“What do microgreens taste like?” That was the question Judy, my best friend’s wife, asked me several months ago at dinner.
We were talking about what it meant to be vegan versus following a plant-based diet. I introduced microgreens into the conversation, and that was the first question.
“Duh?! Ah?”JPure Farms grew only arugula and broccoli back then. I couldn’t answer.
That got me thinking.
They hide their flavor. Each microgreen has its own unique taste.
- Basil microgreens have a lemony (sweet and sour) aftertaste.
- Carrot microgreens taste just like carrots.
- Beet microgreens are earthy (taste like dirt).
- Radish and mustard greens are spicy.
- Kale microgreens are sweet.
- Sunflower microgreens are sweet and nutty.
Most have a taste or an aftertaste identical to that of the mature plant, but they have a wider taste profile.
“Tasting” involves more than just the five (or seven, depending on who you listen to) basic tastes that your tongue is sensitive to, such as sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami.
And how you thought you tasted it with your tongue is all wrong.
You use four of your five senses to taste microgreens: sight (they have a range of colors), smell (some are pungent), feel (with your tongue), and taste.
So, the next time you try microgreens at a restaurant, at home, at a friend’s, and someone asks you, “What do microgreens taste like?” this post will show you how to taste them and help you answer that question.
Key Takeaways
- Diverse Flavor Profiles: Depending on the variety, microgreens offer a wide range of flavors, from peppery and spicy to mild and sweet.
- Intensity of Flavor: Microgreens tend to have a more concentrated flavor compared to their mature counterparts, making them excellent for enhancing the taste of various dishes.
- Aesthetic and Culinary Appeal: Microgreens’ vibrant colors and diverse textures add both visual appeal and distinct flavors to meals.
- Flavor Enhancers: Due to their intense and distinct flavors, microgreens can be used in small quantities to significantly enhance the taste profile of salads, sandwiches, and other dishes.
- Nutritional Boost: Beyond taste, microgreens are highly nutritious, offering a blend of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that contribute to a healthy diet.
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Tasting Microgreens
I AM TASTING 10 VARIETIES OF MICROGREENS | Jessica DeLuise, MHS PA-C CCMS
The Science of Taste
Remember that diagram of the tongue you learned in 9th-grade biology (or 3rd-form general science)? It comes from the 1901 PhD dissertation of German scientist David Pauli Hänig.
He experimented and learned that the tip and the edges of your tongue were the most sensitive to different tastes. He created a graph of the tongue and showed bitterness across the back, sweetness across the front, saltiness at the sides near the front, and sourness at the sides towards the back.
One hundred years later, scientists have proven that idea wrong.
They located receptor cells for sweet, sour, bitter, and umami (savory). In 2010, they located the salty receptor cells.
We have 8,000 taste buds, each containing different receptor cells for each of the five tastes. You have taste buds in the roof of your mouth and the back of your throat. How do they know?
Scientists take a round piece of paper (wafer), place a drop of PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil) on it, and put it into your mouth. Recall the most bitter taste you have ever experienced, and multiply by 100.
Table 1 The Tasting Spectrum
Turns out that taste sensitivity is on a sliding scale. Put this PROP on an under-taster’s tongue, and he might just taste bland paper. On your tongue, well, you might get sick. This stuff is bitter.
HOME EXPERIMENT: You can buy this PROP at your local drug store. So, go get yourself some blue food coloring and some paper wafers. Put the paper in your mouth. Taste buds don’t stain. You will see the bumps. Look in the mirror. You may need a magnifying glass. Your tongue will blue but the taste buds should still be pink. Thirty or more, you’re a super taster. Less than five, an under-taster.
Figure 1 Bitter, Source: http://www.medicalgraphics.de/en/free-pictures/organs/tongue.html#joomimg
Is it Five or Seven Tastes?
Scientists disagree how many types of tastes we can detect.
