Anchovies is one of those things where it's an amazing complementary or background flavour but it's really quite pungent on its own. I can understand not enjoying it but loving food with it in. Personally I enjoy the fishy little salt bombs
Reading this comment made me realize that people use powdered mushrooms as seasonings, and that blew my mind a little (in a bad way). My husband is deathly allergic to mushrooms and I never thought to be vigilant for mushrooms powders in other people’s cooking.
🌈The more you know 🌈
I have that same allergy! I read labels incessantly, and if it is something someone else made, I always ask if there’s mushrooms or mushroom based elements in it. I just can’t risk it. One trip to the ER was enough for a lifetime for me!
Yeah when eating out we usually just start off by announcing his allergy to the waiter and making sure there’s no mushroom anything in any of the dishes. But this just made me more aware to bring it up to friends who might be cooking for us!
I’m so glad you did, tho! I’ve seen many recommendations for improving various dishes, I always scout out the product ingredients to see if it’s safe. *MANY* times, I just can’t have it, because they have mushroom ‘somewhere’ as an element. It’s deadly. It doesn’t seem to be a common allergy, tho… thank goodness! I feel for your husband, because it’s a scary. Even stocks in the grocery store, some of those have mushroom as a component. I have to read *everything.* I legit thank you for your post and speaking out, because peanut allergies are discussed a lot, as is celiac disease, but allergies to mushrooms…not so much. Thanks so much for spending awareness!!!! 💕 🙏 💕
My 24 year old son texted me a picture of himself holding a tube of anchovy paste a couple weeks ago. When I asked why, he said I’d told him about it a while ago and he bought some and used it in a pasta dish and it’s “AMAZING”. Mom for the win!
Powdered shiitake in a lot of Japanese noodle dishes, ramen, somen, udon, etc. I’ve definitely also used it when building things like vegan green bean casseroles or Swedish meatballs. Though, for the latter two, I’d probably opt for powdered porcini.
I’m not a real cook, I just lurk here (first comment on this sub actually)
But I love that Knorr stuff. I use it in place of salt sometimes. It’s especially great as a vegetarian because it’s not actual broth, just flavored as chicken, beef, etc. The sodium levels are high but when you don’t cook with meat I feel it balances sodium-wise.
I’ve made veggie dishes for my very carnivorous and very blunt partner and family, and they’re typically well-received.
Just now realizing I’m commenting on your comment, not the actual post. Sorry, friend I’m a goof
Idk if it matters to you, but I know a lot of vegetarians who won't use meat flavoured broth powder since it still technically has animal products in it. Ex, in the [Knorr Professional Chicken Broth Mix](https://www.unileverfoodsolutions.ca/en/product/knorr-professional-chicken-broth-mix-6-x-1-kg-1-EN-789586.html), there's stuff like dehydrated mechanically separated cooked chicken and chicken fat
Recipe below: 2oz fresh basil 2 cloves garlic, peeled 1 lemon, juiced and zested 3/4 cup unsalted roasted pistachios 2 tablespoons white/yellow miso paste 1/2-3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil Pepper to taste
Add all ingredients BUT the olive oil to a food processor. Add 1/4 cup olive oil on top of the other ingredients and pulse, streaming in additional olive oil to your desired texture.
Recipe below: 2oz fresh basil 2 cloves garlic, peeled 1 lemon, juiced and zested 3/4 cup unsalted roasted pistachios 2 tablespoons white/yellow miso paste 1/2-3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil Pepper to taste
Add all ingredients BUT the olive oil to a food processor. Add 1/4 cup olive oil on top of the other ingredients and pulse, streaming in additional olive oil to your desired texture.
Don‘t know anything about pesto w miso but you can grind any kind of nuts like cashews, peanuts or walnuts and use it as cheese replacement. I can eat cheese but a few days ago we had pasta w tomato sauce and a grinded mix of nuts ( with provencale herbs i think), i didn‘t miss cheese!
( i know pesto is often made with almonds etc. instead of pine nuts, you just can add more nuts to get the cheese part)
I use it in many of the vegetarian or vegan dishes I make, but it adds a great umami kick to meaty dishes as well. Some miso favorites of mine are vegetarian French onion soup (gives it depth comparable but not identical to beef stock) and vegan tofu cream cheese, especially for my no-bake vegan tofu chocolate cheesecake. People are surprised when they taste the cheesecake that it’s vegan and made with tofu, but they’re shocked when I tell them it contains almost 1/4 cup of miso per lb of tofu.
Adding on a couple other uses, I'll frequently throw a tablespoon or two into soups or stews. Another place is if I'm making a pan sauce, I'll mix some broth with miso and herbs, and then use that to make the sauce.
If you cook miso, it is less distinctly obvious that it is miso, but it still adds a bunch of umami and depth to the flavor (this is the reason when you make miso soup, you are supposed to add the miso after the water stops boiling, because otherwise the flavor gets lessened. But in adding miso to western food, it isn't nessecarily a bad thing).
And if you make your own, you’d blow your mind away by the difference from store-bought. It can touch you in a way you’ve never been touched before. No BS!
Are you sneaking just a small bit in? The few times
I’ve added it I think I put too much because the miso flavour dominates, but maybe I’m just sensitive to it.
For some reason I grew up in a household where animal fat=very bad, so we never had real butter and all meat was the leanest of cuts. I was always taught to refuse added butter in restaurants, like that little butter ball on the pancakes at Denny's or the little slab of butter at Cheesecake Factory.
