Lemon Juice Can Give Your Soup The Extra Zest It Needs (2024)
nicole anderson
·3 min read
Soup can be polarizing. Some people rave about the warmth and comfort a hearty bowl of soup can bring, while others view it as bland, boring, and lacking substance. If you find yourself less than enthusiastic about cooking or consuming soup for a meal, there's a good chance you haven't unlocked the depth of flavor a well-seasoned bowl can provide.
One of the best ways to brighten up your soup? Add some acid, especially in the form of citrus. While lemon is the star of the show in recipes like lemon chicken orso soup, it also pairs wonderfully with aclassic chicken noodle. In this case, however, the lemon provides more of a flavor undertone that enhances other seasonings like thyme, parsley, and turmeric.
According to trained chef Leetal Arazi, who spoke with Real Simple, you can bring a "zesty flavor" to your soup simply by adding lemon. The juice alone will add a sharpness to the dish that balances out the other ingredients, but a more intense acid, like preserved lemon, can also incorporate some savory umami elements. This is because preserved lemons change during the fermentation process, becoming more concentrated and deep in flavor. Of course, if you can't get your hands on this paste, lemon juice is an easily accessible alternative that still provides the citrus your soup needs.
Lemon is arguably even more essential in richer soups like wild mushroom and rice, curried split pea, or even white bean and bacon. This is because the delicate balance of flavor profiles requires that acidic, lemony zing to cut through the fats in the soup. Samin Nosrat unpacks this idea in her award-winning cookbook, "Salt Fat Acid Heat." She explains that these elements, when combined,strengthen a dishby using "salt to enhance, fat to carry, and acid to balance flavor."
Since wild mushroom soups are typically cream-based, there's a lot of fat incorporated into the recipe, along with the rich umami mushrooms. Similarly, using an array of spices or fatty cuts of meat can create an overbearing flavor. While salt can be added to balance out this richness, using lemon instead will actually be more effective. This is because the acid from the lemon cuts through the fat and balances out the spices. Using lemon zest on top of each bowl is also a great garnish that provides a zesty punch in every bite.
It's not uncommon to look at a soup recipe and assume the lemon would be out of place or wouldn't combine well with the other flavors, but adding lemon juice to an entire pot of soup likely won't be noticeable. Similar to salt, it will simply heighten the flavorsyou already taste, making it the perfect acid to incorporate into your dishes.
Lemons are a chicken soup game changer. Why? They brighten up and balance the salty, rich flavors of the dish, and make all of the ingredients come into line. Like a vinaigrette on a salad, the pickle on a burger, and the sour cream in a coffee cake, a squeeze of lemon gives chicken soup a game-changing brightness.
Lemon juice carries the same flavor as lemon zest, but it's more acidic, so you might want to add a pinch of sugar to balance out the tartness. That said, the lemon flavor is not as concentrated as lemon zest, so you'll want to keep this formula handy: 1 teaspoon of lemon zest = 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
Cream or dairy products can help to neutralize the tanginess of the lemon. Consider adding a splash of heavy cream, a dollop of sour cream, or a swirl of plain yogurt to your soup. These ingredients will not only reduce the lemon flavor but also add richness and creaminess to the dish.
Many recipes use lemon in the beginning of the recipe, but for soup, you'll want to wait and add the lemon towards the end of the cooking process to retain its vibrancy. Start with the juice or zest of half a lemon, then add more as desired.
In baked goods and desserts, lemons provide a light, fresh flavour. Plus, it can be used to tenderise meat, or it can be used as a substitute for vinegar in dressings. Lemon juice added to steamed vegetables will help them keep their bright colours and enhance their flavour.
Do you really need to use it? The answer is most certainly, “Yes!” As opposed to lemon juice (fresh or bottled) or lemon extract, lemon zest delivers a brighter, tangier flavor. So, I guess if you want a dish that just has a mediocre level of lemon flavor you don't have to bother.
Add it in the last few minutes of cooking so it doesn't get bitter. If you're mixing up a vinaigrette at home (and you should be), why not take 30 extra seconds to grate some citrus zest in there? If you're using citrus zest instead of or in addition to vinegar, you are practically required.
Either large or small lemons will work for most recipes, so choose the fruit based on whether you'll be using it primarily for zest or for juice. LARGER, THICK-SKINNED LEMONS are perfect for zesting.
Adds brightness to savory dishes such as pastas and tomato dishes, and often you can't identify the exact flavor - a chef's dream - a secret ingredient. Lemon dessert recipes call for it because of the intensity of flavor it adds without watering anything down, which juice would do.
Vinegar. Apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, and rice vinegar can all be substituted at a ½:1 ratio. If your recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, then, sub 1 tablespoon vinegar and replace the rest with water if needed. Usually you won't need to add any extra liquid but it depends on the recipe.
While drinking hot lemon water is marginally better than taking it ice cold, the hot water may be bad for the lemons. It can destroy some of the enzymatic and energetic properties in them. So your lemon juice may be less effective.
But, it must be noted that vitamin C is extremely heat-sensitive, and the nutrient gets easily destroyed by heat. “This is why you should never put lemon juice on food which is still hot, or still cooking on the flame.
Kenji López-Alt, taught me, was that food often tastes underseasoned because it's lacking acid. While a natural reaction might be to reach for salt, a squeeze of lemon juice often does the trick, as it balances out the other ingredients in the dish, making it taste more well-rounded.
Lack of acidity: Acids like lemon juice help lower the jam mixture's pH, which reacts with the natural or added pectin to help thicken the jam. If a jam recipe doesn't call for lemon juice or lime juice, it could rely on another ingredient, like added pectin, to set the jam.
Adding an acidic component (foods we'd consider to be sour) almost always enhances the flavors of a dish. A splash of vinegar or squeeze of lemon adds a brightness to foods that often doesn't occur on its own.
They make everything taste better! This is because, like salt, the acidity makes your mouth water.And saliva acts as a solvent for taste substances, which allows your taste buds to pick up more flavor.
Introduction: My name is Allyn Kozey, I am a outstanding, colorful, adventurous, encouraging, zealous, tender, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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