The answer is ‘to flavour’. And though seasoning could involve any number of ingredients, the most important is salt. Whether you’re boiling pasta, cooking meat, or roasting vegetables, salt is key when it comes to the final outcome of any dish.

The term to remember is ‘season as you go’. It is important to season at every step, or your dish will taste slightly bland or somewhat unbalanced. This is because salt acts as a coaxing agent; it extracts water out of the food and accentuates its natural flavours.

How you salt however, can vary from one meal to another – depending on the ingredients.  For example, if a recipe calls for capers or anchovies that are already highly concentrated, you may need to forgo the salt altogether. You can always add more salt if needed, but if a dish is oversalted, it is much harder to fix.

This may take practice, and of course trial and error.  The best way to learn is by tasting at every stage before you season. Once you get the hang of it, you will be able to gauge how much or how little salt is needed. Just keep at it, and enjoy!

When it comes to seasoning, the most important ingredient is salt. For more information on how to correctly salt your food, check out our blog post on the topic.