THE 15 MOST BITTER (BUT DELICIOUS) FRUITS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The bitter fruits are very nutritious and can be used for preparing various dishes, which in combination with other ingredients, are rich. Among them are the eggplant, the elephant apple or the prickly orange tree.

Despite the common belief that fruits are sweet and vegetables are bitter, the reality is that they are classified because of their provenance, not their taste. Regardless of their origin, it is advisable to always follow a series of tips to consume them.

Fruits and vegetables come from plants and fruits would be your "ovaries" as they contain their seeds. However, vegetables are taken from any other part of the plant such as the potato tuber, radish root, asparagus stem, or onion bulb.

List of very common bitter fruits

1- the eggplant

Eggplant is a bitter edible fruit of the Solanaceae genus. Many consider it a vegetable and prepare it as such, but the eggplant is a fruit.

It contains few vitamins, proteins and minerals and its main component is water with 92% of its composition. It is rich in potassium and contains almost no calories.

This species withstands the cold and grows in different types of climate although it requires a lot of light to germinate. On the other hand, eggplant can cause allergy due to its high concentration of amines.

2- The elephant apple

It belongs to the Dilleniaceae family plant, native to Asia and grows especially in Bangladesh, India, China, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. This fruit is bitter and sour and is widely used to prepare spices such as curries or jams such as ouu khatta in India.

It is a large, round fruit of yellow or green color and has many seeds and its pulp is fibrous. In the jungles of Asia its collection and commercialization is prohibited since this fruit constitutes the main food of the monkeys and elephants that inhabit.

3- The spiny or trifoliate orange tree

This fruit belongs to the rutácea family, originally from China and is a relative of citrus. It is very resistant to cold and that is why it is used as a graft in commercial plantations of various species of citrus.

Its fruit is bitter and its skin is hairy. It is used to prepare sweets and dressings and in China its dried peel or in syrup is considered to have medicinal effects. On the other hand, in Europe flavorings are prepared.

This species is tolerant to the Citrus tristeza virus (CTV in English, Citrus tristeza virus) caused by a virus, which affects orange, mandarin and grapefruit.

4- The almond

The almond is a cinnamon-colored fruit wrapped in an outer shell that is inedible. The edible part of the fruit is 40% of its mass, while the rest corresponds to the peel.

The almond-based oil is used as an emollient and the essence is used in perfumery for its rich aroma. In addition, there are other important uses for almonds. Its taste is bitter, but delicious.

5- The fruit of Santol

It can be sweet or sour and its seeds are not edible. Two different species are considered to exist: yellow and red santol.

The red santol is the most common and the fruits resemble the peach, but with a reddish tinge. Both types have a thin or thick skin. In general, santol seeds are not edible and can cause intestinal perforation.

6- The aeocarpus angustifolius

It is a floral plant of the Elaeocarpaceae family, whose fruit is bitter and edible. It is known as the Blue Marble Tree, Blue Fig, or Blue Quandong in Asia, despite not being related to figs or true quandongs.

Its scientific nomenclature also has a synonym "Elaeocarpus grandis", invented by Ferdinand von Mueller, who described this species. Its fruit is round and blue with 20 or 30 mm wide and with a seed. The fruits of this tree are called Rudraksha and are used in jewelry in India.

7- The privet or henna

It is a shrub that produces a black, bitter and toxic berry. Which does not mean that it cannot be eaten, although it must be cooked for this.

The shrub is 2 to 3 meters high and has lanceolate and opposite green leaves, similar to those of the olive tree, and white, fragrant, and gamopétalas flowers.

8- Bergamot

It is a citrus fruit with a sour taste, whose juice is bitter. Its size is small and its shape is similar to that of pears, so is its stem. Its aromatic skin is a source of essential oil.

The oil extracted from the skin is used as a flavoring for Earl Gray and Lady Gray teas, and is also used in confectionery. Jam can also be produced using this fruit as the main ingredient.

For example, in Greece it is prepared with everything and skin and boiled in syrup. Bergamot is generally considered to have neuroprotective effects.

9- The pumpkin

The pumpkin is the fruit of the pumpkin berry and belongs to the Cucurbits that are mostly herbaceous, climbing or creeping. Other fruits such as watermelon, melon, cucumber and zucchini belong to this group.

The pulp of the pumpkin is bitter and hard, so it must be cooked before eating it. All types of squash are great. Its skin is tough and its pulp is orange. However, there are many types of pumpkin and the rind of many of them is used to make dishes and other types of kitchen utensils.

10- The cucumber

It also belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family and is a fruit that is composed of water (97%) and other components.

Cucumber is native to India, where it has been cultivated for more than 3,000 years. It is a typical element of salads and is beneficial for the skin, which is why it is used in cosmetology.

In addition to water, it contains vitamin C, mucilage, essence, carotenes, amino acids and cellulose. High cellulose cucumbers are indigestible and can cause human poisoning.

11- The avocado or persea americana

The avocado belongs to the Lauraceae family and is a fruit that occurs in tropical and Mediterranean climates. This fruit is considered to be native to Mexico.

This yellow-green or reddish-brown drupe is large and has a round pear-like shape. It is 8 to 18 centimeters long and is meaty and edible. It is used to prepare salads and dishes like guacamole.

Besides the fruit, it is considered that the seed can be consumed boiled or striped. 70% of the amino acids in the fruit are in the seed.

12- The tomato

It is a fruit of the Solanaceae family. There are different types of tomatoes, between small and large, although some of them have a bitter taste.

The tomato is used to prepare sauce, puree, salads, juice and other dishes. When not yet ripe, they are green in color and turn red with ripening. Its 2.5-3 by 2 mm seeds are ovoid, brownish and contain abundant mucilaginous mass.

This food contains few calories and is also an antioxidant and grows in any type of soil that has good drainage, since the only thing that does not support is waterlogging.

13- The pepper or chili

It is a fruit of the Solanaceae. They are native to South and Central America and can be sour, bitter, and spicy and come in various sizes. They came to Europe with colonization and later they were distributed around the world.

They are used as a condiment or spice to cook meat or salads and it is rich in vitamin C and carotene. Studies indicate that the pepper can make acute pain disappear, since its molecules are capable of crossing the cell wall.

14- Noni or morinda fruit

Noni is about the same size as a potato and is used as a dietary supplement although it tastes bitter and does not smell good.

It is yellow when it has not ripened and white when it does. Many health benefits are attributed to it. As a curious fact, it grows in well-drained soils and is tolerant to salinity and droughts. In addition, Noni has a neuroprotective and antibiotic effect.

15- The momordica charantia or bitter melon

It is one of the most bitter plants among fruits and in South America it is called tomaco. This species of the Cucurbitaceae family is tropical and subtropical and although its area of ​​distribution is well known, its origin has not yet been determined.

It is widely grown in Asia, Africa and the West Indies and is considered to have antibiotic, anticancer and antiviral effects.