Why acid matters
Acid is a key component when it comes to cooking things right. It helps bring all of the flavors together and balance them. It is of course not the only thing needed as balance needs at least two things to be, well… balanced.
More often than not when a dish doesn’t taste quite right, it could be fixed with a little acidity. Whether it be from vinegar or the juice of a citrus fruit. Without acids, food tend to taste a little flat. What I mean by flat is that it just doesn’t seem to taste right. There is nothing there to excite our palate and tell us “wow, this tastes good”.
How to use acid properly
Acid must not be use alone. It needs a friend to play with. Whether that be sugar, fat, salt, or a bit of bitter. Pure acidity is just plain tart and sour. And we don’t want that unless there is some palate cleanser on a tasting menu. But we’re not here to design fancy tasting menus. We’re just here to cook good food. And to learn how to do it well.
Why acid is good for you
Acids such as vinegar contain polyphenols that may help protect from growth of cancer cells. This comes straight from the papers from the Harvard nutrition source pages. Acids are also good for our personal gut biomes. They can help with the digestion of foods and boost our metabolism, prevent blood clotting, and they are very crucial to brain health. We need this balance in our diet.
Trust your palate (taste everything all of the time)
The nose knows. And the palate knows all. Our sense of smell accounts for 80% of what we taste. But our tongue is responsible for the sensations of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami. These are what make things amazing. And if they lean too far one way, it just tastes basic.
I have tasted a lot of food where a little acidity would have elevated it to a whole other level. It can change a whole dish by just adding a bit of lemon juice. It is the little things in cooking that so often go overlooked that can change everything. So always think when you are building your flavors,”is there acid in here?” And I promise you that everything will turn out great.