maustaa

Maustaa is a Finnish verb meaning to season, spice, or flavor food by adding herbs, spices, salt, sauces or marinades. In culinary use it refers both to the act of adjusting taste during cooking and to final seasoning at the table. Common examples include maustaa liha (to season meat), maustaa keitto (to season a soup) and maustaa suolalla ja pippurilla (to season with salt and pepper).

The word is closely related to the noun mauste (spice) and the adjective mausteinen (spicy, seasoned). Morphologically it is formed from the root mauste with a verbal suffix, and appears in various derived forms such as maustettu (seasoned) and maustaminen (seasoning). Beyond literal culinary contexts, maustaa is also used figuratively in Finnish to mean adding interest or variety, as in maustaa elämää (to spice up life) or maustaa tekstiä (to add color to a text).

Usage varies by cuisine and personal taste; the concept covers simple seasoning with salt and pepper as well as complex spice blends and marinades. In recipes and food writing maustaa often signals when to add flavoring agents and may be accompanied by specific measurements or timing to achieve the desired balance. The verb is a common element in everyday Finnish related to cooking and food culture.