Taste as you go

Taste as you go means tasting your food at several points while you cook, not only at the end. Each time, you decide whether it needs more salt, acid, sweetness, heat or time. Small fixes along the way give a better result than one big fix at the end.

How to do it

1. Keep a cup of clean teaspoons near the stove, and a small bowl for used ones.
2. Taste the ingredients before you start. Tomatoes, lemons and stock vary a lot.
3. Taste after each main step: after the aromatics soften, after the liquid goes in, halfway through simmering, and before serving.
4. Use a clean spoon every time you taste. Never put a spoon back in the pot after it has been in your mouth.
5. Let hot food cool on the spoon for a few seconds before you taste.
6. Ask yourself what is missing, then add a little at a time and taste again.

Why it works

Flavors change as food cooks. Liquids reduce and get saltier, spices soften, and vegetables sweeten. Salt added early has time to spread through the food, while salt added at the end sits on the surface. Tasting along the way lets you correct the balance while there is still time.

Common fixes:

• Flat or dull: add salt, then acid such as lemon juice or vinegar.
• Too sour: add a pinch of sugar or some fat.
• Too salty: add more unsalted liquid or bulk, or some acid to balance it.
• Thin or lacking depth: add an umami ingredient such as soy sauce, Parmesan or tomato paste (tomato purée in the UK).

Common mistakes

• Tasting only at the end, when a sauce is already too reduced or too salty to rescue.
• Double-dipping the tasting spoon.
• Tasting raw meat, raw fish, raw eggs or raw flour and dough. These can carry harmful bacteria. Wait until they are cooked, or taste the seasoning separately.
• Adding a lot of salt at once. It is easy to add and hard to take out.

In recipes

"Taste and adjust the seasoning" and "season to taste" both mean taste the food and add what it needs. The recipe trusts you to judge, because ingredients vary.