These days I'm trying to really step back and think very abstractly about flavor combinations to try to understand how things go together, or don't. I'm a decent home cook, but I tend to stay within certain ingredients that I know go well together. I'd like to take it to the next level so that I can add to my repertoire and be a bit more creative.
One of the ingredients that I don't use very often, and know is underrepresented in my cooking, is acid. It's only been more recently that I've started doing things like adding vinegar to sauces or braises or other dishes that aren't salad, and I'm amazed by how they can brighten and deepen and intensify other flavors. But I am a little loathe to grab the vinegar bottle (or lemon, or lime, or orange juice, etc) without a clear recipe from an established source.
Are there any rules of thumb you experts use when tipping the pH down a little? General ideas about how to think about acid from a flavor combining standpoint?
Hope this isn't too arcane.
One of the ingredients that I don't use very often, and know is underrepresented in my cooking, is acid. It's only been more recently that I've started doing things like adding vinegar to sauces or braises or other dishes that aren't salad, and I'm amazed by how they can brighten and deepen and intensify other flavors. But I am a little loathe to grab the vinegar bottle (or lemon, or lime, or orange juice, etc) without a clear recipe from an established source.
Are there any rules of thumb you experts use when tipping the pH down a little? General ideas about how to think about acid from a flavor combining standpoint?
Hope this isn't too arcane.
