Interestingly, the glucosinolate content that makes some eaters turn down sprouts is also responsible, indirectly, for the health benefits one can garner by eating the vegetable. It can help prevent the growth of cancers, slow the progression of the disease, and make it harder for the disease to take hold in the future. With further cross breeding, food scientists might be able to provide us with sprouts that contain the best of both worlds: less bitter flavor, but with more of the health properties found in high-glucosinolate Brussels sprouts breeds.
Brassica contain high amounts of compounds called glucosinolates which, when metabolised in the body, give them their characteristic sharp or bitter taste. Described as an autosomal dominant gene, you only need to inherit it from one of your parents for it to have the affect of making foods like Brussels taste like a bitter pile of garbage. If the cause of our hatred is genetic, surely that means we can never learn to like them so stop trying to make us grandma.
Well, apparently not. Our tongue is covered with taste receptors that allow us to identify different tastes, and these receptors come from genes in our DNA. One type of these taste receptors tastes for a bitter chemical called PTC phenylthiocarbamide. Even though PTC is not normally found in our food, it is very similar to chemicals found in cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, kale and Brussel sprouts.
The PTC gene comes in 2 common forms — bitter-tasting or non-tasting. As we all have 2 copies of each gene, if you have both copies to be the non-tasting gene, your PTC receptor would not work and you would not taste the bitterness of Brussel sprouts.
Some people might have one of each form of the PTC gene, allowing them to have a partially working receptor and only taste part of the bitterness. On the other hand, some people will have both copies of the bitter-tasting PTC gene.
Some of the powdered PTC got into the air during one of his experiments and a nearby colleague complained to him that the air tasted bitter. You May Also Like. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Close Privacy Overview This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website.
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