While endive is a nutritious and versatile vegetable, it’s often underappreciated due to its bitter taste. Fortunately, there are a few tricks to reduce the bitterness and make endive more delicious.
Causes of bitterness and ways to reduce it:
Bitter compounds:
The bitterness in endive is caused by a substance called lactucopicrin. This substance is mainly concentrated in the leaf veins and stem.
Removal:
Trim the stem:
Trimming the endive’s stem significantly reduces bitterness.
Remove outer leaves:
Damaged outer leaves can also be more bitter, so it’s advisable to remove them.
Soaking: Salt water:
Soak the endive leaves in salt water for 15 to 20 minutes. This helps dissolve bitter compounds.
Soaking in milk:
Soaking in milk also reduces bitterness.
Heat treatment:
Steaming, roasting: Heat treatment reduces bitterness, making the endive taste sweeter.
Caramelizing:
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