[CH] Bitterness
Rob Solarion (solarion@1starnet.com)
Tue, 13 Aug 2002 14:42:24 -0600
A trace of bitterness in some foods doesn't particularly bother me. Of
course, there are some things that are simply TOO bitter to eat.
I watched most of Natalie DuPree's cooking shows on PBS. I learned a lot
of cooking techniques from her. But she would sometimes talk about doing
this or that to something to take away the bitterness. One example that I
recall is that she said if there is a green shoot going up through the
middle of a garlic clove to remove it because it is "bitter". Well, it is
not "bitter" to me.
One of the biblical "bitter herbs" was rue. This is used in small amounts
in some Ethiopian foods and can give a definite "mystery flavor" to it.
Any more than 1/4 tsp. per pot of soup is too much, however. This "bitter"
flavor works well with the "berberi" based seasonings of Ethiopia (berberi,
awazey, mitmita [my favorite of the three]). I have never tried adding rue
to any other cuisine, but it would probably work well with some Arabian and
Greek recipes.
Any comments about this? I would be interested to read them. Rob
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"He who never tasted what is bitter, cannot truly appreciate what is sweet."
Old Turkish Proverb
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