Adding a squeeze of lemon at the end made my dishes pop, what else should I try? | Chefs - Freelance Forum - The Community for Independent Professionals
Adding a squeeze of lemon at the end made my dishes pop, what else should I try?
I was cooking a chicken dish last week and it felt flat. On a whim, I added some lemon juice right before serving, and wow, it brightened everything up. Now I'm doing it with all my pan sauces and even some veggies. Has anyone else found little acid tweaks that are helpful? I'm mostly using citrus, but I hear vinegar can be good too. What's your go-to acid for finishing a plate? Lol, I feel like I've been missing out.
The real secret is just using actual ingredients, @matthew_west. I used to buy jarred pasta sauce, but now I simmer canned tomatoes with some garlic and olive oil. It takes 20 minutes and tastes a hundred times better. Same with roasting my own veggies instead of frozen ones. That moment when you realize good food isn't about skill, it's just about not taking shortcuts.
Totally, reminds me of a friend who always used that canned pie filling for desserts. She decided to make a pie from scratch last fall, even went to a farm for the apples. The whole house smelled amazing for hours, and she said it felt different knowing every step. Now she's remodeling her kitchen just to have more counter space for baking, which is funny because I'm usually the one fixing up old houses.
My neighbor did the same thing with tomato sauce last year. She said the extra twenty minutes made her feel like she actually cooked for once. Now she won't even look at a jar.