The Bright, the Beautiful, and the Bitter: Bitter Melon Essentials as a First Timer
Bitter, Bitter, Bitter
Bitter melon, bitter gourd, ampalaya, goya, and many other local names all refer to the same specie and the multiple varieties grown — even its scientific name, Momordica charantia, is used colloquially. It is not a common food yet in the United States, but the interest in super foods and globalization is leading to its spread in consumption in the United States. Bitter melon is the first name I learned it as, and though it is nice to push the usage of scientific names, I probably will continue to refer to it as bitter melon.
Now, bitterness is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, one’s own genetics might actually be making them repulsed by bitter flavors! The aversion to bitterness is believed to have been an evolutionary mechanism so as to protect against poisonous plants considering bitterness tends to be a trait they carry.(1) So if you’ve always hated broccoli, never much liked cranberries, and find the taste of coffee to be repulsive then there’s a good possibility you have genes that provide extra aversions against bitter flavors! And with anything, the extent one person experiences this can vary quite a lot from how another person experiences it.
