Learn Spanish (Latin America): Si el chef tuviera este ingrediente, el sabor sería mejor. - If the chef had this ingredient, the flavor would be better.

English uses the simple past word ('had') to talk about imaginary present situations, like 'If I had a million dollars'. Spanish, however, requires a completely different verb form for this: the imperfect subjunctive. Because the chef doesn't actually have the ingredient right now, it is a hypothetical situation, so you must use tuviera instead of the normal past tense tenía.

How does the verb sería work with the 'if' clause here?

Sería is in the conditional tense (meaning 'would be'). This sentence perfectly models the standard Spanish formula for unreal present or future situations: 'Si' + [imperfect subjunctive], then [conditional]. The 'if' part sets up the imaginary scenario (Si el chef tuviera...), and the conditional part tells you the imaginary result (el sabor sería mejor).

Could I say tuviese instead of tuviera?

Yes! The imperfect subjunctive has two valid sets of endings: the -ra endings (like tuviera) and the -se endings (like tuviese). They mean the exact same thing. The -ra endings are much more common in spoken Latin American Spanish, but you will see both forms in writing and literature.

When talking about the flavor of food, why do we use sería (from ser) instead of estaría (from estar)?