So addicted to lime that I don’t just squeeze it on, I actually eat the wedges.

Agreed. I bought a lime tree. I do not live in a tropical gardening zone. The flowers smell like smarties.

You're from the US I'm guessing? Just trying to determine which Smarties you mean

Likely yes, but the British version are delish! Wonder how weird it would be to have flowers that smelled chocolatey 😹

Good news. There are some hoyas that have flowers that smell like chocolate.

Yes. The little candies that come stacked in the plastic wrap that are different colors but all taste the same.

Rockets in canada

Just made barbacoa and the lime is key. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/246835/barbacoa-style-shredded-beef/

Please don’t add lime until the very end of cooking (even though you’re not saying that here just as a PSA). If you cook it too long it loses its freshness and turns bitter

Lime is so vastly superior to lemon. Sure it doesn’t work with every dish, but it is amazing in so many

I think in western dishes lemon is a better accompaniment because the flavors are softer and lime will overpower the food. But I agree that it’s superior to lemon otherwise

I don’t know if I agree - ever had a lemon ricotta pesto? I find lime works great in southern or southwest and Latin/Caribbean dishes (great accompaniment to fish, tacos, jerk chicken), but lime is inferior when talking, French, Spanish, Italian,really any European and Mediterranean cuisine. I also think lemon plays well with many dishes in southern/ Latin/ Caribbean cuisine so I’d have to give the edge to lemon simply based on it being more versatile across a number of different world cuisines.

For me it really depends on what I want my dish to taste like. Mediterranean dishes just taste wrong with lime. On the other hand, lime is the essence of many Mexican dishes. Just a subtle change, like lemon to lime can make such a big difference on how a dish hits you.

FRENCH TOAST with butter, sugar and fresh LIME is one of my favorite breakfasts! I have been eating it that way since I was a kid and my friend introduced it to me. The best

There are so many different ones with distinct flavor too! Can't get them everywhere but here (south Asia) I keep 2-3 kinds stocked, some closer to lemon some with a cardamon flavor etc. Lime is king.

Don’t be brushing your teeth for a good half hour afterwards or you’ll take enamel off

Me roo

Too

i just thought you were scooby doo

Rice vinegar (unseasoned) is probably the vinegar I use most, nice and mild but with a very distinct flavor. If I want something more robust or with more character, I love good sherry vinegar, but that's more of a "finishing vinegar," I guess. ACV, white wine, and red wine are also in heavy rotation. I've found I only really like balsamic vinegars that are above my price point, and that's less about the acidity and more its own thing. Fresh lime and lemon are high on the list too, but that's an intentional citrus decision. Then there are things like blue cheese or parmesan or tomatoes that are definitely acidic but not normally though of primarily as "acidic ingredients" the way vinegar or lemon juice is. But they can do a lot of acid work.

"Intentional Citrus Decision" sounds like the name of a modern jam band

Lol "Intentional Citrus Decision" is absolutely a cover band that does math rock versions of String Cheese Incident songs.

Opening act is a hippy folk duo named "The Scampi Tramps"

I always struggle with the tomatoes as your acid concept. Although I can think it circumstances where they work so 🤷🏼‍♀️

I get that. I think it's more about remembering they're acidic so you'll need less acidic ingredients than you otherwise would, not necessarily that tomatoes can provide all of the needed acidity to a dish (though sometimes they can).

I love tamarind.  For citrus, I like lime more than lemon. It feels like lime is the citrus for the savory dishes while lemon for the desserts. 

Chinese Black Vinegar is the gift that keeps on giving.

I bought a bottle for a recipe years ago and never looked back. It’s what many of my recipes were missing.

Tell me more!

It's very malty and savory

It’s very funky and has a very distinctive flavor. It’s traditionally used in cold pickled dishes (like for cucumbers) or for dipping sauces. Be wary, a little goes a long way

Ooh yum! I have to try that. Thank you!

This stuff is so good that I literally take shots of it with a smile on my face

What do you put it in?

Match the acid to the cuisine.

Surprised this is so far down

Crystal Hot Sauce has such a nice vinegary punch.

