I burnt chili one time, and the scorched flavor was all through the chili. On a whim, I added maple syrup to the burnt chili. It change the scorched flavor into a wonderful smoky flavor.
Put a monkey at the piano - and wait long enough - you will get Beethoven
Glad you found solace with your maple syrup - but over the years I have wasted a lot of good stuff and time trying to recover 'mistakes' - throwing good money after bad - as they say - many times it's just best to close your eyes and dump - and start over
The chili was for a cookoff and I was representing our local farmer's market. I couldn't let them down. I put together the flavors in my head and was fairly certain I could transform the chili into something that was worth entering. I got loads of compliments on it.
What I'm saying is that as you experience more situations, and learn to play flavors around in your head, you can sometimes, and I mean just sometimes, fix something that's gone awry.
Of course I've also burned sauces beyond repair. But you don't learn anything new if you don't try things. I will always make an educated guess as to how to fix something that I goofed up. It's who I am.
Alas, I'm no Beethoven. I am, however, a talented amateur.
Oh, and lest I stick my foot in my mouth, I didn't take offense at your comment. Rather, I was just pointing out a need in some, including myself, to repair things. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. But it always teaches me something valuable, even if the lesson is to throw the mess away.
Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North