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Cranberries! The Benefits Of Being Bitter

posted by CoolHand on Monday November 21 2016, @06:47PM   Printer-friendly
from the the-simple-things dept.

charon writes:

Just in time for American Thanksgiving, here is a moderately scientific overview of the journey to greatness of the humble cranberry.

The cranberry — one of only a few commercial fruits native to North America — might have even sat beside a roast turkey at the first Thanksgiving feast.

But how did the tart cranberry become an industrial crop, with 800 million pounds grown annually, when other native fruits are so much sweeter? It wasn't just the health benefits, clever marketing, or Grandma's cranberry chutney — it was a happenstance of evolution. Cranberries float.

And they are delicious in milk. Bon appétit!

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  • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Tuesday November 22 2016, @04:01AM

    by Immerman (3985) on Tuesday November 22 2016, @04:01AM (#431044)

    Just an aside about the salt - I recall reading a while back that the combination of salt and sugar together acts to sensitize the taste buds in much the same way as MSG does. Basically it's not enhancing the flavor, it's enhancing your ability to taste it.

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  • (Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Wednesday November 23 2016, @04:51PM

    by AthanasiusKircher (5291) on Wednesday November 23 2016, @04:51PM (#431910) Journal

    Yes, I'm aware of the effect. But I'm not sure I agree with the distinction -- isn't "flavor" simply what you taste? If you enhance your ability to taste something, aren't you changing (or enhancing) the flavor?

    Our perceptions of flavor are complex and are shaped greatly by the overall food context. For example, there are some complex flavor molecules that taste fairly neutral at medium pH, but if you add acid, they are perceived as "salty." There's no chemical change happening there -- it's just the way our taste receptors are manipulated. In such a case, I don't think you can say either is the molecule's "true" flavor -- it depends on context.

    That's part of the reason why flavor combination can't be reduced to fairly basic chemistry. The potential interactions are too numerous.