Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Se descascares o limão com calma, o tomate fica menos ácido no molho. - If you peel the lemon calmly, the tomato becomes less acidic in the sauce.

It’s the conjunction meaning “if.” You can tell because it introduces a clause and is followed by a finite verb, and there’s a comma before the main clause. The reflexive pronoun for tu would be te, not se.

Why is it descascares and not descascas or descascar?

After se expressing a future or hypothetical condition, European Portuguese uses the future subjunctive: se + futuro do conjuntivo (here, descascares).

descascas = present indicative (“you peel,” factual/habitual).
descascar = infinitive (not used after se in this function).

Is descascares the future subjunctive or the personal infinitive?

Here it’s the future subjunctive. The forms of the future subjunctive and the personal infinitive often look identical, but after se (if) you need a finite verb, i.e., the future subjunctive. The personal infinitive appears after prepositions like para, ao, de, etc.

How would this change if I’m addressing someone with você instead of tu?

Use the 3rd person form of the future subjunctive:

Tu: Se descascares o limão…
Você: Se (você) descascar o limão…
Vocês: Se (vocês) descascarem o limão…
Nós: Se descascarmos o limão…

Why is the second clause in the present (fica) and not future (ficará)?

Portuguese often uses present in the main clause of future conditionals: Se + futuro do conjuntivo, presente (general result). Ficará is also correct and sounds more like a specific prediction. Fica feels more like a general rule or recipe tip.

Why do we have o limão and o tomate with the definite article?

Portuguese frequently uses the definite article with nouns referring to known or contextually specific items—like ingredients in a recipe step. O limão can mean “the lemon (we’re dealing with),” and o tomate can stand for “the tomato (as an ingredient).” You could also say um limão or use the plural (os tomates) depending on context.

Why is it menos ácido and not menos ácida?

Adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number. Tomate is masculine singular in European Portuguese, so use ácido (masc. sing.). If it were a feminine noun, you’d use ácida.

What exactly does com calma mean? Is it “slowly,” “carefully,” or “calmly”?

Literally “with calm,” it means doing something unhurriedly and without fuss—often best translated as “carefully” or “gently,” sometimes “slowly.” Alternatives:

devagar = slowly (speed-focused)
com cuidado = carefully (attention to safety/precision)
calmamente = calmly (more formal/less common in everyday speech)

Can I move com calma to a different position?

Yes, but the default is after the object: Se descascares o limão com calma…
Other options:

Se descascares, com calma, o limão… (parenthetical emphasis)
Se, com calma, descascares o limão… (fronted adverbial; marked, more formal).
All are acceptable; the first is the most natural.

What is no in no molho?

No is the contraction of em + o (“in/on + the”). So no molho = “in the sauce.” Related forms: na (= em + a), nos (= em + os), nas (= em + as).

Could I say do molho, ao molho, or para o molho instead of no molho?

no molho = in the sauce (location/state).
do molho = of the sauce (possession/source), e.g., “the acidity of the sauce.”
para o molho = for the sauce (purpose/destination).
ao molho often labels dishes (“…ao molho”), roughly “with sauce/in sauce style,” not the same meaning here.

Why not Se te descascares?

Because that would mean “if you peel yourself.” Descascar-se is reflexive (skin peeling itself). Here the object is o limão, so no reflexive pronoun is needed.

Can I add the subject pronoun (tu)?

Yes: Se tu descascares o limão… Portuguese often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the subject. Adding tu adds emphasis or contrast.

What’s the difference between se and quando here?

Se descascares… = conditional (“if you peel…”—it may or may not happen).
Quando descascares… = temporal (“when you peel…”—it’s expected to happen). Both take the future subjunctive.

Is ácido the usual way to say a food is “sour,” or should I use azedo?

Both exist, but nuances differ. Ácido can sound more chemical/technical, though it’s used in cooking too; azedo is the everyday taste word for “sour.” In many recipe contexts you could say menos azedo instead of menos ácido.

How do I pronounce tricky bits like limão, molho, and ácido?

ão in limão is a nasal vowel (roughly “lih-MAOÕ”).
lh in molho is a “ly” sound (like Italian “figlio”): “MO-lyoo.”
á in ácido shows the stress on the first syllable: “Á-ci-do.”