Do you have any friends or family that like eggplant? Or have you heard some delicious-sounding eggplant recipes?
All those things can be really strange if you don’t feel the same way. Perhaps, despite your repeated efforts to try it, you keep asking yourself, why do I hate eggplant?
There are a couple reasons leading to your dislike for eggplant. We’ll explore them here, and discuss what you can do to get around them.
Quick Answer: Why do I Hate Eggplant?
You might hate eggplant for a few reasons. The most common, though, would be its bitter taste, its occasionally chewy texture, and the possibility that you are genetically predisposed to disliking it.
Here are the Reasons You Might Hate Eggplant
The taste is bitter.
Unfortunately, eggplant is infamous for having a bitter flavor. This isn’t always the case, though – at its best, it’s supposed to have a pleasant and mild taste that’s a little like squash.
However, as it gets older, the bitterness in its taste naturally increases. If you’d like to learn more about what you can do to fix this bitterness, you can read our article on the subject.
Its texture is too tough.
When it’s cooked for the right length of time or harvested correctly, eggplant should have a tender texture that’s easy to sink your teeth into. The problem is, this isn’t always true.
Sometimes, eating an eggplant can feel like chewing on a piece of rubber. Needless to say, that’s not a great culinary experience, and it’s no wonder you hate eggplant if that’s all you’ve ever had whenever you’ve eaten it.
Related Article: Why Do Eggplant Flowers Fall Off?
Later on, we’ll describe a few fixes for this. But if you’d like some more details on fixing rubbery eggplant, you can read our discussion on the topic here.
You have genetic or physical reasons for disliking it.
In some cases, the reason why a person dislikes a food could be something entirely beyond their control. It might be in their very DNA.
A few people have more tastebuds than average, making them a part of the population known as “supertasters.” Supertasters can naturally pick up on flavors that other people might not, which could heighten a bitter eggplant to unbearable levels.
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Additionally, some people can be genetically inclined to like or dislike different tastes. Most famously, cilantro is known to taste soapy to a small section of the population.
In a nutshell, you might have been born hating the taste of eggplant.
Is There Anything I Can Do to Make Eggplant Taste Good?
Now that you have an idea of the reasons you could dislike eggplant, let’s consider what you might be able to do to fix it. Can you make eggplant taste good?
Well, that depends on the reason you hate it. When it comes to your tastebuds or genetics, there’s nothing you can do to make eggplant instantly taste better. You can try and acclimate to it by eating it in small amounts over time, but that’s the most you can do.
Alternatively, taste and texture are things you can change. Let’s look at the bitterness first.
When it comes to a bitter taste, you can try salting the eggplant prior to cooking. After letting it sit in the salt for at least thirty minutes, rinse it off and cook it.
Additionally, you can look for young eggplants. Because they won’t have had time to grow bitter, you can expect them to have a milder taste.
As for a tough texture, that usually comes from how the eggplant was cooked. If it’s too chewy, that means it wasn’t cooked long enough.
On top of that, it may have been harvested at the wrong time. Again, younger eggplants are both less bitter and less tough.
To learn about how to properly store eggplants, we have created this easy guide to freezing eggplant slices.
Wrap Up
You might hate eggplant, but the good news is you can fix things like the taste and texture…if those are the factors that make you hate it in the first place. However, if you’re a supertaster or have genetic factors making you despise it, you might need to either gradually adjust to eggplant or accept that you don’t need to like it.
Remember, we all have our own personal preferences. It’s all right if yours don’t include a love for eggplant.
Hey, I’m Joey. I’ve been cooking since I was a little kid and love everything about it. You can find my writing about food, kitchen appliances (such as blenders) and much more. Thanks for stopping by!
