107
submitted 6 months ago by CraigOhMyEggo@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] 0ops@lemm.ee 2 points 6 months ago

I used to struggle with picking seasonings too, but here's a strategy that I picked up from the internet somewhere:

  1. Decide which basic flavor(s) you need
  2. Pick an ingredient that will satisfy one or more of those flavors.

Here's a baseline "basic flavors" that should always land you a flavorful meal:

  • heat (eg peppers, wasabe)
  • acid (fruit, vinegar)
  • salt (table salt, soy sauce)
  • fat (butter, bacon grease)

But there's a few others that might come in handy, like:

  • sweet (sugar, honey, fruit, many veggies)
  • mint (thyme, rosemary, basil, black pepper)
  • bitter (grapefruit, many veggies)
  • savory (soy sauce, meats)
  • whatever flavor alliums have (onions, garlic)

Of course, figuring out which basic flavors you need is still a skill to develop, but this two-stage process helped me a lot. Plus, if you're trying to stay traditional, then the second stage where you pick the ingredient may already be chosen for you. Mexican food needs acid? Lime. Italian needs heat? Red pepper flakes. Asian needs salt? Soy sauce.

TL;DR: Don't go straight to choosing ingredients you need, instead choose a basic flavor you need then pick ingredients that will satisfy that flavor.

this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2024
107 points (98.2% liked)

Asklemmy

44183 readers
1218 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy ๐Ÿ”

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS