Regardless of how experienced a cook someone is, making mistakes in the kitchen is almost a given. However, many mistakes are fixable, or at least have a solution that prevents cooks from having to completely throw away dishes. One common mistake is too much salt. This often happens when cooks do not taste their dishes as they are making them, or when soup or stews over-reduce. In the case of soups, adding a bit more water helps fix the problem. For other dishes, adding something acidic, like lemon juice or vinegar, combats the salty flavor. For too much spice, a similar method can be used, adding, instead, non-spicy ingredients or a bit of sugar.
Overly tough meat is the result of overcooking, which may happen when the meat is cooked too long or over too high of heat. If this happens, shredding the meat and making tacos or making a meat marinara sauce still uses the meat, even though it may not be the same dish as originally planned. Burnt food is a difficult mistake to fix, but there is a way to remove some of the burnt flavor. For glazed foods, burning is not too much of a problem, but for others, cooks can set a wet towel over the pot or pan until it slightly cools to draw out some of the burnt flavor.