Acidity

[Chris Amirault]

I got to thinking about this topic when I was making Barbara Lynch's gnudi from her Stir cookbook. She adds a bit of lemon juice to a standard browned butter and sage sauce, and it's transformative.

If I were motivated, I'd juice a few lemons into little cups, a T or so each, and freeze 'em to have handy for this purpose....

[JAZ]

We made osso buco using the recipe from Boulevard, which calls for a relish of lemon segments, parsley, shallots and pine nuts to replace the usual gremolata. The little bits of lemon were a revelation with the rich meat.

[stuartlikesstrudel]

I got to thinking about this topic when I was making Barbara Lynch's gnudi from her Stir cookbook. She adds a bit of lemon juice to a standard browned butter and sage sauce, and it's transformative.

If I were motivated, I'd juice a few lemons into little cups, a T or so each, and freeze 'em to have handy for this purpose....

We did this with some excess lemons into ice-cube trays last year... best decision ever (well, y'know).

Our tree has just about prepared this season's lemons and we are just about out of the frozen blocks, but they served very well during those months, so much better than bottled juice IMO.

[clove2873]

Coming from a winemaking background, as I do, it might be worth noting that acids can be fixed or volatile. Volatile acids (like vinegar) will give that "high note" that rooftop talks about that will lift the aromas. I often add a few drops of vinegar to sauces at the end of cooking to achieve this.

I like this post! It provides a wonderful suggestion and explanation as to why/how it applies!

I appreciate that they have brought their expertise to the table!-- pun intended

[Nayan Gowda]

Coming from a winemaking background, as I do, it might be worth noting that acids can be fixed or volatile. Volatile acids (like vinegar) will give that "high note" that rooftop talks about that will lift the aromas. I often add a few drops of vinegar to sauces at the end of cooking to achieve this.

I like this post! It provides a wonderful suggestion and explanation as to why/how it applies!

I appreciate that they have brought their expertise to the table!-- pun intended

I do what I can for my people

[Blether]

I was surprised how far this thread got before anyone mentioned tomatoes - quite right of course, JAZ. Cheeses - in my kitchen not least mature cheddars - often carry their own acidity, and some coffees do the same into desserts.

Nakji, I've said it before but I like a little lemon juice 8and black pepper too) in miso soup. That's what I'd have suggested for yours, but the ginger vinegar is a good one, too - funny that katsuo (the base of the stock - I know you know that) is typically served with ginger when it's sushi.

[Shalmanese]

I almost always prefer citric acid (citrus fruits) to acetic acid (vinegars) when adjusting cooked foods. There's something about that musty, heavy, cooked note that I always thought brought down rather than lifted up foods. Where I do like vinegars is when they're the primary backbone flavor of a food, when sour is an integral part of the dish.

Unfortunately, from a logistical perspective, vinegars are significantly more convenient than citrus fruits. What I've taken to doing is keeping a bottle of powdered real lemon & real lime around. They're not as good as the fresh thing but when you only need a teaspoon or two to balance a dish, the difference isn't really noticable.

[Dave the Cook]

Unfortunately, from a logistical perspective, vinegars are significantly more convenient than citrus fruits. What I've taken to doing is keeping a bottle of powdered real lemon & real lime around. They're not as good as the fresh thing but when you only need a teaspoon or two to balance a dish, the difference isn't really noticable.

Really? Powders are more convenient than just keeping a lemon or lime in the fridge for a quick cut-and-squeeze? And that's significantly less convenient than opening, shaking and closing a bottle of vinegar?

[Shalmanese]

Unfortunately, from a logistical perspective, vinegars are significantly more convenient than citrus fruits. What I've taken to doing is keeping a bottle of powdered real lemon & real lime around. They're not as good as the fresh thing but when you only need a teaspoon or two to balance a dish, the difference isn't really noticable.

Really? Powders are more convenient than just keeping a lemon or lime in the fridge for a quick cut-and-squeeze? And that's significantly less convenient than opening, shaking and closing a bottle of vinegar?

It's hard to keep lemons & limes stocked reliably. Some times, I'll go though 4 or 5 in a single day and then be out for the rest of the week, other times, I'll go weeks or months without using one. Plus, if only a teaspoon of juice is needed, I now half at least half a fruit that I have to keep around or throw out.

[paulraphael]

There's something about that musty, heavy, cooked note that I always thought brought down rather than lifted up foods. Where I do like vinegars is when they're the primary backbone flavor of a food, when sour is an integral part of the dish.

I like to use brighter, fruitier tasting vinegars for this reason. My go-to vinegar right now is made from grenache grapes and is almost sweet (though I don't think it actually has residual sugar in it). It helps avoid that heavy, vinegariness you're talking about. Another thing that helps is using it very sparingly.

[Dave the Cook]

Seems like there are two easy ways to solve the inventory problem:

• Use them instead of vinegar more often!
• Start a cocktail habit.

I hate to see a good cook using citrus powder. Why not buy a bag of lemons, juice them and freeze teaspoon-sized portions of juice in these mini-cube trays?

[Pam Brunning]

Can anybody tell me why when making a plum crumble with very acidic plums no matter how much sugar I use the fruit is still unpleasantly acidic?

[andiesenji]

I can't tell you exactly why your results are the way they are.

I can tell you that in the south, sour plums (split and pitted) are slow roasted to bring out the natural sugars that seem to be locked up, even in very ripe fruit.

The plums have to be treated this way if they are going to be used in a tart or other dessert, otherwise they have a bitter flavor that can't be disguised by any amount of sugar.

Without this treatment, they are used in relishes and sauces where the sour/bitter flavor is desirable.

I have some very old recipes hand-written in a composition book back in the '40s with recipes for sour plum sauce, sour plum "cordial" and some others that I can't recall at the moment.

My grandmother roasted them in a very slow oven (probably about 200° F.) for two or three hours. Unlike other plums, these have a denser flesh and held their shape fairly well.

I don't know if your plums are similar to those, but you can always try it with just a few to see if the results work for you.

[AndreaReina]

A very interesting read! Back home in the Philippines we use vinegar with crushed chili and soy sauce with green calamansi/calamondin as near-universal dipping sauces. The local variation on roast pigs and chickens involves stuffing the body cavity with lemongrass, and they're usually served with pickled green papaya.

[Pam Brunning]

Thank you andiesenji, that is interesting, I will try that when I get more sour plums.

[percival]

Often acid is the key to balancing a dish, but don't forget, acid's all about timing. If you want it, put it in the end. If you don't want it, put it in the beginning. It's why I cook my tomato sauces for hours.

And lemon in the beginning and you have ceviche. Lemon in the end and you've got a bright note on your fatty sushi.

Oh and no one's mentioned tasty phosphoric acid.

All the cooking science books say the strongest food acid you have in your kitchen is lemon at ~2 pH. They're wrong. There's actually the phosphoric acid in things like Coca Cola and Dr. Pepper, commonly used to marinate kalbi.