Tasting boxes bring seasonal Danish produce to 30,000 pupils

About 30,000 pupils are to work with seasonal Danish ingredients through tasting boxes sent to 1,500 school classes, DR reports. The boxes are being delivered this week and next as part of an effort to strengthen pupils’ cooking skills.

Coop Madskole is supplying the boxes to 509 schools across Denmark. They contain ingredients such as horseradish, parsley root and parsnip, and are funded by donations made through deposit-return machines in 900 Coop stores.

Sarwat Qasir, a food studies teacher at Vallensbæk School west of Copenhagen, says some pupils are more familiar with foods such as kebabs and sushi than with basic ingredients. A simple potato sandwich can surprise them, she says, because they find it tastes better than expected and recognise it as a healthier choice.

Judith Kyst, director of Madkulturen, an independent knowledge organisation under the Ministry of Industry, says familiarity with ingredients is important for cooking from scratch. Without it, people may rely more on ready meals, which can lead to diets higher in salt, sugar and fat, she says.

Kyst also says young people leave home with widely differing kitchen skills, creating an “A team and a B team”. Qasir says some pupils struggle with the fine motor skills needed to chop and slice food, and welcomes the boxes as a way to bring classmates together around a shared activity.

Madkulturen has found that seven in 10 people aged 18 to 25 could not name a single ingredient that is in season in September.