Find Your Flavor: Sour
On to the next – SOUR!
Sour foods tend to make your mouth pucker. Try not to confuse sour and bitter flavors – the sourness of food refers to the acidity in the dish.
Sour foods include:
- Lemons
- Limes
- Grapefruits
- Tomatoes
- Cranberries
- Vinegar
- Kimchi
- Yogurts
Add any of these sour foods to your meals for a freshness that really can liven up a dish. Zest a lemon, drizzle some vinegar, or make a yogurt sauce to add a bold sour flavor to your meals. However, there is such thing as too much of a good thing. If you get a little carried away with the sourness, a good way to balance the flavor is adding something sweet or salty (check last week’s post on sweet flavor for ideas).
Sour foods not only add a flavor boost to recipes, but also have health benefits. Citrus foods provide antioxidants from Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), which are important because they help boost your immunity and protect your body’s cells overall. Fermented foods also have that sour taste and help improve your gut health.
Try using sour foods to improve your sweet and/or salty dishes and deepen your flavor profile.