Sometimes the food you eat just stays with you… and I don’t mean within the memory of how great it was. Some foods leave that lingering after taste that you just can’t get rid of. That after taste can cause some pretty smelly breath and even affect your ability in fully tasting your next meal (not being able to taste your next meal??? a travesty, really). Depending on what type of flavors you consume, eating one of these 5 foods can help you with palate cleansing.
1. Lemon Sorbet
Photo by Dannah Strauss
Often served between courses at fancy restaurants, lemon sorbet provides a tart flavor of sweetness that clears the existing taste from your mouth. Lemons and limes have a naturally refreshing taste so when served as a cold icy consistency the refreshing qualities are only amplified. Other citrus fruits can be used as well, as long as they have a high citric acid content. It only takes a couple of bites to make the mouth feel clean and crisp so pucker up.
2. Milk
Photo by Dannah Strauss
Milk and other dairy products are considered excellent palate cleansers, especially if you eat something spicy. Cold milk not only aids in cooling down the mouth to the touch, but also has fats and a thick textures that will coat the mouth and act as a cooling agent. You can now indulge in your favorite spicy foods without suffering for the rest of the afternoon.
3. Pickled Ginger
Photo by Ella Storey
Ginger that is pickled in root vinegars adds acidity that can neutralize food residue. Although the ginger may taste spicy and even a little bit sour at first, the tingling sensations can get rid of the strongest of flavors. Pickled ginger is significantly good at removing stinky or fishy flavors from your palate. People often eat ginger in between bites of sushi and sashimi so they can better taste each bite… that explains the glob of ginger sitting next to your sushi roll.
4. Tea
Photo by Ella Storey
Any beverage can be swished around the mouth to help get rid of leftover food particles. Although reaching for a cold glass of water would seem to be helpful, the neutral taste does not do much for mouth cleansing. Warm herbal teas help melt away the sharp sweetness from that piece of cake you snuck after lunch or settle bold salty flavors found in dense Chinese takeout.
5. Water Crackers
Photo by Misha Gravenor
Water crackers’ simple ingredients do not have strong competing flavors like many other snack foods. The classic Saltine or Ritz cracker is actually kind of complex compared to water crackers. Water crackers are made of flour and water and often go great with aged cheeses. After eating particularly fatty foods, such as cheese, they can help get rid of the excess saliva and food within the saliva that remains leftover. These crackers can also be eaten after consuming spicy, bitter or overly sweet foods; they can offset almost any lingering food you can think of.