If you have read my series on “Cooking without a Recipe,” you will have learned how to evaluate a dish when tasting it and how to improve the taste. It involves balancing the components of salt, acid and sweet. This Cooking Tip will concentrate on one of those components – Acid.

We are trained to add a bit of salt when we are seasoning a dish. In addition to salt, great chefs know that adding an acidic element can elevate the flavor in a way that salt cannot. Examples of acidic ingredients are citrus juice, vinegar, white wine, buttermilk, yogurt and sour cream.

You can probably recall from high school chemistry that acids are substances with a pH lower than 7, the neutral point. They also react with alkalis to neutralize them. They do have an essential part in cooking and baking.

Purposes of acids

• Preservation – in baked goods, acids help extend shelf life.
• Chemical leavening – acids react with sodium bicarbonate (or other alkalis) to produce carbon dioxide gas, which results in building volume in your baked goods.
• Flavor enhancement and balancing – acids add desirable sharp or sour notes and balance sweetness.

Before discussing individual acids, realize there are natural sources of all of them, but they are also commercially produced. Some chefs like to have powdered versions of these acids available. This allows them to add the zing of the acid without adding any additional liquid or other flavors such as when you add citrus juice or vinegar. If you have never investigated powdered acids, look at this sample pack from Modernist Pantry. They also have a video talking about the uses of these products. You may also want to watch this episode of What’s Eating Dan by Dan Souza of America’s Test Kitchen.

Citric acid

• This is found in various fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits.
• It has an intense and bright taste, but it is short-lived.
• It is also known as sour salt because of its taste and texture, but it has no salt in it.
• Uses
  • Reach for citric acid when you want a dish to taste fresh, such as with salads, white fish, and cooked veggies.
  • It loses some of its tang when heated. This can be good if you want a more subdued acidity, but if you want it to stand out, add it towards the end of the cooking process.
  • It acts as an emulsifying agent in some ice creams to prevent separation.
  • It can keep fruits and veggies fresher by interfering with oxidation and the resulting browning. Serious Eats tested this by using citric acid on apples to prevent browning. They found that the concentration required to prevent browning made the apples too sour to eat. In lesser concentrations, they were more palatable but did not work as well in preventing browning.
  • By combining a small amount with milk, you can easily make ricotta cheese.

Tartaric acid

• This is derived from wine by-products as well as cherries, lemons, bananas and avocados.
• It has a sharper flavor than citric acid.
• It is often combined with baking soda and used as a leavening agent. You might think of this as a DIY baking powder if you just happen to have tartaric acid in your pantry. Few of us do. Manufacturers started producing baking powder by replacing tartaric acid with monocalcium phosphate. If you look at your can of baking powder, you will most likely see monocalcium phosphate.
• Tartaric acic is the predominant flavor in tamarind.
• Be aware that tartaric acid and cream of tartar are not identical. In scientific terms, “cream of tartar is the potassium salt of tartaric acid.” Cream of tartar is made by combining tartaric acid with potassium hydroxide. This partially neutralizes the tartaric acid, so cream of tartar is less acidic than tartaric acid. The two of them are not interchangeable.
  
  

Lactic acid

• Since it is found in sour milk products such as yogurt, it is sometimes called milk acid. It is the acid that adds the “sour” to sourdough bread and is involved in the process of fermentation, such as with pickles or kimchi.
• It is a flavor enhancer and provides a natural sour taste.
• The flavor is softer than citric acid, but it can add a bit of the taste of fermented products.
• It can be used when you want a quieter zing of acid, such as in sauces or veggie dishes.

Malic acid

• This acid is found in unripe fruit, particularly apples.
• The flavor is very tart and lingers on the palate. Think of a green apple.
• It is often used in meat dishes.

Ascorbic acid

• AKA Vitamin C
• It is found in citrus, tomatoes, melons and berries.
• It is an antioxidant and is used to prevent the adverse effects of oxidation, such as browning in packaged goods.
• Is also used to prevent browning of cut fruits and vegetables.
• Helps to stabilize the gluten network in bread doughs.

Acetic acid

• Think of the acidity of vinegar or kombucha.
• Is produced when alcohol is fermented in the presence of oxygen.
• It has a pungent smell and will assert itself in a dish.
• Although it can be found in other food items, we mainly see it in vinegars.

