There is a popular melon in traditional chinese cuisine that is quite bitter. Looking at other cultures, are there any other food besides that other cultures eat that are bitter? I know of a Japanese fish that the gut is eaten becuase of its extreme bitterness…but I was unable to find any non-asian cultures that eat bitter.
Well, Bitter herbs are part of the Jewish passover…
Coffee can be quite bitter.
Sauerkraut?
The melon, by the way, is known as “bitter melon” (duh!), both in the original Chinese and the English translation.
My wife loves the stuff. I can’t figure out the appeal.
Chocolate, when not excessively sweetened. The Aztecs drank unsweetened hot chocolate, just as we would drink black coffee. Sometimes it was flavored with hot peppers, for what must be an interesting combination.
Speaking of beverages, beer gets its bitterness from hops.
Several condiments are pleasingly bitter, at least to my taste: Mustard, horseradish, etc.
Some greens can be quite bitter, like turnip greens or chicory.
If you want an idea of what it tasted like, try chicken mole the next time you’re at a Mexican restaurant (uh, that’s pronounced ‘moh-lay’ but I don’t know how to do an accented ‘e’. Sorry).
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Spanky has created this page of codes and mnemonics.
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Except I won’t.
The thing to remember that often bitter foodstuffs in a culture’s diet were often considered to be medicinal in nature, and were eaten to be part of a healthy diet.
Bitter melon (Momordica charantia) is certainly one of those foodstuffs that are on that list, and for good reason. Its bitterness comes from its high level of quinine, which is popularly known and used as a cure and preventative for malaria.* Quinine is also known in our culture as the additive to tonic water to give it its bitter taste. Mmmm… Gin & Tonics…
The thing is, one of the reasons we have the ability to taste bitterness is that often most naturally occuring toxins have a bitter taste. We are not drawn to bitter flavors, and many of these particular foodstuffs are “acquired tastes.”
- Deseran, Sara; Saveur Magazine, #34, April 1999
Thanks for the tip, Derleth! I’ve bookmarked the page; it will be a great help.
There are a number of bitter foods in Japanese cuisine, most of which escape me at the moment since I don’t eat them.
Goya is one (maybe that is the bitter melon? Shaped like a warty cucumber). Certain fish, also.
There are many bitter chocolates over here, which aren’t labelled as such and thus give me a rude shock every so often.
Most people drink their coffee black and unsweetened. And the best-selling beer over here is Asahi Super-dry which is REALLY bitter (but great in the summer!).
What about lemon? That msut be very widely eaten.