# Bitterness

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{{Short description|Basic taste}}
[[File:Adriaen Brouwer - The Bitter Potion - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''The Bitter Draught'' by [Adriaen Brouwer](/source/Adriaen_Brouwer).|354x354px]]
'''Bitterness''', also known as '''bitter''', is one of the most sensitive of [tastes](/source/Taste), and many experience it as unpleasant, sharp, or off-putting, but it is sometimes desirable and intentionally added via various [bittering agents](/source/Bittering_agent). Common bitter foods and drinks include [coffee](/source/coffee), unsweetened [cocoa](/source/Theobroma_cacao), South American [mate](/source/Mate_(drink)), [coca tea](/source/coca_tea), ''[Momordica charantia](/source/Momordica_charantia)'', unripe [olives](/source/olives), [citrus peel](/source/citrus_peel), some varieties of [cheese](/source/cheese), many plants in the [Brassicaceae](/source/Brassicaceae) family, ''[Taraxacum](/source/Taraxacum)'' greens, ''[Marrubium vulgare](/source/Marrubium_vulgare)'', [wild chicory](/source/Chicory), and [escarole](/source/escarole). The [ethanol](/source/ethanol) in [alcoholic beverages](/source/alcoholic_beverages) tastes bitter,<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Scinska A, Koros E, Habrat B, Kukwa A, Kostowski W, Bienkowski P |title=Bitter and sweet components of ethanol taste in humans |journal=Drug and Alcohol Dependence |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=199–206 |date=August 2000  |pmid=10940547 |doi=10.1016/S0376-8716(99)00149-0}}</ref> as do the additional bittering ingredients found in some alcoholic beverages, including [hops](/source/hops) in [beer](/source/beer) and [gentian](/source/gentian) in [bitters](/source/bitters). [Quinine](/source/Quinine) is also known for its bitter taste and is found in [tonic water](/source/tonic_water).

Bitterness is of interest to those studying [evolution](/source/evolution), as well as to various health researchers<ref name="textbookofmedicalphysiology8thed">Guyton, Arthur C. (1991) ''Textbook of Medical Physiology''. (8th ed). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders</ref><ref name="psychologyofeating&drinking">{{cite book|last=Logue|first=Alexandra W.|year=1986|title=The Psychology of Eating and Drinking|location=New York|publisher=W.H. Freeman & Co.|isbn=978-0-415-81708-0}}{{page needed|date=August 2014}}</ref> as a large number of naturally occurring bitter compounds are known to be toxic. The ability to detect bitter-tasting, toxic compounds at low thresholds is thought to serve an important protective function.<ref name="textbookofmedicalphysiology8thed" /><ref name= psychologyofeating&drinking/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Glendinning|first=J. I. |title=Is the bitter rejection response always adaptive? |journal=Physiol Behav |volume=56 |year=1994 |pages=1217–1227|doi=10.1016/0031-9384(94)90369-7 |pmid=7878094 |issue=6 |s2cid=22945002 }}</ref> Plant leaves often contain toxic compounds, and among [leaf-eating](/source/leaf-eating) primates there is a tendency to prefer immature leaves, which tend to be higher in protein and lower in fiber and toxins than mature leaves.<ref name="encylopediahumanevolution">Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1994) ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press{{page needed|date=August 2014}}</ref> Among humans, various [food processing](/source/food_processing) techniques are used worldwide to detoxify otherwise inedible foods and make them palatable.<ref>Johns, T. (1990). ''With Bitter Herbs They Shall Eat It: Chemical ecology and the origins of human diet and medicine''. Tucson: University of Arizona Press{{page needed|date=August 2014}}</ref> Furthermore, the use of fire, changes in diet, and avoidance of toxins have led to neutral evolution in human bitterness sensitivity. This has allowed for several loss-of-function mutations that have resulted in a reduced sensory capacity for bitterness in humans compared to other species.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wang | first1 = X. | year = 2004 | title = Relaxation Of Selective Constraint And Loss Of Function In The Evolution Of Human Bitter Taste Receptor Genes | journal = Human Molecular Genetics | volume = 13 | issue = 21| pages = 2671–2678 | doi=10.1093/hmg/ddh289 | pmid=15367488| doi-access = free }}</ref>

==References==
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{{Taste}}
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Category:Gustation
Category:Culinary terminology

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bitterness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitterness) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitterness?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.