Bitter Vegetables: An Appreciation

Bitterness is often a characteristic we try to diminish in our cooking — salting, blanching and roasting away the bitter edge in foods like eggplant and dandelion greens. But in many cultures, bitterness is embraced both for its perceived medicinal properties and its unique place in the flavor spectrum.

We love bitter vegetables for their taste, and now studies are showing that the bitter compounds in certain foods really are good for us.

We've discussed how to avoid bitter eggplant, but it turns out a little bitterness is a good thing. Last week the Washington Post reported that scientists have found the compound responsible for eggplant's bitterness is actually an antioxidant, and that the most bitter eggplants contain the highest levels of healthful compounds.

• Read the article: Eggplant Has Its Issues - Washington Post

Bitter melon is another deeply bitter vegetable with health benefits: studies have shown it may help slow the development of cancers. It is also one of the most bitter foods we have ever eaten, so it doesn't surprise us that its love-it-or-hate-it flavor is really good for you.

But for us, eating these vegetables is not just about their medicinal value; it's also about taste. Bitterness is generally downplayed in Western cooking, but we crave the edge that is found in vegetables like radicchio, rapini and dandelion greens. We think bitter has an important place on the plate alongside salty, sour and sweet.

What do you think? Do you crave bitterness? What are your favorite bitter foods?

Related: Eating Well: Tips for Cooking Bitter Greens

(Image: Flickr member Robert Couse-Baker licensed under Creative Commons)

Comments (16)

Nothin like Goya Champloo or goya salad in the summer. For those afraid of a little bitterness try golden goya, they are more rare than the bitter green ones, but really tasty and sweet.

Bitter melon makes a great Manhattan. Use it instead of bitters. Slice the melon in to small squares and put 6 or so pieces in the glass. Pour in the mixed whiskey and vermouth and garnish with a brandied cherry.

I am unfamiliar with bitter eggplant and bitter melon. I now live in the Philippines, we eat eggplant virtually every day, as well as ampalaya. Ampalaya is roughly the size of eggplant when it is just becoming mature, and is exceedingly bitter. It is normally cooked and scrambled eggs added to it as it is cooked. I find that a sprinkling of grated parmesan makes this a superb dish, over rice. At times we add a chili to the mix. Ampalaya is known here to be very beneficial to the reduction of blood sugar counts, which I can attest to. On occasion we have a light supper consisting of rice and Ampalaya and eggs, and my blood sugar is reduced drastically.

I love bitter melon. I prefer the tiny Indian bitter melons to the more watery large Chinese bitter melons, but both are OK with me. I knew I had found a great grocery store (the venerable Berkeley Bowl) when I saw they carry both Indian and Chinese bitter melon. Usually big US supermarkets don't have either.

@lonv: I think ampalaya IS chinese bitter melon.

It's not a food, but I love a good, bitter beer, like an India Pale Ale. The bitterness makes for a nice, crisp finish.

Any idea what studies show that these foods "may slow the development of some cancers?"

Rapini is my favourite vegetable, and I am teaching my kids to love it too. As a matter of fact, we had it for lunch yesterday. I love how Italian and French cooking embraces bitter as a desirable component... what would life be without a Salade Lyonnaise, made with (bitter) frisée and lardons and mustard vinaigrette (an inspired combination)? Raddichio, endive... I can think of great meals based on both...

And then there is Chinotto, one of my favourite drinks, as well as a really good pilsner... Budweiser Budvar for example.

Dishes made with bitter vegetables is a really interesting vein to explore...

I remember reading something about the ancient Romans believing that arugula was good for virility. Not sure if that's true but there is something very medicinal-feeling about bitter foods. Some foods are right on the line between bitterness and astringency and astringency is something I would compare to aspirin (also originally derived from plants.) Foraging has really opened my mind up to appreciating bitter qualities in foods, which means enjoying more foods that most people's palates haven't been accustomed to. I guess bitterness could be equated with interestingness.

Chinese bitter melon seems to be a love it or hate it kind of vegetable. Some people who grow up eating it (like my aunt) still hate it. I, however, love it. Just cut the bitterness a bit with some salt...in the form of preserved black beans.

Zora, Harold McGee makes a general statement about bitter melon slowing the development of some cancers in On Food and Cooking. Specifically, researchers released a report in February linking bitter melon extract to slowed development of breast cancer cells. Here is a BBC article about it.

I love bitter leafy greens. I'm not sure what it is, but the bitterness just ADDS something to dishes. I like to pair bitter w/ sour or w/ creamy.

Growing up I used to hate bitter melon, regardless how much my mom praised its medicinal value. Howadays I find my self don't mind its bitterness. I have found that you can cut down on the bitterness by eating it raw. We just slice the melon very very thin, mix it with Chinese black vinegar and lots of garlic. An instant salad that's both refreshing and healthy!

i adore bitter food like bitter melon, arugula, etc.. i think it's an acquired taste cause i remember hating it, then after eating it in increasing concentration i grew to love it. yum. you can decrease the bitterness by rubbing with salt and leaving it for 5 mins, then rinsing off.

I'm half Italian--lots of bitter appreciators on that side of the family. Arugula, broccoli rabe, Campari, unsweetened hot cocoa, eggplant, unsweetened espresso (with a lemon peel), real licorice, radicchio. Yum. I admit, I grew into loving the flavor. But it was always on the table, there for the getting-used-to.

I'm like cmcinnyc -- I love bitter foods, partly because they're staples in my Italian family. I particularly crave bitter greens and eggplant, and I love bitter drinks (like a good Negroni).

Bitterness is definitely an acquired taste--I acquired it quite young by not being able to wait until fruit was fully ripe to eat it. And when bitter is paired with "puckery"--is that a taste or not?--it's even better.