Adding herbs and spices to vegetables made cafeteria patrons more likely to choose vegetables, increased portion sizes without increasing waste, and provided an easy strategy to promote healthy eating habits.
Research: Flavoring vegetables: The influence of seasonings on consumer attitudes and vegetable consumption in a cafeteria environment. Image credit: Pixel-Shot.
Americans are consuming far fewer vegetables than recommended, prompting research into ways to increase the acceptability of these foods. Recent articles published in journals nutrition reviews Our results suggest that adding seasoning to vegetables and increasing their portion size may increase vegetable consumption in commercial cafeterias.
Difficulty recognizing vegetable flavors limits healthy eating
Vegetables contain vitamins, dietary fiber, and many bioactive compounds that are essential for good health. Higher fruit and vegetable intake is associated with lower rates of cancer, stroke, and cardiovascular disease. However, the nation’s vegetable intake falls short of the recommended 2.5 cups per day for a 2,000 calorie diet.
One of the main reasons is the perception that vegetables lack sufficient flavor and flavour. bring the action. Adding sugar, salt, and saturated fat to vegetables reduces their nutritional benefits, but you can flavor them with spices and herbs instead. At least one study shows that vegetable consumption in urban school cafeterias increased by nearly 20% after this change was implemented.
Multiple studies examining seasoning and vegetable choices
The authors conducted their research with multiple linked studies. The first experiment included focus groups, consumer surveys, and sensory testing, followed by three cafeteria-based experiments.
focus group
They conducted consumer focus groups to explore consumer attitudes and behaviors toward the use of vegetables, spices, and herbs, their preferences for these food ingredients, and their plans to improve their vegetable intake.
This showed that vegetable intake usually reflects taste preferences and a family’s interest in healthy eating, which can be used to increase vegetable intake. People were interested in sampling flavorful and versatile vegetable preparations that could provide educational opportunities.
consumer survey
The researchers then conducted a national consumer survey to collect quantitative data on current spice and herb preferences, how often they are used, especially in vegetable preparation, and whether they believe they can be used for this purpose. Participants were mostly white and stratified by age group, income, education, and race.
The most popular spices and herbs were garlic, oregano, basil, and paprika, but this varied by community, age, income, location, and other background factors. This suggests that multiple factors interact to increase preference for vegetables through seasoning.
Around 86% already use spices and herbs in their vegetable home-cooked meals, and women are 60% more likely to do so. The survey found that most of the 20 spices and seasonings were used by young people. Notably, despite this, vegetable intake is generally below average.
These findings suggest that interventions that promote the use of herbs and spices may be particularly relevant among older, male, lower-income, and Caucasian participants.
sensory experiment
Third, the authors conducted a sensory test to compare preferences for seasoned and unseasoned vegetables. A group of 749 participants compared the effects of seasonings on four types of vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and green beans.
Consistently, seasoned vegetables were preferred over unseasoned vegetables, indicating better sensory appeal. Preferences for vegetables varied greatly from person to person, such as whether they liked many vegetables or only certain types.
Experiment using cafeteria
Finally, the researchers examined consumer behavior in commercial cafeterias to verify the conclusions reached in the previous stages of the study.
In the initial phase, we conducted a three-week cross-sectional observational study (two test weeks and one washout week) on carrots, green beans, and broccoli. The experiment involved giving every customer who purchased a hot entree a complimentary vegetable, seasoned or unseasoned. All customers knew they were participating in a study.
The vegetables served vary depending on the day of the week. On any given day, seasoned and unseasoned vegetables contained the same amount of olive oil and salt. Seasoning blends were prepared by industry experts. Customers were not allowed to taste the vegetables before choosing between seasoned and unseasoned options.
The authors compared current vegetable sales with previous purchasing patterns for the same vegetables in the same cafeterias. Up to 14% of customers refused the free vegetable, and the flavored version was more often chosen than the plain steamed version. For example, 67 percent chose seasoned green beans and 22 percent chose unseasoned green beans. 63% chose seasoned broccoli and 31% chose unseasoned broccoli.
The average waste from the 113.4g vegetable dish was low overall, with waste typically remaining below 20g depending on the cooking method. Seasoned broccoli produced the least amount of waste at about 5 g per bowl, and seasoned carrots produced the most at about 20 g per bowl.
In the second study, the same vegetables were served in the same amount, but like the other vegetable side dishes sold there, they had to be purchased separately at an affordable price ($1 per dish). Again, with the exception of carrots, seasoned vegetables were purchased more frequently than unseasoned ones. Discarded dishes averaged approximately 6.5 g, regardless of seasoning.
Participants were then asked whether they would buy a larger quantity if the price was the same or if it cost an additional $0.25. Most people (73%) still said they would buy the larger size, although the chances varied depending on the type of vegetable. There was no difference in preference between seasoned and unseasoned vegetables.
Third experiment We investigated whether combining it with seasonings would increase the serving size. Carrots, green beans, broccoli and cauliflower can help maintain consumer preference and encourage more vegetable intake. The serving size was 227g and cost $1 each. Again, seasoned vegetables were more likely to be purchased, with the exception of carrots. Overall likability was high, with no significant differences between the steamed and seasoned versions. Average waste was as low as 5 g for steamed cauliflower and 30 g for seasoned carrots.
The researchers also mentioned a possible reason for the high favorability scores in the cafeteria study, despite the wide variety of differences between seasoned and unseasoned vegetables. Participants may have evaluated vegetables positively because they chose those options themselves.
Increasing seasonings and portions may increase vegetable intake
The authors conclude that increasing You can season the vegetables with serving sizes and spices and herbs. Increase vegetable selection and intake in the cafeteria environment. This twin strategy did not compromise customer satisfaction or create significant food waste. Future studies should examine larger intakes to identify the point at which no further increase in intake occurs.
Overall, the findings of this study suggest that seasoning vegetables with herbs and spices while also serving larger portions may be a viable strategy to increase vegetable intake in commercial cafeteria settings.
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