Sauces
How to season to taste
Add salt (and pepper or acid) bit by bit, tasting as you go, until the food tastes fully of itself.
Step by step
- Season meat and vegetables before cooking, holding the salt high so it falls evenly.
- Taste the dish near the end with a clean spoon.
- If it tastes flat, add a pinch of salt, stir and taste again.
- If it tastes heavy or dull, a squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar brightens it.
- Stop when another pinch wouldn't make it better.
How you know it's done
The flavors are clear and bright, not flat and not salty.
Common mistakes
- Salting a sauce before it reduces.
- Tasting with the spoon you stir with, then putting it back in.
Simmerbee recipes that use it (43)
- Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
- Air-Fryer Chicken Katsu
- Baked Cod with Lemon Herb Crumbs
- Classic Grilled Hamburgers
- Coq au Vin with Chicken Thighs
- Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo
- Creamy Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes
- Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff
- Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken with Spinach
- Crispy Chicken Parmesan
- Diner-Style Double Smash Burgers
- Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi with Linguine
- Garlic Herb Roast Turkey Breast
- Garlic Mustard Herb Pork Loin Roast
- Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri
- Herb Butter Roast Chicken
- Herb-Crusted Roasted Pork Tenderloin
- Honey Garlic Glazed Pork Tenderloin
- Lemon Butter Baked Salmon
- Lemon Caper Chicken Piccata
- Maple Dijon Baked Salmon
- New England Clam Chowder
- One-Pot Chicken Cacciatore
- Pan-Fried Chicken Katsu
- Pan-Seared Butter Basted Steak
- Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Garlic Butter
- Pressure Cooker Butter Chicken
- Pressure Cooker Pot Roast
- Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
- Reverse-Seared Thick-Cut Steak
- Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Crispy Sage
- Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos
- Seared Scallops with Brown Butter and Lemon
- Sheet-Pan Honey Mustard Chicken with Potatoes and Green Beans
- Shrimp Fried Rice
- Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles
- Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Vegetables
- Smothered Pork Chops in Onion Gravy
- Soft and Creamy Scrambled Eggs
- Sunday Dutch Oven Pot Roast
And 3 more recipes.
In those recipes the word is underlined in the steps; tap it for the short version. In hands-free cook mode, ask “How do I season?”
Related techniques
More sauces
DeglazeRouxCornstarch slurryEmulsifyStrainGlazeBloom spicesSteep (infuse)