When it comes to cooking meat and seafood, a good marinade can actually make or break the dish. Whether you're grilling chicken, roasting lamb, pan-searing fish, or preparing kebabs, marinating is one of the simplest techniques to elevate both taste and texture. And ironically, this is where most of the people go wrong and either spoil the marination or simply skip it. It is important to understand that marinating is more than just soaking meat in spices. It is a critical part of cooking meat, where acids, salt, enzymes and spices work together and prepare the meat for cooking and help improve moisture retention, and sometimes alter the texture of the meat. Scroll down to understand the science of marination and mistakes to avoid.