Seasoning and Flavoring

Seasoning and flavoring are what make food taste amazing. Without them, food would be pretty boring. Salt, pepper, herbs, and spices are all types of seasonings. Cooks around the world use different seasonings to give their food a special taste that makes it unique.

Types of Seasonings

Salt is the most basic and important seasoning. It brings out the natural flavors of food. Pepper adds a little bit of heat and spice. Herbs like basil, oregano, and rosemary come from the leaves of plants. Spices like cinnamon, cumin, and paprika come from seeds, bark, or roots of plants. Each one adds its own special flavor.

How to Use Seasonings

The best cooks add seasonings a little at a time and taste as they go. It is easy to add more seasoning but impossible to take it away. Some seasonings are added at the beginning of cooking, while others are best added at the end. Fresh herbs taste different from dried herbs. Learning which seasonings go well together is a big part of learning to cook.

Fun Facts

• Salt was so valuable in ancient Rome that soldiers were sometimes paid with it.
• The word "salary" comes from the Latin word for salt.
• Black pepper was once so expensive it was called "black gold."

Did You Know?

In the Middle Ages, spices like pepper and cinnamon were worth more than gold by weight!