Mexicans,
while preparing their food, think of balance. Of course, they love acidity in
their cooking, and that's what makes it so appealing to eat. Though it's a
function of living in a warm climate--the same reason Thai cuisine is also fond
of citrus, it's a necessary form of preservation--the culinary benefit has
outlasted the necessity.
When
you have something rich and heavy in your taco--like, say, hunksof pork
shoulder what have been slow cooked in lard to become authentic carnitas --it
is always accompanied by a bright, refreshing salsa to counter balance it.
That's something that's unfortunately lost in translation with so much
Americanized Mexican food: the acidity. Americans aren't as fond of it. The
typical Mexican restaurant, serves rich, heavy food that sits in your stomach
for hours. Cheese, beans, ground beef, all of it flavorful but nothing to set
it all in relief. Your tongue just gets tired.
A
well-made guacamole is a perfect example of this necessary balance. Avocados
are wonderful things, creamy and rich, and when you add salt their flavor
deepens and becomes round. But a guacamole really sings with a proper
squeeze of lime juice. The importance of
acidity in seasoning is as important as salt itself, and Mexican cuisine
intuitively understands this.
Mexican chefs refer to the frugality of Mexican
cooking. The frank reality is that most of Mexican cooking was developed by
people who didn't have a lot of money. They made use of everything, including
the seeds from dried chiles (they can be charred until black and crumbled into
salsas to add a complex smokey flavor). And one of the biggest surprises is that the acidity in their cooking doesn't
always come from limes.
Limes
and Mexican food seem inseparable, but the reality is that a lime tree can be a
luxury, and most families didn't traditionally have more than one. Yet every
dish needed that crucial acidity. So what did they do? They make fruit vinegar
at home .
One of the popular vinegar is
made from pineapple. The secret method of
its making :
1.
Peels from 1 pineapple
2.
6 ounces brown sugar
3.
1 gallon distilled water
In a 1 gallon
food-safe container, combine the peels, sugar, and water. Cover with
plastic wrap or a lid and set in a cool, dark place. Allow to ferment for
2-4 weeks. The vinegar will get murky and brown, then slowly begin to
clarify. Once you see a white
"skin" at the bottom, known as the "mother," the vinegar is
ready.
Comments
Post a Comment