Raw or Cooked? Exploring Vegetable Acceptance Among Chilean Children from Different Socioeconomic Backgrounds

This study explores how socioeconomic status (SES) influences the acceptability of familiar vegetables in Chilean children aged 9-10, examining its relationship with sex, BMI, and preparation methods. A sensory evaluation was conducted in two stages to assess responses across sensory dimensions: appearance, aroma, taste, texture, and overall-opinion. In the first stage, 363 children evaluated eight vegetables: tomatoes, lettuce, corn, cucumber, carrots, beets, broccoli, and cauliflower. Results show significant differences across samples for all sensory dimensions (p < 0.0001), with tomatoes, lettuce, corn and cucumber receiving the highest ratings. The second stage involved 191 children, who evaluated the three least preferred vegetables (carrots, beets, and cauliflower) in raw and cooked forms. Raw vegetables received higher ratings than cooked across all sensory dimensions, except for beets in appearance, where raw scored lower. Significant differences were found for carrots and cauliflower (p < 0.0001), while the difference for beets was not statistically significant. SES had limited influence on vegetable liking, while BMI showed some interactions with texture and aroma ratings. These findings suggest lower vegetable consumption in vulnerable groups may not stem from reduced liking of familiar vegetables. Increasing availability could help, along with exploring preparation methods for less-liked vegetables, particularly raw options, which appear promising.