Cooking is an art and not everyone can nail it perfectly! Well, it is easier said than done, but you need to cook food for survival, good or bad depends on your skills as ordering everytime can dig a hole in your pocket as well as affect your health.
No matter how good or bad you cook, a good dish depends on the balance of flavours, even the slightest imbalance of ingredients can ruin the essence of a dish and that’s when quick fixes and hacks come into the picture!
What happens, when you are cooking a lavish meal for lunch or dinner and somehow the dish turns out to be sweet rather than spicy and savoury, and that's when you realise that it was no less than a blunder.
Well, not every blunder in life has a fix to it, but this one has. So, without further ado let’s look into some of the easy hacks to save a dish that has turned too sweet while cooking.
Tips to keep in mind while cooking
While cooking we often end up adding a few ingredients by mistake that can ruin the taste of the dish. In fact, this happens to be one of the most common mistakes that happen while cooking especially while making curries, soups, stews. It is not always sugar that can make a savoury dish sweet, but there are other ingredients as well as that can make your dish taste sweet. Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to remove the sugary taste completely but these quick hacks will certainly help you balance out the taste.
The balancing act
Yes, sounds like a trick, but it is no less than an art to fix a spoiled dish. Adding too much salt or spice won’t help you balance out the sweetness of a dish rather adding some seasonings and exotic powders can actually help you fix the taste of the dish. In fact, adding a melange of herbs can also save a dish.
Add a hint of tanginess
Adding lime juice can to your dish can balance out the sweetness. In case, you don’t want too much of tanginess in the dish you can also add vinegar white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar.
Bitter can cut the sugary flavour
If you want to balance your dish adding a bit of bitterness can actually amp up the taste and balance out the sweetness of the dish. In fact, there are several ingredients which you can add to your dish such as kale, arugula, cocoa etc.
Spicy
This works best while cooking curries and soups, you can add spices to balance out the sweetness of the dish. Moreover, spice can not only balance out but also amp up the taste of the delicacy. However, begin with adding a small quantity and then add some more. You can add chilli powder, peppers, chili flakes, cayenne pepper. Well, if you want you can also add condiments.
FAQs
Adding too much salt or spice won't help you balance out the sweetness of a dish rather adding some seasonings and exotic powders can actually help you fix the taste of the dish. In fact, adding a melange of herbs can also save a dish. Adding lime juice can to your dish can balance out the sweetness.
How do you fix a dish that is too sweet? ›
Too Sweet. The Fix: Tone down an overly sweet dish by adding a sour, salty, or bitter ingredient to it. Sour fruit (such as blackberries or cherries), cooling herbs such as mint, and chopped nuts work well in sweets such as cakes, cookies, and pies.
How to reduce sweetness in sweet dishes? ›
If your dish is a little too sweet, try rounding out the sweetness by adding flavors or ingredients that are sour, bitter, or spicy. It may be obvious not to add more sweet ingredients, but you should also stay away from salty ones since they actually bring out the sweetness in food.
How do you fix curry that is too sweet? ›
Top Tip: If you've added too much sugar, you can counteract this by adding a few drops of lemon juice. In the hustle and bustle of life it is easy to get distracted and forget about the pot on the stove.
How do you fix a dessert that is too sweet? ›
Add vinegar.
Start with just a splash or teaspoon and taste, so you can ensure that the recipe is balanced. You can always add more if necessary. Virtually any vinegar can help correct food that's too sweet, but white, red wine, white wine, and apple cider usually work the best.
How to decrease sweetness in kheer? ›
04/4Too sweet
If you are preparing an Indian dessert such as kheer, add some extra milk.
What can I add to curry for sweetness? ›
Adding sugar or honey can increase the sweetness of curry while adding vinegar or lime juice can increase the sourness.
What to add if sauce is too sweet? ›
Balance with acidity
Add some lemon juice: The tartness of lemon can help cut through the sweetness. Squeeze in a little lemon juice and taste as you go until you achieve the desired balance. Vinegar: Balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar can also work wonders in reducing sweetness.
What cancels out sweetness? ›
How to Make Food Less Sweet. Add an acid or seasonings such as vinegar or citrus juice; chopped fresh herbs; a dash of cayenne pepper; or, for sweet dishes, a bit of liqueur or espresso powder.
How to reduce sweetness in gravy? ›
1.Add Lime Juice
Adding a sour tasting ingredient such as lime juice helps add another layer of flavour to the dish. It balances out the sweetness and gives it a sweet and sour taste instead. You can also use tamarind or white vinegar if you do not wish to add lime juice to your curry.
Diluting a sweet tomato sauce will dull its sweetness, so you can add water or chicken or vegetable broth, a little at a time until the sauce tastes better. Or, if you like spicy food, you can try spicing the tomato sauce with some crushed chili flakes, which should help balance out its sweetness.
How do you counteract sweetness in stir fry? ›
too sweet. Whatever you do, don't add salt because it will bring out the sweetness even more. Here, acid, bitterness and heat will counteract excessive sweetness, and add layers of flavor.
How to get rid of sweet taste in mouth? ›
To remedy this, try drinking more water and avoiding acidic foods. 4. Sweet: A sweet taste in the mouth can be caused by diabetes or certain medications. To help, you can try drinking more water and avoiding sugary foods.
How to remove sweetness from potatoes? ›
You can use any vinegar, white, red or even apple cider vinegar. Take a bowl, add 2-3 cups of water along with 2 tbsp of vinegar. Then add potatoes and leave aside for a few minutes. This hack not only reduces the sweetness from potatoes but also helps potatoes to retain their shape.
