Great cooking isn’t about dumping in artificial seasonings—it’s about bringing out flavours with simple, natural ingredients. Natural flavour enhancers can transform your dish, making it rich, bold, and satisfying, without relying on monosodium glutamate (MSG) or other similar additives.
Read on to discover seven easy ways to cook for flavour without using artificial seasonings.
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Use Herbs and Spices
Herbs and spices are powerhouses of natural flavour. Beyond this, many of them provide health benefits. For example, cinnamon reduces blood sugar levels, and basil helps fight infections.
Herbs
Tender herbs are delicate and are best added to dishes at the last minute to preserve their aroma. Examples include basil, cilantro, parsley, dill, and mint.
Woody herbs are hard and work best in slow-cooked meals. Examples include rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, and bay leaves.
Spices
Spices add a whole new level of sweetness to dishes. But, they lose their potency when left in a bottle for too long. Common spices include cumin, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, and paprika.
To get the real flavour from spices, toast and grind them yourself.
Seasoning Tips
- Add fresh herbs at the end of your cooking.
- Add tough herbs earlier in cooking for a deeper extract.
- Add spices at the beginning or end of cooking, depending on the dish.
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Use Citrus Zest and Juice
Citrus fruits have a thick skin and a juicy centre. The skin contains oils that give citrus its special flavour and aroma. Citrus brightens flavour, balances richness, and enhances dishes.You can find citrus zest and juice in lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit.
Seasoning Tips
- Add citrus juice at the end of your cooking.
- Use zests in marinades, sauces, or baked foods.
- Put the zest into spice blends.
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Use Umami-Rich Ingredients
Umami means “delicious taste.” Scientists call it the fifth taste, alongside sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Instead of relying on MSG, get umami naturally from tomatoes, mushrooms, seaweed, aged cheese, and fermented ingredients.
Seasoning Tips
- Use a base of caramelised onions when making vegetable soup. Toss in sundried tomatoes, and finish with a bit of miso paste.
- For pasta sauce, cook the mushrooms. Add tomato paste, and finish with parmesan.
- When stir-frying vegetables, add a splash of soy sauce, some roasted garlic, and a handful of sesame seeds.
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Cook with Infused Oils
Infused oil is cooking oil steeped with herbs, spices, or other flavourful ingredients. For instance, garlic-infused oil, rosemary-infused oil, chili-infused oil, citrus-infused oil, truffle-infused oil, and lemon-infused oil.
You can make these oils at home—and that way, control the ingredients. Here’s how:
- Wash and dry herbs to remove moisture, if using fresh (Caution: If using fresh garlic, herbs, or citrus peels, strain the oil after infusing to prevent spoilage. Alternatively, use dried ingredients for longer shelf life).
- Crush herbs to release their flavours.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan. Don’t boil it.
- Add ingredients to the warm oil.
- Let the combination simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Remove from heat and cool.
- Strain and pour the infused oil into a clean, dry, and airtight bottle. If using dried ingredients, you can leave it in for a more intense infusion.
- Store in a cool, dark place to prevent oxidation.
Seasoning Tips
- Use high-quality oils. Your infused oil is only as good as its base.
- Use for a finishing touch rather than cooking, e.g., drizzle over grilled meats or mix into a salad.
- Pair the right infusions with your dishes, e.g., garlic-infused oil is great for pasta but might be too strong for creamy soups.
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Use Vinegar and Fermented Ingredients
Boosting flavour in your cooking isn’t just about salt and spices. Acidic and fermented ingredients can add brightness, depth, and complexity to your dishes.
Vinegar
Vinegar leaves a tangy, sharp, and sometimes slightly sweet flavour when added to food.
Examples include apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, and rice vinegar.
Fermented ingredients
Fermented ingredients enhance flavour, improve digestion, and add texture to meals. Here are some common fermented ingredients to explore: soy sauce, sauerkraut, fish sauce, miso paste, gochujang, and kimchi.
Seasoning Tips
- Mix vinegar with oil, mustard, and seasonings for a quick dressing.
- Add vinegar to marinades for meats or tofu to infuse flavour.
- Add fermented foods to sandwiches or tacos.
- Take yoghurt, kefir, or tempeh as a probiotic-rich addition to meals.
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Roast, Sear, Caramelise Meals
Roasting, searing, and caramelising trigger the Maillard reaction, deepening food's flavour with savory, sweet, and umami notes. It creates new flavour compounds and brown colour, giving foods a rich, complex taste, better texture, and an appetising appearance.
Roasting
Roasting is a great technique for enhancing flavour. You need hot air (typically in an oven) to cook the food. To roast effectively, place the food on a rack or baking sheet to promote air circulation and even browning. Preheat the oven to the appropriate temperature, then cook until the food reaches the desired doneness. The result is usually a golden-brown crust and deeper flavours.. Examples of foods you can roast are meat, poultry, potatoes, nuts, coffee beans, vegetables, and fruits.
Searing
Searing is cooking meat or fish at high heat to create a brown, flavourful crust on the surface. It locks in juices, resulting in a more succulent and appetising dish. To sear properly, pat the food dry, heat a pan until hot, add a small amount of oil, and cook undisturbed until a deep brown crust forms before flipping. You can sear foods like steak, chicken breast, salmon, tofu, shrimp, and portobello mushrooms.
Caramelising
Caramelising happens when sugar gets heated and breaks down. As it heats, the sugar develops a rich, golden brown colour and nutty flavour. To caramelise foods like onions, carrots, apples, pineapples, garlic, and vegetables, cook them slowly over medium heat, allowing the natural sugars to deepen in flavour and enhance sweetness.
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Make Your Own Seasoning Blend
Seasoning blends sold at stores often contain MSG and preservatives. If you want to eat clean, make blends for better flavour and control over the ingredients.
Combine salt, a savoury element (like garlic or onion powder), a warming spice (such as paprika or cumin), and an aromatic herb (like thyme or oregano) for an easy all-purpose mix. Adjust proportions based on taste, and grind everything together in a spice grinder for an even mix. If using ground ingredients, simply blitz them in a blender or mix well in a dry jar.
Seasoning Tips
- Make small batches (since you won’t be using any preservatives) and store in airtight containers.
- Always use a dry spoon to scoop your homemade seasoning instead of pouring directly from the container. This prevents moisture from steaming food getting trapped in the blend and affecting its freshness.
- Season in layers. Add your seasoning blend early to infuse the food as it cooks, then adjust at the end for balance.
Go Cook Up Some Magic!
Now you know what it takes to cook with bold flavours and create rich aromas—naturally, without artificial additives. So what’s stopping you?
Start by reaching for fresh herbs and spices. Layer flavours with citrus and umami-rich dried ingredients, and use infused oils to enhance depth. Play with roasting, searing, and caramelisation to bring out natural richness.
And of course, experiment with crafting your own seasoning blends—this could easily be a game-changer!
Explore, refine your methods, and in no time, you’ll make each dish your own.
And if this sounds like too much work, why not try our carefully crafted, all-natural, MSG-free seasoning blend, FlavourLift?
You can be confident it will give your cooking the umami boost it needs!
