Using acidity to brighten simple sides like purees I made a simple carrot puree last night doing the following:


Sweat off some carrots, onions, garlic and a bit of peeled apple
Added a small amount of apple cider vinegar
Added a bit of an alcoholic cider along with some water as a "stock" and simmered until soft. The alcoholic cider was a bit of an experiment.


Once blended, I noticed the puree was quite sweet (cider added a lot of sweetness along with the carrots), so I added a touch more apple cider vinegar to try balance and brighten things, especially considering the puree was a side to quite a rich protein.

The result was OK but not really what I wanted...I found the vinegar acidity did balance and lift the dish a bit, but I also found myself tasting the vinegar a bit too much. I wanted the acidity &amp; brightness without actually tasting the apple cider vinegar.

I was left wondering if I should've rather added more cider vinegar earlier and let it cook through, or maybe just use less..or even just use a different type of vinegar?

So I guess my question more generally is: for this type of food, what is the best way to add some acidity to simply brighten things up without actually over-powering it? Any suggestions on other types of vinegars I could've used?
For anything of this kind, I would use lemon juice. It is acidic while not being overpowering like a vinegar can be. It performs the same job in, for example, fruit pies - a little lemon juice enhances the fruitiness and flavour of whatever the main fruit is.