# Does a baby recognize food besides milk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 3, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-baby-recognize-food-besides-milk/541827 "2010-06-03T19:54:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-baby-recognize-food-besides-milk/541827/1 "2010-06-03T19:54:47Z")
If a baby smells brownies or steak, does it get a hunger response or does it not even register as food in the baby’s mind? ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-baby-recognize-food-besides-milk/541827/2 "2010-06-04T03:14:42Z")
How old is the baby? Because newborn babies aren’t turning towards a breast because they’re “hungry”, they’re just born with a reflex that causes them to turn their head and suckle towards something presented to them, the “rooting reflex”. But if you are referring to a baby as a child that is now drinking milk from a bottle (like a 1 year old), I’m not quite sure. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-baby-recognize-food-besides-milk/541827/3 "2010-06-04T06:46:28Z")
I have a newborn, but I was wondering how she or even older babies might think of the smell of baking brownies… “yum” or “don’t care?” ---
**Author:** ![TastesLikeBurning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@TastesLikeBurning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TastesLikeBurning)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-baby-recognize-food-besides-milk/541827/4 "2010-06-04T07:42:27Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > I have a newborn, but I was wondering how she or even older babies might think of the smell of baking brownies… “yum” or “don’t care?” As a dad to a 1 year old who has been exposed to solids over the last few months, I say ‘it depends’. She loves bananas and when she sees one, she makes it very obvious she would like to eat it (same reaction to other food she likes eating). Not sure what she makes of the smell of certain foods, but entirely possible it makes her hungry or interested at least to try it. However, prior to being introduced to solids, my experience is that she didn’t take any noticeable interest in food other than time she spent breastfeeding. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-baby-recognize-food-besides-milk/541827/5 "2010-06-04T13:37:11Z")
As a father of two I _suspect_ that eating solid foods is learned behaviour and desiring solid foods based on smell comes from prior experience with solids. ie “the last time I encountered this smell I felt satisfied afterward so I want to do that again”. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-baby-recognize-food-besides-milk/541827/6 "2010-06-05T21:19:50Z")
I don’t have kids, but it seems every little kid I’ve ever seen will put anything in their mouth, food or not, just to see if it tastes good, if not they spit it out and learn “OK that isn’t food” or “OK that is awful tasting” Seems to me it’s trial and error ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-baby-recognize-food-besides-milk/541827/7 "2010-06-05T22:27:20Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I don’t have kids, but it seems every little kid I’ve ever seen will put anything in their mouth, food or not, just to see if it tastes good, if not they spit it out and learn “OK that isn’t food” or “OK that is awful tasting” > > Seems to me it’s trial and error I do have a six-month-old, and that is pretty much his behavior. Of course, we stop him from putting anything in his mouth that is dangerous.