If you struggle to make dishes that are properly seasoned, I have a simple tip for you: taste while you cook! While this is second nature to most experienced cooks, you’d be surprised at how many people first taste their dish when it hits the dinner table.
In carpentry, there is a saying: its better to measure 10 times and cut once than to measure once and cut ten times. The same concept applies to cooking. If you properly season your dish while it is cooking, you won’t have to salt it at the dinner table. The best way to know how much seasoning to apply is to taste while you are cooking it.
The most common adjustment you will have to make is with salt and pepper. You can adjust other seasonings as well if you catch it early enough in the cooking process.
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Obviously, there are limitations to this concept. You should never taste raw products like chicken or pork that can make you sick. You also wouldn’t want to cut off a piece of steak and try it. This would allow the juices to run out and dry up the steak.
A good example would be my fried potato recipe. This old school recipe relies on salt and pepper as its core seasonings. Without the proper amount, they can taste quite bland. The only way to get it right is by tasting while you cook.
Tasting is very important in sauces. They often require adjustments in their seasoning to get them just right. Without actually tasting the sauce, you are taking a gamble on getting the flavor right.
Tasting while you cook will make you a better cook over time. You will start to remember what certain amounts of seasoning taste like. After a while, you will need to make fewer adjustments. However, you will still need to taste test to be sure.
The next time you see a recipe asks that you season something to taste, do it. Taste while you cook! No more surprises at the dinner table!
