"Paul M. Cook" > wrote

> "Nancy Young" > wrote

>> I noticed there was a thread about putting vinegar in pie crust.
>>
>> The latest Cook's Illustrated addresses that practice. In a
>> nutshell:
>>
>> Apparently if you put enough water* into the dough to roll it
>> out easily, it baked up tough, too much gluten was forming.
>> They needed a way to tenderize the finished crust without
>> reducing the amount of water.
>>
>> *8 tablespoons
>>
>> The article said the many recipes say that a teaspoon of
>> vinegar or lemon juice (in other words, acid) can tenderize
>> the dough, claiming the gluten formation is inhibited at lower
>> pH values. However, their science editor says that isn't
>> true until the pH drops below 5. Accomplishing that led to
>> an incredibly sour crust.
>>
>> So what they needed was something that is not water but is
>> still wet, to replace some of the water. Answer: Vodka.
>> 4 tablespoons each water and vodka.
>
>
> Vodka is acid?

No! It's what they thought of to replace the acid people were using.

I only posted it because I think I saw people wondering why the
vinegar.

nancy