# Is arugula supposed to taste bitter and spicy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 21, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766 "2008-08-21T04:16:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/1 "2008-08-21T04:16:09Z")
On Barack Obama’s recommendation, I bought a bunch of organic arugula. I notice that it tastes kind of spicy and bitter at the same time, as if it was infused with garlic or something. Is it supposed to taste this way, or has the vegetable been spoiled or something. How can I eat this besides just eating it raw, to make it taste less strong? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/2 "2008-08-21T04:48:12Z")
It is supposed to be strongly flavoured, Wikipedia calls it a peppery taste. I usually eat it raw with something like spinach, rather than using it on its own. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/3 "2008-08-21T05:04:04Z")
It is usually added sparingly to salad to give it that bitter/spicy note, rather than chowed down on solo. I have never cooked it so I don’t know how cooking affects the taste. I’d probably sauté it in olive oil. ---
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/4 "2008-08-21T06:21:00Z")
I would describe it as having a dirt taste. Or “earthy”, if I were feeling generous. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/5 "2008-08-21T06:28:20Z")
Yech, forget it. I’m done with this stuff. From now on it’s Spinach only. If it’s good enough for Popeye, it’s good enough for me. The arugula is just not a taste I’m going to acquire. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/6 "2008-08-21T07:41:58Z")
Yes it’s supposed to taste that way. The flavour reminds me of mustard. Arugula is a relative of mustard, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/7 "2008-08-21T08:57:47Z")
I eat it in salads, with some shaved parmesan and balsamic vinegar, pumpkin and goats cheese, or with some fresh seared tuna and a vinagrette dressing. It’s also nice put on top of a cooked margarita pizza. But in general, it’s peppery and a little bitter, so not much by itself, nicer with other ingredients. Younger rocket (arugula) is less bitter and peppery than the older stuff, so try that if you want to ease yourself in. And if you don’t like rocket, suggest you avoid radicchio or whitlof lettuces as well. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/8 "2008-08-21T09:24:36Z")
Rocket is definitely a “new” taste in salads if you’re used to lettuce and tomatoes, but whenever I have a salad without it, it feels kind of… bland and empty. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/9 "2008-08-21T09:33:51Z")
OK, and another thing, why do people call it “rocket?” Is “arugula” Italian for “rocket?” Or is there some other explanation? ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/10 "2008-08-21T10:38:42Z")
Colloquial " roquette". ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/11 "2008-08-21T10:43:37Z")
I’ve never heard it called anything else. Of course, it might be a Britishism… ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/12 "2008-08-21T10:45:24Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] OK, and another thing, why do people call it “rocket?” Is “arugula” Italian for “rocket?” Or is there some other explanation? [/QUOTE] It’s rucola in Italian - generally called Rocket in NZ and Australia, most likely as a phonetic translation - but have also heard it’s because it grows ‘like a rocket’ - certainly can take over a vege patch quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/13 "2008-08-21T10:46:38Z")
[QUOTE=Tabby\_Cat] Of course, it might be a Britishism… [/QUOTE] I always thought that calling it “rocket” was indeed British. I’ve grown arugula for years–love the stuff. Yes it’s peppery, but to me it also conveys a nutty flavor. I love a plate of it with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and olive oil. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/14 "2008-08-21T16:34:20Z")
Yep, bitter, peppery, and nutty. It’s best blended with something crispier and sweeter to offset it, and it’s particularly good with seared brown mushrooms and parmesan cheese. I’ve also read that it’s good chopped and sprinkled over a sausage and mushroom pizza just out of the oven, but I haven’t tried that one yet. Sounds yummy, though. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/15 "2008-08-21T16:39:31Z")
Yes. I dislike it in anything but small doses. Which is why I just cannot vote for Obama. If I can’t sit down and have a salad with the guy, how can he run the country? ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/16 "2008-08-22T02:16:24Z")
It’s peppery and complex in flavor; you don’t just glurg a whole salad of it, you intersperse it with other greens for flavor, plus, it has a lot to offer in phytochemical benefits to yer health; the acrid mustardy greens are good for ya. I hope it’s not elitist to advocate stuff that is good for ya. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/17 "2008-08-22T03:17:49Z")
Hey, if you don’t like it, that just leaves more arugula in the world for me to eat. 🙂 My favourite way to eat it is tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette and then topped with sliced roasted beets and some crumbled goat cheese, or green apple (or pear) cut into matchsticks, caramelised walnuts and a little crumbled gorgonzola. Nom nom nom. It also makes a [wicked good pesto](http://thepassionatecook.typepad.com/thepassionatecook/2005/08/rocket_cashew_c.html). ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/18 "2008-08-22T13:40:14Z")
Ah-hah! So that’s what arugula is! (Rocket.) I always wondered, but never got 'round to Googling it. Well, if that’s the stuff you’re talking about then yeah, it’s nasty, bitter, and ruins otherwise good salad. Baby spinach; that’s the stuff to use! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/19 "2008-08-22T14:12:30Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] The arugula is just not a taste I’m going to acquire. [/QUOTE] Because … an “acquired” taste … is supposed to be … acquired … instantly? 😕 :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766/20 "2008-08-24T01:10:14Z")
Probably more 'cos you have to be willing to eat it in order to acquire it. Like Argent Towers, I plan on avoiding the nasty stuff as much as possible. However, since it seems they’re throwing it in everything these days, I may end up ingesting enough of it by mistake that I develop a taste for it. We’ll see. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arugula-supposed-to-taste-bitter-and-spicy/460766.md?page=2)