I like to think I’ve matured in a lot of ways over the years, and when it comes to food, one of the many evolutions of my palate has been my appreciation for bitter flavors. I have learned to embrace the edge imparted by such ingredients as broccoli rabe and radicchio. Also: matcha.
Matcha is a Japanese green tea that has been around for centuries, Emilie Holmes says in “Good & Proper Tea.” After the young tea leaves have been harvested, they’re dried and ground into a fine powder. As part of a Japanese tea ceremony, matcha “is traditionally prepared using a bamboo whisk with just hot water and then drunk from a chawan or tea bowl, allowing you to sip the tea while also taking in its fresh aroma,” Holmes writes. “Prepared in this traditional way, matcha should be smooth and creamy, striking a perfect balance between sweet and savory.”
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when anything matcha-flavored would have sent me running the other way. Part of that is probably because I’ve had at least one big-chain drink where I could have sworn that someone mistook wasabi powder for matcha. And there’s also the runaway temptation to add cloying amounts of sugar and excessive fat in matcha-flavored foods to counteract its bitterness and give it wider appeal. Plus, there’s just a lot of poor-quality matcha out there.
But when used sparingly and smartly, matcha adds an enticing green hue and just-right bitter, refreshing edge to a variety of dishes, including baked goods and drinks. Here are some options from our archives.
Source link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2024/04/27/matcha-recipes-cookies-drinks/