North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Stephen Sadler" <Docshiva@Docshiva.org>]

I don't know why they taste bitter to you.  Are they fully ripe? I'm a
supertaster (genetically prone to taste certain flavors others don't) and I
can pick up very unpleasant bitter where other's don't - maybe it's your
taste buds more than the berries?  Are these by any chance sprayed? I don't
taste bitter in Juneberries - doesn't mean you wouldn't.  

No, bitter wouldn't help in a fermented beverage.  It's a flavor component,
and if it's unpleasant eaten, drinking it wouldn't help.  Salt won't draw
out the bitterness - it would just add saltiness.  Drying might work,
because the concentration of sugar might hit your taste buds with enough
oomph to overwhelm the bitter flavor.  

Stephen Sadler, Ph.D.
USDA 9, AHS heat zone 8, 
Sacramento CA - Mediterranean climate

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Mark Lee
Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2005 8:06 AM
To: 'North American Fruit Explorers'
Subject: [NAFEX] bitter juneberries

I have been sampling Juneberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) around town.
Until I started looking for these, I never noticed them.  Now that I
know what they look like, I see them everywhere.  Very popular choice
for landscaping projects now.  Although sweet, most of these I would
rather not eat fresh due to their bitterness.  I read that drying makes
them less bitter.  Has anyone experienced this?  I wonder if this
bitterness could be used to advantage in a fermented beverage?  Salt may
help also, similar to salting eggplant to remove bitterness, or
preserving in brine as bitter olives are?  I think I'll do some
experiments in the kitchen.  Comments?
-Mark Lee, Seattle zone 8a