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bls,

1. Season as you cook.
2. When a recipe calls for browning the meat, brown the meat.
3. Add a squirt of lemon juice to your dishes after you turn off the heat.

My cooking was always bland until I got some nice kosher salt and used it liberally (especially on meat prior to cooking).

I have to admit I'm not a great cook, but after lots of trial and error I've found that salt, oil and acid (in the form of vinegar or citrus juice) are usually the culprits in my own bland cooking. I put vinegar in almost every soup or stew and it's an amazing brightener. Fresh herbs, good stock (not bouillon) and flavorful vegetables also help give me a leg up.

Even if the recipe doesn't call for it, I often sizzle my dry spices in oil before I do anything else and it really brings out their flavor. Also, if your herbs and spices have been sitting around for too long, they may have lost some of their flavor that way.

Growing up, my parents were very much against using salt. I believe that this lack of salt or "seasoning" in my food was so obvious to me that now, I understand it's importance so much more. Proper use of salt will enhance the tasty qualities of your food.

The proper use of salt could be your first step in achieving less bland food. The first thing I would do is buy a box of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. This will be your utility salt. Use it in water when you boil vegetables (salty like the sea), when you boil pasta (not too salty!) and sprinkle generously on chicken skin when you roast it.

You can also pick up some Maldon sea salt. Your chicken will be even better with this. A simple salad with vinaigrette will be highlighted with little crispy bits of this large flaky salt.

There have been posts in The Kitchn about pre-seasoning or salting your proteins ahead of time. You could season your chicken for arroz con pollo the night before. The salt will begin to dissolve into the cells of the meat, seasoning it on the inside.

Seasoning is by far the most important technique in deblanding your recipes because no matter how simple or how complex the recipe, it's either seasoned or it's not. And for complex recipes, think about seasoning each step of the way rather than all at once.

But another important thing here is the idea of "building flavor" as you go. For example, with arroz con pollo you have two major components, chicken and rice. The rice is a multi dimensional dish which has to be thought about in stages.

The first stage is creating a flavorful base in which the rice will cook. This base could consist of water or broth blended with tomato, onion, jalapeno and of course, salt. The rice itself could be toasted in a pan with some hot oil in which a leaf of onion and a clove of whole garlic have been cooked in the oil and removed. Then, the flavorful broth will be added to the rice and all of the flavors will begin to marry. The tomato broth will begin to develop a mature flavor as the green, raw flavor turns into rich a rich savory one.

The chicken can be salted and let to sit in the refrigerator overnight. The next day it can be seasoned again with more salt and pepper or an adobo-a blend of savory spices that will create a crust on the outside of the chicken. Of course, the chicken could also be marinated in a "wet" marinade consisting of herbs, spices, lime, onion, pureed chili peppers.

You may even roast the chicken in the oven part way and then place the pieces atop your steaming rice so that the chicken finishes cooking that way, lending its juices to the rice, creating a "one-pot" meal.

I could go on and on but I'm making myself hungry. Hopefully these ideas will help you. Just think of this while preparing each part of your meal, "what can I do to make this part taste better?" Add more seasoning and season as you go, develop a caramelized crust by roasting or sauteeing, reduce broths and sauces to concentrate their flavor, use the best ingredients and make your own when you can, whirl in a knob of good butter when making curries, drizzle anything that seems "Italian" with decent pure, extra virgin olive oil.

Have fun!

perfect timing with this post! I tried a new dish this weekend and was so dsappointed with how bland it was that I just threw it out! I'm pretty new to cooking and figured I could just follow a recipe and have it be fantastic. I guess a little practice and some trial and error is in order.
Tabitha @ http://www.fromsingletomarried.com

There is also a *HUGE* variation among different store-bought curry spices. Experiment with some stronger curries.

Rachael Ray's recipes tend to be really flavorful. If you watch 30-minute meals, she tends to use a lot of salt & pepper throughout the cooking process. And sometimes if I taste a soup or stew I've made right when it's done, it's too hot to actually taste like much. Some soups and stews taste better if you let them sit for 15-20 minutes after turning the heat down.

art! That's like a mini-guide to cooking right there.

And yes, I forgot one thing: try making your own curry powder or spice mix. It's not as big a deal as you might think.

Salt. Salt. Salt.

