Is it because you love namasu? Or do you simply relish the palate cleansing effect of a
splash of lemon juice? Or are you simply a sour person? Personally, I’ve never
really been a huge fan of Japanese pickled vegetables or namasu. By itself that is. But consuming it as a side dish to
cleanse the palate between bites of fatty proteins or used as a contrast to
richer flavors like smoked, roasted or cured pork or just simply providing a
contrasting cold crunch, that’s where pickles shine.
As highlighted in the previous month’s columns, sour
taste receptors are one of the five basic flavor sensations residing on our
tongues. And like bitter, sour helps balance the sweeter and saltier nature of
foods as well as refresh the palate between bites of richer tasting foods.
That’s why oilier fish dishes benefit from a squeeze of lemon. Or why coleslaw
(yes, it is mayonnaise but also vinegar based) provides the perfect balance to
pulled pork. Or why those pickled daikon
and carrots help balance a perfect banh
mi with roasted pork and pork liver pate.
What exactly is
the Sour Sensation?
What your taste buds actually are detecting are dissolved
acids. They may be as simple as the hydrochloric acid that “repeats” from your
stomach or the organic acids like citric acid from citrus fruits, tartaric acid
from wines or malic acid from that tart green apple. Or it can be that simple
bottled acid, acetic acid which is the primary acid in basic vinegar.
What the sour receptors do provide is an awakening or
refreshing of the palate. In the case of sour candies, it’s usually a jolt of
stimulation to shock our palates. When it’s the judicious application of
vinegar or citrus juice, it complements other foods and refreshes and cleanses
the palate preparing us for that next bite of food.
Sour Sauces
One of the basic Asian sauces that I’m sure you’ve
already sampled is a sweet and sour sauce. Probably at your neighborhood
Chinese restaurant which is usually served on medallions of pork seasoned with
ketchup and garnished with pineapple chunks. Or perhaps it was as simple as
Panda’s orange chicken. But in any case, the sweet and sour play off of each
other and balances the flavor sensations. One or perhaps several flavor
sensations higher is the traditional Chinese hot and sour soup. Now if this
soup doesn’t awaken your palate, it’s probably dead or at least hibernating
through winter.
And it’s not just the Chinese who know that balancing
various basic flavor sensations brightens food, European food culture also have
the same interplay between sweet and sour. The Italians have agrodolce which translates to sweet and
sour while the French have aigre-doux
which also translates to sweet and sour. And the French also produce one of my
favorite sauces, a gastrique which is
basically vinegar that’s used to deglaze a caramelized sauce like duck sauce or
the classic sauce for Duck a l ’Orange.
I once had pan fried sweetbreads served with an apricot
gastrique that both the Mrs. and I still dream about. The sweet and sour flavors
balance each other while the tart quality of the vinegar cut through the rich
flavors of the sweetbread. Died and gone to heaven! And whenever I purchase a
container of fried pig’s ears from my local Farmer’s Market, I always enjoy it
with my Pinot Noir, fig and balsamic gastrique.
More than Just for
Vinaigrettes
I posted this recipe about 6 years ago highlighting the
humble eggplant (http://the-gochiso-gourmet.blogspot.com/2008/08/deadly-nightshade.html).
It’s the Italian version of the French ratatouille with one major difference;
it has a nice hit of acid from the red wine vinegar that makes it as refreshing
as a nice summer salad with a bright vinaigrette. Therefore you can serve it
cold as you would a salad or serve it warm as a refreshing side dish. Or you
can create your own gastrique:
Basic Gastrique
1 to 2 cups fruit
1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, minced
3 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp wine
3 tbsp vinegar
Salt and black pepper to taste
½ to 1 tsp of optional spice
Combine ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a
boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until fruit is tender, 7
to 10 minutes. Pour mixture into a food processor and purée. There are no hard
rules to making a gastrique. Adjust the sugar and vinegar based on the ripeness
and tartness of the fruit used. Red or white wine can be used based on the
fruit and the protein it will be served with and you can select any one of a
number of vinegars – red wine, balsamic, champagne and even flavored vinegars.
Use your imagination.
Be a Sourpuss
So the next time your palate needs a little refreshing,
stimulate those sour taste buds with more than just sour candy. Add homemade
pickles to your next sandwich creation or even vinegar based coleslaw to perk
up those taste buds. Experiment with citrus and vinegar based sauces to balance
richer proteins and create your own gastriques.
Remember that well rounded culinary creations stimulate all of our taste buds!
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