New food dishes being introduced within a family setting can be daunting. There are a lot of people within your household that you’ll need to impress and satisfy, some more fussy than others. That’s not just the children!
Introducing a new food dish needs to be done carefully and slowly. Not everyone is going to like the same foods, especially when it comes to individual ingredients. Certain aromas and tastes are not going to be as tasty to some as to others, which is why you want to tread carefully when introducing any new dish.
With that being said, here are ten tips for introducing new food dishes to your family and hopefully finding success with each one you bring to the table.
1. Source the best ingredients possible
In order to serve up a dish that all your family will love, the right ingredients are important to source first and foremost. If you’re not selecting the right ingredients, whether it’s ingredients in season the quality of meats, or the cuts that you’re buying, then you may find your loved ones turning off from trying the food any further.
Sourcing the best ingredients isn’t about spending the most money either. Typically, you can get some of the best food just by paying attention to the smell, the visuals, and the feel of the ingredients. Always look for perfectly ripe vegetables and fruit, and take a closer look at certain meats to find the best cut and the best one out of the dozens that might be in front of you.
With the best ingredients sourced, you’re hopefully going to have more success with how the dishes you create turn out and how good they’ll taste too.
2. Introduce complex flavors and new ingredients one by one
Complex flavors are something you want to be mindful of, especially if certain household members haven’t tasted them before. Regardless of whether you have a fussy adult or child in the home, the flavor combinations you present to them should be carefully thought out so as to not overwhelm them to begin with.
There are some complex flavors you might want to avoid or at least introduce one by one. Some ingredients might not have even touched their lips before and to try and introduce multiple ones may be too overwhelming.
With that in mind, look at how you approach any new dish and consider altering it to begin with so that it’s fairly basic in its flavor profile. As they get used to new ingredients and dishes, you can slowly adapt and improve the dish until it has all the flavor profiles it should have had originally.
3. Find the right recipes and read through them thoroughly to prepare
The recipe you cook from is an important part of the cooking process. When you’re sifting through the hundreds and thousands of recipes that are available online and in book format, it’s good to look at the reputation of the chef or cook behind the recipe and ensure it meets all of your requirements for both ingredients and equipment.
As part of the preparation, you want to ensure everything you need in the recipe, you have already at home. There’s nothing worse than going to prepare a new food dish and you are missing certain ingredients or the tools needed to make it successful.
Look at trialing different recipes, especially switching it up when it comes to the masterminds behind the dish. You may find that you prefer one chef’s dish to another and that’s ok, it’s all about finding the flavor profiles that work for you and your family best.
4. Involve children in the cooking process
When it comes to your children, make sure that they feel involved. That’s important when you’re cooking and to encourage their own interests in cooking so that hopefully they can embrace it themselves as they get older.
Involving your children in the cooking process is handy because it enables them to see every ingredient that goes into the dish. It also helps them where possible, to taste certain ingredients as they cook. Some ingredients won’t be taste-ready until it’s cooked fully but there are certainly some dishes whereby you can let them taste it as you go.
There are some dishes that might not allow them to be in the kitchen while prepping or cooking. However, it’s worth trying to enable them the opportunity to help prepare and cook the dish where possible. Give them some basic instructions and tasks, along with safer utensils or kid-friendly utensils that allow them to chop without any safety risks.
5. Consider temperatures and cooking styles
Temperatures and cooking styles can also influence the result of the food you’re cooking. As a home cook, you’ll want to play around with different temperatures and cooking styles in order to find the right flavor profile and finish you’re looking for.
Some people prefer tender meats, with red meats being a certain finish on the cooking time. Others like pasta al detente in comparison to those who like it fully cooked.
When you’re cooking new dishes, experiment with the cooking styles, perhaps going off other dishes that have been made in the past and that were a win for your family. Some styles and methods will go down better with your family members than others so it’s often a process of trial and error.
6. Be patient with fussy eaters
Fussy eaters can be a challenge when introducing a new dish because they’re already not a fan of certain foods, and they may have issues when it comes to texture, smells, and visual appearances.
Be patient with fussy eaters because chances are, they’ll learn to love food as they grow. Even those who are fussy and in their adult years, it’s important to remember that not everyone is going to enjoy absolutely everything that’s put on their plate.
It’s ok to not like certain foods, so with that being said, be patient with the fussy eaters and don’t get disheartened if they don’t like the new dish. It’s just a learning opportunity to try something different next time.
7. Balance the food flavors with food already introduced
It’s important to be mindful of what food flavors you’re introducing to the dish and what flavors your family household might already be familiar with.
It’s a balancing act and one that you’ll perfect in good time. When preparing a new dish, you might want to tweak the dish and the contents so that you have one or two sides or accompaniments to the main element which is familiar food.
Familiar foods are great for fussy eaters because they can help to have something on the plate they can and want to eat. It means that they’ll have a positive meal experience, regardless of whether they tried the new dish fully or not.
If it’s a sauce that you’re introducing to the dish, like these stone crab sauces for example, provide it as a side that can be poured onto the food as and where your household members want it.
If you cover a new ingredient in the form of a sauce, all over the food on the plate, then you might find it doesn’t go down as well.
8. Don’t force family members to clear their plates
For families with young kids, it’s often a phrase that’s used when they’ve not really made much of an impact with their food and what has been eaten. The last thing you want to do is force a family member to clear up what’s on their plate and give them very little choice when eating food that they might not want to eat.
For example, that family member might be full. Other times it might be that the family member didn’t like a certain food type on the plate and therefore wants to avoid it. Be respectful of your family members who may leave food as it’s not always a sign of negativity. It could be an opportunity to ask what could have been done differently.
9. Serve up the food in different ways
When serving up the food, consider serving it up in different ways. For example, if you’re looking to sneak more vegetables into your children’s diets then blitz the vegetables into a sauce instead.
Cut food up differently, create different shapes, and even change the color of the food with certain sauces or accompaniments when cooking.
10. Try it out again later if it doesn’t go down well
While not every dish will go down a storm, there are some dishes that will – and others that won’t. It’s not something you need to scrap completely because sometimes, it’s just how a family member might have been feeling that made them feel put off by the dish.
Where there’s a dish that didn’t go down as well, try it out again later. That could be a reimagined version of it or something that you tweak slightly to make it better.
Introducing new food dishes to your family should be exciting, so use these tips to help navigate this.