Food constitutes an important pedagogical component of elementary science, yet research on how to approach this topic is scarce. The present study attends to this issue by exploring "food appraisal" (dialogic sense-making wherein elementary teachers and students orally evaluate particular types of foods and eating habits) during science read-alouds. Our discourse analysis revealed varied forms of food appraisal across different elementary grade levels. In two primary classrooms (grades K-1), discussions entailed qualitative forms of food appraisal, namely affective appreciation (evaluation of food in terms of gustatory pleasure) and cultural appreciation (evaluation of food in terms of American traditions such as making jack-o'-lanterns). In contrast, food discussion at a fourth-grade classroom involved nutritional appreciation (quantitative evaluation of food on nutritional grounds and calorimetric needs). Our findings underscore the many pedagogical benefits and potential challenges of engaging students in talk about food in the science classroom. Classroom discussion about food provides elementary teachers with a unique opportunity to engage children in science but can also disempower students and reinforce problematic cultural ideologies. Awareness of such potential complications can help elementary teachers more effectively promote student health and empowerment through science.