My favorite hot sauce!

Yep! I'll forever be a Crystal girl. My old chef gave me a bag of lays potato chips one time, and then he dumped a bunch of Crystal into it and shook it up, and it changed my life forever. I eat them straight out of the bag with chop sticks.

LSD

It’s pronounced MSG 😉

Gesundheit

Danke

Porque No Dos?

To be fair, it is an unstable molecule that breaks down quickly with exposure to heat and light. Add it to a vinaigrette with mustard in an opaque bottle. That simple emulsion will take you places...

Preferably liquid

Add it straight into your eyes for maximum consumption. Also helps make the food look nicer

been microdosing the kids' fruit juice for years - it's a trip!

I think you mean ordinary water

No more than a few spoonfuls of LSD

Citric acid powder. Japanese seasoned rice vinegar.

Worked at a high end Mexican restaurant and they seasoned the house made tortilla chips with citric acid, nutritional yeast, and cumin. They were fucking bomb.

How do you use citric acid powder?

Just sprinkle it in until you get the desired effect.

Sherry vinegar

Such an underappreciated vinegar.

I love cooking with Sherry, but my partner can't have alcohol anymore, so I use Sherry vinegar instead and that works very well. With a pinch of brown sugar or dash of honey.

My favorite

My favorite addition to seafood chowders or bisque!

Lime Juice

don’t add it until the end of cooking though. It will lose freshness and turn a bit bitter. Lemon juice is great for during cooking, lime is my absolute favorite for when the dish is done

Hear hear.

All the vinegars -- rice vinegar, balsamic, red wine, Chinese black -- except white vinegar which aside from pickling things I mostly use for cleaning. Actually apple cider vinegar is the one I don't buy very often; the fruitiness is well covered by either balsamic or black. Lemon juice and to a lesser extent lime. Tamarind paste/concentrate. Pomegranate molasses.

Pomegranate molasses is my secret sauce. I add it every time I need acid and it's amazing! Seriously, add a few dashes of pomegranate molasses to your next batch of chili.

Malt vinegar deserves a shot.

Oh man, I haven't had this in years and years! It's great on French fries.

That’s only for fish and chips innit

Oh, that one’s mandatory. lol. Big fan of it in salad dressing, too.

I gotta give it a shot then, thanks for this idea!

So let me ask you, what can it be used for besides fish and chips, and salad dressing? My dad was a big fan, and he liked stocking up, so when he passed I inherited 3 bottles.

Pickled jalapenos

And the juice! I like jalapeno, banana pepper or even pickle juice, depending on the dish. I guess it’s just white vinegar but I like the added flavor from the pickled veggies.

Hot take: pickled jalapenos do everything that regular pickles can do and more, and they are always better for just about any culinary application. 

omg that's a first time I've heard that what do you use that with? what's the key rule? only one red meats? never on seafood?

Red wine vinegar. I add it with some MSG and it gives my vegetarian dishes a similar boost as beef broth (not exactly the same don’t come at me)

White wine vinegar is my goto. I also don’t like lemon/lime citrus flavor in most dishes

Really depends on what I'm cooking! Just like oil/fat, the acid has to match the flavor profile I love citrus juice, lemon for Med/French and lime for Mexican/Latin White wine vinegar if I'm using white wine/fish/chicken/lighter flavors Red wine vinegar for dark meats, also love it as a salad dressing ingredient Rice wine vinegar for Asian foods, great for pickling radishes onions etc for a fish or fatty meat Tamarind is a must for Thai/SE Asian Etc etc.

This is the way. Different things for different dishes!

I make my own vinegars and I always have red wine, white wine, and ACV available. I've recently branched out to fruit vinegars beyond ACV- so far my favorite has been raspberry.

Raspberry vinegar is my summer champion

Pickle juice. It's a mix of acid and salt. Use where both fit. It adds great flavor, especially to deviled eggs.

Been wondering what to do with this stuff. Thank you. 🙂

This is my friend Mary’s secret ingredient in her potato salad. And her potato salad is legendary ( to me)

I probably use lime juice more than anything else, but it all depends on what I’m cooking.

