insaporire

Insaporire is an Italian verb meaning to make food more flavorful by adding seasonings, aromatics, or other flavoring agents. The action encompasses enhancing taste and aroma, often during cooking, to achieve a more pronounced or balanced flavor profile.

As a verb, insaporire is transitive and takes a direct object, typically a dish or ingredient. Conjugation in the present indicative is io insaporisco, tu insaporisci, lui/lei insaporisce, noi insaporiamo, voi insaporite, loro insaporiscono. The past participle is insaporito and is used with avere: ho insaporito la zuppa. The gerund form insaporendo expresses the ongoing act of flavoring.

Etymology: from sapore, meaning taste or flavor, with the prefix in- and the verb ending -ire, signaling the act of making or rendering something more flavorful.

Usage examples: In cooking, insaporire is used to describe enriching a dish by adding seasoning, stock, butter, oil, herbs, garlic, pepper, or wine. Example: to insaporire the sauce, simmer onions and mushrooms with broth. To insaporire a soup, add herbs and a touch of salt.

Related terms: condire (to season with a sauce), aromatizzare (to aromatize), insaporimento (the process of flavoring). In Italian cuisine, insaporire is a common step in recipe instructions and general cooking practice.