Learning to taste and balance flavors should be a goal for all of us cooks. It comes easier to some than others due to the differences in our palates. However, by experimenting with the elements of salt, sweet, and acid, we can see for ourselves how these affect the flavor of our dishes. I still recall a friend making a Mexican-style soup and saying it was bland. However, after I instructed her to add some acid (in this case, lime juice), that soup was elevated from just edible to delicious. Acids are essential, and I trust this tip will encourage you not to forget about them when tasting your food!

Unless you make all your food from scratch, you will surely have some food preservatives in your dishes. And, even if you cook/bake mostly from scratch, some of the basic ingredients will often have preservatives in them. Should you worry? Is there anything you can do about it? That is the subject of this Cooking Tip.

Food preservation has been occurring for centuries. Our ancestors used salt, sugar or vinegar to preserve food for storage. Other methods included refrigerating, freezing, drying and smoking.

Beginning in the late 19^th century, alternative preservation methods began to be introduced. Today, we use chemicals (either natural or synthetic) to prolong our food’s freshness and shelf life. The goal is to prevent spoilage that occurs due to air, moisture, or harmful organisms.

The main goal of food preservatives is to reduce spoilage. They are added to food to prevent or slow down the growth of micro-organisms such as molds, yeasts and bacteria. Therefore, they can keep food fresher for longer periods of time. They are also used to slow or prevent changes in color, flavor, and texture, such as preventing browning, caking, clumping, or separating.

Food preservatives are either extracted from natural sources (non-synthetic) that can be found in nature or synthetically produced. Examples of natural preservatives include:

• Salt
• Sugar
• Vinegar
• Ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
• Citric acid
• Tocopherols (vitamin E)

Examples of man-made (synthetic) preservatives are the following.

• Potassium sorbate/sorbic acid
• BHA/BHT (Butylated Hydroxyanisole and Butylated Hydroxytoluene)
• Calcium phosphate
• Nitrates/nitrites – These can be naturally occurring but are also used in meat to add color and prolong shelf life.
• Sulfites – These chemicals prevent browning. On the label, you may see sulfur dioxide, potassium metabisulfite, sodium metabisulfite, sodium sulfite or sodium bisulfite. Next time you are in the market, look at packages of dried apricots. The ones with the word “unsulphured” will appear brownish, while the ones that appear brighter orange will have a sulfur additive.
• EDTA – Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
• Benzoic acid

Natural versus synthetic is one way of categorizing food preservatives. Another is by their function.

• Acids – These are used as most microbes cannot survive an acidic environment. Examples are citric acid, acetic acid, sorbic acid, lactic acid and fumaric acid.
• Antimicrobials – Used to prevent the growth of harmful organisms; examples are spice extracts, sodium benzoate, and sodium nitrite. The latter is sometimes listed as “celery powder” on food labels.
• Antioxidants – Oxidation is an enemy of food as it causes fat to go rancid, flavors to change and degrade, and colors to turn brown and dingy. Think of the browning that occurs when you leave a cut apple on your counter. That is due to oxidation. With the addition of an antioxidant, the oxygen reacts with the antioxidant(s) rather than the food. Examples are ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), sulfur dioxide, tocopherol (vitamin E), and BHT (chemically synthesized, but it does occur naturally in lychees).

All food additives, including preservatives, must be labeled on food packages. You will often see the word “preservative” followed by the actual name of the preservative. Sometimes, you will see the name of the chemical with the word “preservative” in parenthesis. If you wish to look up a particular food additive, see this list from the FDA.

If a preservative has been added to food, the FDA has determined that there is sufficient evidence that they are safe for their intended use. In addition, these preservatives are subject to ongoing review by the FDA as scientific understanding and testing methods improve.

Despite this, should you look for one type of preservative over another? There are three main concerns that you will hear frequently.

• Sulfur dioxide may invoke responses in people with asthma.
• Some additives may invoke an allergic response in sensitive individuals.
• Sodium nitrite is concerning as some feel it can form potentially carcinogenic nitrosamine compounds. That is why we are told to limit our consumption.

The advantages of synthetic preservatives are:

• Many feel they are more effective than natural ones.
• They are generally less expensive and more available than natural preservatives, helping to keep food costs down.
• Some caution that obtaining natural preservatives may have negative environmental impacts.
• Natural ingredients can be highly variable, making their consistency and potency different from batch to batch. Therefore, they may not be as effective, or a higher concentration may be needed to reach an effective level.

