the taste of Spring/Winter (bamboo) shoots

[GoodTaste]

Do you native English speakers eat Spring or Winter shoots (see the pic)? Chinese people do. But fresh shoots have an unpleasant taste that makes your tongue a bit unsmooth and numbing, Chinese call such a taste as "se", so it has to be removed (and then the sliced shoots would taste yummy). I wonder how you native speakers describe the unpleasant taste. My Chinese-English dictionary translates it as "astringent; puckery; unsmooth", I am not sure that is correct.

 

[GoesStation]

I suspect that astringent (which can certainly be described as "puckery", though I haven't seen that word before) is indeed the word you're looking for. I've heard people mix up astringency with bitterness but they are different sensations. Don't use "unsmooth". Nobody will know what you mean.

Unripe persimmons can be extremely astringent. We had a thread about it a year or so ago.

Bamboo shoots, nearly always from a can, are a common ingredient in American-style "Chinese" food.