14 Valuable Tips and Cooking Advice from Chefs and Seasoned Cooks

6. Fat holds flavor well. – gkern86

In baking, add your aromatics to your butter (your extracts, zests, flavoring) and it will come through more clearly. – gkern86

7. Season and taste at each step. – iamtehryan

Think of it as if the dish you’re making is a building; you have to build a foundation, so to speak, at each level before going to the next. The salt/pepper, etc. should be added at small amounts at each level, so that when your dish is finished it has the different layers and complexity, rather than doing the whole dish and then seasoning at the end, but nothing else. You want to give the ingredients time to absorb the seasoning and fully express their flavors and aromas.

8. Seasoning doesn’t just mean salt. – Squid_Viciously

To the best of my understanding, most dishes need to be balanced with sweet and salt working together, and acids and fat working together. You can achieve these things in literally thousands of different ways. I cook a lot of italian food, so I use olive oil or pork fat (rendered from bacon or pancetta) and balsamic vinegar a LOT. Mexican food you might use the same pork fat, but use apple cider vinegar instead for the acid. I’ve noticed that Seafood tends to have a lot of fat in the pan coming directly from whatever you cooking, and simply balancing with lemon juice can work well–but butter is also used frequently for the fat.

Lastly, aromatics, herbs and spices will give you a more regional flavor. Some regions are very simple (thyme and oregano tend to yell “Italian!’), while others are hopelessly complex. – Squid_Viciously

9. When cooking meat don’t constantly move it. – tomthehippie

A lot of flavor you get from meat is the sear that builds up on the surface. Moving the meat around constantly stops it from building up a good sear. Listen to the meat. Learn the difference between a dry and wet crackle. As long as you hear a wet crackle, leave it alone. Also, meat should be cooked until it is almost done, then set aside to rest for five to ten minutes. Don’t touch it. Don’t cut it. Let it rest. – tomthehippie

10. Let the Maillard reaction happen if you want flavor. – Catusa

Let you toast become toast. Let you food saute long enough in the pan. Don’t rush things because the browning reaction is what creates flavor. – Catusa

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