Advantages of using vinegar as a salt substitute for enhancing flavor?
I read a short blurb in Cooking for Geeks that said vinegar can be used as a substitute for salt, as a flavor enhancer, to make food less bland. I plan on experimenting, but I don't know where to start.
From Cooking for Geeks:
We were reading Thomas Keller, and he talked about how salt is a flavor enhancer, and he mentioned that vinegar does a similar thing. It doesn't add a new taste, but it often alters the taste that's there.
What are the distinct advantages of using vinegar over salt as a flavor enhancer?
Best Answer
The advantage would be cutting some sodium out of your diet. If you are like many in the western part of the world, you probably get more than your daily allotment of sodium regularly. By making sure to cut sodium where you can, you gain the health benefits of a well-balanced diet.
Since salt is a flavor enhancer, a low-sodium diet can often seem bland. Many look for alternatives. Vinegar brings out flavors in a different way and adds a significant flavor of its own. I'd start small, using just a bit of vinegar.
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Quick Answer about "Advantages of using vinegar as a salt substitute for enhancing flavor?"
A touch of vinegar and a good stir right before serving your food adds to the complexity of its flavors, much in the same way salt does. Its sharp profile brightens and sharpens the flavor of a sauce—much in the same way a squeezed lemon wedge adds a burst of acidity to a protein such as chicken or fish.Is vinegar a good substitute for salt?
Because of its acid content, vinegar can brighten the flavor of many foods, so it can serve as a substitute for salt (vinegar is sodium-free). And vinegar has zero calories except for balsamic, which has about 5 to 27 calories per tablespoon.How does vinegar enhance flavor?
As off-putting flavors recede, -underlying flavors come to the fore. But many great chefs have another flavor enhancer in their arsenal: vinegar. Like salt, acids such as vinegar or lemon juice compete with bitter flavor compounds, lessening our perception of these tastes as they \u201cbrighten\u201d remaining ones.What happens when salt is mixed with vinegar?
The combination of salt and vinegar creates sodium acetate and hydrogen chloride. This chemical reaction will take an old penny and shine it like new.What are the benefits of white vinegar?
White vinegar may have significant health benefits due to its acetic acid content, including blood sugar control, weight management, reduced cholesterol and antimicrobial properties.Matt Dawson's Nutrition Tips: Salt Alternatives
More answers regarding advantages of using vinegar as a salt substitute for enhancing flavor?
Answer 2
Vinegar has a definite taste. It does also function as a flavour enhancer (like say, lemon juice), but it also has its own flavour. They are not simple substitutes.
Answer 3
It's not about salt "over" vinegar. Salt and vinegar both enhance flavors. Acid, fat, salt, sweetness all help to balance the flavor of something. If something is to rich, cut it with a little vinegar and see what happens. Like with a red sauce. People often add a little sugar because it is too sour.
Please don't try to replace salt. Salt is amazing.
Answer 4
Keller wasn't implying that vinegar (and acids) is a substitute, just that it can be used to make things taste better- or more complex.
Sweetness and bitterness can also be used in this way.
We have taste buds for different kinds of things. When we taste these things we salivate more, this gives us enzymes that immediately react with the food ( to digest it), breaking down sugars and such.
The added moisture also makes us think the food is more moist ( think the squirt of saliva you get from eating a juicy salty cut of steak).
The moisture also dissolves more water soluble flavours, making us taste more of the food. Hence the food is tastier- a flavor enhancer.
Answer 5
Well, the obvious one is that vinegar gives a sour taste, as opposed to a salty one.
Answer 6
I have used small amounts of vinegar successfully as a replacement for salt. The key is small amounts. There is a different taste between the two, so to avoid the distinctive taste of vinegar you must use it sparingly (unless of course you like the vinegar flavor). But used sparingly, in many dishes, it can successfully replace salt with hardly any vinegar taste.
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