How To Taste And Adjust As You Cook

The cooks whose food always tastes good are not following secret recipes. They are tasting constantly and correcting in small steps.

Watch a confident cook and you will notice they taste their food constantly, from the first time the pan has anything in it to the moment before it hits the plate. Tasting is not a final check, it is a running conversation with the dish. Each taste asks a question: does this need salt, does it need acid, is it sweet enough, is the heat where I want it? The answers steer every decision that follows.

The trick is to adjust in small steps and taste again. Salt cannot be removed, so add it a pinch at a time. A squeeze of lemon, a spoon of sugar, a splash of vinegar -- these all move a dish, and a little goes a long way. Correcting gently keeps you from chasing a fix past the point you wanted, which is how a slightly flat sauce becomes a far too salty one.

This is also why the same recipe tastes better the tenth time you make it. You are no longer just following the steps, you are tasting and nudging, and your tongue has learned what the finished dish should be. Recipes get you close. Tasting gets you the rest of the way.