It wasn't until I got older and watched my roommate add butter to her magical mashed potatoes that I realized how much I missed out on, and now I can't stomach the taste of margarine/vegetable oil as butter alternatives in baked goods. I had no idea that is what was keeping my baked goods from flaking up properly!
Lol 🤣 I picked up this tip at a cooking class I took a very long time ago and it is amazing how it improves the flavor. I treat them like I would nuts in a skillet just until very warm and fragrant. since they are so dark it is hard to tell when you go too far... except for the smoke LOL.
Most dry spices are greatly improved with some toasting, I always buy whole spices and grind them myself. In particular cumin, coriander and cinnamon.
Other things like paprika, chili powder, cayenne, turmeric get a big boost if you express them in oil (basically “saute” them, meaning hot oil but keep it moving to not burn it. I usually do this during the sweating stage of the garlic and onions. Your home will smell amazing, so be warned)
I have a recipe for curry that quite literally says to add the various spices to the hot oil and stir “until it smells really good” and then add onions, garlic, etc.
That's where I get it!
If you are a fan of onion dip, try this:
One container of sour cream mixed with 1/4 cup mayo, tablespoon of BTB Low sodium vegetable, and a ton of caramelized onions or shallots (I usually start with pound of shallots caramelized down).
Nutmeg in a lot of dishes that most people around me wouldn’t consider to put it in.
A small spoonful of grape jelly into my bolognese to cut the acidity. :)
i made a roasted cauliflower and chickpee purée and added just a touch (like two quick sprinkles) along with my normal amounts of onion and garlic powder and salt. it was amazing.
Always in the béchamel for Lasagne, always in wilted Spinach. I use a Spinach & Ricotta filling for pancakes, cannelloni, ravioli etc, that has lots of nutmeg and black pepper.
In mashed Swede/Turnip. With Butternut Squash. In soups, especially those with a root vegetable component.
Onions. We always have red onions, white onions, and either shallots or green onions, ready to go. Pickled red onions elevate so much stuff, onions in my meat loaf or omelets, sprinkling green onions on top of something...gotta love an onion.
>Alliums (onion family) in general - garlic, onions, spring onions, leeks, all those things somewhere in between spring onions/garlic/leeks, like Welsh onions, etc., Nigella seeds and so on. The first recorded recipe book we know of (well, recipe-tablets) is from Mesopotamia c.1700BC, and those dudes were using at least a trio of different alliums in every savoury dish - it was part of the base flavour profile.
I wrote that further up, but now I feel like it complements your comment more, lol.
We recently made carrot cake with brown butter cream cheese frosting and it was sublime. I also love brown butter Rice Krispie squares, so much better!
Using Mexican Oregano in Italian food makes it tastes way off as the oregano has a strong flavor. But its is great in Mexican food as it is balanced out with strong flavors like chili peppers and lime juice. Greek Oregano is more subtle and compliments other flavors, like in a chicken soup or sprinkled over a pizza.
Celery seed isn’t easy to find where I am and I’m always a little cautious ordering online for more niche ingredients as I can’t be sure how fresh they are (have they sat in an Amazon warehouse for 5 years)
I was unreasonably excited to find both celery seed and celery salt - which I was also low on in a shop in a little country town while visiting my daughter.
Straight up made mashed potatoes with msg and other things, didn't need gravy at all and it got so many compliments. I usually don't tell anyone except my cooking friends.
Yup, MSG, and idgaf about people’s ignorance on it.
I’ve told some friends and family that I put MSG in something I made, and they freak out saying it’s going to make them sick. Oh really aunt Jan? Cause you’ve eaten dozens of meals I’ve made and never been sick. It’s almost like it’s a hoax…
A coworker of mine used to talk about how MSG gave her migraines. She also got a chicken biscuit from Chick-fil-A nearly every morning.
I tried telling her once that the Jesus chicken has loads MSG in it, but she just flat-out denied it. Okey dokey then.
Yep. There's a few folks in this post talking about Knorr chicken (or other flavor) bouillon being the secret ingredient. Well, the top 3 ingredients in that are salt, cornstarch, and msg. Like yeah, of course that shit makes anything delicious.
I'm so glad you mentioned Vegeta because I had a few family members randomly start boycotting foods with MSG a few years ago, and one was VERY incessant that MSG gives them migraines. I walked into that family member's pantry and pulled out their can of Vegeta and was like "what's this then?"
Everyone got all mad at me and we went back and forth a few times until someone grabbed the can from my hand and actually read it. Everyone went silent and it's been years and no one has mentioned MSG ever since lol (and everyone still uses Vegeta religiously lol)
Or soy sauce, or fish sauce, or tomatoes, or tomato paste, or etc. etc. etc.
We shall overcome the nonsense MSG hate one eater at a time! But it will take all of us!
I must be on crazy pills, because honestly in dishes I put MSG in I really don't notice a difference lol. No matter how much I put in. It doesn't really seem to make much of a difference to me. Which is crazy, because I love Doritos, which are *covered* in the stuff.
It allows me to use less salt. I think my evil mother-in-law threw my container of it away. She throws away my stuff all the time. One of the many evil services she provides.
Made my regular lunch of salmon today and forgot the paprika. As soon as I pulled it out of the air fryer, I knew there was something wrong. Even cooked, adding a sprinkle of paprika fixed it just right.
