How to Make a Delicious Recipe?
Today, when I logged into Slack, I was greeted by a terrible story. Last night our dear editor-in-chief Virginia was making a lentil soup recipe from [redacted], but found it took a tiny quarter teaspoon of salt. “Reader, that was soft,” she told us, to which A.A. Newton replied, “I will scream,” because she is, in fact, a fighter for the rights of salt.
This led to a discussion of tasteless recipes and how to deal with them. Adding over 1/4 teaspoon of salt to a vat of soup is a good start, but increasing the amount of garlic has also been popular because, in all fairness, even a whole head of garlic isn’t that much garlic.
- Virginia : I recommend “double or triple their recommended amount of garlic” and usually “add cumin.”
- A. A. Newton : For baking recipes: use salted butter and twice as much vanilla. Always salt large cuts of meat overnight and salt water to soak dried beans and legumes. [You can] also usually double the salt [in the recipe] because EVERYONE IS AFRAID OF SALT. I also find myself doubling or tripling the acidity in most vinaigrette recipes. I like something closer to a 1: 1 acid to oil ratio rather than 1: 3, because then you don’t need that much dressing to make the salad taste good. I [also] invest adobo in EVERYTHING.
- Alice : Red pepper flakes. [Claire’s note: YES.] I often use soy sauce, coconut amino acids, FISH SAUCE in my soup, or all of the above!
- Alicia : Mine is that I at least triple the garlic and add a bunch of other seasonings to the chicken soup, etc. There are never enough of them! Also yes, usually more salt. You must taste and add accordingly
- Beth : Conversion factor: 1 clove of garlic = 1 head . [Claire’s note: emphasis mine.] I like to use spice mixes instead of salt and pepper. Garlic salt, 21 spices, whatever is on hand will be a little more fun.
- Megan : My husband’s uncle taught me to season while I walk. salt at the beginning, salt again in the middle, cook / simmer, taste and adjust at the end. I don’t know if everyone does that, but it seems to enhance the flavor.
My secret, slightly embarrassing tip for enhancing the flavor – besides all the gloss above – is adding a small (or large) scoop of Better Than Bouillon to gravies, soups, stews, and skillet sauces. A small fraction of the flavor enhances the flavor so much that it almost looks like cheating. (And yes, some varieties of BTB contain some naturally occurring MSG , but that shouldn’t bother you. MSG will do .) Oh, and you should always top off your meal with fresh lime or lemon. The acid is important.
But enough about us. What do you add to regular recipes to make them delicious, and what is your most common complaint about stale recipes? Also, please share how much garlic you add to any recipe that requires garlic. People need to know.