Exploring Flavors and Tastes

Different Tastes

• Jhumpa and her mother discuss different tastes, like bitter gourd (karela), jaggery (gur), and tamarind (imli).

• Jhumpa doesn't like karela, preferring sweet and savory foods.

• Her mother and Jhoolan find that Jhumpa gets bored with only one taste.

• They play a game. Jhumpa closes her eyes, and Jhoolan puts something in her mouth to guess its taste.

• Jhumpa guesses that the lemon juice was sour.

• Jhoolan and her mother, Jhumpa, laugh.

Discussing and Writing

• Jhoolan's mouth waters when she thinks of imli (tamarind).
• Students should list five favorite foods and describe the tastes.
• Should people prefer just one taste, or do they enjoy different kinds?
• Jhoolan puts lemon juice in Jhumpa's mouth.
• The students question whether the taste can be determined just by a few drops .
• Students are encouraged to imagine different flavors, such as saunf (aniseed).
• Do they have the same tastes as other people?

Closing Eyes and Identifying

• Taste experiment using different food items.
• Identify which parts of the tongue detect different tastes.
• The tongue has bumps that help detect flavors.
• Students are encouraged to visualize how their mouth and tongue behave and the role of the tongue.
• Students are encouraged to list and experiment with different flavors.

Chew it or Chew it Well

• Chewing food thoroughly helps with digestion.
• Taking a piece of bread or roti/rice and chewing it multiple times.
• Students should describe what happens to the taste as they chew more.
• When food is chewed more thoroughly, that could help the food to digest better.

Discuss Digestion

• Adults, like parents, encourage eating slowly, and chewing well for proper digestion.
• Students imagine eating something hard, like guava, and how it changes from biting to swallowing.
• Saliva plays a part in digestion.
• Students are expected to visualize the process of chewing, and swallowing.
• Students should imagine how food changes from the time it is eaten to the time it is swallowed, and the role of saliva.

Straight From the Heart

• Students discuss how they feel when they are very hungry.
• Think about what might happen if someone doesn't eat for two days.
• Water is essential for health.
• The path of food through the body is discussed and students are encouraged to draw and share their pictures.

Nitu and the Glucose Drip

• Nitu was sick and vomiting.
• The doctor gave Nitu a glucose drip, but she didn't know what it was or how it worked.
• Nitu felt weak and dizzy, and her parents took her to the hospital.
• Glucose solution helps replenish body fluids and strength.

Martin's Window

• Martin's stomach had a hole, which allowed scientists to study digestion.
• Time taken for different food items to digest.

Story - A Stomach With a Window

• Dr. Beaumont studied Martin's stomach where a wound allowed him to study how food digests.
• Dr. Beaumont tracked how long it took different food items to digest in a glass with digestive juices
• Food digests faster in the stomach than outside the body.

Proper Food- Every Child's Right

• Proper nutrition is vital for children, as seen with the case studies of Rashmi & Kailash.
• Children in some areas do not receive sufficient nutrition from food.
• The right to get enough food for every child is vital.

Think and Discuss

• Discussion on children who often do not get enough food
• Questions about starvation, health problems that arise with poor nutrition and lack of food.
• Discussion about damage to stored food and why that happens.

Join Jhumpa and her family as they discover the joy of different flavors, from bitter gourd to tamarind. Through playful games and personal reflections, students are encouraged to think about their own favorite foods and the variety of tastes in their lives. Will you prefer one taste or embrace the diversity of flavors?