Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Hey,

I've had to go oil-free and citrus-free for medical reasons, and I'm at a bit of a loss for what to substitute for lemon juice, especially in savoury recipes like cashew cheese and hummus. Any suggestions?

I've used vinegar in place of lemon juice in cashew cheese sauces. I havent tried vinegar in hummus but I think it would taste ok!

You can leave it out of hummus. Maybe play with some other flavors like basil and sun-dried tomato.

Hey that's good to know! I always thought you needed some acidity in hummus to add that extra zing. Come to think of it, I do cut back on lemon when I add sun dried tomatoes since they're acidic.

You can also try amchur for recipes that just require a shot of sour. It's a powder made from green mangos, available online or at stores that specialize in Indian products.

Hummus doesnt "need" acidity. Subs would really depend on your dish. I use apple cider vinegar in place of lemon in tahini dressing -- it tastes better than lemon.

I've subbed vinegar in cashew cheeses and cheese sauces when I haven't had any lemons on hand, and it's worked out fine!

Sumac and pomegranate molasses might work for some recipes. Someone on here mentioned coconut vinegar for cheese before.

umeboshi plum vinegar. tart and tangy and salty rather than vinegary

umeboshi plum vinegar. tart and tangy and salty rather than vinegary

this is great, and to keep with the indian thing you could try tamarind concentrate as well.

Like hoveringdog, I'd say amchur.
I've heard tamarind tastes lime-y, but sweeter, so depending on the recipe, that might work as well.
EDIT: Sorry, Torque already said that:)

Depending on what the preparation is, mustard, wine, verjus, fermented beverages like kombucha, rejuvelac and kvass, brines from lacto-fermented veggies, umeboshi paste, pickled unripe grapes or unripe grape juice , golden prunes, sundried barberries and kokum can provide sour and tart notes.

If you have access to a Chinese grocery/herb shop, hit up the preserved fruit! Of course if you have a citric acid allergy, you'll want to be sure there's no extra added. Look for 'crackseed,' or 'li hing.' There are so many varieties of sour and salted fruits you can add finely chopped to recipes, soak and puree and add teaspoons of to dishes requiring the tartness, dry at home and turn into powders. Salted apricots, dry sour guava, salted cherries with licorice, preserved salty sour plums...the list goes on.

The breadth of vinegars available provide you with a wealth of options. Champagne and white balsamic vinegars for when a light, sweet, tart is required, malt vinegar for a more brusque flavor, chinese black vinegar for a rich and smoky notes.

Or, depending on what these medical reasons are, you could purchase food grade acidulants. Lactic, acetic, malic, and gluconic acids, that is, if you'd like to avoid citric acid.

ETA: Totally skipped over the question about what to use for cheese and hummus! For cheese, brine from fermented veggies, homemade rejuvelac or an unsweetened kombucha could add some awesome layers of flavor. Otherwise, black vinegar, brown rice vinegar, malt vinegar, coconut vinegar or white wine vinegar.

For hummus, try a touch of sumac, a garlicy brine, rejuvelac, or a really mild flavored vinegar.