Sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami—from these five basic tastes, we can create infinite delectable, mouthwatering, complex and enticing flavors. And it’s not just sugar, salt or citrus that defines each one. Check out some less obvious ways to celebrate every nuanced note!

Sweet: Let’s face it: as humans, we’re biologically hardwired to desire sweet things and there’s nothing we can do about it—except satisfy that need for sugar (it’s only instinctive)! In food, sweetness is a natural complement both to saltiness and itself. It also functions to balance out sour and bitter tastes. Too little, and it’s savory; too much, and it’s cloyingly saccharine. While we may think sweetness most often takes the form of decadent desserts, more sweet sources include things like caramelized onions, balsamic vinegar, beets, corn, honey-imbued sauces, maple syrup, sweet potatoes and, obviously, fruit!

Sour: When isolated, sourness can be a polarizing taste. Lip-puckering and interjection-inducing, it’s a powerful thing when concentrated, but a little acidity in most dishes can prove to be that special secret ingredient, adding liveliness, lightness and just the right amount of zing. Cutting through richness, enhancing sweetness and mitigating saltiness, it’s a wondrous balancing agent! Use things like lime or lemon, vinegar, tamarind or pickled vegetables to achieve some tantalizing tang in your cooking.

Bitter: Bitterness may get a bad rap (probably because plants that are overly bitter denote some level of toxicity, so our detection abilities have become hyper-attuned to it), but even so, we’re here to sing its praises. It’s critical to balance! Bitterness is like sourness in that it cuts through overwhelming, muddying savoriness. Since we’re so sensitive to it, a little goes a long way; a bitter note, incorporated wisely, can provide just the right amount of stimulation. For a little bitter boost, look to unsweetened dark cocoa, coffee, dark greens (kale, chard, spinach, etc.), grapefruit, tannic red wine and beer.

Salty: What can we say? Salt is salty. In excess, it can make something wholly unpalatable, but the right amount of salt is foundational to balance. It enhances sweetness and minimizes bitterness, and if your food is falling flat, salt is often the cure as it’s a great flavor intensifier. Fun Fact: Did you know that a smaller amount of salt applied while cooking is more effective than a larger amount added at the table? Diffusion, baby! If you want to think beyond the tiny crystalline cubes, capers, bacon, miso and cheese (like Parmesan or Cotija) are also saline superheroes.

Umami: Umami is somewhat of a nebulous flavor by definition. Roughly meaning “the essence of deliciousness” in Japanese, it is richness as a taste and not a quality; tongue-coating, long-lasting and full-bodied. Savory, earthy and meaty all at once, it deepens flavor, enhancing it like a magnifying glass and providing a bit of soul for dishes that are technically balanced but still seem lacking. And it does all that without making things too complicated on your palate! Shiitake mushrooms, broths, shellfish, aged cheese, kimchi, green tea, soy sauce, dried tomatoes and meats are all über umami flavor bombs.

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