I cook quite regularly at home, but I have trouble tasting food while cooking. All I want to know is if I should adjust salt, pepper or sourness. On the rare occasions that I taste, I invariable mess up the ingredient that I tasted. For example, I might place a little quantity (enough to lick) on my palm, wait/ blow for it to cool down, taste and adjust for salt. Later when eating the meal, I discover that I have added too much salt.
Any tips?
If it matters – this is South Indian style vegetarian cooking – lentils, vegetables.
Best Answer
Yes, do as professional chefs do - give it a real raste, not such a small taste that it's only a "lick". You can't properly get the sense of what something tastes like when the amount is that small.
Keep a soup spoon handy as a 'tasting spoon'. When you want to taste your cooking for possible seasoning adjustment, use the larger spoon (used for stirring your cooking) to scoop about a teaspoon of food onto your 'tasting spoon'. You can blow on that without worrying about burning yourself and by putting it a separate spoon, you don't have to get a clean spoon each time. No cross-contamination either.
Don't just swallow that teaspoonful of food either. Savour it. Move it around your mouth so you can taste what it's really like. If you're not sure, take another small spoonful out. You get a much better idea than simply a lick.