However, since the 2010 discovery of the salty receptor, your children learn that there are five basic tastes that their tongues are sensitive to: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory (umami).
Yet some scientists continue to disagree whether umami (savory) is a taste!
Umami is a light taste, like chicken broth, or parmesan cheese. They believe you use it to detect protein.
Food scientists continue to discover new receptors. Since 2010 they proposed new receptor cells on the tongue. The new tastes include:
- Calcium
- Fatty: A specific receptor responds to linoleic acid (found in sunflower oil, soya bean oil, and corn oil)
- Lysine
- Water
- Carbonation
- Alkaline: as in brine, and the opposite of sour
- Metallic
- Soapiness
- Hydroxide
And though food scientists are not in consensus beyond sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and savory, the taste is way over four or five spots on your tongue.
Taste is not as simple as it seemed in 1910.
Let’s agree that there are five basic tastes. Five tastes in any combination equal 125 different tastes. “Sweet and sour” is only one of them.
Now, based on the tasting spectrum (Table 1), let’s agree that on a scale from 1 to 100, there are 10 levels of intensity.
| Sweet | Sugars and some proteins trigger sweetness. Your brain needs at least two “sweet receptors” to activate. You can detect 10 millimoles of sucrose in per liter, 30 millimoles per liter for lactose |
| Sour | This taste detects acids.
The receptors combine hydrogen, sodium, and potassium ions. |
| Salty | Sodium chloride (and a few other salts) trigger these receptors. |
| Bitter | Gustducin, a G protein, is the taste that allowed your ancestors to avoid accidental poisoning. The bitterest substance known is the synthetic chemical denatonium, discovered in 1958. Scientists named them T2R’s (taste receptors, type 2). |
| Savory (Umami) | Free glutamates found in fermented (soy sauce) and aged foods (cheese) trigger this taste. Savory is important in Japanese and Chinese cooking. It is not part of Western cuisine. |
Table 2 A Sense of Taste
That’s 125 to the tenth power or 93,132,257,000,000,000,000 different flavors you can taste.
There are an enormous number of different flavors, combined with the senses of touch, temperature, and smell.
Your sense of touch also has a lot to do with your taste. Which do you prefer, crunchy or smooth peanut butter? And don’t forget smell. With a stuffed-up nose, anything in front of you is a plate of bland food.
Food scientists say you can detect 10 types of aromas or smell. They are:
- Fragrant (e.g. florals and perfumes)
- Fruity (all non-citrus fruits)
- Citrus (e.g. lemon, lime, orange)
- Woody and resinous (e.g. pine or fresh cut grass)
- Chemical (e.g. ammonia, bleach)
- Sweet (e.g. chocolate, vanilla, caramel)
- Minty and peppermint (e.g. eucalyptus and camphor)
- Toasted and nutty (e.g. popcorn, peanut butter, almonds)
- Pungent (e.g. blue cheese, cigar smoke)
- Decayed (e.g. rotting meat, sour milk)
A Microgreens List
Each microgreen variety tastes like a clearer flavored (and often more potent) version of the adult plant.
- Arugula microgreens taste more like arugula.
- Cilantro microgreens are more potent than full-grown cilantro.
- And basil microgreens are lemonier than basil.
Sometimes, they can alter the flavor profile of your meal.
Every vegetable goes through a microgreen stage. Some you should not eat, like eggplants.
Some microgreens are popular because of their taste, appearance, and growing conditions.
They include sunflower, broccoli, kale, arugula, and basil.
The less popular ones you can find are radish, mustard green, and buckwheat.
