How Do You Get the Bitterness Out of Kale? (2024)

FAQs

How Do You Get the Bitterness Out of Kale? ›

Blanch Them. Blanching your greens is key to getting that bitterness level down. Because glucosinolates are water-soluble compounds, a lot of them are leached out into the water, allowing for a less bitter green.

Kale leaves can also be massaged with a little olive oil. Adding salt and squeezing lemon make a big difference by removing bitterness. Adding some spicy or sweet flavors may help tame the strong flavor of bitter kale. For example, tossing in some dried fruit helps balance the bitter with some sweet.

Much like in onions and garlic, kale's bitterness is only formed when the vegetable is sliced, chopped, massaged, or chewed. When cells in a leaf of kale are intact, an enzyme called myrosinase and sulfur-containing compound glucosinolate are separated from one another.

Massaging kale for salad makes the vegetable more palatable by releasing its bitter compounds and—as a result—making the kale less bitter. This simple process breaks down the vegetable's fibrous texture, making it more tender, easier to chew, and more digestible.

Seasonings are your friends.

Kale doesn't have to be bland to be healthy. Garlic has it's benefits too and makes kale taste 1000x better. My go to is always red pepper flakes, but chili powder or curry powder would taste amazing as well. Don't be scared of kosher salt either!

The Fix: Balance bitter flavors by introducing something salty, sweet, or sour. For naturally bitter foods such as kale, you can soften the flavor by add a lemony vinaigrette, Parmesan cheese, and pomegranate seeds. You can also elevate kale by tossing it olive oil and salt, then roasting it in the oven until crispy.

Blanch Them

Blanching your greens is key to getting that bitterness level down. Because glucosinolates are water-soluble compounds, a lot of them are leached out into the water, allowing for a less bitter green.

Kale is fibrous and can be difficult to munch compared to other greens like romaine lettuce or spinach. The rubbing, kneading motion helps to tenderize the veg and make it easier to chew and digest. Try this for raw kale you are going to be serving or eating right away.

Raw kale is fibrous, bitter and can be tough to chew. Blanching it helps soften its fibers and bitterness while making it easier to chew.

Here's the real secret: add a bit of lemon juice or vinegar (I usually use rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar). Add the acid a half teaspoon at a time until the taste brightens up. You can also use a bit of pepper vinegar (you may have seen this on the table at country cooking restaurants, see link at end).

What is the healthiest way to prepare kale? ›

Steaming is a better option than boiling because you don't lose as many nutrients with this cooking method, according to Gray. “You're not giving it heat treatment for very long, so it's closest to raw that you can get and you still are cooking it to some degree,” she said.

Add enough salt (you can be generous with the salt) The more salt, the better. Pour in hot boiling water, stir and let it sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove the leaves from the hot salty water and transfer them into cold water. This process blanches the leaves and removes the bitterness.

Kale can be frozen without blanching but should be used within 4 weeks. Blanching greens before freezing stops the naturally-occurring ripening enzymes in the leaves. This will ensure that the leaves taste fresh and will not develop a bitter taste. Blanched kale will last up to 1 year in the freezer.