How to Fix your Food

What do I mean when I say fix your food.  Often times we taste our food and it can be off.  Not enough flavor, too sweet, too spicy, too rich, or no flavor at all.   My number one rule of cooking is to always taste before you serve.  Fixing food works best if you do it before your guests have a chance to taste it.  After all you want to remain the Guru of your kitchen.  

My first rule of thumb is Salt.  Never underestimate the power of salt.  It is powerful and can literaly take a dish from simple to amazing .  We cannot be afraid of salt.   Our culture has really made it to where we fear salt. We have been taught for years all the bad things salt does to us.  Without any education on the positive sides of salt.  

Most of the Salt we buy today  is highly processed and not good for us, but there are wonderful salt that offer all we need to be healthy and have great tasting foods.   Redmonds Salt is amazing.  All natural and so good for you.  I like Himilayan salts also.  Both are easy to find and you don’t have to be afraid of using them to make sure your food is at it’s best.  

Salt is the best and first item you need to trust and enjoy when you are trying to fix your foods.   So lets talk about other things you might need to be doing to repair or fix the flavor in your foods.  

TO SALTY

If your food is to salty you can add a acid or sweetener.  Citrus juices like lime, lemon, orange or a good balsamic vinegar.   For the sweetner you can add agave, honey, sugar, or even a jam.  

TOO RICH

If your food is too rich add an acid.  Citrus juices or balsamic vinegar or even pickeled or fermented vegetables.  

TOO SWEET

If your food is to sweet you can add an acid or seasoning that will smooth it out.  Citrus juices, balsamic vinegar, chopped fresh herbs, zest, and sometime even a small pinch of cayenne can be useful.    Go light and taste before adding more.   

TOO SPICY OR ACIDIC 

To mellow out a dish that is to spicy or acidic, add a fat or a sweetener.  Fats can be anything from butter, olive oil, coconut oil, cream, cheese, sour cream, or sugar, maple syrup, agave, honey, and fruit jam.  

TOO FLAT

To fix flat andd something salty or savory to give it a boost.   Soy sauce, miso, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce.  Paramesan cheese, tomaote paste, cooking sherry, balsamic vinegars, onions, mushrooms, and good spices or herbs.  

Often times we are using spices that are old and need to be disposed of and we wonder why the food does not taste well.   Using quality ingredients that are fresh works miracles in the kitchen.  And using good salts can literally change a bland tasteless dish to something wonderful.  Salts and good balamic vinegars are natural flavor enhancements.  

Cooking should be a joy.  It should not be stressful and it should bring as much joy to the preparer as the comsumer.   When we take the time to learn how to fix foods and learn to listen to our intuition cooking becomes a joy.  

We go through periods in our lives when it comes to cooking.  There are the times of discovery,  there are the times of necessity,  there are times of enjoyment and the pleasure of just cooking,  there are the times of service.  In each period we can learn and find joy.  Especially when we take the time to really taste the foods we prepare and take the time to make them better.  

I offer many classes that really help you understand just how cooking can be a joy and the classes help you discover how to make cooking the BEST part of your life  

Fix your food and you fix the world.

Chef Brad~America’s Grain Guy