For a moment, forget the 'calories' in any given spoonful you might sample while cooking and simply consider the issue from a long-term, behavioral perspective... and, when doing that, a good question to ask yourself whenever you encounter an issue like this is:
If not explicitly spelled out in the No S rules, is the activity I'm unsure about a substantial contributor to my weight/eating issues?
Personal example:
My primary issue is binge eating. This means that snacks, seconds, and sweets are unlikely to be an issue for me on a 'normal' day, because I'm pretty darn good at avoiding those completely... when I am not binge eating.
If I am about to go into an important meeting on a weekday and feel like I need to eat a breath mint before-hand, I don't give it a second thought. I don't care if the breath mint is sugar free, and I don't consider it, in any way, a snack/sweet/violation of the No S rules when I eat one or two mints (even though they technically might be 'sweet').
Why? Because
I didn't get overweight eating massive amounts of breath mints. Consuming one or two breath mints will not throw me off for the entire day... I simply eat it and move on.
But what about ONE dove chocolate square?
While one square of Dove Chocolate probably doesn't have all that many more
calories than some brand of sugary breath mints (or even dinner mints) do, and when eaten occasionally between meals, would not be a huge issue for some... it IS an issue or me.
Why? Because I have eaten an entire bag of dove chocolates before. Even one Dove chocolate is a slippery slope for someone who has, traditionally, struggled with binge eating, and could throw my entire day off.
So I will eat a breath mint whenever I feel like it, but not a Dove Chocolate (unless it is an S day). My weight and eating sanity, at any given time, have both definitely been affected by chocolate consumption, but neither has ever been impacted by breath mint consumption.
Just my two cents: While following No S rules forces us to limit snacks, sweets, and seconds, each of us must determine what other 'iffy' eating behaviors are problems
for us, specifically. You don't have to defer to the diet 'rules' to make determinations about borderline issues, like tasting during cooking, if you
perceive that those issues don't have a major impact on your appetites/behaviors.
If something, intuitively, seems like an issue to you, then just avoid it.
If not, taste those spoonfuls and give the behavior no other thoughts, then mark your day as Green
Best of luck!
Thanks.