6 Ways to Love Bitter Greens

6 Ways to Love Bitter Greens

We know that some of you don't particularly care for bitter greens. We can understand that, which is why we wanted to share a few tips to help you finally enjoy these healthy greens!

1. Start by being open to trying new things. Research has shown that being willing to try new foods is helpful to liking them too.

2. Keep on trying! Believe it or not your taste buds change, so repeated exposure (up to 8 times) will help you widen your palate.

3. Add fat. Adding some fat will soften the flavor. Think about how the flavor of coffee softens when you add cream to it. The same thing happens to bitter greens! This is why some recipes suggest to massage bitter greens with oil. The fat hides the flavor and massaging breaks down the fibers in the leaves.

4. Just a spoonful of sugar. A small amount of sugar can help decrease the bitter flavor of greens and make them more pleasant.

5. Add salt. Adding something like a finishing salt can mask that bitter flavor. Think of olives - when first picked they are incredibly bitter, but soak them in a salty brine and they become something we love.

6. Try adding salt, sugar, and fat - then, back off. Start by adding all three (salt, sugar, and fat) to your liking, then slowly back off until you're only adding a minimal amount, or none at all. This will slowly change what your perception of bitter is.

Reference: Eating Well, January/February 2016, 6 Ways You Can Learn To Love Bitter (p. 78).