Sorry social media – British parents are not buying into avocados and kale – they’d rather to stick to tradition
Instagram (and Pret a Manger) may suggest the UK has gone bananas for avocados – but when it comes to feeding our kids, it seems us Britons would much rather stick with tradition than delve into something new.
Research commissioned by Mash Direct, which surveyed 1,000 parents across the UK, revealed 24 per cent of parents have never eaten kale and 20 per cent said they had never tried avocado.
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And while celery was the most-hated veg, with 25 per cent of people expressing their distaste for it, decidedly trendy celeriac and avocados both came in second, with 24 per cent. Brussels sprouts – a traditional vegetable pariah – took the third spot, with 23 per cent.
The report, which looked into British families’ vegetable buying habits, showed potatoes, carrots and peas topped parents’ favourite vegetables list.
Meanwhile, 16 per cent of those surveyed hadn’t tried cooking a new vegetable or a dish with a new vegetable in more than a year.
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Jack Hamilton, director of marketing and food trends from Mash Direct, said: “It just goes to show the old favourites are still the first choice when it comes to family meal times… parents are serving their families the classics that they know and were served in their childhood.”
Surprisingly, parents also admitted that they had never actually tried these vegetables before dismissing them.
These are the 10 vegetables British adults have never tried:
| Vegetables | Percentage |
| Celeriac | 29% |
| Kale | 24% |
| Avocados | 20% |
| Squashes | 17% |
| Turnip | 12% |
| Parsnips | 11% |
| Sweet Potato | 10% |
| Leeks | 10% |
| Beetroot | 10% |
| Celery | 9% |