Supporting and building flavor
BALANCE OF TASTE
Achieving balance starts with knowing the basics of the elements involved. Here are simple definitions of how these elements work.
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Salt: Enhances most other flavours present in the dish. Salt also balances against bitterness.
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Sweetness: From sugar, honey, and fruits, sweetness will counteract bitter and sour flavours.
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Bitterness Dark chocolate, coffee, hops- all are all bitter.
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Sour Vinegar and lemon juice. Acidity works wonders in balancing a dish, adding liveliness and counteracting sweetness.
HOT CHILLIES: For that pleasant, addictive taste.
FRESH GARLIC: From chillie hot when raw, to mellow when cooked acts like a catalyst. Can’t cook without it.
FRESH SQUEEZED LEMON JUICE: Wakes up and enhances everything, my Mom's cure all for every dish.
While all these are true, the last thing you want to face before making dinner is a time consuming balancing act, from scratch. Remember that adding salt or lemon juice to a dish does more than just making it salty or sour - it enhances or counteracts other flavours within the dish.
Building flavour effortlessly comes from having a few SIMPLE SAUCES, COMPOUND BUTTERS and DRESSINGS which can be prepared in minutes and then added to that perfectly cooked piece of fish.