Food waste in our country (and worldwide) is a real problem. The EPA estimates that over one-third of the food produced in the United States is wasted. They state that “food waste is the single most common material landfilled and incinerated in the U.S., comprising 24 and 22 percent of landfilled and combusted municipal solid waste, respectively.”

Apart from the negative environmental concerns, this is a financial concern for all of us, especially with today’s food costs. A 2022 article in Fortune magazine estimates the economic cost of food waste is equivalent to “$1,500 worth of groceries for a four-person household each year, an estimate that doesn’t include recent food price inflation.”

We can do many things to reduce food waste in our kitchens. One thing that food manufacturers do is to add preservatives to our foods. Just take a look at the food labels of the items you purchase. Whether you want to source those items with natural preservatives is a personal decision. I hope the above information will help you as you make that decision.

Very few decisions are black and white, and the same is true for food preservatives. For more examples, see my prior posts on Flavorings and Colors.

We can all reduce the preservatives we eat by cooking more and relying less on processed foods and restaurant foods. You may not be able to avoid all preservatives, but you can positively impact your and your family’s diet.

I ran across a blog post a day or so ago titled What’s Going on with Butter? It was very interesting and I thought I would share with you in this Cooking Tip the controversy about modern-day butter. This is not a Tip about using butter in your kitchen. For that discussion, see this prior Tip.

There are really two parts to this discussion. The first is from a couple of years ago and was about Canadian butter. The second was much more recent and involved baking disasters during the 2023 holiday season with US butter.

Let’s start with Canada. What Canadian bakers were noticing was that the butter was staying hard despite being left at room temperature to soften. People were so upset about it that it became known as “Buttergate.”

The culprit was thought to be palm oil products that were being added to cattle feed. This was being used as an energy supplement and was not limited to Canada. It was also being used elsewhere in the world. Palmitic acid is a saturated fatty acid that occurs naturally in some animals and plants. The Canadian dairy industry said increased demand during the pandemic caused them to add palmitic acid (from palm oil) in greater quantities to boost milk output and increase the fat content.

The theory was that the palm fats in a dairy cow’s diet altered the saturated fatty acid profile of the resulting milk fat, which could possibly cause the butter to be firmer at room temperature. Recall that saturated fats are those that stay solid at room temperature, whereas unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature.

Not all agreed, though. A food science professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, disputed that the addition of palm products could lead to the hardening of butter. He did admit, though, that these products could affect the melting point of the butter.

Laboratory testing of 17 different Ontario butter brands was done. The testing showed only a relatively weak correlation between the amount of palmitic acid and the relative hardness of the butter. They did find that, on average, softer butters had less palmitic acid. However, it was not across the board, as some soft samples had more palmitic acid than hard samples. The conclusion was that there was more involved in the butter’s texture than just the level of palmitic acid.

Other possibilities that were put forward were:

• Diet – There are many reasons that the cow’s diet might change, and these changes are reflected in the milk and related products.
• Milking machines – Martin Scanlon, dean of agriculture and food sciences at the University of Manitoba, said that milking machines may play a role. According to him, “One factor is the recent rapid adoption of robotic milking machines on dairy farms. Cows no longer wait to be milked but enter an automated stall when they are ready to be milked. As a result, the milk fat globules do not stay in the udder for as long, resulting in hard fat crystals forming, which may impact the firmness of the final product.
• Increased demand – During the pandemic, demand for butter was up 12%. Due to this, Scanlon postulated, “Butter makers may have reduced the aging time for the milk fat and sped up cooling after churning to meet the demand. That quick cooling could leave small, hard fat crystals in the butter. Once you start cooling these fat crystals very fast, there’s actually a consequence on the hardness.”

An article in the Journal of Dairy Science was published in September 2021, and it discussed a butter analysis done by scientists from the Department of Food Science at the University of Guelph. They not only looked at the palmitic acid content but also the oleic acid content. The latter is a mono-unsaturated fat and is a principal component of olive oil. Their “preliminary results suggested that butter firmness … was positively correlated with palmitic acid content, negatively correlated with oleic acid content, and positively correlated with the palmitic acid: oleic acid ratio.”

