We all try to cook from excellent and quality products, but it is equally important to use spices and spices correctly when cooking. Therefore, let's talk about how to make our dishes even tastier and more fragrant.
Seasonings and spices when cooking, you can say, play the role of the second violin. Seasonings do not change the taste of foods, they improve it. For example, salt. Additives or flavors - change the taste. Some change it completely, and some slightly. For example, garlic.
However, the difference between seasonings and additives is sometimes difficult to distinguish, since there are cases when the seasoning passes into the category of additives. For example, nutmeg is considered an additive because of its rich flavor. But if you add it a little to the creamy sauce, the taste will change slightly, but many will not realize that there is a nut in the dish. That is, spices can be both a seasoning and an additive.
Basic rules for the use of seasonings and additives
Now let's talk about seasonings and their use in cooking.
Use of seasonings
- It is desirable to salt the liquid food at the very end of cooking. Be sure to check, try, you have enough seasonings in the dish. You must develop the ability to assess the taste of dishes, this, of course, takes time, and with it experience will also come.
- If you have large portions of the product in the dish, it is better to salt them and add the remaining seasonings at the beginning of the cooking process. If you add them at the end, large chunks may not have time to absorb your seasonings.
- During cooking, you can add spices a little to assess the saturation of the dish.
- If you need to boil excess fluids, do not add a lot of spices, otherwise you will get a very concentrated taste.
Supplements and their use
- Additives can be added at the beginning, in the middle and at the end, it all depends on the time that goes into preparing the dish. Also it depends on the way of cooking.
- Please note that not all additives can be added at the end of cooking. At the final stage, it is recommended to add fresh herbs( by no means dry), mustard, brandy or sherry.
- Additives need heat, so that their flavor can soak up the foods in the dish.
- For whole spices( for example, peppercorns) you need time. And for milled it is practically not necessary.
- If you cook for a very long time, it will lead to loss of flavor and taste. When we cook, we hear the smells that stir our imagination. But in this case, the aroma of many products and seasonings evaporates when heated.
Short conclusions
If we do not cook for a long time, then the spices can be added already at the beginning of the process or in the middle. If for a long time, seasonings are added in the middle or at the end of the cooking. Dry herbs and whole spices should be added for half an hour until ready.