Nutricost Bromelain Powder

works well as a tenderizer-- only need a tiny amount

Helps reduce inflammation in pain in back & joints.

Just so future buyers are not surprised like I was - the container is a LOT smaller than I expected. For some reason, the pictures made it look like the size of protein supplements but it is actually only 3 inches tall. This was actually good news for me because the scoop size, which I was expecting to be protein-scoop-sized, is actually only about 1/4 teaspoon (obviously I just didn't pay attention to the serving size being only 1g haha). I don't anticipate any issues getting 100 servings out of it. If you take 1 dose a day, that's a 3+ month supply and pretty economical (if it works). I appreciate that the bottle had both a plastic seal on the outside over the lid and a foil seal along the rim. You know that it is fully protected throughout the shipping process. I have only had one serving so I don't yet know if there are any benefits or negative side effects - I'll update if I notice anything. Keep in mind this is my first time seeing or taking any type of bromelain so I don't know if this is normal. Below are my initial thoughts:

Smell - Not a very strong smell and hard to place. Smells kind of sweet, sour, woody, and stale. I assume that I got a "good" batch since it wasn't repulsive like other reviewers have mentioned.

Mix-ability - The directions say to take it with 8-12 oz water 1-2 times a day. I mixed it with about 15oz water and it did NOT mix well. I shook my bottle for about 2-3 minutes and there were still little clumps of powder floating about. All it really did was make the water a little cloudy and created a bunch of light foam. I think in the future I'll use more than just water (juice or fruit smoothie) and use a blender or coffee frother to mix it up better. I don't think I'd recommend this with coffee, milk, or yogurt. Maybe a fruity or herbal tea.

Flavor - The flavor in plain water was ok - not BAD, but definitely not GOOD either. It tastes a lot like it smells and the closest thing I can think of is some kind of vegetable water. It's kind of how I imagine infusing water with potatoes might taste. Not something you look forward to, but still not SO disgusting it's impossible to drink. If you don't want to find something stronger to mix it with, I might consider doing only 4-8 ounces of water and then chugging very quickly. If you don't have a problem with taking pills, that would be the preferable route.

Mouth feel - If you've ever eaten a ton of pineapple at once, you know exactly how this will make your mouth feel. The bromelin in pineapple begins to eat away at the proteins coating your tongue and leaves your mouth feeling raw and icky after awhile. This is exactly what drinking bromelin does, but much quicker. The one dose left my mouth feeling the way it would after eating several fresh pineapple spears. This is also the reason I would only recommend adding this to a fruity drink. Aside from it just being strange to have this weird sour feeling while drinking a creamy coffee, I think it would also defeat the purpose to have this break down the proteins in dairy or a protein smoothie before you started drinking it.

Efficacy - Again, this is only my first dose so I don't know if it will make any noticeable difference, but I will share what I've learned in researching this:

It is generally recommended to take without food so it can absorb into your blood stream to potentially protect against blood clots, heart disease, cancer, and inflammation. If you're looking for the gastrointestinal benefits, you may want to take it with food so it will start to break down the food while it's in your stomach. Because the research is minimal, I may consider taking one dose on an empty stomach and one dose with food to cover my bases. One study with rats found that taking it with antacids like baking soda helped get the bromelin into the blood stream so you may consider that. Anecdotal evidence on the internet shows that soaking pineapple in salt water before eating will disable the bromelin and make it easier to eat, so to be on the safe side, I will avoid taking this with anything salty.

DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH BEFORE TAKING ANY SUPPLEMENTS! The highlights: It supposedly acts like a blood thinner so it should not be taken in conjunction with any, including NSAIDS. It may interfere with antibiotics. It may make sedative drugs stronger, including alcohol. Don't take if you're allergic to pineapple.

I bought this to tenderize steaks. If you're buying it for this purpose, be advised a little goes a long way!!! I sprinkled a tiny bit on a steak and let it sit for about 20 min and after cooking it, steak was waaaaaay too tender! Was falling apart. Maybe lightly sprinkle and let it sit a bit less than I did. Maybe 10 minutes? Overall I do believe the powder does a good job for tenderizing purposes.

Although some people take bromelain as a health supplement, we use it for it's more traditional role as a meat tenderizer. But unlike most meat tenderizers at the supermarket, this stuff is nearly 100% pure. We accidentally turned five pounds of steak into "pudding" by mixing it with three teaspoons of this stuff and leaving it in the fridge a bit too long. Use with care!