Content
Sometimes housewives are faced with the problem that Chinese cabbage tastes bitter in salads. And this raises serious doubts about the quality of the product. But to what extent this corresponds to reality, it is necessary to understand. After all, bitterness does not always indicate spoilage. It’s also worth finding out what you can do to improve the taste.
Chinese cabbage is a valuable dietary product
Why is Chinese cabbage bitter?
There may be several reasons why Chinese cabbage is bitter. All of them are associated with violation of the rules of cultivation, harvesting and further storage. And if in some cases this is not critical and such cabbage can be eaten after preliminary preparation, then in others the unpleasant taste negatively affects the functioning of the digestive organs.
The main reasons why the product is bitter:
- Insufficient watering during the formation of heads of cabbage. This type of crop is characterized by increased resistance to drought. However, during the head ripening stage, lack of moisture in the soil can cause the harvest to end up being bitter.
- Premature collection.This cabbage, like other cruciferous vegetables, accumulates a large amount of glycosides during cultivation, causing a bitter taste. And only when the vegetable ripens and is properly stored, most of them are destroyed. In this case, the taste becomes natural, balanced and without bitterness.
- Failure to comply with storage rules. Fresh vegetables must be preserved under certain conditions so that they do not become bitter. Each head of cabbage must be wrapped in cling film before storing. Optimal conditions: humidity 90-95%, temperature 0-6 °C. In case of sudden changes in storage conditions, the product loses its beneficial properties and freshness, which negatively affects its taste.
- Accumulation of nitrates in the product. This problem occurs with excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers and a lack of potassium in the soil in combination with poor watering. This causes the vegetable to accumulate nitrates and can not only taste bitter, but also cause food poisoning.
- Overripe heads of cabbage. Late harvesting can also cause Chinese cabbage to taste bitter. After all, overripe heads of cabbage accumulate milky juice in the veins of the leaves. This causes an unpleasant aftertaste.
Overripe Chinese cabbage cannot be used for salads and other dishes.
What else can be bitter in a salad?
The bitter taste of salad is not always due to the content of Chinese cabbage. In some cases, this can also be caused by other ingredients included in the dish.
Among them:
- some types of salad;
- radish;
- radish;
- horseradish;
- arugula;
- dandelion leaves;
- fresh cucumber;
- kohlrabi;
- Brussels sprouts;
- mustard;
- grapefruit;
- hot peppers;
- onion.
What to do if Chinese cabbage is bitter
If you are confident in the quality of the product and the absence of nitrates in it, you can try to eliminate the bitterness. There are several ways to do this. Each of them is considered effective and does not require complex actions.
Soak in salt water
The bitter taste of the vegetable can be eliminated by soaking it in cold water with added salt for several hours. But before that it needs to be cut into pieces. After this, transfer the heads of cabbage to a colander and allow the liquid to drain. And before slicing, pat them dry with a paper towel.
You can also use another method. Chinese cabbage will no longer taste bitter if it is initially cut and sprinkled with salt at the rate of 1 tbsp. l. per 1 kg of product. After this, the mixture should stand for ten minutes. And then drain the resulting juice, which gives the bitter taste.
Salt can quickly neutralize the unpleasant bitter taste
Boil lightly
You can fix the problem by lightly boiling the vegetable. To do this, you need to fill an enamel container with water and boil it. After this, dip bitter Chinese cabbage, cut in half, into the liquid and simmer over low heat for no more than two minutes.
After this, place the vegetable in a colander and allow it to cool and drain the water. Before further use, you need to additionally blot the Chinese cabbage with a paper towel.
Sprinkle with lemon juice
In this case, lemon helps improve the taste of Chinese cabbage if it is a little bitter. To do this, you need to sprinkle the leaves with citrus juice. This option is more suitable for preparing salads that include lemon in the recipe.
Instead of citrus, vinegar can also remove the bitter taste of Chinese cabbage. To do this, soak the vegetable in cold acidified water for an hour. Then you need to take it out, and after the water has drained, you can cut it into a salad.
Lemon helps mask the bitter taste
How to tell if Chinese cabbage has gone bad
The quality and freshness of Chinese cabbage can be assessed with the naked eye. To do this, it is enough to know what the product should look like. After all, the likelihood that a healthy vegetable will taste bitter is very low. Therefore, when choosing it in a store or in the garden, it is recommended to pay attention to any even minor details.
Fresh, ripe Chinese cabbage has rich dark or light green leaves. At the same time, the plates are distinguished by their juiciness and elasticity. In spoiled vegetables, they are yellow in color and also have various dark inclusions and dots, which indicates the development of the rotting process.
Healthy forks are evenly colored on all sides and are tight. When purchased in a store, they should be wrapped in cling film, under which no signs of rot are visible.
A quality product should not emit an unpleasant odor. You also need to pay attention to the top of the Chinese cabbage. It is believed that a slightly flattened vegetable is more suitable for fresh consumption, as it has excellent taste. And if the tip is pointed, then most likely the arrow has begun to grow, which will cause bitterness.
The first sign that a head of cabbage has begun to deteriorate is the presence of mechanical damage. After all, bacteria usually accumulate and multiply in places where cuts occur. And this provokes rapid spoilage of the product.
It is also necessary to inspect the product for the presence of condensation under the cling film. It is not recommended to buy Chinese cabbage with wet leaves, as it is not fresh and will quickly spoil.
Conclusion
If Chinese cabbage is bitter, you can improve its taste with salt, lemon or short-term heat treatment. However, this should only be done if you are absolutely sure that the vegetable does not contain nitrates. Otherwise, consuming such a product even after preliminary preparation may cause the development of allergies and food poisoning.
