"It smells good but tastes bad!" said Morgan Hodgdon, 9, of Geneva, after trying white pepper parmesan cheese popcorn.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Does this not sound like a kid's dream assignment?
Do a blind taste test of eight varieties of popcorn, guess the flavor and rate each sample on flavor, texture, crunch and so forth.
The occasion was National Popcorn Poppin' Month, and the judges were 4th and 5th graders doing the taste test this week at the Geneva Public Library.
But not all popcorn is created equal, as evidenced by the reaction of some of the young judges.
"It smells good but tastes bad!" one said.
"Brussels sprouts taste better than this!" declared another.
Perhaps, though, a few of the flavors were better suited for adult tastes. They included: Thai coconut curry, rosemary truffle, white pepper Parmesan, white cheddar, cheddar cheese, kettle corn, caramel and regular popcorn.
John D'Andrea, 9, of Geneva, center, samples eight flavors of popcorn with other fourth- and fifth-graders, during a blind taste test Tuesday at the Geneva Public Library.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Victoria Molokov, 9, of Geneva applies the sniff test before tasting her popcorn sample.It happened to be plain and lightly salted, but she didn't like it. "Brussels sprouts taste better than this!" Victoria said.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
John D'Andrea, 9, of Geneva is not a fan of the Thai coconut curry-flavored popcorn.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Morgan Hodgdon, 9, of Geneva did not like the white pepper parmesan cheese popcorn.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com