Salty seasoning: Salty flavor has been listed as one of the five flavors since ancient times. Salty taste is the main flavor in cooking applications, and it is the basic flavor of most complex flavors. It is said to be the master of all flavors. Not only general dishes are inseparable from salty taste, but also sweet and sour flavors, sour and spicy flavors, etc. should also add an appropriate amount of salty taste. The taste can make it rich and delicious. Human beings have a long history of understanding and utilizing salty taste. Literature records that the earliest use of salt in China was during the Yellow Emperor period about 5,000 years ago. Savory seasonings include: soy sauce, salt, soy and sweet seasonings.

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Sweet seasoning: Sweetness is called Gan in ancient times and is one of the five flavors. Sweetness can be used alone to prepare sweet foods in cooking; it can also be used to adjust a variety of complex flavors to make the food sweet and delicious; it can also be used to correct flavors, remove bitterness and fishiness, and has a certain anti-greasy effect. In Chinese cooking, sweetness is used more in the south, and Wuxi cuisine in Jiangsu Province uses the most sweetness. It is known as "sweet at the beginning, salty at the end, rich in oil and red sauce". Natural sweeteners such as honey exist in nature and have been consumed by humans for a long time. The word "honey" appears in the oracle bone inscriptions unearthed from the Yin Ruins. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, sugar had been made from sugarcane juice. Sweet condiments include: honey, sugar, and maltose.

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Sour seasoning: Sourness is one of the five flavors and is widely used in cooking, but it is generally not suitable to be used alone. Acid has the effect of astringing and fixing astringency, which can help gastrointestinal digestion; it can also remove fishy smell, relieve greasiness, enhance flavor and freshness, create fragrance and color, appetizer and refreshment, and enhance appetite. It is especially suitable for consumption in spring. Sour seasonings include: vinegar, tomato sauce.

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Spicy condiments: Spicy is actually a painful sensation to the touch rather than a taste. However, due to habit, I also treat it as a blind thing. Spicy seasonings include: Sichuan peppercorns, chili peppers, ginger, onions, and garlic.

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Umami seasoning: Umami is a delicious food that people strive to pursue in their diet. It can make people feel comfortable and happy. Umami taste mainly comes from amino acids, nucleotides and succinic acid, which are mostly found in meat, fish, poultry and eggs and other main ingredients. MSG, shrimp roe, fish sauce, oyster sauce, fresh bamboo shoots and other foods can also be used to enhance freshness. Umami cannot exist alone. It can only be combined with other flavors to complement each other. Therefore, there is a saying that "it is not fresh without salty, and it is not fresh without sweet". Umami seasonings include: fish sauce, MSG, and oyster sauce.