Bitterness is one of the essential flavors in our taste palette, and lots of bitter foods are especially healthy. However, you might find bitter tastes off-putting or have a dish that you accidentally added too much bitterness to. Don't worry, you’re in luck! There are lots of tricks and strategies to mask or counteract bitter flavors and help you enjoy whatever meal is in front of you.

2

Cover the flavor with sweetness.

  1. Who doesn’t love some sweetness in their food? Again, think about coffee—there’s a reason we like sweetening it a bit. The sweetness naturally covers bitter tastes. Throw a pinch of sugar or some honey into bitter foods and drinks to enhance the flavor a bit.[3]
    • Pairing bitter tastes with sugar or chocolate also makes a unique dessert flavor.
    • Don’t overdo it with the sugar! The American Heart Association recommends having no more than 25-36 g of sugar per day for good health, so watch how much you’re using and don’t exceed that limit.[4]
3

Sprinkle some salt over your food.

  1. A pinch of salt makes everything better, including bitter foods. The saltiness naturally counteracts the bitterness, so don’t be shy about using a bit of salt in meals that are too bitter.[5]
    • This is an especially good trick if you’re cooking bitter vegetables, like with roasted broccoli or brussels sprouts. Toss them in some olive oil and salt before cooking to introduce new flavors.[6]
    • Just like with sugar, you have to watch your salt intake to maintain good health. The recommended salt intake per day is 2,300 mg, or just about 1/2 tsp.[7]
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5

Squeeze in some vinegar or lemon juice.

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Add some spice to your foods.

  1. Good news for spice lovers! Spices mask bitter flavors, so don’t be shy. Add some spicy peppers or powders to your cooking, or sprinkle some onto your dishes for a little bit of extra heat.[11]
    • Black pepper in particular has compounds that counteract bitterness.
    • Some other great spices include cayenne, red pepper, paprika, and chili powder.
8

Chill the food to reduce bitterness.

9

Mix bitter ingredients into larger dishes.

  1. When in doubt, just cover the bitter tastes. Make dishes with lots of different ingredients and only add in a little bit of the bitter ones. This should mask the bitter flavors while still allowing you to get all the health benefits from bitter foods.[14]
    • Some non-bitter foods include beans, carrots, corn, eggplant, lettuce, and potatoes. Try hiding some bitter foods in a dish with these ingredients.[15]
    • This trick works well with salads. You could mix bitter ingredients like arugula with more neutral tastes like romaine. Top the salad with a lemon vinaigrette to mask the bitterness even more.
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wikiHow Staff
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This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff. Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This article has been viewed 159,064 times.
48 votes - 89%
Co-authors: 7
Updated: September 13, 2022
Views: 159,064
Categories: Food and Entertaining
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