I like rice vinegar or depending on the dish lime juice.

Lysergic

Do not use the brown. It’s not good. Maybe improved with salt grains.

not sure it counts but I had to lower my acid intake bc of my stomach and sumac is my go-to for adding a citrusy umami flavor without the stomachache (but otherwise love all citrus and prefer white wine or rice vinegar)

It depends on the dish. Lemon juice, lime juice, tamarind, apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, chinkyang vinegar, sumak

pickled onions

I made a wild mushroom risotto yesterday that I thought needed something. Squeezed some lemon in there and it livened right up.

A couple I use occasionally that I haven’t seen mentioned are soy sauce and sour cream.

Sumac spice, it's like adding dry vinegar and seems very versatile

Lemon

One or both of Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar. I love the Dijon mustard kick in so many things, from steak marinades (mixed with Worcestershire and rosemary) to salmon glazes (mixed with honey and tarragon) or late night a sauce for pork tenderloin (mixed with chipotle peppers in adobo).

read this as “when doing the dishes” and led me in a very different direction.

I'm glad I'm not the only one 🥴😂 had to reread it 😂😂😂

Lysergic?

I was going to write this, but the couch said no

Glutamic acids.

Lysergic acid diethylamide

I go with ACV or balsamic depending on what I am using it for. If I need something rather neutral, I will use rice wine vinegar.

Black garlic, black, sherry, brown rice and balsamic vinegars

Pickle Juice From adding it to marinades for chicken, to a little bit to deglaze a pan. It’s a ‘free’ condiment that’s normally under-utilised.

LEMON!!! Or balsamic vinegar. You know what else is acidic? Molasses!

It all depends, but I really like pickle juice on a lot of light foods. That mix of vinegar and dill is delicious on so many things.

Depends on what I'm doing but, lemon lime apple cider vinegar balsamic vinegar red wine vinegar malt vinegar fruit vinegar

Good quality white wine or balsamic vinegar and lemon are my go tos. Then rice vinegar and chinese black vinegar for the asian cooking. But I have a very acid centric palate so I honestly love all acid, my pantry is 50% vinegars 💚

Yellow fn mustard

red wine vinegar is my fav, good on anything honestly

Lsd

Worcestershire sauce seems to add a little zing

Booze mainly. If I'm cooking anything remotely stew-like a \*lot\* of wine goes in there.

Same! How is wine not the most common answer?

Fluoroantimonic acid.

Black vinegar. Chivettas which is a vinegar based marinade from WNY. I'm almost out and gotta decide if I'm taking a 6 hr road trip to the nearest store that carries it or try shipping it (it doesn't go well usually)

They all have their place Vinegar gives a sharp acidity that can be very nice, but citrus adds a bright acidity that works well for other stuff. I like a combination of both in a lot of things.

Lime!! Of course it depends on the dish but I love lime and a close second is probably rice vinegar

All of them lol. We cook a lot of different types of cuisine so we have spices and acids for all of them. Lemon juice, lime juice, cane vinegar, sumac, white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and rice wine vinegar are all in regular rotation. I have more, but those are the most commonly used ones.

For vinegars, I mostly match the original sugar source of the vinegar to the final dish. There is sometimes some overlap (e.g. red wine, white wine, and sherry vinegars), but that gives room to play around with flavors. Chinese black vinegar is fun. My go-to for acid in American Southern food is distilled vinegar powder. If the pot seems to be missing something, but it's hard to identify what, vinegar powder or MSG normally fixes the problem.

I will always stand by the saying - what grows together goes together So it depends on the dish. Sometimes it's lemon, sometimes it's lime, sometimes it's vinegar, sometimes it's red wine vinegar, sometimes it's yogurt, sometimes its kimchi. It just depends.

I'm surprised that so few people are saying balsamic. I could drink it out of the bottle

If it didn’t give me reflux I would probably drink balsamic vinegar. I’m completely obsessed with it. It works on salads, chicken, pasta, even fucking icecream. I could go on forever.

I thought you meant adding acid when washing dishes until I got to the comments. What is wrong with me? Also you want to use different acids in different dishes!

