Time: 20 - 25 minutes

Materials:

• 3 or 4 different varieties of apples
• tasting record cards for appropriate age group (see links to PDFs below)
• pencils
• three or four sharp knives

Procedure:

Arrange children in groups with at least one adult in each group.  Give each child and supervisor a tasting record card and a pencil.  Give the adult a knife and one each of the apple varieties to be sampled.  Select one apple variety to begin.  Point out to the groups which apple you are sampling.  Give its name and describe its appearance briefly: size, shape, color, stem.  (With older participants, elicit descriptions from the group by asking questions).  Ask the group leader to slice the apple into segments for each student to taste.  Do not peel the apple.  Have students look at the cut apple: Is the flesh white or yellowish?  Is the peel thick or thin?  What does it smell like?

For Grades 1 - 3:

Each student decides whether the apple was tart or sweet and records their verdict on the Tasting Record Card. 

For Grade 4 to adult:

Each participant records the name of the apple and a brief description.  After tasting the apple, they will record taste.  Repeat for the remaining varieties.