Cultivate a Taste for Bitter Foods...and Cardoon Plants

Toronto chef and author Jennifer McLagan talks about how to cook bitter foods such as cardoon plants. Photo by Shane Reid.

Chef and author Jennifer McLagan joins us to talk about bitter foods, explaining what bitterness is, and how to effectively use bitter in the kitchen.

McLagan is the author of the book, Bitter: A Taste of the World’s most Dangerous Flavor, with Recipes.

The Loss of Bitter

McLagan recalls the grapefruit that her mother served her as a child. They had a slight bitterness—an “edge.” Her mother balanced that bitterness with a sprinkle of sugar on top.

McLagan says bitterness has been bred out of modern grapefruit. Now they’re sweet and pink…with no bitterness.

That loss inspired her book. “They don’t taste like grapefruit any more,” she says.

What is Bitter?

McLagan says that many people confuse bitter with sour. It is different from sour—one of the four basic tastes, along with sour, sweet, and salty.

“It adds a complexity and depth to the food,” says McLagan, explaining that using bitterness—like salt—makes food more interesting and less flat.

Cardoon plants are one of the bitter foods in Jennifer McLagan’s book, Bitter

She gives the example of crème brulée: The caramel topping has a bitter edge, which plays well with the sweet, rich pudding below.

Cooking with Bitter Foods

McLagan says that bitter is not as popular in North American cuisine as it is in other parts of the world. “The American palate is very geared towards sweet,” she explains.

Bitter pairs well with fat and with sweetness. “Bitter and fat are the two perfect things; one rounds out the other,” she says.

Here are ideas for using bitter in the kitchen:

• McLagan talks about making turnip ice cream. She also suggests caramelizing turnips, which go well with baked apple or apple pie.

• McLagan suggests cooking Belgian endive in butter (because fat and bitterness work well together) and then using that juice to make béchamel sauce, with added emmenthal cheese, to serve over top of the Belgian endives.

• She has surprises in her book! There is a pannacotta with tobacco. McLagan says that small pieces of cigar give it a complex taste. A pannacotta is rich and creamy, and the bitterness from the tobacco comes through very gently at the back of the throat, making it a much more complex dish.

How to Cook Cardoon

For those who have never seen cardoon, McLagan describes it as “celery on steroids.” It has big, wide ribs. And it’s in the cover photo of her book.

The part of the plant that is eaten is the leaf rib. The rest of the leaf is discarded.

She describes it as having an artichoke-and-mushroom flavour—one that will seduce you once you appreciate the bitterness.

Here are McLagan’s tips for preparing and cooking cardoon:

• Cut the cardoon stalks from the base.

• Remove the spikes along the edge of the rib using a knife.

• Next, remove the strings from the stalk (it’s like pulling the strings from a celery stalk).

• McLagan finds a sharp knife works better than a vegetable peeler because there are a lot of strings and a peeler plugs up.

• Once the stalks are prepared and you begin to chop them, you might find additional strings. If so, remove them.

• Once chopped, place them immediately into water with lemon juice to prevent them from browning.

• Cook in salted water until tender (the salt is important because salt helps pull out bitterness).

• Drain.

• Remove any remaining strings.

She says a great way to serve cardoon is with a cheese sauce. “When you put cheese on something, people love it,” she says.

MgLagan notes that the inner stalks are milder, with a better texture. They are less stringy, with a delicate silver-green colour and feathery leaves. She advises using stringy outside stalks for soup; and the more tender inside ones for a gratin or salad.

Here are the cardoon recipes she includes in the book:

• Cardoon gratin

• Cardoon soup

• Warm cardoon and potato salad

• Cardoon beef tagine

• Cardoon cheese

• Cardoon and bitter-leaf salad

• Cardoon with braised bitter greens,

Connect with Jennifer McLagan

• Website: jennifermclagan.com

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My daughter Emma with a cardoon flower. The plants have great ornamental value too.

Bitter in the Garden

One of the challenges—and delights—of growing new food crops in the garden is figuring out how to use them in the kitchen. Looking to add bitter to your garden? Here are ideas:

• Arugula

• Belgian endive

• Cardoon

• Citrus rind

• Olives

• Radicchio

• Turnip

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Getting Scrappy over Quince

Toronto master preserver and pastry chef Camilla Wynne joins us to talk about preserves—and about her Quince Scrap Jelly.

