Best time to add seasoning?

“People disagree about whether to sprinkle a piece of meat with salt and pepper before cooking it,” says Allison Lewis Clapp, food director at Real Simple magazine. “I believe it seals in a flavorful crust.” Seasoning most foods before, during and after cooking enhances the flavor. But hold off salting legumes such as dried beans until after they're cooked or their skins will toughen, which makes it harder to cook them through.