It’s strange, but the one seasoning element that trips up new cooks the most is actually the simplest one: salt. If you forget it or you add too little, the food will always seem bland despite being technically well-cooked, and if you accidentally over-salt, there really isn’t much of a way to go back. This is because seasoning isn’t just about learning how much to add, but also the when and how of it. It’s learning that some foods will shrink when salt is added, while others are affected by heat. Seasoning can also affect other components, such as fats, textures, or the overall balance, if not used carefully. And since taste is only refined through constant comparison, that is the only way you can tell if your seasoning is off.
The best way to train the taste buds is to choose recipes or ingredients that have minimal seasoning. Rice, sautéed zucchini, scrambled eggs, or just a plain tomato sauce will be much easier to taste and train than a dish that already has a lot of seasonings in it. Try to make a simple version of the dish, and then start adding your seasonings slowly. Taste before adding anything, then add one pinch of salt and one small stir, and taste again. Add another pinch of salt and stir again. Repeat the process. The goal here is not to get it perfectly seasoned the first time around, but rather to associate each addition of salt to the flavor it produces. This is what will hone the palate. If you can taste a noticeable but small difference when a pinch of salt is added, then you have done a good job training your taste.
This entire process can take as little as 5 minutes and can be part of just one meal you’re cooking each day. Start by cooking a plain ingredient that is not already seasoned. Cook some vegetables or beans and put them in a bowl with little to no seasoning. Spend the next 5 minutes or so sampling your dish and making your seasoning adjustments in small increments, and allow everything to blend in completely after every addition. Spend the final couple of minutes to see if your dish needs a little something more. Maybe it doesn’t need more salt but actually a small squeeze of citrus or some vinegar. You don’t want to put this in your entire meal though. You can put one drop of vinegar into just one spoonful of your dish. This exercise is crucial because beginners will often keep on salting a dish without adding it properly. The issue is not usually that you need more salt; it’s more likely the dish needs a little more brightness. A few drops of acid can really brighten up the flavor and wake your dish up from being dull.
The biggest thing is to not just wait till the end to season or to assume that one small pinch will fix an under-seasoned dish. It is important to build the flavor as you go since the food will generally taste more flavorful. Onions will react differently to heat when they are seasoned earlier rather than towards the end. Dishes will cook better and the seasoning will blend in better, such as beans or sauces when they have been seasoned more than once rather than at once. Also, make sure you taste after you have stirred the food for a couple of minutes to let the seasoning settle. If you are just adding a pinch of salt at the moment, it’s hard to tell what you’ve just tasted is a true reflection of the dish. Wait a couple minutes and make sure you use a clean spoon to sample again before you start adding anything.
If you over-season the food, don’t panic. If you feel like the dish is too salty you don’t have to just throw in more vegetables or ingredients. Try to just see if it would balance out better with a little acidity, such as adding a couple drops of lemon juice or a little creaminess. Another thing to do would be to just increase the base of your dish. Try just adding more of the original vegetable, for example.
Another thing to keep in mind, when you feel like your food isn’t quite there, is to simplify. Instead of trying to get it right in a stew with a lot of different flavors and seasonings, try making a simple food to practice on. Try roasting potatoes in the oven with just oil and salt, or try adding just salt and a small splash of vinegar to your tomatoes. With food like this, it will be much easier to notice when you’ve balanced your salt. Take note of where your salt is in your palate. Does it just hit your tongue and is immediately gone? Is it just a full flavor with no depth? Does the salt taste like it is overpowering other elements and making the dish one-note? This will all help you to understand how you can adjust it. It will get easier with time because the flavor will become something you can easily describe rather than just react to, and that will help you know what you need for a dish to be just right.
Finally, one of the most important tips you should take away from this is to taste your food more than once. Before you start, during cooking, and before you finish. Think of what heat will do to the dish, and what it will do once it cools down. Some things will taste perfect when hot out of the pan but will be more muted and bland once it cools, so keep this in mind as you are adding seasonings. Some things will be perfect for the first minute, then once they sit they will taste better. The more you practice, the better you will be at tasting, and your cooking will be better for it, your hand will be steadier and your dishes will have more depth without any guesswork.
