07 Nov How to get kids to eat fish (without a fuss)
From homemade fish fingers to seafood dumplings, gourmet farmer and dad Matthew Evans shares his tips for helping children discover the taste of fresh seafood.
Getting children to try something new at the dinner table can be a challenge, especially when it comes to seafood. While fish fingers may be a family favourite, fresh fish, prawns and other seafood can take a little more encouragement.
We asked gourmet farmer, author and dad Matthew Evans for his advice on making seafood more appealing to children, getting them involved in the kitchen and helping them understand where their food comes from.
What’s the best seafood to start with?
Rather than having your kids go through ‘seafood shock’, it’s best to introduce them to fresh fish gently.
Start with some home-crumbed, pan-fried latchet – a white-fleshed, mild-flavoured, sweet fish – or something similar.
It’s a bit like fish fingers made from scratch, and it’s hard not to love, even for picky eaters.
What kinds of seafood should kids try?
Anything and everything!
Most kids won’t go for oysters or strong-flavoured fish like sardines or pilchards when they’re young, but you have to start somewhere.
Give them little tastes of your fish or shellfish when you eat it. Incorporate some seafood into a pasta marinara, or serve cooked prawns with a dipping sauce to make them more appealing.
For young children, always choose thoroughly cooked seafood.
How do you explain sustainable seafood to children?
We talk about where food comes from and that we need to respect the land and sea that allow us to eat so well.
We try to honour the life of the animals that have lived and died for us, and explain that everything has a cost – some things cost the earth more than others.
These are big concepts that will take years to fully develop in kids’ minds.
How can parents get kids involved in preparing seafood?
It’s like all cooking – show them the raw ingredients and get them to help with simple things like flouring a piece of fish or stirring.
I have a crinkle cutter for potatoes, so we can make crinkle-cut chips.
My boy will do almost anything for a chip! It’s fun making the chips together, and it gets him interested in eating more seafood.
What if children don’t like the look of seafood?
I haven’t found many kids who are afraid of fish. Oysters, mussels and clams, yes, but usually a fairly white-fleshed fish is fine.
I think it’s important for all of us, adults as well as children, to know that food comes from somewhere. Occasionally seeing a whole leatherjacket on the barbecue or a whole trout poaching in a pan is a good thing.
The trick is not to use shock treatment. Start with familiar, mild white fish fillets and build from there.
Do you have a seafood dish that most kids love?
In our book The Gourmet Farmer Goes Fishing, we have a recipe for pot sticker dumplings with crab.
Everybody loves a dumpling, and you can use prawns if you don’t have crab. It’s the sort of dish that has everyone in the family wanting to clean their plate!
CHILDmags food safety tip
- Fish can be a healthy addition to family meals, providing protein and important nutrients, including omega-3 fats. For younger children, choose thoroughly cooked seafood, remove all bones and shells, and serve pieces appropriate for their age.
- Australian food safety advice recommends choosing lower-mercury fish for young children. Fish and shellfish can also cause allergic reactions, so take care when introducing them.
- For more information, visit Food Standards Australia New Zealand – Mercury in fish.
Matthew Evans is an Australian chef, author and gourmet farmer. This interview was originally published in connection with his book The Gourmet Farmer Goes Fishing, written with Nick Haddow and Ross O’Meara.
