The market · Acids and agents

Malic acid

The acid of apples, rhubarb and unripe fruit — about a third of the acid in lime — with a lingering, green-apple sourness.

green apple · sharp · lingering

What to do with it

Ibu Sari's Beef rendangMalic acid would cut through its richnessAna Etxarri's Pil pilMalic acid would cut through its richnessTolu Adeyemi's SuyaMalic acid would cut through its richnessTolu Adeyemi's Rendang, the Lagos wayMalic acid would cut through its richness

If you can't find it

Homebrew shops and online.

  1. 1Citric acid
    The same
    You lose the green-apple shape — citric is sharper and shorter.

Goes with

citric acidapple juiceorange juicesugar

Knowing it

Where to buy
Home-brewing and winemaking suppliers.
Worth knowing
Mixed two parts citric to one malic, it tastes like lime's acid. On its own, a gram or two per litre makes clarified apple juice taste of a freshly cut apple — add a little at a time and taste.

Kitchens that keep it in

New York, Mexico City, London, BarcelonaThe cocktail barSpirit, acid and sugar balanced to the gram — and lately a lab's worth of technique: clarifying, fat-washing, infusing, carbonating, until a drink can taste of a whole dish.9 classics · 4 cooked here

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