Mr. Borden's 5th Graders take the Bitter Test

Twenty-one 5th graders, 2 moms and 1 outstanding teacher took part in a taste testing experiment.  Co-founder of The Giving Garden, Jean Gunner, serves on the Parent Panel for the Makers of Hidden Valley Salad Dressing along with 19 other parents and helps offer parent wisdom....Today with her son, Aidan's 5th grade class, and co-chair of SOLE, Tricia Miller, she conducted a really neat experiment. 

All the students and three adults placed paper taste testing strips on their tongues to ascertain who was a "bitter taster" or not.  14 of the taste testers tasted very rapidly bitter while 10 only tasted paper or nothing.  Interestingly, the gender breakdown was exactly divided for both the bitter tasters and no tasters.  So gender did not impact the experiment.

Observe some of the experiment and explanation in the video.  After the experiment, the students had a Veggie Party, some dipped in Hidden Valley Ranch and Hummus and some did not.  The contention is that bitter tasters are more likely to eat bitter tasting foods and veggies like broccoli if there is a bit of sweeter dip available.  Helpful information for parents desiring their children to eat and love their veggies.  Thanks Hidden Valley!