Here are the ones we’ve grown and tried here at JPure Farms:
| Microgreen | Taste | Aroma | Flavor | Intensity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfalfa | Sweet | Crunchy and Nutty | Mild | |
| Amaranth | Sweet | Earthy | Mild | |
| Arugula | Savory | Pungent | Nutty | Strong |
| Basil | Sweet | Spicy | High | |
| Beet | Sweet | Earthy | Mild | |
| Broccoli | Bitter | Crunchy | Mild | |
| Bok Choy | Sweet | Juicy | Earthy | Mild |
| Buckwheat | Sour (Tangy) | |||
| Cauliflower | Peppery | Mild | ||
| Cilantro | Sour (Lemony) | Citrus | Strong | |
| Clover | Crunchy | Fruity | Nutty | Mild |
| Cress | Sour (Tangy) | Peppery | ||
| Dun pea | Sweet | Crunchy | Strong | |
| Fava bean | Sweet | Juicy | Crunchy and Nutty | |
| Flax | Savory | Spicy | Nutty | Mild |
| Kale | Sweet | Crunchy | Mild | |
| Kohlrabi | Sweet | Mild | ||
| Lentils | Bitter | Mild | ||
| Lettuce | Sweet | Strong | ||
| Mung bean | slight buttery | Mild bean taste | ||
| Mustard | Sweet | Spicy | Mild | |
| Parsley | Sweet | Fruity | Mild | |
| Quinoa | Bitter | Woody | Mild | |
| Radish | Sweet | Strong | ||
| Sorrel | Sour (Lemony) | Peppery | Tangy | |
| Sunflower | Sweet | Nutty | Mild | |
| Wheatgrass | Sweet and Bitter | Grassy | Mild |
Microgreen flavors evolve as their leaves begin the process of photosynthesis.
And the leaves can taste different from the stems. Try different varieties that range from fruity and sweet to earth and salty to spicy and bitter.
You can use them in sandwiches, wraps, and salads, as toppings on pizzas, on avocado toast, or on bruschetta.
Want to know what do microgreens taste like? How do you know which microgreens you will like? Arugula is savory (a peppery spiciness). Radish is sweet but tastes like radish. Kale is bitter. Sunflower is sweet, and nutty like the seeds, with a spicy aftertaste.
If you want to know what microgreens taste like, and you haven’t tried them before, I’d start with Arugula or Sunflower.
Add them to dishes such as pasta, soups, salads, omelets, or vegetable plates. Sprinkle them over mashed potatoes and served as a side dish.
They’re sweet, crunchy and nutty, with a good fridge life. And they are the least expensive.
Why not invite your friends over and have a microgreens tasting party?
References
Chandrashekar, Jayaram, et al. “The Cells and Peripheral Representation of Sodium Taste in Mice.” Nature, vol. 464, no. 7286, 27 Jan. 2010, pp. 297–301, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08783.
Choi, Charles Q. “Sixth ‘Taste’ Discovered – Calcium.” Live Science, Live Science, 20 Aug. 2008, www.livescience.com/5059-sixth-taste-discovered-calcium.html.
Lambers, Hans, and James Alan Bassham. “Photosynthesis.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Feb. 2019, www.britannica.com/science/photosynthesis.
Lindemann, Bernd. “Receptors and Transduction in Taste.” Nature, vol. 413, no. 6852, Sept. 2001, pp. 219–25, https://doi.org/10.1038/35093032.
Spielman, A. I. “Gustducin and Its Role in Taste.” Journal of Dental Research, vol. 77, no. 4, Apr. 1998, pp. 539–44, https://doi.org/10.1177/00220345980770040601.
Tepper, Beverly J. “6-n-Propylthiouracil: A Genetic Marker for Taste, with Implications for Food Preference and Dietary Habits.” The American Journal of Human Genetics, vol. 63, no. 5, Nov. 1998, pp. 1271–76, https://doi.org/10.1086/302124.
I’ve learned a lot about microgreens, how good they are for you, and what you can do with them. Check out my guide, “The Beginner’s Nutritional Guide to Incredible Microgreens.”
Andrew Neves
I’m the co-founder of JPureFarms, a startup. I live in Atlanta, Georgia, and enjoy urban farming, growing and writing about microgreens and their incredible health potential. I love my greens!
