🍎 Food, Taste and Nutrition

What your child will learn

• Students will identify the four basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter) and describe the role of the tongue in tasting.
• Students will classify common foods into energy-giving, body-building, and protective groups and explain why a balanced meal is important.
• Students will describe simple methods of food preservation (drying, pickling) and give reasons for preserving food.
• Students will give examples of foods from different regions of India and explain that people eat different foods based on what grows there.

Lessons in this unit

1. Tongue and Taste: The tongue helps us taste. There are four basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter. We taste with tiny taste buds spread all over the tongue, and every part of the tongue can sense every taste (the old 'tongue map' with taste zones is a myth). Our nose also helps us taste.
2. Nutrients in Food: Food gives us nutrients: carbohydrates and fats give energy, proteins help build the body, vitamins and minerals keep us healthy. We need a variety of foods to get all nutrients.
3. Balanced Meal: A balanced meal includes foods from all three groups: energy-giving, body-building, and protective. It helps us grow, stay healthy, and have energy. We should eat a variety of foods every day.
4. Food Preservation: Food can spoil if left for long. We preserve food to keep it for later. Simple methods: drying (like papad, dried fish), pickling (mango pickle), and using salt, sugar, or oil. These stop germs from growing.
5. Food from Other Regions: Different regions of India have different foods because of climate, soil, and what grows there. Examples: North – wheat roti, South – rice and dosa, Coastal – fish, Desert – bajra roti. People also eat foods from other regions now.

Key words

taste buds

Tiny spots on your tongue that help you taste sweet, salty, sour and bitter.

nutrients

The useful parts in food that help your body work, like proteins and vitamins.

balanced meal

A meal that has different kinds of food so your body gets everything it needs.

preserve

To keep food from going bad for a long time, like drying or pickling.

pickle

Food like mango or lemon kept in salt, oil and spices so it lasts many months.

region

A part of the country, like the north or the south, where people may eat different foods.

Help your child at home

What to watch for

Only the tip of the tongue tastes sweet, and the back tastes bitter, and they cannot taste other things.

Help: Taste buds are all over the tongue, and every part of the tongue can taste every taste. The 'tongue map' is a myth.

Only meat and eggs give protein; vegetarian food has no protein.

Help: Dal, milk, curd, and nuts also give protein.

A balanced meal means eating a lot of food.

Help: Balanced means eating the right kinds of food, not just a lot.

Pickle is made only for taste, not for preservation.

Help: Pickling with salt and oil keeps the food from spoiling for a long time.

Try this at home

• Riya tastes a piece of jaggery. What taste does she feel? (sweet)
• Meera eats rice and dal. Which gives energy? Which builds the body?
• Kabir's lunch has only rice and pickle. Is it balanced? Why not?
• How is papad made? (dough rolled thin, dried in sun)

Quick questions to ask aloud

1. Which taste do you feel when you eat a lemon? (sour / sweet / bitter)
   Show answer

   Lemons have a sour taste because of the acid in them.
2. Which food gives us energy to play? (chapati / apple / milk)
   Show answer

   chapati. Chapati is made from wheat, which gives us energy.
3. Which meal is balanced? (roti, dal, salad, and fruit / only rice and pickle / only bread and butter)
   Show answer

   roti, dal, salad, and fruit. A balanced meal has energy-giving, body-building, and protective foods.

Parent guide: how to help your child with Class 5 EVS

Frequently asked questions

What will my child learn in "Food, Taste and Nutrition" (Class 5 EVS)?

Your child will be able to: Students will identify the four basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter) and describe the role of the tongue in tasting.; Students will classify common foods into energy-giving, body-building, and protective groups and explain why a balanced meal is important.; Students will describe simple methods of food preservation (drying, pickling) and give reasons for preserving food.; Students will give examples of foods from different regions of India and explain that people eat different foods based on what grows there..

How does MangoMindz teach "Food, Taste and Nutrition"?

In 5 short parts (Tongue and Taste, Nutrients in Food, Balanced Meal, Food Preservation, Food from Other Regions). Each part has a picture-based lesson read aloud by Mango Teacher, a quick check, and a quiz built from common mistakes children make, with Mango, a study buddy, for questions.

How long does "Food, Taste and Nutrition" take?

About 120 minutes in total, spread over 5 parts of 15–25 minutes each.

How can I help my child with "Food, Taste and Nutrition" at home?

Work through a small example together, such as: Riya tastes a piece of jaggery. What taste does she feel? (sweet); Meera eats rice and dal. Which gives energy? Which builds the body?. Then ask a quick question aloud: Which taste do you feel when you eat a lemon? (sour / sweet / bitter)

What mistakes do children often make in "Food, Taste and Nutrition"?

Only the tip of the tongue tastes sweet, and the back tastes bitter, and they cannot taste other things. Fix: Taste buds are all over the tongue, and every part of the tongue can taste every taste. The 'tongue map' is a myth. Only meat and eggs give protein; vegetarian food has no protein. Fix: Dal, milk, curd, and nuts also give protein. A balanced meal means eating a lot of food. Fix: Balanced means eating the right kinds of food, not just a lot.

Is "Food, Taste and Nutrition" free on MangoMindz?

Yes. Every lesson part and quiz in "Food, Taste and Nutrition" is free on MangoMindz, with no ads.