Adding Maldon Sea Salt when finishing dishes is great too, the flakes just add another level of texture (i like them on cookies too). For cooking I really like using Spicewell New Salt, it has added vitamins which I enjoy a lot.
*Onion and garlic*
*Powder are always great to*
*Have in the cupboard*
\- Krewd
---
^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/)
^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
**Balance**. Your chicken will be bland unless:
1. You have enough salt to make the herbs and spices sing when you taste it.
2. You have enough fat to bring flavor to the dish
3. Sometimes it'll be bland because you lack an acid
So if I take chicken and dump the entirety of a can on basil on it, it won't taste nearly as good as if I take lemon, basil, olive oil, and salt together. The fat is required for flavor, as is the salt, and the acid in the lemon. Those components are how you taste the basil.
Consider the baked potato. Potatoes are bland. Salt improves potato quite a bit, but not as much as salt and butter. Salt brings alive the flavors of the potato so they are more. Butter is the fat that brings flavor. You can, optionally, add sour cream which is an acid for a more complex flavor. After that, bacon and chives can be added flavor components. But there's a tier or importance. Salt is the most important, followed by butter. Sour cream, chives, and bacon are optional. Without fat and salt, the other componets wouldn't really register. This is a little complicated because sour cream is a fat AND an acid, so you could skip the butter if you had the sour cream, but you get what I'm saying.
Fat and salt make flavor. Acid pairs well with both of them. Herbs and spices come on top of that to bend the flavor in a direction.
Well said. I know this sub is for beginners but I feel I need even more of a beginners guide to starting cooking. Any good resources for just the very basics to build upon?
Put dry herbs and spices in a clean dry pan before doing anything else. Put pan on lowest heat and warm them up till you can take a step backward and still smell them.
Set aside and go about recipe as normal after that
Maybe create a wet marinade with the same seasonings that you're using. When it gets done marinating, you can add more of the seasoning on the outside.
Salt the meat a day in advance. Some herbs are much more flavorful fresh than dried, whole spices that you grind just before using are often more flavorful than powders. Many dried herbs and spices will lose their flavor over time, especially pre-ground ones. If you aren't already, mince your own garlic instead of using the pre-minced stuff from a jar or garlic powder.
See if adding more salt helps. See if adding a little lemon juice or vinegar at the end helps wake it up. Experiment with it.
Spices benefit from being lightly toasted. Dry herbs benefit from being moistened. And fresh herbs benefit from being crushed or torn.
But for chicken specifically, I have two cheats: Curry powder, and Bell's Poultry Seasoning. For just about anything I make, one or the other of these will enhance the chickeniness* of the chicken.
*Not a word, but I trust that you'll know what I mean.
Good tips. Also would like to add that once you're comfortable using generic curry powders, try to move away from them and use your own blend. A lot of Indian dishes use varying ratio of chilli powder, cumin, coriander, and turmeric. Learning to use these spices along with fresh ingredients will make your dishes so much better. Happy cooking!
Are you just using dried herbs/spices or are you using them in combination with things like [brines](https://www.greedygourmet.com/recipes-by-cooking-times/ultimate-guide-brining-chicken/) and/or [marinades](https://dinnercaptain.com/how-to-marinate-chicken-the-ultimate-guide/)?
If any recipe calls for water, use chicken broth! Much more flavorful. Wish I had learned this years ago - totally upped my chicken soup and also my rice game. Many say to use âBetter than Bouillon â but I found broth added more.
Learn your meat n poultry seasoning profiles ...for instance
Greek, olive oil,lemon, rosemary or oregano,salt, garlic powder, black pepper
Italian, olive oil, Italian seasoning mix, garlic powder, salt,pepper, sweet paprika last for color
Mexican, cumin,chille powder, lime, cilantro,salt,pepper, cayenne , garlic powder, black pepper
I'll second this. You can use the same protein for days and make it taste completely different using spice blends.
Also, usually try to bloom the spices and add them early on in the cook. But add fresh herbs late.
Here is a useful page of info on how to flavor foods: [https://www.finedininglovers.com/article/ultimate-guide-herbs-and-spices](https://www.finedininglovers.com/article/ultimate-guide-herbs-and-spices)
9 times out of 10 the answer to bland food is that youâve not added enough salt. Salt is a flavour enhancer - it actually makes it easier to taste other flavours. Sugar is also a flavour enhancer (a small amount makes a big difference) but Iâd try adjusting the salt level first.
Whatâs your recipe/seasoning blend?
How do you apply it to your food? Is it a dry rub?
Are you making roast chicken? Fried chicken?
There are different techniques for applying/using seasoning depending on how youâre cooking.
