As jigg’s parents will inevitably become my future in-laws, I have been trying to earn brownie points with them.

During a dinner conversation that occurred during the second or third time I met jigg’s parents, I found an opportunity when jigg’s dad mentioned how many kids these days don’t appreciate bitter melon because their parents do not force them to eat. His proposed solution is simple: assimilation – if kids eat a little bit of it on a regular basis, they would slowly develop the acquired taste for it. jigg then added that it only took him a little bit over a year of constantly eating bitter melon to like it.

Bitter Melon

Based on the number of times (it’s a lot) that I have noticed bitter melon as the ingredient in jigg’s subsequent dinner entrees and how he fondly speaks of its deliciousness, I think I could assume that bitter melon is one of his favorite vegetables. I thought that it would surely be impressive if I could develop an acquired taste for it too!

So for the past several dinners, I have been eating bits of bitter melon each time. Personally, it is not something I would eat on my own free will. Bitterness is a taste that I associate anything that is gross with…like medicine and ear wax (yes, I have tasted that and it is bitter). To date, I still don’t like bitter melon.

When I asked jigg what he had for dinner last night and guessed whether it’s bitter melon, he laughed and told me that bitter melon season is over.