Soup is a dish that's appropriate for nearly any occasion. It might be because it's a cold day, you're feeling under the weather (this calls for chicken noodle soup -- the perfect sick day food, of course), or you're feeling nostalgic for your grandma's cooking. Thick, thin, sweet, savory, there are so many variations out there that we all have a favorite recipe for soup - especially in winter. But sometimes you might feel like your hearty pumpkin or next-level cream of mushroom soup is still missing something you can't quite put your finger on. Well, we think it's something acidic.

Adding an acidic ingredient like vinegar, lemon, or lime juice will balance and brighten the flavors in your soup, giving it a complexity in taste that will leave everyone asking for your secret. The acid will round out any overly salty or sweet flavors, and can also cut through the richness in thicker soups.

You only need to add a splash (no more than a couple of teaspoons) of your acidic component towards the end of the cooking time. Less is more here, since the aim is just to awaken the soup's existing flavors, not overwhelm them. Exactly which kind of acid works best will depend on the type of soup you're adding it to.