Adjust the seasoning

"Adjust the seasoning" means taste the dish near the end and add what it needs so it tastes balanced. Usually that is more salt, but it can also be pepper, acid like lemon juice or vinegar, a little sugar, or more heat. Recipes say it because no one can tell you exactly how much salt your ingredients need. It is the same idea as seasoning to taste.

How to do it

1. Take the dish nearly to the end of cooking. Sauces and soups thicken and get saltier as they reduce, so do not season hard early on.
2. Taste a spoonful. Let it cool a little so you can really taste it.
3. Ask what is missing:
   • Flat or dull: add salt, a pinch at a time.
   • Heavy or rich: add acid, a squeeze of lemon or a dash of vinegar.
   • Too sour or too bitter: add a pinch of sugar or a little fat.
   • Thin or missing depth: add something savory, such as soy sauce or parmesan.
4. Stir well and wait 30 seconds before tasting again. Salt takes a moment to dissolve.
5. Repeat until one more pinch would be too much.

Why it works

Salt makes food taste more like itself and softens bitterness. Acid brightens and cuts through fat. Sugar rounds off sharpness. Small changes in each can bring a dish into balance, and the right amount depends on your stock, your tomatoes and your taste.

Common mistakes

• Tasting only at the start. Flavors change as food cooks and reduces. Make tasting as you go a habit.
• Adding a lot of salt at once. You can add more, but you cannot take it out.
• Reaching only for salt. Often a dish needs acid instead.
• Seasoning a cold dish while it is hot. Cold food tastes less salty, so check potato salad and chilled soups again after they cool.

In recipes

"Adjust the seasoning", "check the seasoning", "correct the seasoning" and "season to taste" all mean the same thing. If a dish is too salty, add more unsalted liquid or a starchy ingredient, or balance it with acid.