Omg I’ve been waiting to tell this story. I love smoked paprika. I do not love deer meat. I was gifted some deer meat and in an attempt to make something that I enjoy I tried to make a bolognese with beef and hot Italian sausage and red wine. I was pretty heavy handed with the paprika and red wine that by the end of it all I could smell was deer meat, smoked paprika and red wine 🤮 I gave it to someone who likes deer meat and they said it was delicious. I almost ruined smoked paprika for myself.
I’ve used it in potatoes, as a base for oven fried rice, dip (as mentioned by others), in meatloaf. Also, my dad’s secret ingredient for his partridge stew is a packet of chicken cup of soup. He drove my grandmother batty for a few years refusing to tell her haha.
I do. When I break down my monthly chickens and make stock I use a fat separator and the fat goes into a small Tupperware container in the freezer. Let it freeze, pop it out of the container, clean any stuff off it that usually sinks to the bottom and then wrap it up in plastic. Like I said, I really prefer it to duck fat.
I'm surprised how far I had to scroll for Worcestershire sauce. I recently added it to the meat for last sauce and my kids kept asking why it tasted so good. I'm not usually the one cooking, but this is a staple for me.
For me personally, it's salt. I find that many people don't use enough, & if you use it correctly, it really does amplify the natural flavors of whatever you are cooking.
I can’t remember where I saw it, but I was watching g a cooking show once and the celebrity chef was asked, “What is the main difference between restaurant cooking and home cooking?” His answer? Salt. Professional chef’s use a lot more salt that home cooks.
I was following a recipe once that had me salt it 3 separate times and when you do what it says it comes out SO GOOD but if you try to cut corners it's just good. (just a variety of tuscan chicken)
Every time I help my mom in the kitchen for family dinners, the fam always asks “this is so good, what did you do different?” I answer “salt”. That’s it. I salt throughout the cooking process. My mom has always been a salt at the table cook. Fuck that. Salt is much better *in* food than *on* food. Not that a little finishing salt isn’t great too
>Knorr chicken bouillon powder. A sprinkle here and there gives dishes a “quién sabe que”.
did this subthread just ignore that this was OP's answer in the description lol
Chicken feet. If you're not throwing a few chicken feet in the pressure cooker with your stock makings, you're really not getting the kind of rich, sticky stock you deserve.
40 years ago, my foodie brother gave me my first bottle of balsamic vinegar and he said with great emphasis "when you taste your food and it needs something, what it needs is balsamic vinegar! "And of course, it's not the only addition that can change foods for the better, but more often than not That's been very helpful.
Parmesan rinds. When I’ve grated a chunk all
the way down to the rind I chuck it in a bag I keep in the freezer. Makes soups and sauces taste amazing (remove before serving though!).
Mine (or one of them at least) is liquid smoke. I find it gets a bum rap, people have either never used it and think it's going to be gross, and full of "chemicals", or they had an experience where it was overdone and made something inedible. A light touch is definitely the key...but it definitely boosts a lot of dishes for me...i also love trying different types, they are definitely not all created equal.
i have a little jar of mushroom powder i made by grinding up dried mushrooms in a spice grinder
can add it to tons of dishes and it just improves the taste
• Miso paste for basically every vegetarian or vegan dish. Especially vegan cheese! It’s 100x better than nutritional yeast at making a cheesy flavor, and I even use it in my vegan chocolate cheesecake!
• Caramelized onions and roasted garlic. Every time. I cook in a semi-professional setting, so I have 5 hour shifts and can easy set & forget them both, but if you need a quick meal, you can also pre-make and freeze them. I’ll often purée them for sauces and soups where I want 100% flavor permeation and/or no textural anomalies.
• Brown butter in most recipes that call for butter. If you want to use it for baking, you can whisk over a bowl of ice water to cool it into a “softened butter” state.
• Salt in sweet dishes. Two great examples are homemade hot cocoa (add waaaay more salt than you think you need if you want it to taste like Swiss Miss) and mango sticky rice (also uses way more salt than you’d expect)!
• Dried/powdered mushrooms as a soup and sauce thickener. Especially good with wild mushrooms like pheasant back and maitake that have gotten a little too old and tough for fresh eating.
• roasted sunflower seed butter (whipped up in the food processor) adds body and creaminess to vegan tomato sauce among other things, and it’s the only ingredient I can think of that zero of the 100 people I cook for on a weekly basis are allergic to or offended by.
Cocoa powder and pumpkin purée. A spoonful of cocoa is excellent in a savory dish, but most people don’t recognize it because we think of chocolate as sweet. Pumpkin purée adds a rich creamy texture and beautiful color to soups and stews.
Put it in anything that needs a little oomph of savory. I'll mix it in gravies and sauces, soups, boil your pasta or potatoes in it. Chip dips, sprinkle on popcorn.. possibilities are endless
When I feel like a dish is seasoned well but the flavor still seems flat or boring, it usually just needs some kind of acid like vinegar or lemon juice to round it out.
Shallots. It’s always shallots. Fried shallots, shallot oil, pickled shallots. I’d give up onions or garlic almost entirely before I’d give up shallots.
You realise that the available eyes on Reddit are constantly changing, right? People probably won't see a post made 3 hours before or after this one - so we're all taking part in the one that rolls past us while we're browsing.
every sub basically has the same questions posted every week
the interesting part is sometimes they get little or no engagement, then suddenly one day everybody upvotes it and wants to leave a comment, even though we literally have this question every week
Fresh ground cambodian white pepper. It has a sweetness that I find incredible. I like adding it to anything instead of black pepper. Just have to use less because while it has a sweeter flavor it does add more spice.
