Secret of Mexican Food : Art of Acid Balancing

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•                    Mexicans, while preparing their food, think of balance. Of course, they love acidity in their cooking, and that's what makes it so appealing to eat. Though it's a function of living in a warm climate--the same reason Thai cuisine is also fond of citrus, it's a necessary form of preservation--the culinary benefit has outlasted the necessity.
  

  When you have something rich and heavy in your taco--like, say, hunksof pork shoulder what have been slow cooked in lard to become authentic carnitas --it is always accompanied by a bright, refreshing salsa to counter balance it. That's something that's unfortunately lost in translation with so much Americanized Mexican food: the acidity. Americans aren't as fond of it. The typical Mexican restaurant, serves rich, heavy food that sits in your stomach for hours. Cheese, beans, ground beef, all of it flavorful but nothing to set it all in relief. Your tongue just gets tired.

  A well-made guacamole is a perfect example of this necessary balance. Avocados are wonderful things, creamy and rich, and when you add salt their flavor deepens and becomes round.  But a guacamole really sings with a proper squeeze of lime juice.  The importance of acidity in seasoning is as important as salt itself, and Mexican cuisine intuitively understands this.

    Mexican  chefs refer to the frugality of Mexican cooking. The frank reality is that most of Mexican cooking was developed by people who didn't have a lot of money. They made use of everything, including the seeds from dried chiles (they can be charred until black and crumbled into salsas to add a complex smokey flavor). And one of the biggest surprises is that the acidity in their cooking doesn't always come from limes.

  Limes and Mexican food seem inseparable, but the reality is that a lime tree can be a luxury, and most families didn't traditionally have more than one. Yet every dish needed that crucial acidity. So what did they do? They make fruit vinegar at home .

  One of the popular vinegar is made from pineapple. The secret method of  its making :

  1.     Peels from 1 pineapple

  2.     6 ounces brown sugar

  3.     1 gallon distilled water

  In a 1 gallon food-safe container, combine the peels, sugar, and water.  Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and set in a cool, dark place.  Allow to ferment for 2-4 weeks.  The vinegar will get murky and brown, then slowly begin to clarify.  Once you  see a white "skin" at the bottom, known as the "mother," the vinegar is ready.  
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