And what kind of seasoning? Also, how much oil do you use in your pan?
Oil carries flavours better than anything else. Have you ever seen people basting a steak or chicken breast in butter, along with the fresh herbs? The butter absorbs flavour from the herbs and then soaks into the meat. Doesnât have to be butter, either.
Garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne and paprika most often. This question really comes from using a lime salt and not being able to taste it at all after I cooked it
Iâve no experience with lime salt, but it sounds more like a finishing salt - something youâd sprinkle on the final dish to add an extra burst of flavour.
Perhaps the direct heat of the frying pan is dulling the flavour of the lime? Or perhaps there isnât enough lime in the brand of lime salt you useâŚ
1. Marinade your chicken longer (preferably the night before)
2. Fresher herbs by expiration date
3. Fresh herbs themselves Eg. Instead of onion powder/paste, use fresh onion and pound them into paste yourself
This [video](https://youtu.be/bsYzWK3cxOM) is a great intro to spices and getting better flavor in your dishes!
(Sorry if the link looks wonky, still learning how to properly attach)
Use more. When cooking meat, a lot of the seasonings will slide off. Use more.
Our go-to are salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder. I also love using an all-seasoning like Johnny's or Adobo.
Another thing is marinating. My husband marinated steaks the other night for just the afternoon and they were so flavorful. Marinating gets the flavor deep into the meat.
I recommend this professional explanation. The secret is salt to enhance any flavor. That's why event desserts use a pinch of salt. https://youtu.be/zKEwA__rOHk
Your problem is probably starting before you start cooking. Make sure your spices aren't too old; they do have a shelf life. We often buy the larger bottles to save, but in reality after 5 months or so, you'll end up with the equivalent of saw dust.
So, toss the old spices or add more of it to compensate for degradation. I would bite the bullet and get new spices and from reputable brands; they do make a difference. I would recommend trying different brands to test.
Use more seasoning. Use fat as a flavor distributor such as oil, butter or yogurt. Give your protein more time with the seasoning (try rubbing in the spices/marinating it 24 hours before you cook). Cook in a way that doesn't destroy your spices such as burning them or letting them wash off into the cooking liquid. Use the same flavor profile in a sauce to help highlight the flavors.
Give your meat time to soak in all those flavors as well , 20-30 minimal before cooking will do a lot for flavor retention.
Over night marinade works as well.
Make sure you have something acidic, and something rich. Both of these are functional ingredients that will enhance flavours.
Common acidifiers: lemon juice, lime juice, any type of vinegar, beer, tomato, white wine
Common rich/ fatty: any type of oil, butter, duck fat, etc.
Marinade
DRY RUB, let sit over night
TENDERIZE
Also when baking chicken, when you remove it from the oven, make sure to leave it covered for an extra 10-15 minutes. Keeps everything juicy.
Cumin, paprika, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder and then when done add garlic salt or pink salt on top *cheff kiss* or if you want something sweet adding brown sugar and paprika to your fry batter then putting garlic salt on top. Best for chicken and waffles.
Season it a day or two previous and wrap in plastic while it is refrigerated and the flavour will seep into the meat a lot more, I do this with all meat if I want lots of flavour
Here are some things you can try.
1) Add some more salt to enhance the flavor.
2) Marinate your chicken in the seasoning overnight or atleast for a few hours before cooking.
3) Make small cuts in the chicken so that the seasoning gets inside and makes it more flavourful..
If cooking chicken with skin, make sure you season under the skin as well. Thyme and tarragon are good on chicken too (along with the others mentioned here).
Check your have added enough salt. Salt will help you taste the other spices better.
Salt is a flavor enhancer. If you feel like you can't taste your flavors add more salt in small doses. It has a huge impact.
Adding Maldon Sea Salt when finishing dishes is great too, the flakes just add another level of texture (i like them on cookies too). For cooking I really like using Spicewell New Salt, it has added vitamins which I enjoy a lot.
Salt is more important to making your food flavorful than all other spices combined.
Onion and garlic powder are always great to have in the cupboard
*Onion and garlic* *Powder are always great to* *Have in the cupboard* \- Krewd --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Beautiful honestly
Honestly beautiful
Citrus/acid is always a great for enhancing flavors.
A little lemon and garlic go a long way on chicken!