When used properly, salt enhances the flavors in your dish. I find so much of the food I eat prepared by others doesn't have enough of it. Taste a dish, add salt. Taste again. Sometimes you'd be suprised just how much you need.

I used to love boneless chicken breasts but lately I've found them bland. SOLUTION! Organic... free range... boneless chicken thighs... more "real" chicken flavor.

And yes.......... a bit of salt.

i have actually found Rachael Rays recipes to be pretty bland. Also not all recipes from cookbooks or magazines are created equal, nor are they all tasty. Some cookbooks or mags suck. I usually look at a recipe and ask myself if it actually makes sense and sounds like it would be good.
And I totally agree with burrda about the blandness of chicken now adays, a nice rub helps. One of the best cooking magazines I have ever read is "Fine Cooking"

I think I read through all the responses but I don't recall anyone mentioning be sure your spices are fresh. I buy little baggies of spices from the bulk bin and only have a Tbs or two of any given spice on hand at a time, it's much more pungent than in those plastic jars that sit for months, if not years, on your shelf opened. Plus, something like cinnamon stick are $3 in a jar, or about $.60 in "bulk" for 3 or 4.

bls, when cooking any Spanish dish like arroz con pollo I always use Sofrito.
Sofrito is a blend of peppers, garlic, cilantro, cilantrio, reacaito, and ajais (hope I spelled the last three correct.) These ingredients are put in a blender and then placed in small plastic containers and frozen. I'd suggest you ask someone who knows the exact amount of these herbs and veggies one needs to use. My husbands mom makes mine so sorry I don't have the exact recipe for this.
Once frozen you can store in freezer and keep a small amount in the fridge and use on just about any Spanish style dish. I use about 1 tblsp or a couple of tsps in just about all my Spanish style dishes and it makes a huge difference in taste. You'll also need to use the desired amount of salt to any dish. I usually add very little salt. Sofrito is a staple of many Hispanic/Latino kitchens and a true necessity in any Spanish dish. They sell Goya sofrito frozen and not frozen in many supermarkets however, the homemade version is much better.
I agree that fresh veggies and herbs is always key to full max flavor in any dish. Hope this was helpful.

wow, thanks so much everyone. and art - you should write a cookbook!

i am fairly sure i don't use enough salt, and will try to be more brave with it! i'll keep you posted, and try the tried and true recipes listed above!
bls

For bland chicken, try buying a different brand of chicken. Using one that's air-chilled (as opposed to water-chilled) can make a huge difference in flavor, even between two brands of organic chicken. Air-chilled chicken is generally more expensive, but worth it.

(And if you can, buy a fresh, locally-raised chicken that got to run around. I may be brainwashing myself to justify the price, but I think true outside chickens taste better, too.)

I'm with squirrely on this one -- my first thought (apart from the fact that the recipes you are following are probably not that authentic) is that you are using grocery store spices.

My best results have come from using spices from mail-order catalogs -- mostly Penzey's, which are great. Penzey's has 6 varieties of cinnamon (and yeah, I have them all), and none of them taste anything like the brown powder sold in grocery stores.

And sweet paprika, you can forget getting anything fresh in the grocery store -- you'd be amazed at how beautiful it is when truly fresh and authentic!

The same holds for tea (and coffee) by the way -- anything with volatile oils does not mix well with the sort of storage and shelf-life required of a supermarket.

Oh! and for curries, pick up a copy of Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking. She is the Julia Child of Indian cooking, and although she has many books, that is probably the best.

in case anyone is wondering why SALT is being screamed around as the mantra for flavor, it's literally based in biology.

the taste buds in your mouth use specific transporters to move compound from in your mouth into cells where they can produce the flavor sensations. nearly all of these transporters utilize ions (commonly salt molecules like sodium or chloride) to co-transport those flavor molecules.

So by adding salt to your food, you are effectively turning up the volume on your taste buds.

I would also echo the need for high-quality ingredients. First, as the pp pointed out, not all chicken are created equal. I think some are more flavorful. In addition to the earlier suggestions for using salt (a good Kosher salt), I would make sure your other spices are also fresh and high-quality. Store them in a cool, dry place (even in the freezer if need be). Especially with curries, they can lose their potency over time.