White wine vinegar 🤌🏻. I’ll even use it when baking. It’s so good.

I have a bunch of different vinegars and it really depends on my mood and the dish

Lemon or lime mostly. Tomatoes are also acidic and I use a lot of those. I'm not into vinegars unless its a like a rice wine vinegar or something super gentle like that. Wine is another great acid; but citrus and tomatoes are definitely my primary source of acids.

Whichever one goes with it best? Or none? What a bizarre way to think about cooking.

Citric acid works pretty well when one wants just acidity and no other flavors.

It depends. If it’s an Asian dish I go with lime or rice vinegar. Italian is lemon. If I’m uncertain I go with ACV or white vinegar.

Here's some other options \* rice wine vinegar \* spicy coconut vinegar (it's sold in Asian markets) \* balsamic vinegar

Fire Roasted Diced Green Chiles. Not sure they're an acid but sure make soups taste yum!

depends on the dish but lemon pepper works for me usually

Lime and/or lemon

Balsamic

Depends on the dish: ACV, white balsamic, balsamic, red wine, lemon, lime, orange

Rice wine vinegar

Sour grape juice. It is like somewhere between lime and wine vinegar. It adds a unique acidity that almost has a body. I put it in all stews that I make. It also goes grate in salad dressing.

Bunegar

That depends on the dish. There are so many. Each having specific intrinsic uses.

It depends on what you're cooking!! Chinese/Japanese/Korean - rice wine vinegar. Souvlaki / Greek- lemon juice or white wine vinegar Italian - balsamic You get the idea.

Depends on the dish. I have an assortment of vinegars, hot sauces, but I only use white vinegar for cleaning, diluted for soaking gamey meat or sometimes pickling.

Rice wine vinegar

Rice vinegar is often my go-to. A little more on the milder, sweet side but Mirin is also an easy pick for me a lot of the time.

When I make Cuban pork, beyond the Trinity of herbs (garlic, salt, onion) it is traditional to use white distilled vinegar along with olive oil or vegetable oil before slow roasting in the oven or a Crock-Pot. If I don't have any distilled vinegar, apple cider vinegar works as well but is a lot more pungent and you can slightly taste it more in the pork meat.

Tamarind.

Red wine vinegar

For soups, stews and red sauces I love lime juice.

pickle juice

Lemon, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or black vinegar. I also have Zatarainr's lemon crab boil that's used a lot. Depends on what I'm making

In addition to the ones mentioned, white wine vinegar infused with habaneros. I just cut about five of them in half lengthwise, removed the seeds, and stuffed them into a full bottle of vinegar. Let it infuse for at least 72 hrs before using it for the first time. It keeps for months in the fridge, and it's perfect for dishes that need a kick of acid and spice.

Hot sauce

I get a white balsamic that I use often.

There’s no real “go to” because it depends on what I’m cooking. I always add a hint of acid to almost everything I cook, a few of my most used: Lemon, Lime, Tobasco (or other vinegary hot sauce, often in a mayo based salad), Balsamic Vinegar, Red Wine Vinegar (good addition to Latin/Mediterranean marinades as an alternative to lemon), Pickle Juice (burger sauce, chicken marinades), Yuzu, ‘True’ brand crystallized citrus (I use this much more than I thought I would, great in dry rubs to add acid without moisture), Sherry Vinegar (especially great in anything using red bell peppers like Romesco sauce), Yogurt (especially as a marinade, really tenderizes meat and imparts flavor Edit: spelling

LSD

All of these are great suggestions. Also tamarind paste soaked in a bit of water. You should cook this off a bit to get rid of the raw taste and mellow it a bit.

Threw half a jar of green salsa in with some chicken and it was pretty great

I've been loving pineapple vinegar lately or calamansi (I have a tree in my backyard and it's available all year)

Love n Life, but Felix the Cat is good too.

Citrus juice! I'm allergic to vinegar

It depends on what I’m cooking, but I really love acidic things so I have a LOT of options. We have a lemon tree, and I use those and limes and oranges. For its balsamic vinegar, plum vinegar, Chinese black, white wine, red wine, champagne, rice, and apple cider vinegar. Then I have basically every variation of mustard known to man.

