Fixing taste and the order of ingredients
What do you add when a dish tastes wrong, in what order do ingredients go in, which ingredients cause trouble together?
What do you add when a dish tastes wrong?
When a dish tastes wrong, check the salt first, then add the ingredient below for whatever is missing or too strong. The flavor of a dish is balanced between salt, sour, sweet, bitter, umami (the deep savory taste in stock and tomato paste) and fat. Detailed fixes are on the Rescue page.
| If the dish is | Try this first |
|---|---|
| Bland | Salt |
| Heavy, greasy | Acid: lemon, vinegar, pomegranate molasses, sumac (a tart, dark red ground spice from Middle Eastern groceries; lemon zest is the closest substitute) |
| Too sour | A pinch of sugar, honey or fat |
| Too bitter (like coffee) | Salt, sweetness, fat. Salt suppresses this bitterness |
| Too salty | An unsalted ingredient or liquid. Acid and fat do not reduce salt, they only reduce how salty it tastes |
| Too spicy (chili) | Yogurt, milk, butter, sugar |
| Lacking depth | Umami: tomato paste, cheese, dried mushrooms, stock |
| Monotonous | Crunchy texture, fresh herbs, a contrast of hot and cold |
In what order do ingredients go in?
Ingredients that cook for a long time go in first, and ingredients that lose their aroma with long cooking go in last.
- Heat the oil.
- Add the aromatic base: onion, carrot. Burned garlic turns bitter. That is why garlic goes in later.
- Toast the tomato paste and fat-soluble spices: cumin, chili flakes (Aleppo-style). These flakes are pul biber, sold at Middle Eastern groceries and online. Red pepper flakes also work, but they are hotter, so use less.
- Brown the main ingredient.
- Add the liquid: water, stock, tomatoes.
- Cook the dish for a long time. Bay leaf and cinnamon stick go in at this stage.
- In the last minute, add acid, fresh herbs, lemon zest and butter.
- At the table, add chili flake oil, sumac and raw olive oil.
Which ingredients cause trouble together?
Yogurt causes trouble with high heat, fresh pineapple, kiwi and papaya with gelatin, and acid with dried beans and with aluminum or iron pots.
| Combination | What happens | That is why |
|---|---|---|
| Yogurt + high heat | The yogurt curdles | Whisk the yogurt with flour or egg, add hot liquid little by little, and then do not boil it |
| Fresh pineapple, kiwi, papaya + gelatin | An enzyme breaks down the protein and the jelly does not set | Use cooked or canned fruit |
| Acid + dried beans | The beans take longer to soften | Soften the beans first and add the acid later |
| Acid + aluminum or iron pot | A metallic taste forms and the color changes | Use an enameled or stainless steel pot |
| Burned garlic and spices | A lasting bitterness forms | Add garlic late |
| Fresh herbs + long cooking | Parsley, dill and basil lose their aroma | Save fresh herbs for the end |