6 Mistakes That a Busy Cook Makes

Only Adding Salt at the End of Cooking

The final sentence in most recipes is "season with salt and pepper to taste"—which is good advice but leaves out a crucial aspect of cooking that both Bradley and Warner see people forget all the time: seasoning throughout. Each time you add new ingredients to whatever you're making, you should add a pinch of salt. By the time the dish is complete, you'll have used about the same amount of salt as you would have if you'd waited until you were finished cooking, and by seasoning as you go, each ingredient will more fully develop its flavor. (The exceptions are if you're cooking with naturally salty ingredients such as bacon or capers.) Bradley likes Maldon sea salt, since, she says, it brings out food's true taste, and you can use a little less of it than you would of other varieties.