At Maison DEHESA, acidity comes in the plural. We work the acidities as a winemaker works the cuvées, by degree and by ageing, so that each finds its rightful place on the plate.
The backbone of a dish
Acidity makes the mouth water, and it is through acidity that the other flavours reveal themselves. It gives a dish its verticality and tempers richness. Every cuisine has cultivated it, from Peruvian ceviche to the French cornichon; lemon, which long held the role alone, now shares the stage with rhubarb and ferments.
It still has to be guided. Too sharp, it cuts; mastered, it seasons. Pastry chef Anthony Chenoz sums it up: “Acidity is what seasons the dish.”
One grape, several shades of vivacity
In the Córdoba desert, Pedro Ximénez yields a naturally very sweet must. We take it through a double fermentation, alcoholic then acetic, before raising it in a solera of century-old oak casks. No caramel is added: the sweetness belongs to the grape, the acidity to time.
6 degrees
The aged P.X. vinegar
Born of a double solera. The sweetness of candied fruit envelops a round acidity; it lends its signature to a dessert or a foie gras.
Fino
The oxidative P.X. wine
The other face of the grape: dry, oxidative, with notes of walnut. It deglazes a sauce and lifts a broth.
Black lemon, a balsamic acidity
Dried then fermented, the organic black lemon unites the acidity of a rare balsamic vinegar with the bitter zest of citrus. Grated at the last moment, it leaves its signature on the finish.
In the chefs’ kitchens
- Nino de la Spina builds his recipe around the acidity of the aged P.X. vinegar.
- At Lucas Carton, Julien Dumas and Anthony Chenoz use it to “de-sweeten” a barley and chocolate dessert.
- Sota Atsumi deglazes Jerusalem artichokes with the aged vinegar and covers them with grated tuna heart.