All dishes have a base of flavor, and depending on where in the world each dish comes from, each has a different group of components. Regional ingredients and tastes make up the flavor bases and work with the main ingredients available in that region. Let’s highlight some of the most common bases that are used around the world.

Mirepoix – This is the the classic starter in French cooking. It consists of carrots, celery, and onions and is the start of many classic dishes. I can see Julia Childs chopping the vegetables now. The onions bring savory, the carrots are sweet, and the celery earthy. These work with the more herbaceous cooking of European cuisine.

The Trinity – Used in New Orleans and creole cooking. The Arcadians who came from France via Nova Scotia settled in Louisiana and made use of onions, celery, and sweet bell peppers. (Carrots don’t grow well in swampy Louisiana.) It is the base of gumbo, jambalaya, and many others Cajun favorites.

Sofrito – This is used in Spanish and South American cuisine. The base is onions, garlic, and peppers. It’s the starter for most savory dishes in Latin cuisine from Cuba to Argentina with regional accommodations like tomatoes and hot peppers. As the OG of celebrity chefs Johnathan Waxman says, all good things start with garlic and onions.

Asian Trinity – This is garlic, ginger, and green onions or scallions. This is the base of many dishes from Japan, China, and all of South Asia. This combination works well to flavor vegetables because most of these cuisines use less meat and mostly as a condiment to flavor other items.

Curry – This is from India and south east Asia. All families make it slightly different. Most start with garlic, ginger, garam masala, curry leaves, paprika, turmeric, and tomato paste. This is made daily with dried spices. It has now proliferated to England where there are more curry places than in India. The taste is rich, smoky, spicy, earthy, and flavorful. A good curry will transform the simplest of ingredients.

Salt and pepper – Most chefs give a simple critique on all the cooking shows: “Needs more salt and pepper.”