What does 6% acidity taste like?
A friend and I have been doing research on a recipe and he encountered a statement to the effect that the result should be around "6% acidity." I am not familiar with what this would mean in the context of food, and need help parsing what this phrase means and how to tell when a resource is using the taste sensation, as opposed to the pH, sense of the word.
To my understanding, acidity in coffee (as an example) is not actual acidity; "acidity" refers to [the] flavor note, not to the actual acid content; coffee is relatively low in acid. Its pH averages around 5.0 - 5.1(src).
That said, pH:dilution of vinegar is directly regulated based on it's percent acidity.
- If a cooking resource refers to a percent of acidity, is this a measure somehow related to the pH of the food? Or is it possible the resource is making the same "flavor note" comparison (i.e. where coffee turns between having a bright tongue, or not)
- Either way, how would I go about trying to prepare some solution that would replicate the taste/sensation of "6% acidity"?
- I am roughly imagining some quantity x of [consumable acid, e.g. vinegar] and y of water; would that approximate the taste/sensation?
Best Answer
In wine-making, at least, acidity is a function of three different types of acid. Because those types of acid matter to the final product, wine making supply stores and websites provide several inexpensive ways of determining acidity. Two described here are an acid titration kit and a pH meter. When making wine last year I used an acid titration kit and it couldn't have been simpler. You take a sample of your liquid, the indicator solution, and a reactor solution. Based on how much of the reactor you have to add to change the color of the original sample you can get your acidity in a percent.
In my experience with the wine we noticed the acidity in our grape juice (that was on its way to becoming wine) more by the burning sensation on our hands where we touched the grapes as we crushed them or in our mouths when we drank - our solution started out seriously acidic. It was hard to taste a difference between too acidic and just right.
If you have a liquid recipe and want to get the acidity exactly right, consider using acid titration.
Pictures about "What does 6% acidity taste like?"
What does acidity taste like?
Acid is a chemical substance that is characterised by a sour taste.Can you taste acidity?
We have some direct experience of pH through our sense of taste, which responds to the concentration of hydronium ions. Most of us are able to detect a sour, tart, acidic taste in a solution with a pH of between 4 and 5.What does high acidity coffee taste like?
A coffee's acidity may have a subtle fruity quality like citrus, lemon, or berry-like as well. As you drink our Verena Street coffees, note the vibrant and pleasurable acidity of many of our blends and how it compliments and enhances the flavor experience.Does acidic mean sour?
An acid is a substance that donates hydrogen ions. Because of this, in an acidic solution there are more hydrogen ions than hydroxide ions. This means the more acidic a food is, the more hydrogen ions are available to trigger the sour taste receptors.More answers regarding what does 6% acidity taste like?
Answer 2
Not sure what 6% acid would taste like, probably fairly, well, acidic.
Am sure that the type of acid used would be the determining factor though.
It seems that the acid percentage is the molar weights of the acid and the dilutant, say 6 grams of pure acid to 100 grams of water; 6/100 = 6%. Am not a chemist but seem to remember that the same proportions of dilutant to acid results in varying Ph, depending on the type of acid.
The apple cider vinegar I use as a baste on my smoked joints of pork is shown on the label as being 5% acid - it's actually quite pleasant & makes tasty dressings and slaw.
Can't imagine what recipe is being looked at, have made saurbrauten which, in the recipe I used, called for quite a lot of vinegar; am sure though that the final acidity was substantially less than 6%.
An easy way to find out would be to prepare the recipe and taste it, you can buy Ph indication strips easily enough, which should give you (with a bit of calculation) an idea as to whether or not you are in the 6% acid range.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Victoria Emerson, Ann H, Karolina Grabowska, George Dolgikh @ Giftpundits.com