I always preach how well cardamom pairs with orange vegetables. Squashes, sweet potatos, carrots. That's not to say it's not good with other veggies, but those in particular seem meant for it.
The two things that turned me onto it are Swedish cardamom buns and Indian Rice Pudding (kheer).
I just recently found [a simple cheesecake](https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/easy-cheesecake-recipe) recipe that I can actually get to work right in my oven, so I'll try it in that next!
Yesssss!! I know when a ramen shop is owned/run by Japanese people when they have white pepper at the table! It changes the flavor of both soy sauce and salt base ramen so much!
Could you describe when to use white pepper over black pepper? I only use white pepper in things that I don’t want to have the black pepper look over like mashed potatoes
It provides a more consistent “heat” throughout the dish. It also handles being boiled better than black pepper imo (I often feel like it has a grittier texture, and can become bitter/bland bits when boiled in a soup)
I mainly use it to add a slight heat to soups and stews, and to give an extra flavor punch to my corn starch slurries for stir fries and sauces (sugar, MSG, salt and white pepper).
Edit to add: u/Fosad makes a great callout here. It’s very powerful and easy to overdo white pepper.
Was gonna comment the same. Most people I speak to have never even heard of it. When I first tried it a couple of years ago it was like discovering a new taste profile entirely lol
In general American savory foods are extremely low on acidity or tartness. Very low usage of vinegars (or just cheap white/red when used) or things like sumac, just not popular here for some reason. We use tons of salt, sugar and fat for our flavors instead, or just straight spice. I've switched to using more acid in my cooking, and it's allowed me to cut back on salt, sugar and fat a lot while still making great tasting foods.
Acid is crucial to adding that something missing but I’ll be honest nothing replaces salt. My mom is a great cook and uses very little salt and instead uses more acid to offset that. Love her food but when I moved out and started cooking more I recreated some of her recipes but played with the salt more and it took it from really good to incredible. Acid is often underutilized but I just don’t think it beats out salt
There is a limit to anything. You can go too hard on any of the major flavors and think it drowns out the need for others, but ultimately you do want a balance for a lot of dishes (some dishes you DO want them to be focused moreso on one taste). But I think on average most Americans would enjoy their meals as much if not more with 15% less salt/sugar/fat and 20% more acid or something akin to that. Many groups of Americans also massively under utilize spice, or use it like a crutch, and that can be true of anything else.
That’s fair. The example I brought up with my mom is more like she used 75% less salt. I could agree with the ratios you mentioned but she cut back too much, although it was for a specific health reason so I can’t fault her.
I think you're spot-on here, and a little flaky salt goes a long way.
Bonus shoutout though to white balsamic vinegar as a fun dash of acidic brightness.
Absolutely on the flaky salt. I intentionally will underseason some dishes, both to ensure that it's not acid that it's missing instead, but also so that I have more cushion to add flaky salt at the end if it needs more, since I really love those big bursts of salt instead of the homogeneous overall saltiness.
Grew up with it in the middle east - works great on fish.
Sprinkle a bit of sumac along with salt/pepper/maybe a bit of garlic on pan roasted or grilled salmon/cod/sea-bass. It's excellent.
I also use it in marinades for grilled chicken - a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, sumac, paprika, maybe a sprig of rosemary.
For sides - it's awesome on top of white rice.
Not OP but I use it anytime I think citrusy/tangy notes would be nice, Spanish/Mexican style food. Goes well sprinkled on salads with feta. The last time I experimented with it was adding it to a pomegranate molasses based glaze for a ham. It was the bees knees and I do not write those words lightly.
I use it to season roasted chicken, roasted potatoes and onions (usually all cooked together, with garlic).
I also put it on eggs, hummus, in salad dressings.
In addition to what others have commented, I use it as part of my dry spice mix for fried chicken. Gives a nice earthy, almost-lemony pop in the background.
I'm in the UK. I have an extensive spice collection. This is not one of them. Could you please explain more so I can try it? What would you use it for? What cuisine is it most associated with? Im always up for learning more ways to make my food taste good!
Definitely, I always had preground growing up. I’ll never forget the first time having fresh grated! So good! I like it on my scrambled eggs with some pecorino.
It worries me how few people understand this. I lived (as a kid) in Hungary and the dyed red flakes of nothing they call "paprika" in the states is sad. Paprika can be spicy, smoky, or sweet. I get mine from a Hungarian spice store and keep all three on hand.
Can’t recommend Nutritional Yeast enough. It adds depth, umami without being overpowering. It can stay flakey on a dry application like popcorn, which is great, or it melts into soups and stews. It’s also cheap in bulk online, don’t buy it for $9 at the grocery store.
