Why Salt Timing Is Everything

First up, salt. It’s more than just a finishing touch, it’s foundational. When you add salt at the beginning of cooking, especially when sautéing onions or browning meat, it helps draw out moisture and double down on a food’s natural flavour. Salting early gives the food time to absorb the salt and develop complexity as it cooks.

When you wait until the end of cooking to season, you’re essentially asking the salt to do all the heavy lifting at the last minute. Sure, you might get a salty top layer, but the depth and balance won’t be there. It’s like dressing a salad and only coating the top leaves – the rest misses out.

And here’s the rub, if you’re cooking something that will be reduced – like a sauce or soup – you need to factor in that reduction and therefore intensifying of flavour so you can’t go too hard too early. Rescuing an over salty dish is a fool’s mission. Better to avoid that altogether.

Side note: if your dish is too salty, you can try adding more volume (ie more vegetables/protein/water) to create more quantity but you may end up with a still too salty meal and more of it to boot. A squeeze of lemon juice may add a counterbalance of acidity, though it won’t actually lower the salt content. Dairy such as cream or yoghurt can work in the same manner.

Pepper: More Than Just a Pinch

Pepper is a bit of a different beast. It’s not just there for tradition’s sake, it actually plays a unique role. While salt enhances flavour, pepper excites it, literally. It is actually a mild irritant, which sounds bad, but that’s why it works. It stimulates saliva and increases blood flow to your taste buds, waking up your mouth and helping you better taste the food. 

• Black Pepper – Freshly cracked black pepper adds a gentle heat and floral notes, but if you go too heavy it can overwhelm the dish. Avoid pre-ground pepper, which often has flat, slightly bitter notes and misses all those intoxicating aromatics of the freshly ground stuff.
• White Pepper – Milder and more earthy than black pepper, white pepper has a slightly fruity, fermented flavour. It’s great for creamy dishes like mashed potatoes or white sauces where you don’t want black flecks but still want that peppery heat.
• Green Peppercorns – These are young, unripened pepper berries that are usually pickled or freeze-dried. They have a fresh, herbal flavour and a milder heat. Green peppercorns are often used in sauces for steak or fish, especially in French and Thai cooking.
• Pink Peppercorns – Not technically true pepper, pink peppercorns come from a different plant and have a definite fruity, almost floral quality. They add gentle warmth without the sharpness of black pepper and work beautifully with seafood, goat cheese, and even chocolate. Plus they’re pretty.
• Szechuan Pepper – A totally different species again, Szechuan pepper isn’t hot in the traditional sense but brings a tingling, numbing sensation (called ‘má’) and a citrusy aroma. It’s essential in Chinese cooking, especially in dishes like mapo tofu or dry-fried beans.
  

Each type brings something different to the table, so don’t be afraid to experiment. A few crushed pink peppercorns on grilled chicken, or a grind of white pepper in your next pumpkin soup, can completely change the flavour experience.