Salty: natural salt and sea veggiesLearning how to balance flavor and texture in a meal is important, but you don’t have to go to cooking school to understand how it works.
There are five basic tastes used when cooking:
Salty: natural salt and sea veggies
Sweet: fruit, grains
Sour: fermented veg, sour fruits
Bitter: dark, leafy greens, herbs, spices
Umami (“pleasant savory flavor” in Japanese): earthy mushrooms, miso, grilled/seared/roasted foods
Ayurveda, which originated in India, is one of the world’s oldest whole-body healing systems, and its approach to cooking includes:
Pungent:chile peppers, garlic
Astringent:raw fruits and veggies
Sometimes all five main tastes are employed, other times only one or two. But it’s always about balance—flavors countering or harmonizing with each other to make a composed dish. A meal should be a layer cake of low notes (earthy, deep umami), middle notes (subtle, more fleeting flavors like those of raw veggies), and high notes (the brightness of fresh lemon or herbs), with a finish of roundness (the rug that pulls the entire living room together—a topping of cream or a simple pinch of salt). Thai food is a great example of flavor building in full effect: Think about a scrumptious curry where your taste buds get hit with sweet from coconut milk; salty and umami from soy sauce; spicy, bitter, earthy notes from herbs and chiles; and sour from a squeeze of lime. Yes.
We can start simply by choosing a few hero primary flavors and then choose secondary flavors that support and counter those primaries to balance the dish. For example, in the Italian-Style (Not)Meatballs, our primary ingredients are carrots (earthy and sweet), mushrooms (earthy and umami), and lentils (earthy and umami). They’re already in harmony, so secondary and tertiary choices are onion and garlic (sour, pungent), sea salt (salty), herbs and black pepper (earthy and bitter), and smoked paprika (umami). You also want to think about texture as you flavor your dish. For the burger, you don’t want uniform mush. Hearty, meaty texture comes from lentils; roasted carrots are soft and sticky; and the mushrooms have a chewy, sink-your-teeth-in bulk. They’re delicious plain, but to really round out flavors, serve the final dish with a creamy lemon-based (acid and bright) dipping sauce (comforting) or with tomato sauce (sweet, acid).
The more you practice, the more creative, layered, and effortless your freestyle cooking will become. But if one of these notes ends up being too strong in a dish, try adding a contrasting flavor to even things out.
Salty: Add to enhance sweet flavors and balance bitterness. Think tomato jam, or the balance of bitter cabbage with salty brine for sauerkraut.
Sweet: Add to enhance salty flavors and balance sour, bitter, spicy, and umami notes in a dish. Think about the perfect salty-barely-sweet Asian noodle bowl, or salted caramel, and spicy hot chocolate.
Sour: Add to enhance salty and umami flavors, while balancing bitterness. Think about a squeeze of citrus over fresh-cooked lentils, or bitter endive with a yogurt-based dip.
Bitter: Add to enhance salty and umami notes in a meal. Think about seared bitter brussels sprouts tossed with a miso-mustard sauce.
Umami: Add to enhance sweetness and balance bitterness. Think about the deep, rich, complex flavor of Cashew-Almond Cheese Crumbles, or a creamy mushroom and kale soup.