If you’ve ever made a meal and it wasn’t quite there, just didn’t have the pzazz or the flavors that make you sing. Perhaps it’s a soup that sat in the fridge for 3 days, or a rice pilaf that’s flavors have sunk.

Try adding a little lemon juice. Just a little, too. Not enough to give the dish a lemon flavor, either. Just enough for it to enhance the other flavors that are already there. If a dish is a party, think of lemon as a great conversationalist. Someone who draws the other party-goers into talking, not someone who takes over the conversation and doesn’t let anyone else speak.

I have used lemon juice in this way for years in the restaurant business, often finding that it’s the time that I use the LEAST amount of lemon juice that produces those great comments that we chefs love (even if we say we don’t!). I’m talking 1/16 of a teaspoon per order here. So 1/4 of a teaspoon for a four person soup, or pilaf. Try it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.