These 2 Ingredients Improve Most Recipes, According To Food Experts

People need to eat, and in order to eat, many people need to cook. Whether they revel in combining flavors in a machiavellian demeanor or err on the side of caution and keep it simple, there is no denying the fact that cooking can be quite the endeavor. The internet is overflowing with recipes that see the combining of flavors that range from the salty to sweet to sour (and sometimes slightly bitter).

Regardless of your cavalier (or non-cavalier) attitude in the kitchen, there will always be a few standard staple ingredients in your pantry. Per All Recipes, most pantries have things like black pepper, dried herbs, dried grains and pastas, eggs, and sugar. But, out of all these ingredients, experts say that there are two that are absolute game changers. According to a New York Times report, adding something as simple as salt and lemon to any dish can up its flavor profile tenfold.

According to Mamma Mia, both salt and lemon, whether added individually or together, can bring an added layer of flavor to almost any dish. The publication suggests that simply adding some salt to a sweet dessert or adding lemon to a savory dish could help bring some much needed balance.

Slate backs this up by asserting that there is science that suggests the notion that lemon (and in turn salt) can really change a dish. Whether adding lemon juice or lemon zest, at-home cooks can add complexity to any dish they are making. Slate also states that having lemon on hand is as crucial as salt, but is often overlooked.

Like the humble lemon, salt possesses great flavoring power as well. Science Focus explains that salt's universal appeal is in part to its ability to not only reduce bitterness in foods, but its ability to increase other flavors as well. Today I Found Out reports that salt also promotes the release of food molecules that enhance the smell of whatever you may be cooking.