There are four commonly recognized tastes that you can manipulate in your cooking: sweet, salty, sour and bitter. The goal when cooking is to achieve a balance between these tastes. An over-seasoned dish is likely to have one of these flavors dominate; fixing this problem is achieved through the adjustment of the other three flavors.;
, There are some basic ingredients, which you can employ to alter the flavors in your food; it's helpful to keep these ingredients on hand at all times.


Ingredients that make a dish saltier include salt, soy sauce and fish sauce.






Ingredients that make a dish sweeter include sugar, molasses and honey.






Ingredients that make a dish more sour include citrus juice, wine, and vinegar.






Ingredients that make a dish bitterer include beer and cocoa.
 Which flavor is out of balance? Once you have answered that question, correct the problem by adding some ingredients to amplify the other tastes. For example, if your dish is too salty, try adding some lemon juice and sugar to balance it out. If a dish is too sweet, adding a pinch of salt can remedy the problem.
 If you have over-seasoned a soup, stew or sauce, you can fix the problem by diluting the dish. Add a splash or two of water and then taste the dish. By adding water, you will cause the overall flavor of your dish to be less intense, but if you have over-seasoned, the results can be positive.
 If your soup or stew is too salty, adding raw potato is a good option. Slice the potato into small chunks (to expose a good bit of surface area) and then stir them in. The potato acts like a salt sponge, absorbing some of the salt right out of your dish. Cook the potato in the dish for several minutes, and then discard it.
 If you were a little heavy-handed with the chili peppers, add some sugar or honey to the dish to correct the problem.
 Dairy complements spicy foods nicely; a protein in milk called casein binds with the heat-causing agent in spices and peppers called capsaicin, keeping it from binding instead to your mouth's pain receptors. Most cultures with spicy cuisine exploit this fact. Spicy Mexican food is served with sour cream, hot Indian curries are paired with yogurt, and Buffalo wings come alongside bleu cheese.
Familiarize yourself with the four tastes.
Learn which ingredients can be used to adjust each taste.
Assess the problem with your dish.
Dilute the dish.
Add raw potato to your dish.
If your dish is too spicy, balance the heat with some sweetness.
If your dish is still too spicy, serve it alongside a dairy product.
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