Aim: Traditionally and worldwide home economics education has been concerned with taste and flavorings based training associated with students cooking in the school kitchen. In contrast new educational research on food knowledge in the Danish public school shows that taste is used as a didactic element and "overtakes" more traditional didactic elements like motivation and active participation. The purpose of this proposal is to present a systematic model for qualifying reflections on taste in home economics and food education. The objective is to identify four dimensions of taste that can be used innovatively in home economics education. In order to teach taste, one has to provide a definition of taste, and to identify the main dimensions of taste. Consequently, this proposal addresses two basic questions: What is taste? And how do we teach taste as the topic for and as a tool of teaching?
Method: The proposal features theoretical work. It aims to push the boundaries of theory and research in order to seek out a new paradigm including a model of four basic taste dimensions. Based on this model it suggests new ways of framing home economic education. The starting point has been a literature review on children, learning, food and taste followed by analyses in a value reflective pedagogy perspective as well as quantitative and qualitative research in home economic education. This has been combined with systems theory developed by the German sociologist Niklas Luhmann providing concepts for the different dimensions of taste education and their interrelations conceptualized as “structural couplings”. We characterize each of the dimensions based on a range of philosophical, theoretical and practical contributions, including concepts from the philosophy of aesthetics (Kant 1793), health education and practice, science, and moral philosophy.
Results: The basic point is that “taste” is more than “tastiness”. According to our analysis, taste has four dimensions: 1) Taste is tastiness, i.e. a matter of aesthetics, 2) Taste is wellbeing, i.e. a matter of health, 3) Taste is something perceived, i.e. a matter of sensorics, and 4) Taste is politics, i.e. a matter of morality and ethical reflection.
Conclusion: It our assumption that the four dimensions of taste will form new ways of framing home economics education in order to qualify innovative taste didactics.