I’ve never had a particularly sweet tooth. However, I really enjoy sour/salty flavours. The problem is, once you become a lip-pucker junkie, the standard acidic foods stop doing it for you. Even lemon-juice begins to taste a bit sweet. For those in my predicament, I have a suggestion: buy some food-grade concentrated acetic acid (pure vinegar) and dilute to taste. I get this one, which is a 25% solution!
Although it warns you not to use undiluted, my palate is such that I do sprinkle small drops of it on nuts, veg, meats and so forth, and it’s amazing how it can transform a bland dish into something my palate finds exciting. Of course, if you use too much of it, you’ll probably get mouth ulcers or something, so sprinkle sensibly.
Furthermore, it’s great for giving yourself that “pickle” hit if you’re impatient. For example, cut up a fresh cucumber, drip on a bit of this really strong vinegar, throw on some dill if you have any, and crush some sea salt on top: voila - instant (Very) New Green pickles!
Other things this really strong vinegar is good for is sauces and soups. You just add half a capful, and it transforms them, bringing out their richness and savoury complexities.
Something my daughter really loves is its use in grilled chicken skins. You grill them in the oven slowly, so they get crispy. Then you sprinkle on a tiny amount of this vinegar, and crush on some salt, and you have something that’s crispy, salty, fatty and tangy, and because the vinegar is not diluted, you’re not dousing the skins in pools of liquid to get the flavour.
Note that if you don’t have access to German vinegars like the one above, another place to find them is at kosher food stores around passover: any brand that is distilled concentrated acetic acid. Trust me, if you’re a fellow sour-mouth like me, your life’s about to get puckeringly better 