Make Food Taste Good
Learn the four levers that turn 'edible' into 'really good.'
Salt, again
In layers, at the right moments, then tasted. Yes, it gets its own lesson twice. It's that important.
Fat
Oil for cooking, butter for finishing, and enough of both that food tastes like a restaurant made it.
Acid
Lemon, lime, vinegar — the fix for 'it tastes flat and salt didn't help.'
Aromatics
Onion first and patient, garlic late and brief. The foundation nearly everything stands on.
Spices
Bloomed in fat, not dumped in liquid. Cumin and paprika will carry you surprisingly far.
Umami
Parmesan, soy, tomato paste, browned anything — the deep savory register.
Tasting
Taste before serving, every time. Ask: salt? acid? Then fix it. This is the whole secret.
Salt timing on meatkenji
Right before cooking, or 45+ minutes ahead — never the dead zone in between, where drawn-out moisture steams your sear.