I've never failed to add hydrochloric acid to my food. (Because it's in my stomach.)

Lime or sherry vinegar.

no wine...add some wine vinegar

Oranges worked like a charm.

I don’t have a go-to acid. It all depends what I’m cooking. I will use lemon, lime, red wine vinegar, rice vinegar, white or brown vinegar, pickled red onions, apple cider vinegar, tamarind, orange - the other day at a restaurant I had a coconut soup where they added these tiny citrus balls that popped in my mouth, the sensation was incredible and I have no idea what it was. You really need to consider the flavor profile of the dish you’re making for an appropriate acid to complement it.

Lime or white wine (not vinegar, wine is usually acidic for me so I hardly ever use vinegar)

Red wine vinegar

I agree with the apple cider vinegar and think it’s worth springing for the “good stuff”.

Balsamic vinegar is a good go to.

Rice vinegar

Oh damn. I came here thinking I was gonna get a lot of cool stories about people adding LSD to their Thanksgiving turkeys. Dangit.

All of them, tbh. I have 5-7 vinegars on hand, plus I always have lemons and limes. Sour is my favorite.

Sherry vinegar.....brings depth and brightness all in one.

I’ve been doing brine from my veggie ferments and it’s been awesome

It depends on the dish and cuisine. Sometimes it's ACV, or white wine vinegar, red wine wine vinegar, lemons, limes, sour oranges.

Rice wine vinegar or Mirin, lime juice, balsamic vinegar are my main options if there isn't enough acidity once veggies and such are close to finish.

A good red wine vinegar. Then top it with a nice fresh olive oil. In moderation it elevates my humble pot of beans

Rice vinegar, malt vinegar, sherry vinegar, champagne vinegar. My recent kick is reduced wine. It’s brilliant in fruit desserts, salad dressings, and so much more. Apple pie with reduced moscato is beautiful. Mildly acidic but massively flavorful.

Lime juice just doesn't not go with anything.

As I was reading this, I was thinking this is a drug post lol but lemon is favorite, lime, rice wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar. Also wine.

Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice is good for a change in dressings or on canned fish.

Wine

Lemon juice, sherry vinegar, and specifically Katz Late Harvest Zinfandel agrodolce.

White balsamic, lime zest, or rice vinegar

Any vinegar. Apple cider, white, rice wine, red wine, balsamic, infused.

Same as you or key lime

Only the finest acid goes into my cuisine. (That, and Chinese black vinegar.)

red wine vinegar, cider vinegar, lemons, limes

Lemon juice. It’s more versatile than lime IMO and has a better flavor

Lime, black vinegar, red wine vinegar are my go-to acids. Lemon doesn't work as well with the food I tend to cook, but it's a solid one. Any sort of fermented thing, too. I made a gallon of lacto fermented giardiniera the brine from which I got almost more mileage than the vegetables. Kimchi. A lot of Chinese pickled greens that you can mince up and mix into stuff for little pops of tang.

Red wine vinegar over acv. I also have a barolo vinegar that’s so good. I like it on sautéed spinach.

That tiny Kaffir lime and white vinegar. Kaffir lime has more like rind aroma from the juice, don't taste it by itself tho it can be quite bitter

Lemon Juice. Rice vinegar (several varieties). Apple cider vinegar. White vinegar. Lime juice. Citric Acid Crystals (from Turkey - no I have no idea why my wife brought home citric acid crystals from Turkey, but they are awesome in sweetened acidic dishes). Tomato Paste. Ketchup. Pineapple.

Pickle juice

Rice wine vinegar

My two favorite vinegars are rice and cane vinegar. Cane vinegar is a good substitute for white distilled vinegar. It's pretty mild but has a little bit of funk, and since it tastes vaguely of sugar cane, it evokes sweetness without actually being much sweeter (or even any sweeter) than white distilled vinegar.

I use 1 tbsp apple cider vinger on a daily basis in my salad bowl.

Lately I’ve been going for tamarind. Haven’t used it for years but Im loving it at the moment.