Acid: The Barbara Hershey of Ingredients

Citrus, today is your day

So I was the one with all the glory,

while you were the one with all the strength.

A beautiful face without a name — for so long,

a beautiful smile to hide the pain.–Bette Midler

I’m sorry, acid.  I’ve let pushy Bette Midler, salt, steal all of the glory, lo these many years.  I know you are important.  You have about you a quiet strength, the strength that allows you to go on without a husband, raising a young daughter all alone.  The strength to look her in the eye and calmly say with a smile, “Mommy has a virus in her heart.”  Salt could never do that.  Salt would have a Fit of Histrionics that would scar the child for life.  I realize it’s time to let you have your day in the sun.  You know, before the virus kills you and salt raises your daughter.

One of the prime directives of fine dining cooking is balance–they try to balance salt against sweet, fatty and unctuous against sharp and biting, earthy against bright.  I’ve been to many restaurants that miss it by that much.  Often, just taking a couple of extra steps in preparation can mean the difference between good and truly great food.

While I rarely cook in fine dining mode at home, there are some principles to which I adhere (unless I’m feeling lazy, I admit).  One of these is using a combination of salt and acid to bring flavors into balance and make them pop. There are some things that salt just can’t fix all by itself (sorry, pushy Bette, but it’s true)–there’s a certain “muddiness” of flavor that you can get, especially in dishes that are cooked for a relatively long period of time.  Salt can take you to a certain point, neutralizing some bitterness and generally making the flavor more complex, but acid is often what is needed to un-muddy things and brighten a dish.  Have you ever tasted plain mashed avocado?  Kind of boring and maybe a little soapy.  Add some salt, and it gets better, but add some lime juice too, and you’re well on your way to making the Perfect Guacamole.

One of the best examples of the way salt and acid works together is in the case of sorbets (or their hot cousins, fruit sauces).  Heat some fruit in simple syrup and you get sweet, hot fruit.  There’s nothing wrong with that–you have a great base for a fruit sauce to pour over pancakes or to dress a plate.  But, take an extra 7 seconds and add a pinch of salt.  Now taste.  See?  It’s fruitier and somehow sweeter–the salt gets rid of any bitterness.  You’re almost there.  Actually, you could serve it now, and people would be Impressed.  Salt would love it if you stopped there, but, take another 4 seconds and squeeze a little fresh lime juice, lemon juice or even a tiny bit of vinegar into your sauce. (Be judicious with the third option–if you use too much, your sauce will sail past balance and right into sour).  Taste it now, and your sauce will sparkle.  I’m serious.

Some Ideas

The “base” for all of these is fruit heated in simple syrup.

You don’t even have to cook it

Macerate (fancy term for “soak”) the uncooked base with a pinch of salt and a tiny bit of acid.  This is a great idea for a fruit salad–just use mixed fruit.

Try adding herbs and spices

Folks sometimes get squidgy about pairing herbs with fruit, but why not add some minced or chiffonade (wee, thin ribbons) mint, lemon verbena or even basil to your stewed or macerated fruit.  It’s easy and tasty, and people will think you are Gifted.  As far as spices, there’s no reason not to add a wee hint of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg or clove.  The key is “wee hint.”  It doesn’t take much.  Also consider adding a bit of lemon or orange zest.  The possibilities are endless.

So, again, let me apologize to acid, who has stood quietly to the side while salt got all the glory.  But acid is the wind beneath salt’s wings.  Take that, Beaches.