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BRYANNA'S VEGAN FEAST OPEN COOKING FORUM>
OPEN DISCUSSION GROUP FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN DELICIOUS VEGAN COOKING!
Bitter Broccoli
seabreeze
6 posts
Dec 29, 2009
3:58 PM
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Well, my New Year resolution appears to be to resolve my "broccoli issues" LOL.....I can cook, really I can...but broccoli appears to be my nemesis.
So, for the record, in its simplest form, I simply steam my broccoli (chop in bite size pieces, sometimes peel stalk) and put it in a steamer. I end up with bitter broccoli. I often will stir fry it with maybe some soy, garlic and veggie oyster sauce and it still is bitter.
I do enjoy the vegetable at other people's homes and especially in Asian restaurants, so I know I like this vegetable. It's not bitter at their homes....
So,any thoughts on what I am doing wrong?
Cynthia
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Bryanna
Owner/Moderator
2677 posts
Dec 30, 2009
9:49 PM
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You might be a "supertaster"! Read the following article:
The Yuck Factor
by author Denise Knabe
Why is it that some of us love broccoli and others shun it like the plague?
Some of us find the taste of broccoli revolting because we may be genetically predisposed to be “supertasters.” In addition, supertasters find intolerably bitter the compound naringin in grapefruit as well as the taste of caffeine and alcohol.
Twenty-five percent of us are supertasters; 50 percent of us are medium tasters; and 25 percent of us are nontasters. More females, Asians, Africans, and South Americans have the bitter receptor gene, TAS2R38.
Not only do supertasters have the TAS2R38 gene, but they also have twice as many fungiform papillae on their tongues (on whose sides taste receptors are located), as does the average person. Texture of food also plays a role in the supertaster’s adverse reactions to foods that they perceive as “slimy” or “spongy,” such as banana or mushroom. Dr. Linda Bartoshuk of Yale University’s School of Medicine puts it this way, “Supertasters live in a neon world of taste, while nontasters are in a pastel world.”
Ironically, the bitter taste in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli can be traced to the same chemicals thought to provide cancer protection. Scientists have developed different types of broccoli, such as broccolini, a cross between broccoli and Chinese kale, which looks like asparagus but tastes sweeter than broccoli.
According to a 2005 study by scientists at the Kanagawa University in Japan, the “T2R gene repertoire” plays an important role in avoiding generally bitter, toxic, and harmful substances but also reflects changes in environment which result in species-specific food preferences during primate evolution. In other words, monkeys, apes, and chimpanzees are more likely to rely on their sense of taste to determine whether or not something is edible or toxic, whereas humans have a more sophisticated sense of taste and are able to comprehend that some bitter foods are nontoxic and nutritious.
There is hope in the laboratory to help supertasters enjoy healthy vegetables. In January 2003 a biotech firm, Linguagen of New York, discovered natural compounds that block bitter taste. Linda Bartoshuk of Yale University, who studies taste perception, believes this to be a study using good, solid science. Linguagen scientist Richard McGregor adds that these compounds will not mask spoiled or poisonous substances while blocking bitter tastes, because bad smells and sour tastes are conveyed to the brain through a different set of receptors and chemical messengers that warn us when food is spoiled.
This provides hope for frazzled parents: we may yet see our supertaster children munch happily on health-giving and cancer-preventing cruciferous vegetables such as the much-maligned broccoli.
Are You a Supertaster?
A test that determines the ability to perceive the bitter taste of a compound called 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) can determine which of us are supertasters. The test results manifest in varying degrees:
repulsively bitter to a supertaster
moderately bitter to a medium taster
not at all to a nontaster
Children also taste bitter more strongly than adults, so this might explain why they are often fussy eaters.
Solutions for Supertasters
Are there ways to overcome your child’s lack of interest in a varied and nutritious diet? For
children who perceive foods as tasting revoltingly bitter, there are several things to try:
Add a pinch of salt to an apple slice or grapefruit segment to render it sweeter to someone who perceives it as bitter.
Cook vegetables in lightly salted water.
See your healthcare professional for advice on whether or not the supertaster in your family could be zinc deficient and would benefit from zinc supplementation. Zinc tablets may help to lessen a perception of bitter taste.
Denise Knabe is a BC-based researcher and writer.
Source: alive #288, October 2006
http://www.alive.com/4860a12a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=7
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Happy Mommy
2 posts
Jan 01, 2010
7:33 AM
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When I was a kid I disliked all veggies except for corn and peas. My mother made me eat my veggies and I would pretend to chew and swallow whole.
When I was in high school, in biology class we had strips that we tasted all at the same time. For one particular strip, I found the taste extremely horrible. The entire class laughed at me because they could not taste a thing. They thought I was making it up. I was the only one out of about 20-30 students who could taste it. Thankfully, my teacher told them that I was just special and tasted things other people did not. It really helped me to know that there was a reason for my dislikes.
I think it has improved over the years....or at least I have learned to like things. Now, there are only a handful of veggies that I cannot eat. Beets are #1 on the list. Celery is another one. My mother in law refuses to peel carrots before cooking and I cannot bear to eat them. My husband thinks I am overreacting. But carrots are an iffy veggie for me in the first place. I have learned that baby carrots are much sweeter than longer carrots, so now I often stick with those. Overall, I do much better with veggies if they are cooked a certain way -- steamed.
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Alice
38 posts
Jan 01, 2010
11:02 AM
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Interesting! Each summer I grow a leafy green called magenta spreen/lambsquarters. My eldest son, normally a very very good eater, couldn't stand the stuff - I finally figured out he must be more sensitive than the rest of us to something in the leaves, and I cut him some slack!
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seabreeze
7 posts
Jan 06, 2010
1:51 PM
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Very interesting!! It took me a while to get on the ferry, go into town and buy brocolli but I am back, and tried a mini experiment, blind-folded:
1. using brocolli with no salt
2. brocolli with just a pinch of salt
3. brocolli with a lot of salt (more than I use)
4. brocolli with tons of salt
Result
As the salt increased, I perceive the flavour as "sweeter"
Except with #4, it then tasted both "sweet and too salty"
I guess I am a least a "medium taster", or maybe a supertaster. Who would have guessed?
Thank you! I now will salt my brocolli liberally and enjoy it!
Cynthia
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Linda
729 posts
Jan 12, 2010
12:08 PM
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seabreeze, maybe it's the broccoli (?). You should try baby broccoli or very young, small broccoli. Also, frozen broccoli is much milder (probably picked younger and frozen soon). As well, Chinese broccoli or rapini are both leafier, milder broccolis, and sweeter too.
Another option is sprouts. If you like broccoli sprouts, they are mild (if grown properly!) They should be sweet. In fact, I prefer to grow my own (it's very easy and money saving!) or get them freshly grown from some farmers. Storebought are a crapshoot :)
Last Edited on 12-Jan-2010 12:13 PM
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