Even the best cooks are prone to making mistakes. This post has been prompted by a particularly vinegary soup disaster this evening. Of course, not all meals are salvageable and sometimes you just have to scrape off the burnt bits but there are plenty of problems that can be fixed.

So, my vinegary soup, generally when a flavour is too strong you have two options. Your first chance to salvage dinner is adjusting the volumes. By adding more stock or increasing the other ingredients you can attempt to balance out the flavours to drown out the overpowering one. However, this is no good if you’ve only bought what you need. Your other option is to add an opposing flavour. If it’s too spicy add something sweet or creamy for example. In the case of vinegar, though, we have a third option.

If your dinner has become too vinegary or sour the problem is acid and this brings a unique solution. Alkalis. If your dinner, especially a soup or stew, has too much acid you can simply add a little bicarbonate soda. I’m sure you've done the experiment at school, making vinegar and bicarbonate volcanoes or cola and mentos rockets. Adding the bicarb to your dinner will cause the same reaction (giving you the same exciting fizz) and neutralise the acid in your meal leaving it far more palatable. Of course, you have to be careful not to add too much as your dinner may become soapy. It is best to add a little at a time and allow the fizzing to stop before trying it and adding more if needed.

I hope that this little tip can save your dinner too,