Wynne hates to waste quince scraps left over from making her quince ice cream because the scraps are full of flavour and pectin. The scraps are like gold to her because it’s hard to find locally grown quince in Toronto.

Wynne, the author of Preservation Society Home Preserves: 100 Modern Recipes, teaches preserving classes and writes a syndicated newspaper column about preserving.

Locally Grown High Pectic Fruit

Wynne is fan of currants, which contain lots of pectin. She explains that because of the pectin, getting a good set on jelly is quite easy.

“You’re never worried about not getting a set.“

She makes red currant syrup, which she says is nice served with sparking water or in cocktails.

She also uses red currant syrup to make Scarlett Pears, which are pears preserved in currant syrup. She explains that the pears take on a beautiful red colour.

When it comes to using quince jelly, she says it’s an excellent complement to cheeses, and is great for glazing meats. Or just enjoy it as jelly—it’s beautiful, with the pink colour that develops as it’s cooked.

Connect with Camilla Wynne

• Website: preservationsociety.ca

• Facebook: Preservation-Society-212797788785940

• Twitter: PrsrvtnSociety

• Instagram: prsrvtnsociety

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New Book for Northern Gardeners

Growing Figs in Cold Climates: 150 of Your Questions Answered

Preserving the Apple Harvest

Recipe developer and tester Sarah Page talks about preserving apples

We dig into the art and science of preserving—and talk about preserving apples— with Sarah Page, a contributor to the latest version of the Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving: 400 Delicious and Creative Recipes for Today.

Page, who works as a recipe developer and tester, is a trained consumer chef and home economist. She loves creating new recipes with local and seasonal harvests.

Preserving Tips

Two of Page’s top tips for successful preserving are:

1. Use a tested and approved recipe

2. Use fresh produce

And her tip for first-timers? “Don’t be intimidated at all!”

“If you can cook, you can can,” she says.

Sarah Page contributed recipes to the updated edition of the Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving

Apples

Page, who grew up in a household where her mother served applesauce regularly, loves to work with apples and shares a few of her favourite ideas:

• Apple-cranberry butter

• Preserving apples for pie filling later in the year

• Apple sauce with a savoury flavour (e.g. chipotle)

• Leaving the skin on pink apples when making apple sauce to give the sauce a pink colour

No Pectin?

Apples contain lots of pectin and sugar. Page explains that that makes them a useful addition when making jam with low-pectin fruit, because they can be used in place of commercially prepared pectin.

If you’re planning to preserve a lot of apples, Page says that an old-fashioned hand-crank food mill is a worthwhile investment.

Want to Grow Fruit at Home?

Check out the No Fuss Fruit for Northern Gardeners Masterclass.

Find articles about how to grow fruit at home.

Tantalizing Tomato Harvest Recipes

Gardener and chef Signe Langford shares tips for cooking homegrown tomatoes.

We get an update from gardener, chef, and author Signe Langford on her hay-bale garden, and then talk about tips for using fresh tomatoes in the kitchen.

Langford, the author of the book Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs: Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden, has joined us on previous episodes to talk about keeping chickens and growing vegetables in hay bales.

Cook Homegrown Tomatoes

Langford suggests using fat to soften the acidity of fresh tomatoes. She likes mayonnaise, olive oil, or butter.

Some people use sugar to soften the acidity…but she prefers fat—and says her favourite fat to use with tomatoes is with butter.

“It’s a lovely way to soften the acidic bite of a tomato sauce.”

For a quick, easy tomato sauce, Langford suggests mashing fresh tomatoes, adding basil, and butter (a “generous knob” of butter). Add salt and pepper, and then heat and serve.

“Fresh tomato sauce is a wonder.”

Langford suggests rubbing the fresh tomato against grilled bread to capture the tomato flavour in the bread.

Using Bread with Tomatoes

Bread, she says, is part of the “Holy Trinity” of enjoying tomatoes. The other two ingredients are cheese and the tomato itself.

Langford’s bruscetta tip: For the best bruschetta, use fresh basil—and fry the bread in olive oil.