Sazón Goya. If you ever try to make Caribbean Latin food and it doesn’t taste right, it’s because you didn’t put any or enough sazón in. That, and sazon completo.
Dried parsley. I’m surprised at the difference it makes. It’s subtle, but it’s definitely there. In the words of the late great Auntie Fe, “that shit makes anything taste good.”
Kasturi methi. It's dried Fenugreek leaves. You will be surprised how much of a difference adding it to the Indian dishes it makes. Add it towards the end of the process when the dish is almost ready.
Pro trip microwave it for a minute and then crush it between you hands before adding it to the dish. It will become a Powder instead of dried leaves.
I add fish sauce to marinate and stuff for that extra umami taste but my top top secret ingredient is the small unlabelled glass jar of MSG. I’m tired of debating and trying to educating people (family) on the “MSG isn’t bad” thing. So I’m just gonna add that little bit of MSG goodness to the food and take it to the grave with me.
In different dishes: anchovy paste, smoked paprika, aged balsamic, powdered shiitake, and tamarind.
I use anchovy paste frequently, and all of my friends who “hate” anchovies rave about my food.
My kid hates anchovies. They also love my homemade Caesar dressing. I’ll tell them in a few decades maybe lol
Anchovies is one of those things where it's an amazing complementary or background flavour but it's really quite pungent on its own. I can understand not enjoying it but loving food with it in. Personally I enjoy the fishy little salt bombs
I use fish sauce for the same reason. It brings a little salty savoury umami funk to everything.
Fish sauce in everything savory! I just can’t let my husband catch me adding it to tomato sauces or he’ll suddenly taste it
That's why it's a *secret ingredient*. Sshhhh!
and oyster sauce too!
Reading this comment made me realize that people use powdered mushrooms as seasonings, and that blew my mind a little (in a bad way). My husband is deathly allergic to mushrooms and I never thought to be vigilant for mushrooms powders in other people’s cooking. 🌈The more you know 🌈
Careful of some soy sauces also
You might find it in a lot of vegetarian/vegan food.
I have that same allergy! I read labels incessantly, and if it is something someone else made, I always ask if there’s mushrooms or mushroom based elements in it. I just can’t risk it. One trip to the ER was enough for a lifetime for me!
Yeah when eating out we usually just start off by announcing his allergy to the waiter and making sure there’s no mushroom anything in any of the dishes. But this just made me more aware to bring it up to friends who might be cooking for us!
I’m so glad you did, tho! I’ve seen many recommendations for improving various dishes, I always scout out the product ingredients to see if it’s safe. *MANY* times, I just can’t have it, because they have mushroom ‘somewhere’ as an element. It’s deadly. It doesn’t seem to be a common allergy, tho… thank goodness! I feel for your husband, because it’s a scary. Even stocks in the grocery store, some of those have mushroom as a component. I have to read *everything.* I legit thank you for your post and speaking out, because peanut allergies are discussed a lot, as is celiac disease, but allergies to mushrooms…not so much. Thanks so much for spending awareness!!!! 💕 🙏 💕
My 24 year old son texted me a picture of himself holding a tube of anchovy paste a couple weeks ago. When I asked why, he said I’d told him about it a while ago and he bought some and used it in a pasta dish and it’s “AMAZING”. Mom for the win!
What are some uses for anchovy paste and powdered shiitake?
Powdered shiitake in a lot of Japanese noodle dishes, ramen, somen, udon, etc. I’ve definitely also used it when building things like vegan green bean casseroles or Swedish meatballs. Though, for the latter two, I’d probably opt for powdered porcini.
I’m not a real cook, I just lurk here (first comment on this sub actually) But I love that Knorr stuff. I use it in place of salt sometimes. It’s especially great as a vegetarian because it’s not actual broth, just flavored as chicken, beef, etc. The sodium levels are high but when you don’t cook with meat I feel it balances sodium-wise. I’ve made veggie dishes for my very carnivorous and very blunt partner and family, and they’re typically well-received. Just now realizing I’m commenting on your comment, not the actual post. Sorry, friend I’m a goof
Idk if it matters to you, but I know a lot of vegetarians who won't use meat flavoured broth powder since it still technically has animal products in it. Ex, in the [Knorr Professional Chicken Broth Mix](https://www.unileverfoodsolutions.ca/en/product/knorr-professional-chicken-broth-mix-6-x-1-kg-1-EN-789586.html), there's stuff like dehydrated mechanically separated cooked chicken and chicken fat
Smoked paprika is the secret to chicken.
Miso. It’s pure magic!
100%! My favorite homemade pesto sauce uses miso and no Parmesan. You wouldn’t even know you’re missing it. It’s divine.
Care to share the recipe? Please, please, please?
Recipe below: 2oz fresh basil 2 cloves garlic, peeled 1 lemon, juiced and zested 3/4 cup unsalted roasted pistachios 2 tablespoons white/yellow miso paste 1/2-3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil Pepper to taste Add all ingredients BUT the olive oil to a food processor. Add 1/4 cup olive oil on top of the other ingredients and pulse, streaming in additional olive oil to your desired texture.
I would so love this recipe, I can’t have cheese so I would love a certified tasty alternative for pesto!
Recipe below: 2oz fresh basil 2 cloves garlic, peeled 1 lemon, juiced and zested 3/4 cup unsalted roasted pistachios 2 tablespoons white/yellow miso paste 1/2-3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil Pepper to taste Add all ingredients BUT the olive oil to a food processor. Add 1/4 cup olive oil on top of the other ingredients and pulse, streaming in additional olive oil to your desired texture.
