LEMONS
Aside from salt and pepper, lemons are the next most important ingredient for a chef, well for me personally anyway.
Lemons just bring a dish alive, a little squeeze of lemon juice and a few zestings of rind, will just round off most dishes perfectly.
Known mostly for their juice, it’s becoming more and more common to add the rind as well, and adds a more intense flavor.
The origins of lemons have stayed a mystery throughout history but it was thought that they first grew in India and China.
As most things lemons were used for medicinal use as well, they were used as an antiseptic and an antidote for certain poisons.
Lemon juice and zest is great to put into marinades as it flavors well, kills bacteria and acts as a tenderizer to meat.
I wouldn’t suggest putting lemon into a fish marinade until the last minute or rather squeeze over as the fish has just been cooked because the flesh is so tender it will part cook the fish .
The flavor marriage with lemon is defiantly fish and shellfish as well as chocolate and almonds.
