# Why arugula in everything nowadays? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [August 13, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608 "2021-08-13T16:47:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/21 "2021-08-14T15:22:59Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I went to a fancy pants restaurant where they served bacon jam (sounds gross but it’s really good) goat cheese, top with arugula on crustini bread. The arugula really helped bring it together I thought. (It was doused in some sort of vinaigrette) just realised that this is very much in line with my meal in Pisa. > [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > wild rocket and bresaola salad with parmesan and simple vinagrette. They served it with a crusty bread and the elements in the two meals are very similar. The leaves, strong meat, strong cheese, vinagrette. How can it fail? ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/22 "2021-08-14T17:04:18Z")
Believe or not, people like different things. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/23 "2021-08-14T18:02:41Z")
As mentioned above: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0vPKpMMapEg/hqdefault.jpg "My Blue Heaven - Arugula, it's a vegetable") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vPKpMMapEg) Personally, I hate the stuff. In a regular-place salad I can usually eat around it, but in a more upscale joint (where the salad looks like the sous-chef’s lawn clippings) you can’t avoid it. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/24 "2021-08-14T18:05:02Z")
Some people like the taste of cilantro, some people say it tastes like soap. Turns out it’s a genetic thing. To me arugula just tastes bitter. So I don’t eat it. I quit ordering salads in restaurants a few years ago because of it. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/25 "2021-08-14T18:48:06Z")
Arugula haters in this thread, how do you feel about radishes? To me they have a quite similar taste. Oddly, I’m not crazy about radishes; I don’t mind them but given a choice I’d leave them out every time - but I love arugula. I think it’s my favorite salad green. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/26 "2021-08-14T20:20:38Z")
Radishes neither enthrall nor repel me. I generally only eat them as part of a Mexican relish, however. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/27 "2021-08-14T20:49:22Z")
Radishes are ok. Not my favorite, but I can eat them. I would object to putting them in a sandwich, though. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/28 "2021-08-14T21:01:48Z")
Surprisingly, sliced, salted radishes on buttered toast is an excellent combination. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/29 "2021-08-14T21:06:29Z")
> [@Bumbazine](#): > > Some people like the taste of cilantro, some people say it tastes like soap. They can meet in the middle. I love cilantro and also find it tastes soapy. Onion can be sharp, peppers can be spicy , and arugala spicy but people can still enjoy them. The trick is to learn to appreciate that polarizing property. Or don’t, no one really cares. I don’t do sweets but they’re popular and I’m not going to call overly sweet donut filling ‘devil’s spooge’ or similar that mayo haters may use. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Then again, I don’t usually order salad, and I don’t go to upscale places … I have a faint memory, probably imagined, of finding myself hungry at a too-fancy place (country club or pain in the ass hotel, etc) and ordering some chicken wings. They came on a bed of arugala which I’m sure the kitchen threw in during a moment of panic. After eating the wings, the now warm greens were looking pretty sad, sopping with salty, tangy wing sauce and fryer drippings but to which I gave a test nibble. Awesome! I don’t think it will ever gain much momentum but wing sauce could totally serve as a viable salad dressing for a tasty salad green. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ukulele_ike1/32/4613_2.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike1)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/30 "2021-08-15T00:17:30Z")
Arugula started being a thing about 20 years ago, at least in NYC. You would be served a hot Italian cutlet atop a bed of arugula, the idea being the heat of the chicken or veal would reduce it to softness. Arugula started being a “snooty” thing when President Obama mentioned liking it, around 2009. LIke Dijon mustard on his burger. It’s been mocked as an “uppity” food ever since. I personally don’t care for it. Too “peppery” for a green. LOVE radishes, though. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/31 "2021-08-15T00:43:50Z")
> [@Bumbazine](#): > > To me arugula just tastes bitter. > [@Ukulele\_Ike1](#): > > Too “peppery” for a green. I get peppery way more than bitter, but I’m sure that might just be down to individual variation in taste perception. I like a bit of peppery in my greens, so I’m good with it. It is basically the default green at my favorite deli sandwich place (which is actually a butcher shop). I’m fine with it in a salad mix as well, but I probably wouldn’t enjoy a salad of just arugula - that would be a bit one note. But I’m curious about the texture complaints. I find it pretty soft myself and not at all prickly. Different cultivars maybe? The raw greens I dislike are all the tougher ones - spinach and kale in particular. Cooked spinach is awesome, raw is very much not. Horses for courses, as always. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/32 "2021-08-15T16:47:39Z")
Arugula definitely has some sort of spiciness to it, that’s about as well described by “peppery” as by any other term. And I also wouldn’t want a salad of just arugula, but then, I don’t think I would want a salad of any one vegetable. And kale definitely has a suboptimal texture, but I’ve never found anything wrong with raw spinach (though cooked spinach can be fine or terrible, depending on how it’s cooked). ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/33 "2021-08-16T15:21:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And kale definitely has a suboptimal texture, but I’ve never found anything wrong with raw spinach I’m with you on this. Kale is always too sturdy, even cooked. Whereas with raw spinach, I find it depends on how completely the leaf stems are removed: stems removed = soft, stems not removed = more of a bite-back. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/34 "2021-08-16T15:29:46Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Kale is always too sturdy, even cooked. I make beans and greens using kale or collards. Kale and collards stand up to the long simmering necessary for the dish. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/35 "2021-08-16T19:44:12Z")
1. Massage kale with a little lemon to add to a salad raw. 2. Spinach in all forms is generally on my “no thank you” list. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2021, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608/36 "2021-08-17T19:49:30Z")
Arugula is awesome to me because it adds a peppery flavor without spiciness (or a spiciness level I can handle). Yes I could just add black pepper from the pepper mill, but I want the flavor combination from the menu, not added on by me. EVERYTHING is spicy now - it’s cajun, it’s buffalo, it’s chipotle, it’s andoule, it’s jalapeno - and I can’t eat any of that. If I want any flavor, something with a bit of arugula really makes a meal for me! I have had a brie/jam/arugula/crostini appetizer like @Grrr describes, and it was probably the most delicious thing I ate I 2020. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arugula-in-everything-nowadays/948608.md?page=1)