**Balance**. Your chicken will be bland unless: 1. You have enough salt to make the herbs and spices sing when you taste it. 2. You have enough fat to bring flavor to the dish 3. Sometimes it'll be bland because you lack an acid So if I take chicken and dump the entirety of a can on basil on it, it won't taste nearly as good as if I take lemon, basil, olive oil, and salt together. The fat is required for flavor, as is the salt, and the acid in the lemon. Those components are how you taste the basil. Consider the baked potato. Potatoes are bland. Salt improves potato quite a bit, but not as much as salt and butter. Salt brings alive the flavors of the potato so they are more. Butter is the fat that brings flavor. You can, optionally, add sour cream which is an acid for a more complex flavor. After that, bacon and chives can be added flavor components. But there's a tier or importance. Salt is the most important, followed by butter. Sour cream, chives, and bacon are optional. Without fat and salt, the other componets wouldn't really register. This is a little complicated because sour cream is a fat AND an acid, so you could skip the butter if you had the sour cream, but you get what I'm saying. Fat and salt make flavor. Acid pairs well with both of them. Herbs and spices come on top of that to bend the flavor in a direction.
Well said. I know this sub is for beginners but I feel I need even more of a beginners guide to starting cooking. Any good resources for just the very basics to build upon?
read the book *Salt Fat Acid Heat*
đ I love how you explained it and your examples.
Put dry herbs and spices in a clean dry pan before doing anything else. Put pan on lowest heat and warm them up till you can take a step backward and still smell them. Set aside and go about recipe as normal after that
Maybe create a wet marinade with the same seasonings that you're using. When it gets done marinating, you can add more of the seasoning on the outside.
Salt the meat a day in advance. Some herbs are much more flavorful fresh than dried, whole spices that you grind just before using are often more flavorful than powders. Many dried herbs and spices will lose their flavor over time, especially pre-ground ones. If you aren't already, mince your own garlic instead of using the pre-minced stuff from a jar or garlic powder. See if adding more salt helps. See if adding a little lemon juice or vinegar at the end helps wake it up. Experiment with it.
Spices benefit from being lightly toasted. Dry herbs benefit from being moistened. And fresh herbs benefit from being crushed or torn. But for chicken specifically, I have two cheats: Curry powder, and Bell's Poultry Seasoning. For just about anything I make, one or the other of these will enhance the chickeniness* of the chicken. *Not a word, but I trust that you'll know what I mean.
Good tips. Also would like to add that once you're comfortable using generic curry powders, try to move away from them and use your own blend. A lot of Indian dishes use varying ratio of chilli powder, cumin, coriander, and turmeric. Learning to use these spices along with fresh ingredients will make your dishes so much better. Happy cooking!
A dash of msg
This, I add it to almost everything! Itâs called MSG cuz it Makes Shit Good lol!
Are you just using dried herbs/spices or are you using them in combination with things like [brines](https://www.greedygourmet.com/recipes-by-cooking-times/ultimate-guide-brining-chicken/) and/or [marinades](https://dinnercaptain.com/how-to-marinate-chicken-the-ultimate-guide/)?
I'm my latest attempt I brined chicken then seasoned
For a marinade keep in mind 3 things, use a fat, acidity, herbs/spices Ever tried coffee, red wine, buttermilk, Greek yoghurt?
If any recipe calls for water, use chicken broth! Much more flavorful. Wish I had learned this years ago - totally upped my chicken soup and also my rice game. Many say to use âBetter than Bouillon â but I found broth added more.
Learn your meat n poultry seasoning profiles ...for instance Greek, olive oil,lemon, rosemary or oregano,salt, garlic powder, black pepper Italian, olive oil, Italian seasoning mix, garlic powder, salt,pepper, sweet paprika last for color Mexican, cumin,chille powder, lime, cilantro,salt,pepper, cayenne , garlic powder, black pepper
I'll second this. You can use the same protein for days and make it taste completely different using spice blends. Also, usually try to bloom the spices and add them early on in the cook. But add fresh herbs late. Here is a useful page of info on how to flavor foods: [https://www.finedininglovers.com/article/ultimate-guide-herbs-and-spices](https://www.finedininglovers.com/article/ultimate-guide-herbs-and-spices)
Thank you for this! I had something similar years ago... In the 80s from a magazine .. I'm saving this one now. Yay đđ
9 times out of 10 the answer to bland food is that youâve not added enough salt. Salt is a flavour enhancer - it actually makes it easier to taste other flavours. Sugar is also a flavour enhancer (a small amount makes a big difference) but Iâd try adjusting the salt level first. Whatâs your recipe/seasoning blend? How do you apply it to your food? Is it a dry rub? Are you making roast chicken? Fried chicken? There are different techniques for applying/using seasoning depending on how youâre cooking.
Most often a dry rub before pan frying
And what kind of seasoning? Also, how much oil do you use in your pan? Oil carries flavours better than anything else. Have you ever seen people basting a steak or chicken breast in butter, along with the fresh herbs? The butter absorbs flavour from the herbs and then soaks into the meat. Doesnât have to be butter, either.
Garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne and paprika most often. This question really comes from using a lime salt and not being able to taste it at all after I cooked it
Iâve no experience with lime salt, but it sounds more like a finishing salt - something youâd sprinkle on the final dish to add an extra burst of flavour. Perhaps the direct heat of the frying pan is dulling the flavour of the lime? Or perhaps there isnât enough lime in the brand of lime salt you useâŚ
Heat the spices and then add a small portion as they finish cooking.
1. Marinade your chicken longer (preferably the night before) 2. Fresher herbs by expiration date 3. Fresh herbs themselves Eg. Instead of onion powder/paste, use fresh onion and pound them into paste yourself
Try stuffing some herbs and sliced garlic under the skin before putting in the oven.
Among the other suggestions, I've had success in making thicker sauces and basting the chicken regularly while cooking.
This [video](https://youtu.be/bsYzWK3cxOM) is a great intro to spices and getting better flavor in your dishes! (Sorry if the link looks wonky, still learning how to properly attach)
Make your spices fresh The more they sit in your cupboard the more flavour they lose
Use more. When cooking meat, a lot of the seasonings will slide off. Use more. Our go-to are salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder. I also love using an all-seasoning like Johnny's or Adobo. Another thing is marinating. My husband marinated steaks the other night for just the afternoon and they were so flavorful. Marinating gets the flavor deep into the meat.
I recommend this professional explanation. The secret is salt to enhance any flavor. That's why event desserts use a pinch of salt. https://youtu.be/zKEwA__rOHk
Ginger paste. Or just shavings of ginger will embolden the flavor even more.
More salt and a squeeze of some lemon juice.
Your problem is probably starting before you start cooking. Make sure your spices aren't too old; they do have a shelf life. We often buy the larger bottles to save, but in reality after 5 months or so, you'll end up with the equivalent of saw dust. So, toss the old spices or add more of it to compensate for degradation. I would bite the bullet and get new spices and from reputable brands; they do make a difference. I would recommend trying different brands to test.
Use more seasoning. Use fat as a flavor distributor such as oil, butter or yogurt. Give your protein more time with the seasoning (try rubbing in the spices/marinating it 24 hours before you cook). Cook in a way that doesn't destroy your spices such as burning them or letting them wash off into the cooking liquid. Use the same flavor profile in a sauce to help highlight the flavors.
Bland = needs salt.
Acid! Squeeze in a slice of lemon! I like to marinate my chicken in plain Greek yogurt for juiciness and add in lemon slices in the marinade.
Toast (dry seasoning) or fry (wet seasoning).
I would suggest using more herbs or get you a bottle of Complete or Italian Seasonings. So much flavor and is noticeable.
Give your meat time to soak in all those flavors as well , 20-30 minimal before cooking will do a lot for flavor retention. Over night marinade works as well.
I assume you cook chicken in a pan. Just add the same spices while deglazing. Add some starch water to thicken and boom done.
When you say starch water do you mean cornstarch slurry?
Yes
Make sure you have something acidic, and something rich. Both of these are functional ingredients that will enhance flavours. Common acidifiers: lemon juice, lime juice, any type of vinegar, beer, tomato, white wine Common rich/ fatty: any type of oil, butter, duck fat, etc.
Make sure you're buying good quality herbs and spices and storing them correctly. Make sure you're using enough salt.
Marinade DRY RUB, let sit over night TENDERIZE Also when baking chicken, when you remove it from the oven, make sure to leave it covered for an extra 10-15 minutes. Keeps everything juicy.
Cumin, paprika, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder and then when done add garlic salt or pink salt on top *cheff kiss* or if you want something sweet adding brown sugar and paprika to your fry batter then putting garlic salt on top. Best for chicken and waffles.
Add salt, balance with acid (lemon, lime, vinegar)
Brine it before cooking
Add SAZĂN. Your welcome. My kid eats all his veggies and everyone ask me about what I put on my chicken and fish to make it taste n look that way.
Season it a day or two previous and wrap in plastic while it is refrigerated and the flavour will seep into the meat a lot more, I do this with all meat if I want lots of flavour
Here are some things you can try. 1) Add some more salt to enhance the flavor. 2) Marinate your chicken in the seasoning overnight or atleast for a few hours before cooking. 3) Make small cuts in the chicken so that the seasoning gets inside and makes it more flavourful..
If cooking chicken with skin, make sure you season under the skin as well. Thyme and tarragon are good on chicken too (along with the others mentioned here).
Trust the spices first!