptance |
| title_sort | sorting task with emojis to understand children s recipe acceptance |
| topic | gastronomy acceptance appearance meals Mediterranean diet |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/11/1839 |
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