How to Accurately Achieve the Desired Taste of your Dishes

Not all people are aware, but cooking has a science to it. With an accurate mixture of flavors, one can achieve the perfect desired taste. One small mix-up can ruin the overall dish. After all, our taste buds will know the truth and will attest to that.

There are five basic tastes in food - sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (savory and salty combination). They are often combined and mixed to create the best-tasting dishes.  To have more awareness of the different types of flavors, here are some of the most common ingredients per their base flavors:

1.    Salty: Salt (i.e. kosher salt, sea salt)

2.    Sweet: Honey, sugar, maple syrup, pineapples, mangoes, bananas

3.    Sour:  Cane vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, apple cider vinegar

4.    Bitter: Eggplant, Brussels sprouts, coffee, citrus zest, Kale

5.    Umami: Cheese, mushrooms, anchovies, sweet potatoes, potatoes, truffles


Apart from the above basic tastes, some tastes can also enhance the food’s overall experience such as spicy (chilies, pepper) as well as crunchy (breadcrumbs, croutons), and even temperature (hot or cold).


While creating delicious and sumptuous dishes, there will always be instances of putting in too much (or too little) spice to achieve the desired taste. Here are some of the basic fixes to achieve the desired taste:

1.    Too Rich: If there is too much umami taste, add in more sweet or sour spices to fix that. You may add some lime juice, vinegar, or even other condiments such as pickles or basil.

2.    Too Bland: Add more salt into it to fix a very bland taste. Try fresh herbs and toasted nuts as well. If it is complementing to the dish you are making, you can add in salty cheese such as Parmesan cheese.

3.    Too Spicy: Add in some neutralizers such as citrus juice or even yogurt. If that doesn’t help, you can add in bland ingredients such as cucumber or lettuce.

4.    Too Salty: Add something sweet such as sugar or something sour such as vinegar. If it is a soup or stew, add water or unsalted stock.

5.    Too Sour: Soften the sourness by adding something sweet, salty, or bitter. Ingredients and spices such as salted caramel sauce, sweet fruits such as strawberries, and even fruit preserves will do the trick.

6.    Too Bitter: Add something salty, sweet, or sour to neutralize the bitterness. Parmesan cheese, pomegranate seeds, and even plain salt can help relieve that bitter taste.

7.    Too Sweet: Add salty, sour, or bitter ingredients. Blackberries, cherries, mint herbs, or chopped nuts can help the sweetness neutralized on your favorite desserts such as cakes and cookies.


These are just some of the fixes that you can do to make your dishes great again. However, using proper kitchen tools and following the recipes are the best things you can do to prevent this from happening. Look out for proper kitchen tools on www.springchef.com.