Seasoning and tasting as you go

The difference between food that tastes fine and food that tastes wonderful is almost always seasoning. And seasoning is not one thing; it's balance.

Salt makes food taste more like itself. It suppresses bitterness, sharpens sweetness and brings aromas forward. Under-salted food tastes flat; you'll often add sugar, cream or more spice trying to fix something that a pinch of salt would have solved.

• Salt early, then adjust. Salt added at the start of cooking penetrates food; salt added at the end sits on the surface. Season meat ahead (from 45 minutes up to a day before) so the salt has time to move inside. Season pasta and vegetable water well: about 10 g per liter (1%).
• Use ratios as a starting point. Most savory dishes taste right with 1–1.5% of their weight in salt. A 1 kg stew will want about 10–15 g (2–2½ tsp) of salt in total, including salty ingredients like stock, soy sauce or cheese.
• Remember reductions. Sauces and stocks that reduce concentrate salt. Season them at the end.

Acid — lemon, lime, vinegar, wine, yogurt, tomatoes — brightens and lifts. It balances richness and sweetness and wakes up flavors that taste muddy. If a dish tastes heavy or dull and you've already salted it, add a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar and taste again. Rich braises, creamy soups and fried foods almost always benefit.

Fat carries flavor. Many aromatic compounds dissolve in fat but not in water, so a little butter or oil makes herbs, spices and garlic taste stronger and rounder. Fat also gives texture: creaminess, crispness, silkiness. A swirl of good olive oil or a knob of butter at the end of cooking can make a dish taste finished.

Heat here means spice: chili, pepper, mustard, ginger, horseradish. A little warmth adds dimension even to dishes that shouldn't taste "hot".

Sweetness and bitterness round out the picture. A pinch of sugar tames sharp tomatoes; bitter greens like radicchio balance rich, fatty meat.

How to taste

1. Taste at every stage, not only at the end: the raw marinade, the sauce before it reduces, the soup before you blend it.
2. Use a clean spoon each time. Keep a cup of spoons by the stove.
3. Ask one question at a time. Is it salty enough? Does it need brightness (acid)? Is it rich enough (fat)? Is it lively (heat)? Fix one thing, taste again.
4. Taste in context. A sauce eaten from a spoon tastes stronger than the same sauce on pasta. A dressing should taste a little too sharp on its own; it will be right on leaves.
5. Add a little at a time. You can always add more salt. You can't take it out — though a little extra acid, fat or unsalted bulk (more potato, rice or liquid) can rescue an over-salted dish.

Finishing touches. A flourish of flaky salt, a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of olive oil, freshly ground pepper or a handful of herbs right before serving gives a final burst of flavor that cooked-in seasoning doesn't.