Senses of Taste: Bitter Is Better
Bitter gets a bad rap. We’re basically born suspicious of it, kids hate it, and yet somehow adults end up obsessed with coffee, dark chocolate, bitter greens, amaro, and aggressively hoppy beer.
This week on Flavorphiles, Tanner and Jerry dig into why we learn to love bitter flavors, how bitterness is different from burnt, sour, and astringent, and why some people may actually experience bitter foods more intensely than others.
Then Kolby Howard from Fernet-Branca joins us to explain amaro, the exptremely bitter, and very popular, Italian digestif.
Tanner also breaks down how chefs use bitterness in the kitchen, from Brussels sprouts and endive to grapefruit, coffee, cacao, char, and chicory. Finally, it’s a bitter-themed Short Order: 10 cooking questions in 10 minutes, including why chefs burn food on purpose, whether cocktail bitters ever go bad, why expensive olive oil can taste bitter, and what to do when people won’t finish your dessert.
It’s bitter. But in a good way.