The Indulgence - Lemons: Pucker Up, Sweetheart

Hot summer days. Lemonade stands. A succulent lemon tart. Summer pastas, grilled fish, a citrus vinaigrette. From childhood to adulthood the lemon is there, ironically enough, to make life a little sweeter. Lemons are one of those foods — like sugar, chocolate, and this month's main ingredient, shrimp — that human beings seem to have instinctively known were meant to be eaten. Though a thick peel hides the fruit from the eye, it is easy to see how people might have discovered the lemon's bounty: Good lemons have a pervasive aroma. When something smells that heavenly, who could resist taking a bite? While many of today's lemons are so sour that eating the fruit sounds like a form of self-flagellation, lemons can actually be sour or sweet (though sweet is a relative term). Relatively few varieties of lemons are available to us today, and we can only hope that someday lemons will go the way of tomatoes, where we will be inundated with exciting heirloom varieties.

The lemon's ubiquity in cooking stems from its dominant quality – its sourness – as acidity improves the taste of a wide variety of foods. Lemon juice is also a natural anti-oxidant, which is why adding it to sliced apples keeps them white; similarly, lemon juice helps food retain a fresh, bright, vibrant taste when cooked. The high acidity also explains why lemons are so wine friendly: Citric acid (that's what makes you pucker up, sweetheart) also occurs naturally in grapes and is preserved in wine. Lemony foods pair well with still and sparkling whites, as well as rosés. (read more)

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