The role of food neophobia and familiarity in the spice use of gastronomy and culinary arts department students

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the attitudes of gastronomy and culinary arts department students towards the use of spices and the role of food neophobia and familiarity in these attitudes. Within the scope of the researchvariables such as participants' genderagestatus of taking world cuisine coursesspice storage methods and spice usage times were analyzed. Participants were asked how familiar they were with spices and how much spice they used in their daily lives. In the studyvarious expressions were used to measure students' attitudes towards new and different foods; These include statements such as 'I always try new and different foods''I don't trust new foods''I don't try food if I don't know what's in it''I like foods from different cultures'. The research revealed the effects of students' food neophobia levels and spice familiarity on spice use. Findings showed that students with low food neophobia tended to use more spices and were more open to trying foods from different cultures. On the other handstudents with high food neophobia were found to be more conservative in the use of spices and avoid trying new foods. These results provide important information on how institutions providing gastronomy education can shape their educational programs to improve students' approaches to spices and new foods. This study is important for institutions providing gastronomy and culinary arts education to develop their educational programs and to understand students' use of spices and their approaches to new foods. In this contextit plays an important role in the career development of gastronomy and culinary arts studentsincreasing cultural awareness and improving their ability to adapt to a wide range of tastes.