Salt, fat, acid, heat: balancing any dish with a bot
Most "something's missing" problems are one of four things. The framework was popularized by Samin Nosrat's book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.
Diagnose by taste
| Tastes | Usually needs |
|---|---|
| Flat, dull | Salt (in small steps), then acid |
| Heavy, greasy | Acid (lemon, vinegar), something fresh or bitter |
| Too salty | Dilute (more unsalted base), add fat or acid to mask, starch to serve |
| Too sour | Fat, a little sweetness, or more of the base |
| Too spicy | Dairy or fat (capsaicin is fat-soluble), sweetness, starch |
| Boring texture | Heat: a hard sear, crisp topping, or toasted nuts |
Prompt for tasting
I'm tasting my [dish]. It tastes [describe: flat / heavy / harsh / too salty / too spicy].
Here's what's in it: [list].
Suggest ONE small adjustment at a time (amount for [n] servings), explain why, and tell me what to taste for before the next change.Ask your bot about the science
Explain balance: salt, fat, acid, heat in plain English for a home cook, with one kitchen experiment I can do to see it, and how it applies to [dish].
Give temperatures in °F and °C and say if they are approximate.Where these facts come from
- American Chemical Society: Reactions, food chemistry explainers
- Exploratorium: Science of Cooking
- USDA FSIS: Safe temperature chart
- FoodSafety.gov: Safe minimum internal temperatures
- Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking (Scribner, 2004): the standard reference on kitchen chemistry
Checked Oct 29, 2026. Temperatures given for reactions are typical ranges, not sharp switches; they shift with moisture, pH and time. Food-safety numbers always come from USDA/FoodSafety.gov.
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