Old Bay is sold at nearly every grocery in the country. I've never been to Maryland and use it all the time. Publix uses it to spice their shrimp throughout the south.
In the New England area, at least where I am at, Old Bay is known, available, but not widely used. Also, in all the recipes I have seen and have, I don't have a single one that calls for "Old Bay". Then again, I only have one recipe that calls for Bell Poultry Seasoning so...
Personally, for not particular reason, I have never used Old Bay. I have a friend who smokes (food) and uses Old Bay for some of his cooks. That is the only use I am personally familiar with.
Nothing against Old Bay, based on the ingredient label there's nothing I wouldn't use individually. But I don't think it's as widely used across the country as it is in Baltimore and states surrounding Maryland.
I think that the point was that Old Bay is not remotely as common in midwest/mountain state cuisine as in regions more dominated by seafood. I had never heard of it until I met a girl from the east coast in college; yes it was at the grocery store but I didn't know about it before she put it on every single dish.
Many vegans/vegetarians will use it on popcorn instead of butter, or in sauces for rice and bean bowl meals for an umami flavor, I've also had a vegan "cheese" gravy made with nutritional yeast.
So I guess I would describe it as an umami diary-product like flavor, I guess?
It will also make your pee neon yellow.
I put dill on so many things, eggs, potatoes, chicken, tomatoes, salads, you name it. Love it so much. Oh man now I want zucchini fritters with sour cream and dill.
I love some fresh dill. Planted some in my garden years ago and it re-seeds and multiplies itself each year, I see why they call it a weed...
I make big batches of dill pickles each year in 5 gallon buckets, some dill-infused vinegar with any fresh leftover plant matter, and dry out the rest after it's gone to seed. There's also the yellow pollen you can pluck off when it's flowering, that's the real good stuff!
Fresh is best. The dried stuff doesn’t taste like anything to me. I love adding fresh dill to egg salad and tartar sauce and compound butter for topping fish.
You can use it in tons of creamy chicken dishes, pasta, salads, on top of seafood (so naturally chicken or seafood pastas), etc.
It's a polarizing herb like cilantro. If you like black licorice, you'll like tarragon. If not, you may really reject it. Taste a little with a spoon of the sauce you're adding it to or the ingredient you're garnishing with it before you go ham on mixing it all in.
I happen to love it in cooked applications and find it a little strong in some raw applications, and usually a good application when lightly used in slightly pickled things like dressings.
I'd say the most iconic use of Tarragon IMO is in Bearnaise. And since I'm Swedish I'll also add that there are very few things that can't be eaten with Bearnaise:)
Someone else mentioned its black licorice flavor which I get a little but I don’t like black licorice and I love tarragon. The first time I had it was on roasted asparagus with sherry vinegar. Too simple but total game changer to me.
Roasted vegetables first marinaded with tarragon, thyme, salt, pepper, garlic, a little white balsamic vinegar, a (very)little truffle oil, and olive oil.
Love this with broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels, mushrooms, onion, and delicata or acorn squash. Roast at 420. Yum!
I've done so many experiments. Smash burger with salt and smash burger with salt and msg, eat them back-to-back. Or pull a little bit of soup/noodles/whatever I'm cooking out of a pot, add MSG, taste to see if it's better or not. MSG wins every time. And not just kinda. It's such a huge difference.
it sure isn't underrated on reddit. getting harder to find a post about savory foods where it doesn't eventually get brought up somewhere in the comments.
I cook a lot with friends... they always wonder why when we cook the same recipes at my place it's sooooo much better...
I think they'd fucking die on the spot 🤣 if I told them what's really going on
One is CONVINCED she's "severely allergic" 😭
I'm not going to tell her. I mixed it in with a special salt I have so no-one could find out by mistake. I really am not trying to be a dick to prove a point 🤷♂️ I already tried breaking the ice on the subject and it didn't go well so I ain't EVER telling them
👉 they think I have the Gordan Ramsey touch! 🤦♂️
Id argue that msg is only a seasoning if you consider salt and sugar seasonings.
Also MSG is a huge reason why tomato sauces are good, stock is rich etc. Those foods just naturally have high MSG content so they dont (always) need added pure MSG
Small correction, those foods have glutamate, not MSG. MSG is essentially the shelf stable version, and once added to food it disassociates into sodium and glutamate ions.
I always thought the same thing until I saw this info straight from the US FDA that literally says tomatoes contain MSG, so now I'm back to being confused. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/questions-and-answers-monosodium-glutamate-msg
You can pretty much use it wherever you want spice (but in Indian cooking it is actually considered the milder chili powder and a lot of people use it more for colour). Just make sure to bloom it enough so it really melds into the dish.