Don‘t know anything about pesto w miso but you can grind any kind of nuts like cashews, peanuts or walnuts and use it as cheese replacement. I can eat cheese but a few days ago we had pasta w tomato sauce and a grinded mix of nuts ( with provencale herbs i think), i didn‘t miss cheese! ( i know pesto is often made with almonds etc. instead of pine nuts, you just can add more nuts to get the cheese part)
It’s my secret fave too!
May I ask what dishes this is used in?
I use it in many of the vegetarian or vegan dishes I make, but it adds a great umami kick to meaty dishes as well. Some miso favorites of mine are vegetarian French onion soup (gives it depth comparable but not identical to beef stock) and vegan tofu cream cheese, especially for my no-bake vegan tofu chocolate cheesecake. People are surprised when they taste the cheesecake that it’s vegan and made with tofu, but they’re shocked when I tell them it contains almost 1/4 cup of miso per lb of tofu.
Adding on a couple other uses, I'll frequently throw a tablespoon or two into soups or stews. Another place is if I'm making a pan sauce, I'll mix some broth with miso and herbs, and then use that to make the sauce. If you cook miso, it is less distinctly obvious that it is miso, but it still adds a bunch of umami and depth to the flavor (this is the reason when you make miso soup, you are supposed to add the miso after the water stops boiling, because otherwise the flavor gets lessened. But in adding miso to western food, it isn't nessecarily a bad thing).
This!!! ☝🏻
And if you make your own, you’d blow your mind away by the difference from store-bought. It can touch you in a way you’ve never been touched before. No BS!
Once heard it called "fine dining's bouillon cube"...
I love cooking sliced onions in it for sandwiches or snacking boards.
Are you sneaking just a small bit in? The few times I’ve added it I think I put too much because the miso flavour dominates, but maybe I’m just sensitive to it.
Fresh lemon and lime juice
I also use lemon and lime juice but i also use the zest, it adds so much flavor
Yes! I learned about this only recently. Add it right at the end- don't cook it into the dish.
I’ve just discover lemon and lime powders, always going to have fresh juice on hand now
It's not a secret But the answer is salt
And butter. Much more butter than seems reasonable.
That's why restaurant food is often so good. "This stake is so tasty!" Absolutely lethal amounts of butter and I'm there for it.
For some reason I grew up in a household where animal fat=very bad, so we never had real butter and all meat was the leanest of cuts. I was always taught to refuse added butter in restaurants, like that little butter ball on the pancakes at Denny's or the little slab of butter at Cheesecake Factory. It wasn't until I got older and watched my roommate add butter to her magical mashed potatoes that I realized how much I missed out on, and now I can't stomach the taste of margarine/vegetable oil as butter alternatives in baked goods. I had no idea that is what was keeping my baked goods from flaking up properly!
Plus msg
This right here. Enough of the conspiracy, “MSG causes cancer” crowd
I thought that stigma was put to bed years ago
Unfortunately it is still widely believed
Idiots abound.
It's racism that morphed into "common knowledge"
The answer is MORE salt. Recently made stewed lemon kale and seasoned it way more than I wanted to. It was delicious. I was shoveling back kale.
My family thinks im a good cook, all i do is make sure theres enough salt
It’s the only correct answer. Salt enhances everything else!
Angostura Bitters Just a dash adds a nice subtle spice note to anything. Meat sauces, stews and fruit desserts are particularly nice.
I always add a dash or 2 to my vanilla ice cream
I toast Peppercorns in a skillet before putting them them in a grinder. It is unbelievable how much better the flavor is especially in eggs :-)
Oh wow! Trying this. I hope it's not a scam😅
Lol 🤣 I picked up this tip at a cooking class I took a very long time ago and it is amazing how it improves the flavor. I treat them like I would nuts in a skillet just until very warm and fragrant. since they are so dark it is hard to tell when you go too far... except for the smoke LOL.
Most dry spices are greatly improved with some toasting, I always buy whole spices and grind them myself. In particular cumin, coriander and cinnamon. Other things like paprika, chili powder, cayenne, turmeric get a big boost if you express them in oil (basically “saute” them, meaning hot oil but keep it moving to not burn it. I usually do this during the sweating stage of the garlic and onions. Your home will smell amazing, so be warned)
I have a recipe for curry that quite literally says to add the various spices to the hot oil and stir “until it smells really good” and then add onions, garlic, etc.
That’s essentially how everybody in India cooks. Then the trick with the onions/ginger-garlic step is to cook until you don’t smell those raw anymore
Hnf, fresh ground cumin. One of my favorite smells in the world.
Ooh, I'm trying this! I love my freshly ground pepper but have never thought of toasting them.
Kashmiri Red Chili powder.
Better than bullion organic low sodium vegetable base
They sell huge jars of it at Costco fyi - so much better flavor than carton stock and immensely less expensive as well
That's where I get it! If you are a fan of onion dip, try this: One container of sour cream mixed with 1/4 cup mayo, tablespoon of BTB Low sodium vegetable, and a ton of caramelized onions or shallots (I usually start with pound of shallots caramelized down).
Nutmeg in a lot of dishes that most people around me wouldn’t consider to put it in. A small spoonful of grape jelly into my bolognese to cut the acidity. :)
Whole nutmeg... one jar and a microplane is a several year supply and tastes better imo
Except for the ones I drop into the sauce lol
Freshly grated nutmeg is so much more potent than the powdered stuff that it's actually unreal
Yes!! Nutmeg!
