To taste

"To taste" in a recipe means there is no set amount. You add a little, taste, and keep going until it is how you like it. Recipes use it mostly for salt and pepper, but also for lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, chile and herbs. The writer cannot know how salty your stock is or how ripe your tomatoes are, so they leave the last call to you.

How to do it

1. Start with less than you think you need. You can add more but you cannot take it out.
2. Add a pinch or a small splash and stir it in well. For salt, give it 30 seconds to dissolve.
3. Taste with a clean spoon. Let hot food cool for a moment on the spoon so you can taste properly.
4. Ask what is missing. Flat or dull usually means salt. Heavy or rich usually means acid. Too sharp usually means a pinch of sugar or a little fat.
5. Add more in small steps and taste again.

Why it works

Salt does more than make food taste salty. In the right amount it makes other flavors stronger and hides bitterness. Acid makes rich food taste lighter. A small amount of each can turn a dull dish into a good one, and the right amount changes with every batch. That is why good cooks taste as they go and adjust the seasoning at the end.

Common mistakes

• Never tasting at all and adding a guessed spoonful at the end.
• Salting to taste at the start of a dish that will reduce. As liquid boils off, the salt stays and gets stronger. Season lightly early and finish at the end.
• Tasting cold food the same way as hot. Cold dishes need a little more salt, because cold dulls taste.
• Tasting raw meat, fish or egg mixtures to check seasoning. Cook a small piece first and taste that.

In recipes

You will see "salt and pepper to taste", "season to taste", "lemon juice, to taste" and "sugar to taste". "Season generously" is a hint that the dish needs more than you might expect, as with pasta water or a steak. "Taste and adjust" means the same as to taste.