I completely disagree with the advice to "do it right or just get takeout"... that's totally the wrong attitude to cooking. Haven't you ever heard that "perfect" is the enemy of "good enough"? Any effort you can put into cooking is great and with more experience and tasting-as-you-go, you'll learn where you can cut corners and where extra time or steps are worth the effort. If it's good enough for you in the time that you have, then it's a success.

Diddo, angorian. Very good point; that is exactly how I learned to cook.

I know there are supertasters, but is there also such a thing as an undertaster? If so, I am one. I like my food salty & packed with bold flavor. Often I'll over eat because if something doesn't satisfy me flavor-wise, I keep eating, looking for that flavor that I want. This is not good. Two bland chicken breasts do not equal one flavorful one.

However, I've been trying to cut down on the salt because my husband has developed high blood pressure. I also try to decrease the oil or fat I use in my cooking where I can, even though fat helps to carry the flavor, isn't that right? It has taken me a while, but I think my tongue is slowly adjusting to having less salt. My point is that if you're a beginning cook, your tongue may just be used to sodium-loaded foods and chemically-enhanced flavors that come in boxes. Give it some time to adjust to a healthy dose of salt.

Another thing: learn what quality ingredients make a difference and which ones just make you look good. Buying fresh dried spices doesn't necessarily mean they have to be the most expensive ones on the shelf. As long as they haven't been sitting in your cupboard for a year, they should be good. Growing your own fresh herbs is a great thing to do and I'm sure it saves a lot of money, but when it's not possible (due to the colder seasons or the fact that your entire apartment is shrouded by trees, like mine) only buy the fresh stuff when it will really be noticed. I think in soups or things with a long cooking time, dried herbs are actually superior. Also, I'm sure free range organic chicken is much tastier than the frozen Tyson chicken I buy, but that's what I can afford. I'd rather enjoy it than go beyond my budget only to find that that flavor is something I can't have on a regular basis. Part of being satisfied with a meal, for me, is being content that there may be something tastier out there, but I've done the best I can with what I have, and I appreciate the food I do have.

To sum up, in my opinion, being a good cook is about knowing how to balance 3 things: quality, health, and frugality. Mastering this art is my goal whenever I enter the kitchen. Remember, we eat to live, we don't live to eat.

Blandness is relative and is likely due to what you are used to. You may get your idea of how food should taste from your my mom's cooking or the indian restaurant down the steet. Either way you need to season accordingly.
I always view recipies as a starting off point, and use them mainly for inspiration. I also only have measuring cups for emergency baking situations.

My mother never used salt when I was growing up (health reasons), and I use very little today. I've never once had my food called bland. I tend to use a lot of the same spices she did (Rosemary, corriander, anise, basil). I also believe that galic and/or chicken base can save almost any dish.

I have made several dishes according to recipes and also found them to be bland... until a chemist friend pointed out that most spices are oil-soluble. You must heat spices in a little oil (usually the recipe will also call for onions or garlic or other vegetables to be sauteed as well) to release their flavor.

Here's a little tip I read in a cookbook that has made a big difference for me: If you're cooking with herbs, especially fresh herbs, add them late in the cooking process. Adding say basil or coriander too early to a soup or sauce seems to boil away the flavor. Adding them 5 minutes before the cooking is done makes their taste brighter.

pedalpowered's point is a very important one - it's pretty amazing what a difference it makes if you give spices, garlic, onions - even carrots and celery - plenty of time in the hot oil or butter for their flavor to develop.

also, as many people have mentioned - season and taste as you go.

salt helps, acid does, too. and fresh herbs (added right at the end) are almost always a nice addition.

speaking of herbs - try adding a bay leaf, parsley stems, thyme or rosemary sprig (whatever would enhance the flavors of your dish).

there's a reason for the ubiquitous bouquet garni and mirepoix of classic french cooking.

Ok, guys, telling people to just go spend more on spices isn't the best advice. I know, I know, high end spices ARE better, but some of us cannot afford that! To those people who actually suggested things like finding an authentic recipe or toasting your dried spices beforehand, thank you.

My advice is like many others; taste and reseason...ALOT. I made the saddest pot of roasted veggie and lentil stew the other night, or so I thought, and all I had to do to fix it was throw in an extra pinch of salt and some vinegar. The flavors of all the (inexpensive, I am BROKE people) spices I'd put in but couldn't taste suddenly came bursting forth.