They also postulated other factors that could affect butter’s texture. They said “In a high-throughput manufacturing plant, if fats do not spend enough time being softened by mechanical working and are not tempered at the appropriate temperature for some time, they become harder and more brittle. Thus, we assume that the combination of increased palmitic acid content and higher plant throughput due to large increases in butter demand interacted to create the harder-than-usual butter.”

So, was this phenomenon related to cattle feed or another negative outcome from the pandemic? No absolute conclusions were ever made.

Now, what about the US? I didn’t find reports of anything similar to Buttergate, although, as far as I can tell, palmitic acid is also used in cattle feed in the US.

What I did find was a meltdown during the 2023 holiday season over ruined baked goods that was attributed to a change in Costco butter. Bakers noted failures with recipes that had always been successful in the past. When they switched to a different butter, supposedly the problem resolved. People postulated that the Costco butter had a higher water content than it had in the past and, therefore, a lower butter fat content.

Devon O’Brien of AllRecipes.com decided to test the Costco butter against other brands to see for himself. He put the butters to the test in pie crusts and cookies. He did find pie crusts made from the Costco butter were drier and more crumbly than the pie crusts made with other butters. However, after resting overnight in the refrigerator, the pie crusts were indistinguishable. He noticed no difference in cookies made with the different butters. His conclusion was that he thought there was a possibility that the Costco butter had more water but found no reason to stop using it.

I cannot confirm or dispute either of these stories. First, I do not use Canadian butter and so, cannot comment on the hardness issue. Second, I do not shop at Costco (I know – that might be unbelievable!) and have never used their butter. My go-to butter for baking has always been Land O’Lakes unsalted butter and I noticed no problems using it in my baking.

Although their testing is a few years old, America’s Test Kitchen’s favorite butter for baking is Challenge unsalted butter, although Land O’Lakes was on their recommended list along with some other brands. Bon Appetit likes Cabot butter, while Food 52 says Trader Joe’s butter is unbeatable. Consumer Reports gave another vote for Land O’Lakes.

What about you? What is your favorite butter for baking? If you are a Costco fan, did you notice any problems over this holiday season? Let me know!

Do you do much baking with alternative flours? I do not as I have no one I cook or bake for that needs to stay away from regular flour. When I do make something with an alternative flour, it is usually with a nut flour such as almond or hazelnut. Many times, these ingredients are called for because of the flavor they impart, not because they are gluten free. A different alternative flour that I decided to investigate is Coconut Flour and that is the subject of this Cooking Tip.

Coconut flour is a by-product of extracting coconut milk from the coconut. The coconut milk is removed and the remaining meat is fully dried and subsequently ground into a powder.

It is a product that you might be interested in trying but realize that it is not a 1:1 substitution for wheat flour as they act very differently. The nature of coconut flour is such that it absorbs much more moisture than regular flour. Therefore, you need to limit how much you use along with adding more liquid.

Here are some Dos and Don’ts from coconut flour experts.

• Do use coconut flour in dishes that can benefit from its flavor. The flavor and aroma are distinctly of coconut but not overpowering.
• Don’t replace more than 25% of the flour in a wheat flour recipe with coconut flour.
• Do add extra moisture when you are baking with coconut flour. Start by adding 2 tablespoons of extra liquid for every 2 tablespoons of coconut flour that you use. If your recipe calls for eggs, many recommend adding one additional egg.
• Do beat the eggs before adding to the flour as it will help to give a lighter texture.
• Do sift the flour before using as it tends to clump.
• Do mix thoroughly to prevent any clumps of coconut flour.
• Do let the coconut flour sit after adding liquid ingredients to a batter recipe. This will allow for more moisture absorption and help you decide if you need more liquid.
• Do consider decreasing the sweet ingredients as the coconut flour has a natural sweetness to it.
• If you are using it in a preparation where you want a crispy texture, add some almond flour.
• When buying, look for a bag where coconut is the only ingredient. You do not want any added sugars, flavorings or other fillers.
• Can be used for non-baking uses such as to thicken sauces and coat foods.
• Don’t assume that coconut flour and other alternative flours are interchangeable as they are not. For example, almond flour is much denser and much higher in fat.

Do you utilize alternative flours? Have you ever tried coconut flour. If not, give it a try but be aware of the above cautions and have fun!