124 Chapter 5 The Impact of Sweetness and Acidity Levels in Wine and Food
Food Item: Pasta Mixtures
Yield: 4 servings of each of 4 types
IngredientsLow Acid
2 cups (450 g) cooked pasta at room temperature(^1) / 4 tsp (1 g) salt
(^1) / 4 tsp (1 g) black pepper
1 tbsp (15 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
Toss pasta with salt, pepper, and olive oil.
Moderate Acid
2 cups (450 g) cooked pasta at room temperature
(^1) / 8 tsp (0.5 g) salt
(^1) / 8 tsp (0.5 g) black pepper
2 tbsp (30 ml) balsamic vinaigrette (Newman’s Own,
another brand, or homemade)
Toss pasta with salt, pepper, and vinaigrette.
High Acid
2 cups (450 g) cooked pasta at room temperature
(^1) / 8 tsp (0.5 g) salt
(^1) / 8 tsp (0.5 g) black pepper
1 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette (Newman’s Own, another
brand, or homemade)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Toss pasta with salt, pepper, vinaigrette, and vinegar.
Very High Acid
2 cups (450 g) cooked pasta at room temperature
(^1) / 4 tsp (1 g) salt
(^1) / 4 tsp (1 g) black pepper
2 tbsp (30 ml) balsamic vinegar
Toss pasta with salt, pepper, and vinegar.
STEPS
1.Purchase and prepare the food items and place a portion of each on a plate for each taster.
2.Taste the food items in order of acidity and rank them on a 0–10 scale (if tasting both liquid food items and pastas, taste and
rank all of the liquids first, then the pastas). Focus on identifying the differences in acidity level. Do the differences you perceive
match those in Table 5.3? Is it difficult to determine differences in acidity level? Record your observations on the Food Acidity
Level sheet (Figure 5.5).