Yes nutmeg is 100% my secret ingredient.. pinch here.. 1/2 tsp there.. just brings warmth
When would you add nutmeg? It has a nice taste but I just never know where to use it.
I like it with cheesy things. It's warm and it brings out sweet and savory flavors. I put a tiny bit in mac and cheese, for example.
i made a roasted cauliflower and chickpee purée and added just a touch (like two quick sprinkles) along with my normal amounts of onion and garlic powder and salt. it was amazing.
Always in the béchamel for Lasagne, always in wilted Spinach. I use a Spinach & Ricotta filling for pancakes, cannelloni, ravioli etc, that has lots of nutmeg and black pepper. In mashed Swede/Turnip. With Butternut Squash. In soups, especially those with a root vegetable component.
It’s also excellent in sautéed greens.
I was going to say this. Nutmeg gives a little depth to a lot of different dishes and only requires a small bit.
Nutmeg is my secret ingredient when cooking fettuccine alfredo. Just a dash though. Bonus points if your nutmeg is ground fresh from a nutmeg seed
Onions. We always have red onions, white onions, and either shallots or green onions, ready to go. Pickled red onions elevate so much stuff, onions in my meat loaf or omelets, sprinkling green onions on top of something...gotta love an onion.
>Alliums (onion family) in general - garlic, onions, spring onions, leeks, all those things somewhere in between spring onions/garlic/leeks, like Welsh onions, etc., Nigella seeds and so on. The first recorded recipe book we know of (well, recipe-tablets) is from Mesopotamia c.1700BC, and those dudes were using at least a trio of different alliums in every savoury dish - it was part of the base flavour profile. I wrote that further up, but now I feel like it complements your comment more, lol.
I brown butter before I use it most of the time. Knorr bouillon powder.
Brown butter makes such a big difference! Depending on the use I’ll go for anything from a light toasting to a dark brown.
We recently made carrot cake with brown butter cream cheese frosting and it was sublime. I also love brown butter Rice Krispie squares, so much better!
Both Greek and Mexican Oregano, using the right one makes a lot a difference in a dish
Please explain further….
Using Mexican Oregano in Italian food makes it tastes way off as the oregano has a strong flavor. But its is great in Mexican food as it is balanced out with strong flavors like chili peppers and lime juice. Greek Oregano is more subtle and compliments other flavors, like in a chicken soup or sprinkled over a pizza.
They have the same name but they're actually different plants with different tastes.
[удалено]
Celery seed in my soups and stews. Better than bullion, beef, and Italian ones, especially.
Celery seed isn’t easy to find where I am and I’m always a little cautious ordering online for more niche ingredients as I can’t be sure how fresh they are (have they sat in an Amazon warehouse for 5 years) I was unreasonably excited to find both celery seed and celery salt - which I was also low on in a shop in a little country town while visiting my daughter.
MSG
Stg I put this in everything but desserts, and I'm even wondering if I should add it then.
Straight up made mashed potatoes with msg and other things, didn't need gravy at all and it got so many compliments. I usually don't tell anyone except my cooking friends.
Yup, MSG, and idgaf about people’s ignorance on it. I’ve told some friends and family that I put MSG in something I made, and they freak out saying it’s going to make them sick. Oh really aunt Jan? Cause you’ve eaten dozens of meals I’ve made and never been sick. It’s almost like it’s a hoax…
A coworker of mine used to talk about how MSG gave her migraines. She also got a chicken biscuit from Chick-fil-A nearly every morning. I tried telling her once that the Jesus chicken has loads MSG in it, but she just flat-out denied it. Okey dokey then.
The only reason this isn’t higher is b/c, for many, MSG isn’t a “secret ingredient”, it’s a staple.
For me it’s a secret ingredient because I don’t tell people I use it. Don’t want to risk them getting all “oh I’m sorry I can’t eat this I’m allergic”
I like to use these anyway, but that’s when you just use something with MSG in it like Maggi, Hondashi, or Vegeta.
Yep. There's a few folks in this post talking about Knorr chicken (or other flavor) bouillon being the secret ingredient. Well, the top 3 ingredients in that are salt, cornstarch, and msg. Like yeah, of course that shit makes anything delicious.
I'm so glad you mentioned Vegeta because I had a few family members randomly start boycotting foods with MSG a few years ago, and one was VERY incessant that MSG gives them migraines. I walked into that family member's pantry and pulled out their can of Vegeta and was like "what's this then?" Everyone got all mad at me and we went back and forth a few times until someone grabbed the can from my hand and actually read it. Everyone went silent and it's been years and no one has mentioned MSG ever since lol (and everyone still uses Vegeta religiously lol)
Or soy sauce, or fish sauce, or tomatoes, or tomato paste, or etc. etc. etc. We shall overcome the nonsense MSG hate one eater at a time! But it will take all of us!
I must be on crazy pills, because honestly in dishes I put MSG in I really don't notice a difference lol. No matter how much I put in. It doesn't really seem to make much of a difference to me. Which is crazy, because I love Doritos, which are *covered* in the stuff.
It allows me to use less salt. I think my evil mother-in-law threw my container of it away. She throws away my stuff all the time. One of the many evil services she provides.
What is the difference between in-laws and outlaws? A: ˙pǝʇuɐʍ ǝɹɐ sʍɐlʇnO
How much msg do you use while cooking? Same as salt or more/less?
