Caroline's Kitchen Table

I thought it would be pretty fantastic to have the title, SuperTaster. It would be a great thing to brag about, and ultimately make me feel like an endorsed chef. There really is such a thing as a supertaster—it’s genetic.

I am taking “Cooking for Restricted Diets,” and have been learning all sorts of fascinating tidbits. Approximately 25% of the population has the recessive gene of a supertaster. Supertasters have heightened taste—particularly for bitter flavors.

Our instructor, Chef Haas, announced that we would be tested to see if we were a supertaster in class as she passed around a small handful of filter paper strips. As the strips circled the group, I leaned over to my friend, Heather, and said, “Man, I hope I am a supertaster.” She said, “As a chef, you actually do not want to be a supertaster—you will season food improperly.” I took what she said into consideration, but still secretly wanted the title. And then, as though it was communion at a protestant church, the class waited with the paper strips in hand, and indulged together. “Here goes nothing,” I said, as I tossed the strip towards the back of my mouth (since that is where you sense bitter). I tasted soggy paper. Heather nearly choked—the bitter was unbearable. I guess neither of us got what we wanted. Supertaster or not, Heather knows how to cook. And I should have known better—I am obsessed with brussels sprouts.

Best Brussels Spouts for non-supertasters

3 cups Brussels sprouts – trimmed
water
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS butter
fresh lemon juice to taste
s and p

Heat a small pot of water. Once boiling, add the brussels sprouts and cook for (approx.) 7 minutes or until tender. Strain and let cool (slightly). Cut the brussels sprouts in half. In a bowl combine the sprouts, butter, olive oil, cheese, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. The butter and cheese should melt from the heat of the sprouts.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 24th, 2009 at 1:08 pm and is filed under Brussels Sprouts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.