I.e. my chef friend had ground jalapeno at her apartment, shit was good. Like cayenne level heat but with a different flavor

I had to go to like an international food market to find some near me which is weird given how ubiquitous jalapeno peppers are

  • KobaCumTribute [she/her]
    ·
    edit-2
    3 months ago

    Sumac. It's a deep purple, lemony spice that's great for filling the flavor role of an acid like vinegar or lemon juice in things where you don't want to do that for whatever reason. Although note that it will dye food purple and can make something like curry turn a very unappetizing shade of grey.

    On that note, citric acid powder is also good for similar reasons.

    • NephewAlphaBravo [he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      3 months ago

      Sumac is specifically malic acid (as in sour apples) instead of citric acid (lemons) or acetic acid (vinegar), and it's really cool how if you're careful you can tell each type of sourness feels distinctly different.

      • KobaCumTribute [she/her]
        ·
        3 months ago

        Neat.

        how if you're careful you can tell each type of sourness feels distinctly different.

        Definitely. Even though sumac has a lemony flavor apart from its sourness, it's experientially distinct from actual lemon and extremely different from vinegar.

    • dannoffs [he/him]
      ·
      3 months ago

      Also it's free right now if you live in the northeast. Just go take it off a tree.