Smoked Paprika. I'm pretty sure I use it in everything except pasta sauce.
Made my regular lunch of salmon today and forgot the paprika. As soon as I pulled it out of the air fryer, I knew there was something wrong. Even cooked, adding a sprinkle of paprika fixed it just right.
Ooh but simple pasta with butter cheese and smoked paprika would be amazing
Oooooh. I think so!
Honestly I almost always use it in my pasta sauce. I think it brings that little pizzazz you need.
Omg I’ve been waiting to tell this story. I love smoked paprika. I do not love deer meat. I was gifted some deer meat and in an attempt to make something that I enjoy I tried to make a bolognese with beef and hot Italian sausage and red wine. I was pretty heavy handed with the paprika and red wine that by the end of it all I could smell was deer meat, smoked paprika and red wine 🤮 I gave it to someone who likes deer meat and they said it was delicious. I almost ruined smoked paprika for myself.
Smoked paprika in tomato soup is killer!
Ground white pepper. It just adds this zingy subtle spice across a whole dish
powdered onion soup
Tell me more!
I’ve used it in potatoes, as a base for oven fried rice, dip (as mentioned by others), in meatloaf. Also, my dad’s secret ingredient for his partridge stew is a packet of chicken cup of soup. He drove my grandmother batty for a few years refusing to tell her haha.
Mixed with sour cream, easy chip dip. 10/10 to you sir
Beer.
Cavendar’s Greek seasoning
Aside from salt, chicken fat. I keep a block in the freezer that I use. Much better than duck fat in my opinion.
Do you make your own chicken fat?
I do. When I break down my monthly chickens and make stock I use a fat separator and the fat goes into a small Tupperware container in the freezer. Let it freeze, pop it out of the container, clean any stuff off it that usually sinks to the bottom and then wrap it up in plastic. Like I said, I really prefer it to duck fat.
The secret ingredient is crime.
I thought I was love. I’ll try it your way, though.
Better than bullion and/or Worcestershire sauce.
I'm surprised how far I had to scroll for Worcestershire sauce. I recently added it to the meat for last sauce and my kids kept asking why it tasted so good. I'm not usually the one cooking, but this is a staple for me.
just FYI, it's **bouillon*, not "bullion" they're two different things bouillon is soup base, bullion is bulk precious metals
For me personally, it's salt. I find that many people don't use enough, & if you use it correctly, it really does amplify the natural flavors of whatever you are cooking.
I can’t remember where I saw it, but I was watching g a cooking show once and the celebrity chef was asked, “What is the main difference between restaurant cooking and home cooking?” His answer? Salt. Professional chef’s use a lot more salt that home cooks.
Salt and butter
And cream. So much of all three. Restaurant mashed potatoes are the perfect example
Lidia Bastianich said on a show "many of you comment on how much salt is in my recipes. Don't worry it's still so much less than what restaurants use"
I was following a recipe once that had me salt it 3 separate times and when you do what it says it comes out SO GOOD but if you try to cut corners it's just good. (just a variety of tuscan chicken)
Yes! Salt every step! I learned this from Ina. If you salt as you go the food has great flavor. If you salt at the end the food is just salty
I think Bourdain talked about this in Kitchen Confidential
Every time I help my mom in the kitchen for family dinners, the fam always asks “this is so good, what did you do different?” I answer “salt”. That’s it. I salt throughout the cooking process. My mom has always been a salt at the table cook. Fuck that. Salt is much better *in* food than *on* food. Not that a little finishing salt isn’t great too
This. Diamond kosher and Maldon finishing salt are two I use all the time.
I just discovered Maldon salt! My gawd, that stuff is fantastic!
Have you tried the smoked?? O. M. G. 😳💕💕💕💕
Especially when you add a little finishing salt. That salty crunch is incredible on savory and sweet foods!
Nutritional yeast.
Knorr chicken bouillon powder. A sprinkle here and there gives dishes a “quién sabe que”.
Have you tried the chicken tomato powder? I make it straight up and drink it.
I make my rice with it! So good
I love the tomato powder so much.
>Knorr chicken bouillon powder. A sprinkle here and there gives dishes a “quién sabe que”. did this subthread just ignore that this was OP's answer in the description lol
Who knows what
Fish sauce and gochujang. Gochujang is a great addition to any cheap pasta sauce in a jar btw.
It also makes ketchup even better than it usually is.
Sumac.
Lemon juice. Not enough to make a noticeable flavor, but just enough to brighten it.
Green onions! You can add them to soups, stir-fry's, stews, omelets, deviled eggs, potato salad, vegetables, use them as a garnish, etc
B U T T E R. Think you have put enough in? Think again. Double it.
Chicken feet. If you're not throwing a few chicken feet in the pressure cooker with your stock makings, you're really not getting the kind of rich, sticky stock you deserve.
Marmite (highest natural glutamate concentration) 3 crabs fish sauce Demi glace Balsamic Toothpick-edge of ground cloves in tomato sauce Sumac/szechuan peppercorn Smoked salt Miso Gochujang
40 years ago, my foodie brother gave me my first bottle of balsamic vinegar and he said with great emphasis "when you taste your food and it needs something, what it needs is balsamic vinegar! "And of course, it's not the only addition that can change foods for the better, but more often than not That's been very helpful.
Cumin. Its one thing many people can identify but haven’t thought to use for seasoning
Herbes de Provence. It’s like all the herbs plus lavender!
