Food history

I'm two-thirds of the way finished with reading, Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food that isn't Food by Chris van Tulleken. It is a fascinating book and so much more than just about ultra-processed food. It has history, human biology, brain science, and sociology. While I will probably write more about the ultra-processed food bit once I finish it, I came across something this afternoon that I wanted to share with you in terms of adoption.

"Flavour signatures of particular smells and tastes also allow us to identify food from our cultures -- historically food we would know to be safe. This learning starts before birth. Julie Mennella at Monell Chemical Senses Centre did an experiment examining how food choices during pregnancy influence future flavour choice. During the last trimester of their pregnancies, participants drank a big glass of either carrot juice or water for four days per week for three weeks. They did the same thing while lactating. Then, as the introduction of solid foods began, Mennella looked at the infants' responses to a mixture of carrot juice and cereal compared with water and cereal. The infants whose mothers had drunk the carrot juice during pregnancy and breastfeeding enjoyed the carrot mixture more. Similar findings had previously been reported with garlic and star anise flavours. These early flavour experiences have provided a continuous chain of food knowledge for millennia..." (p. 186 - 187)

First, I just find this really, really interesting, don't you? But it is yet another piece of evidence against the belief that babies are blank slates. It is already documented that a mother's trauma communicates itself to her child, but this shows that far more things, such as taste in food are as well. I've heard far too many times, "My child was adopted at birth, so I don't understand why we're having problems." Perhaps this will explain a little bit that a newborn is far more complex and already primed for and against certain things than many understand. This is true whether the baby is adopted via inter-country adoption or domestic. Each family is very different, with different tastes and smells and volume of communicating. The baby was born into the world primed to function in their family of origin. Even adopting a newborn is a traumatic experience because nothing that the baby was prepped for matches. It is in the adoptive family's best interests to be aware of this and understand their new baby has a history even if that baby has just entered the world. 

Sermon over, so now I'll share what is becoming the requisite 'result of the day's canning' photo. Today's total was 13 quarts of applesauce (all sealed) with a partial quart in the refrigerator because I didn't have enough to fill it to can. We processed about a bushel of apples. I'm glad it's done. I don't actually enjoy making applesauce, but I do like having the completed jars in the pantry. Plus, I don't need to feel guilty about letting apples rot on the trees. There are still apples out there, but I'm feeling more than a little done with processing apples for the season.