Soggy Sandwich? Langford says a common failing in a tomato sandwich is that the bread gets soggy from the liquid in the tomato. The simple solution is…more butter. The butter (or mayo) she explains, is a barrier that keeps the bread from absorbing the juice and prevents a sandwich from becoming a soggy mess.

Slices of grilled bread are perfect for serving tomato. Rub tomato against the grilled bread before topping it because the bread acts like a microplane, capturing tomato flavour as the tomato rubs against it.

Garden Update

Langford gives an update on her hay-bale garden, which is in its second year.

In this hot, dry summer, the challenge is watering frequently enough—and this has caused blossom end rot on some of her tomatoes. On the flip side, it’s a great year for kale.

Click here to hear the spring 2020 show where Langford talks about bale gardening.

Signe and Emma talk about Reisetomatate, a.k.a. the traveller’s tomato, in this podcast. Click here to read Emma’s Harrowsmith blog about Reisetomate.

Connect with Signe Langford

• Website: signelangford.com

• Twitter: sigster64

• Facebook: Signes-Kitchen-123723070971335

• Harrowsmith Magazine: You can also find Langford and her recipes in Harrowsmith Magazine, where she is the food editor.

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Luay's Urban Farm and Kitchen

Luay loves cooking. A food garden was a natural next step to his passion for cooking.

We talk with Luay, from Urban Farm and Kitchen in Toronto, about how he started growing food, his gardens, some favourite recipes, failure, and tips for new gardeners.

His day job in the engineering industry is hectic and includes lots of travel. Gardening and cooking are his way of unwinding.

Getting into Food Gardening

Luay currently grows in his backyard and at a municipal allotment garden.

But he didn’t grow up gardening. His interest in gardening was piqued by unusual vegetables he got through a CSA subscription.

Once his interest had been piqued, he started small—with a tomato plant on his balcony.

“Gardening is a hobby that turned into a passion.”

His interest in gardening grew into a passion. He now shares that passion on social media and his website.

His backyard includes raised beds, fruit trees, and an area to eat and entertain…but he admits that potted edible plants make their way into all parts of the yard.

“I’m trying to maximize every square inch possible.”

In the Kitchen

Luay loves to cook with what’s in season. As we talk, it’s fresh tomatoes.

The kitchen is his place to unwind.

“It’s also kind of cathartic, because it’s relaxing when you’re in the kitchen and you’re just spending time on cooking and everything else fades away.”

Failure in the Garden

Luay tells new gardeners that failure is part of being a gardener.

He aims to have backup options in case something doesn’t grow in his garden. One way to do that is to keep a few extra seedlings on hand in case things don’t go as planned.

“Failure is part of being a gardener.”

Having a succession of crops to plant throughout the year is another way that he rolls with the season, the growing conditions, and the challenges of a particular year.

“Every year is different; you roll with the punches.”

Tips for New Gardeners

He tells new gardeners to start small. He finds that herbs are a great way to start small.

“It’s important to pace yourself.”

Many new gardeners, he says, feel the need to grow everything from seed. He suggests buying transplants to start.

Connect with Luay at Urban Farm and Kitchen

• Website: urbanfarmandkitchen.com

• Instagram: urbanveggiegarden  

• Facebook: urbanfarmandkitchen

• YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOseIOjjJju2NdgjoYO9bZA

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Hens, Hay, and How to Cook Cardoon

Signe Langford talks about her food garden in Port Hope, Ontario

Food writer Signe Langford joins us from Port Hope, Ontario to talk about her passion for growing food, her food garden, cooking, and how her garden connects her with her community.

Hay

A fan of straw-bale gardening, Signe talks about how she experimented last year using bales of alfalfa hay instead of straw bales. Hay is normally NOT recommended for the straw-bale technique because all of the grass seeds within can make a bale look like a big chia pet. Signe tells us how that went. She was pleased with the results.

Hens

Signe is the author of Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs: Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden.

The author of the book Happy Hens and Fresh Eggs: Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden, Signe considers chickens to be, “a symbiotic member of the garden.”

She talks about common myths such as noise and smell that she often hears.

Cooking

Signe talks about edible weeds and edible native plants—and her love of the dandelion.

Signe also helps Steven with cooking advice for cardoon, explaining how to make Cardoon Gratin.