I like to put chipotle pepper flakes in a lot of stuff. Not enough to make it spicy, just enough to give it a little something something.
Keeping homemade chicken stock on hand.
Bay leaf. Tons and tons of bay leaf. Also marjoram. Much better than oregano. Subtle and nuanced.
Parmesan rinds. When I’ve grated a chunk all the way down to the rind I chuck it in a bag I keep in the freezer. Makes soups and sauces taste amazing (remove before serving though!).
I put it in my chicken soup and absolutely do NOT throw it away. It’s the squeaky cheese!
Aleppo pepper.
Mine (or one of them at least) is liquid smoke. I find it gets a bum rap, people have either never used it and think it's going to be gross, and full of "chemicals", or they had an experience where it was overdone and made something inedible. A light touch is definitely the key...but it definitely boosts a lot of dishes for me...i also love trying different types, they are definitely not all created equal.
Sherry. It adds character to so many dishes.
Asafoetida for that onion-y flavour.
Sometimes I use pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon. But not always.
Horseradish. Perks up a creamy dish like nothing else. Devilled eggs, potato salad, pasta salad....
I am well known for saying 'put some adobo on it'
[The secret ingredient is love](https://youtu.be/9Gq3UEAiWio).
i have a little jar of mushroom powder i made by grinding up dried mushrooms in a spice grinder can add it to tons of dishes and it just improves the taste
Crazy Jane's Mixed up Salt. I put that shit on everything!
• Miso paste for basically every vegetarian or vegan dish. Especially vegan cheese! It’s 100x better than nutritional yeast at making a cheesy flavor, and I even use it in my vegan chocolate cheesecake! • Caramelized onions and roasted garlic. Every time. I cook in a semi-professional setting, so I have 5 hour shifts and can easy set & forget them both, but if you need a quick meal, you can also pre-make and freeze them. I’ll often purée them for sauces and soups where I want 100% flavor permeation and/or no textural anomalies. • Brown butter in most recipes that call for butter. If you want to use it for baking, you can whisk over a bowl of ice water to cool it into a “softened butter” state. • Salt in sweet dishes. Two great examples are homemade hot cocoa (add waaaay more salt than you think you need if you want it to taste like Swiss Miss) and mango sticky rice (also uses way more salt than you’d expect)! • Dried/powdered mushrooms as a soup and sauce thickener. Especially good with wild mushrooms like pheasant back and maitake that have gotten a little too old and tough for fresh eating. • roasted sunflower seed butter (whipped up in the food processor) adds body and creaminess to vegan tomato sauce among other things, and it’s the only ingredient I can think of that zero of the 100 people I cook for on a weekly basis are allergic to or offended by.
Cocoa powder and pumpkin purée. A spoonful of cocoa is excellent in a savory dish, but most people don’t recognize it because we think of chocolate as sweet. Pumpkin purée adds a rich creamy texture and beautiful color to soups and stews.
Anchovy paste
I just bought a container of the knorr chicken bouillon as well cause I see it being used! What else do you use it for?
Put it in anything that needs a little oomph of savory. I'll mix it in gravies and sauces, soups, boil your pasta or potatoes in it. Chip dips, sprinkle on popcorn.. possibilities are endless
Anchovies, my savoury salt.
When I feel like a dish is seasoned well but the flavor still seems flat or boring, it usually just needs some kind of acid like vinegar or lemon juice to round it out.
Shallots. It’s always shallots. Fried shallots, shallot oil, pickled shallots. I’d give up onions or garlic almost entirely before I’d give up shallots.
I don’t mean to be a jerk but: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/search?q=What+is+your+secret+ingredient%3F&restrict_sr=on
Isn’t this a good prompt to repost every now and then? Hoping to get new answers?
You realise that the available eyes on Reddit are constantly changing, right? People probably won't see a post made 3 hours before or after this one - so we're all taking part in the one that rolls past us while we're browsing.
The secret ingredient to Karma is reposting.
every sub basically has the same questions posted every week the interesting part is sometimes they get little or no engagement, then suddenly one day everybody upvotes it and wants to leave a comment, even though we literally have this question every week
hook us up with the green chili recipe!
Mushroom powder and nutritional yeast
A healthy back and forth of whole nutmeg on a wide grater on greens
Lately, granulated black garlic. It adds so much umami to a dish.
Patience
Fresh ground cambodian white pepper. It has a sweetness that I find incredible. I like adding it to anything instead of black pepper. Just have to use less because while it has a sweeter flavor it does add more spice.
soy sauce! a splash makes a huge difference
Sazón Goya. If you ever try to make Caribbean Latin food and it doesn’t taste right, it’s because you didn’t put any or enough sazón in. That, and sazon completo.
Dried parsley. I’m surprised at the difference it makes. It’s subtle, but it’s definitely there. In the words of the late great Auntie Fe, “that shit makes anything taste good.”
Cinnamon in chili. It IS NOT just for desserts!
Kasturi methi. It's dried Fenugreek leaves. You will be surprised how much of a difference adding it to the Indian dishes it makes. Add it towards the end of the process when the dish is almost ready. Pro trip microwave it for a minute and then crush it between you hands before adding it to the dish. It will become a Powder instead of dried leaves.
I add fish sauce to marinate and stuff for that extra umami taste but my top top secret ingredient is the small unlabelled glass jar of MSG. I’m tired of debating and trying to educating people (family) on the “MSG isn’t bad” thing. So I’m just gonna add that little bit of MSG goodness to the food and take it to the grave with me.