Bitter Food Definition

There are many types of food and they are classified depending on their function. Foods with a high degree of protein (chicken, lentils, fish, liver... ) have a protective function. Carbohydrates are found in potatoes, rice, pasta or honey and provide the Energy necessary to carry out activities. There are foods like oil and butter that provide fat to the body.

The specialists in nutrition they agree on the convenience of eating in a balanced way, with the appropriate proportion according to the type of food.

Another of the classifications of food can be made from flavors. There are four types: bitter, salty, sweet and sour. Foods with a bitter taste are especially vegetables (artichokes, squash, chard, asparagus, tomatoes, cucumbers... ). There are also drinks with this flavor: coffee, beer or lemon juice. It is a flavor that is not accepted by a part of the population and proof of this is that it is often mixed with sugar. The reason is that the taste buds of the

language have a certain rejection of certain plant substances in these foods and it is believed to be a mechanism of the evolution to detect the bitter taste of poisons. This would explain why kids they are not very fond of eating vegetables.

The pleasure from the bitter taste is acquired slowly and depends on factors cultural, since the sweet and salty taste are initially more pleasant.

Bitter flavors are sometimes used in ice cream parlors and cocktails to combine them with the sweet flavor and offer a special taste.

In general, bitter foods and drinks have little acceptance. Unsweetened or milk chocolate is bitter and not very popular. We peel the oranges because their skin is bitter. Apparently, the lettuce in ancient times was bitter and today its original flavor has been managed to disappear. The tonic has a characteristic bitter taste because it contains quinine, a substance that is used to fight malaria. And a curiosity about the bitter taste is what happens with shampoo, which has this taste to prevent children from ingesting it.

The word bitter expresses an unpleasant idea (one speaks of a defeat or a bitter love). This idea is present in foods called bitter. For this reason, vegetables with this flavor are previously boiled, as this reduces their characteristic bitterness.

Topics in Bitter Foods