10 easy ways to make all your food taste better

Quick tips to transform the flavour of your dishes – and help swerve some common cooking pitfalls

I am far from a professional chef. But after more than a decade of writing, eating, reading and obsessing about food (and interviewing my fair share of skilled experts) I hope I’ve learned a thing or two. I’ve found that whatever you’re making, there are a few techniques which can make pretty much anything taste better.

These cooking life lessons are even more crucial when you’re short on the time and mental capacity required to spend ages following a recipe to the letter (hello, all busy parents).

Here are a few of my favourite quick fixes to supercharge the flavour of your food (and save on stress).

1 Salt food properly  

Runny soft-boiled eggs + flaky sea salt = a match made in weekend breakfast heaven

You probably need more salt than you think. Salt your dishes all the way through, from when you’re sweating down onions to when you add liquid right through to the final taste test at the end. Salt your pasta water with abandon. Generously salt the water you use to cook vegetables in, adding a bit of butter too, and not loads of water. Salt your rice. Salt your salad leaves and tomatoes, preferably with some crunchy flakes. Rub fish with salt and allow it to sit and firm up a bit before cooking, which will change the texture as well of the flavour of the finished dish. And remember other ingredients, from parmesan to soy sauce and anchovies, will – and should – season your dishes too.

2 Don’t serve dishes too hot

Not only does food that’s slightly cooler or even room temperature taste better (since the heat dulls the flavours) it’s less stressful to serve. I never worry about getting food on the table piping hot (let alone warming plates, aka the biggest faff ever) and often serve everything at room temperature. Try piling roasted carrots on top of kale that you’ve scrunched with olive oil and lemon juice, then drizzling with a dressing of tahini, yogurt and soy sauce.

3 …or too cold

Taste a tomato straight from the fridge versus one which has been stored in the fruit bowl – it’s night and day. Same goes for cherries or stone fruit – they’ll taste infinitely better when they’re at room temperature. A fridge-cold packed lunch salad is one of the most depressing things I can imagine. I bring my lunch to work in a little cool bag I steal from my toddler and don’t bother storing it in the fridge, but you could just bring it out around an hour before you want to eat it. My go-to packed lunch at the moment is a pouch of pre-cooked grains, a handful of rocket, the juice of a lemon and any herbs I have in the fridge, topped with hot smoked salmon and some yoghurt, labneh or cream cheese.

4 Have a spice cupboard amnesty

Want to know why that curry or tagine just tastes a bit flat? Spices last three months, max – and I know I’m guilty of letting them languish in the cupboard for too long. Store in the fridge to help maximise their shelf-life, and if you find yourself wasting them, try buying blends versus individual spices. My go-to spice mixes are fajita seasoning (pan-fry with prawns then pile into tacos) and mild curry blends, which I know my toddler will eat – I can vouch for this Sri Lankan version. 

5 Take more acid

Orange and grapefruit wedges in your salad are an instant ticket to a sharpness that will cut through creamy mozzarella

Something missing from your salad, soup or risotto, but you can’t put your finger on what? Try adding some acid, whether it’s the juice of a lemon, a dash of vinegar or a spoonful of yoghurt to balance the flavour.

6 Sharpen your knives

I don’t think you need to invest loads in fancy knives (I love these, from Pallares Solsona, or my trusty Opinel set) but you do need to keep them sharp to be able to prepare food with ease. It’s probably total sacrilege in the eyes of a chef to admit this, but I use this universal knife sharpener and find it gets decent results for a novice like me.

7 Stop cooking sooner

Creamy, just-set scrambled eggs – here with a handful of shredded cavolo nero wilted through – are a thing of beauty.

From a tray of brownies to a roast chicken, steamed asparagus to scrambled eggs, food will continue cooking after it’s been removed from the heat. To achieve the perfect fluffy/succulent/tender/soft texture, factor in some ‘resting’ time for your dish. A meat thermometer is handy if you’re worried about food being cooked all the way through. Be bold with your scrambled eggs – stop cooking a good minute before you think they’re done, and you’ll be surprised at the creamy, perfectly set result.

8 If in doubt, add more flavour

There are loads of clever ways to up the flavour of your food throughout the cooking process. Try boiling veg in stock, a spoonful of salted butter or miso let down with some boiling water. Add cumin seeds or a split cardamon pod, a few strands of saffron or a pinch of turmeric to your rice or cook it in coconut milk. Use Marmite to make a stock for risotto, as per this recipe which appears in Meera Sodha’s brilliant new book.

9 Give your ingredients some space

If you’re after a crispy, golden, or gnarly texture on any food, be it a tray of roasted vegetables or a piece of pan-fried fish, you need to allow it some space in the pan or tray. It’s all about getting enough of the hot surface onto the cold food. These smashed harissa potatoes are testament to the technique, and will only work if you give them plenty of room to get super crispy.

Or try an easy fish traybake (pictured here). To a baking tray add 400g par-boiled new potatoes, a sliced onion and 150g whole cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Bake at 180C for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender, then add two cod fillets and bake for a further 10 minutes, until just cooked through. Meanwhile, finely chop 2 garlic cloves, a small bunch of parsley and 1 tsp capers and combine with the juice and zest of a lemon, 2 tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper. Serve on top of the fish and tomatoes.

10 Check your oven temperature

Ever wondered why your cakes don’t cook in the same way a recipe promises? It could be down to your oven temperature – they can vary wildly. An oven thermometer is a great tool to help you get an accurate reading of your oven and adjust the temperature accordingly, as some (like mine) run much hotter than the dial, others cooler.