Comments on: Eating Bitter, Part One: An Introduction to the Bitter Melon http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2005/04/18/eating-bitter-part-one-an-introduction-to-the-bitter-melon/ Cook Local, Eat Global Wed, 29 Aug 2012 23:26:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: etherbish http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2005/04/18/eating-bitter-part-one-an-introduction-to-the-bitter-melon/#comment-143 etherbish Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/wp/2005/04/18/eating-bitter-part-one-an-introduction-to-the-bitter-melon/#comment-143 I *hate* that stuff…it’s never grown on me like so many other foods have. My mother tells me it is because I grew up in America and so have not had a bitter enough of a life to appreciate the taste of bitter melon.

]]> By: Barbara Fisher http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2005/04/18/eating-bitter-part-one-an-introduction-to-the-bitter-melon/#comment-144 Barbara Fisher Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/wp/2005/04/18/eating-bitter-part-one-an-introduction-to-the-bitter-melon/#comment-144 That is interesting, Ladi–I chose the title, “Eating Bitter” because that is a phrase in Chinese that is used to describe having sorrows in life. That is the phrase that Mei used to describe how I felt during my divorce.

Maybe I have had enough bitterness, even growing up American to appreciate it?

Or maybe some folks just like bitter things–I like bitter greens, too, and when I was pregnant, I would eat orange skins along with the fruit, because the bitterness of the orange oil appealed to me.

I wouldn’t feel bad for not liking bitter things; humans are evolutionarily predisposed to liking sweet things rather than bitter because it keeps us from ingesting poisons. Most harmful alkaloids are bitter, so we have an aversion to that flavor.

Sound evolutionary policy.

]]> By: molly http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2005/04/18/eating-bitter-part-one-an-introduction-to-the-bitter-melon/#comment-145 molly Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/wp/2005/04/18/eating-bitter-part-one-an-introduction-to-the-bitter-melon/#comment-145 That is gorgeous! I’m going to have to be brave and try cooking it soon. I’ve liked it in restaurants but I can’t really imagine cooking with it.

]]> By: Barbara Fisher http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2005/04/18/eating-bitter-part-one-an-introduction-to-the-bitter-melon/#comment-146 Barbara Fisher Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/wp/2005/04/18/eating-bitter-part-one-an-introduction-to-the-bitter-melon/#comment-146 Molly, there is nothing to fear in cooking the bitter melon. It is no harder than cooking a zucchini or a cucumber, really. And it is very rewarding to taste it fresh from your wok, full of flavor and crispness.

It is a wonderful vegetable to work with. I only hope I can get more folks to appreciate it.

]]> By: etherbish http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2005/04/18/eating-bitter-part-one-an-introduction-to-the-bitter-melon/#comment-147 etherbish Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/wp/2005/04/18/eating-bitter-part-one-an-introduction-to-the-bitter-melon/#comment-147 *shudder* My fiance eats oranges like apples – rind and all. We haven’t tried bitter melon on him yet because my parents know better than to put that on the table when I’m home…

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