In a Nutshell As pH Falls Below 7.0 (more acidic): Vegetables tend to stay more toothsome or crisp, and retain their shape through cooking; it takes longer to cook them until tender; Green vegetables take on a dull green or pale yellow color; Anthocyanin-rich vegetables turn pink or crimson. As pH Rises Above 7.0 (more basic): Vegetables tend to get softer and mushier, which may be ideal for mashes, purees, or sauces; Green vegetables become vibrant green; Anthocyanin-rich vegetables turn blue to violet. Cooking is chemistry, but too often we overlook one of its most powerful tools: pH. Yet pH is at play in so many of the foods we cook. We use acidic ingredients like tangy yogurt or buttermilk in marinades to tenderize meat, we add a pinch of alkaline baking soda to shrimp to keep them plump and juicy, we add cream of tartar to egg whites so they whip up into a more stable foam, and we squeeze lime juice onto fish to "cook" the flesh without heat. But what about vegetables?…