Added Flavourings

I enjoy cooking, not just because it’s a daily task, but because it helps me pay attention. Tasting food, making small adjustments, and noticing when something is almost right have taught me lessons no recipe can. When I cook, I often ask myself, how can I make this truly good? Each time I return to a dish, I find simple joy in trying to make it better.

Some people call these small changes “secret recipes.” I think of them as added flavourings. The dish is already good, but a little extra can deepen the taste, bring balance, and highlight what’s already there.

Homer, in the Odyssey, reminds us that wisdom doesn’t come all at once. We gain it slowly through experience, patience, and reflection. Flavour grows in much the same way. We rarely remember only the main ingredient; what stays with us is the harmony created by thoughtful additions. The Roman writer Apicius, one of the first to write about cooking, believed good food isn’t about using too much, but about knowing when to stop.

In many ways, life is like a shared dish. Families, communities, and friendships are made up of different people, each with their own qualities. Indian tradition has always understood this. The Mahabharata teaches that harmony, or dharma, is kept not by one person taking over, but by balance. Everyone does their part with care. The Bhagavad Gita also reminds us that when we act with attention and purpose, it improves both what we do and who we are.

Early Christian writers shared similar ideas. St. John Chrysostom described gentleness and kindness as qualities that “season” our relationships, making truth easier to accept and goodness last longer. Virtue, like flavour, is best when it blends in quietly instead of taking over.

Sometimes, we are the added flavouring. We don’t need to be in the spotlight, but we can make things better with patience, encouragement, humour, or just by being there. These small acts may seem minor, but they can turn something good into something memorable.

Maybe the real art, in both cooking and living, isn’t about changing everything. It’s about noticing what needs just a little extra—a pause, a word, a gesture, or simply being. Let’s try to be these small additions in the lives we touch, never overpowering but always adding something good.

Wishing you a blessed day.

Haps@aalap