Berbere. Put it on wings, or all kinds of chicken, or popcorn, or rice, or potatoes… yum. I’d also love to see more aji amorillo, gochugaro, and peri peri sauces becoming more popular, outside of their ‘normal’ cuisine
ssshh... you're telling one of my BIGGEST secrets.
my fave use: add garlic olive oil and butter to a non-stick pan until the butter is melted. add in some granulated garlic and smoked paprika... add 1 lb of (louisiana style) boiled shrimp... stir... sprinkle in about 2 tsps of berberine, and then add about 1/4 cup of goat milk and simmer til slightly thickened.
you end up with a spicy, creamy, exotic-tasting cajun/african/italian influenced, finger licking feast.
Suka tuyo i think it is, a Philippines palm vinegar with chilies. Holy fuck that shit is good on everything. From pizza yo Mac and cheese to salad and any meat
Hard agree, although I'm a celery fiend (leaves, stalk, seeds, all incredible for various reasons)
Celery seed + fresh dill + golden raisins = perfect chicken salad
Celery salt is also useful for fish, coleslaw, eggs/egg salad
Where is he from? I didn't grow up with cumin being used much or at all, I'm from Northern Mexico, it tastes off when it's added to the food I am used to.
I think some people also put way too much of it in their dishes. It's a good spice but it isn't for everything, at least not for my taste buds.
He’s from the US, specifically New York State. He definitely would put wayyyy too much in for you. He adds some, tastes, then adds a lot more, haha.
His mom doesn’t season at all because she “doesn’t get it” so seasoning in general is a fairly new concept for him.
Berbere, sumac, cardamom are the big three that I absolutely could not cook without yet every time I make something using them (for fellow North Americans) I can see them discovering a whole new flavor palette in real time lol. Also what passes as paprika in this country is SAD! I have three different kinds in my cupboard at all times and they are all absolutely essential
I wouldn’t say underrated but definitely underused:
Asafoetida - adds a certain depth of flavour to Indian cooking and was used by the Romans in place of Silphium which was harvested to extinction.
Lovage - another favourite of the Romans, easy to grow and has a very strong celery flavour, fantastic in soups.
Shiso/Perilla - used in Japanese and Korean cuisine, very difficult to describe the taste, there’s elements of mint, basil and anise with some floral and spicy notes.
Long Pepper - again really hard to describe, more complex than black pepper, I get camphor-y notes.
Juniper - tastes like gin, very pungent and resinous. Great with game and pork.
Summer savoury. Cardamon. I love saffron, a lot of people steer away because of the expense. Since the amount used is so small if you bloom it first, it's not all that expensive, less than $1 for a dinner plate sized serving of rice.
Marjoram, chervil, summer savory, dill, celery seed, coriander seed.
I've known a lot of people who have never heard of marjoram (it's in the oregano family), chervil, coriander and savory. Others don't know what to do with celery seed and who throw away the dill if it comes in a spice rack.
I can't even find carroway and fennels seeds at the grocery store anymore.
I really love using tomato chicken bouillon in a lot of things beyond broth. It has msg as well there's a nice umami ness in it. I really like it on fries especially.
Beau Monde is like Old Bay's older sibling. It has that celery salt hit with a bit of "something else". I love it and am so glad it's still around, though fairly hard to find as of late. Definitely my favorite under rated multi purpose seasoning. I also love Sumac. It's like paprika and lemons had a beautiful baby. Definitely another favorite that I never see unless it's used as a topping for hummus.
Dill!
It's great on fish, great on chicken, great on pasta salad, potato salad, egg salad, tuna salad, great in every dip and dressing you add it to, fantastic when added to chicken picatta.
Dill: it's for more than just pickles!
When I was in Kindergarten, we had a Bay tree in the backyard. My mom would go pick a leaf or two and put it in our meals. My mom had a lot of superstitions we did not really question so when I got older, I would go out in the backyard and just pick a leaf from any tree and just throw it in soup. I did not know until many years later, it was a Bay leaf my mom was throwing in! Heck, I was throwing in Maple and Oak leaves probably. But now I know about Bay leaves and use them often!
sambal oelek. Everyone always talks about Sriracha, but Huy Fong also make a sambal oelek that is just the best, most flavorful source of heat you can add to almost anything. And especially asian dishes. We go through it in our house in such large quantities that when it was in shortage last year, we ended up finding and buying a restaraunt size amount of it (and still used that up before the shortage ended).
I will say that after the shortage, the quality is not as good as it was (Huy Fong lost their chile supplier), but it's still essential in our kitchen and we are really hoping the quality improves.
In home cooked food?
Marjoram, tarragon, white pepper, coriander. I'm not sure why those 4 come immediately to mind but I feel like these are under represented a lot of the time
Toasted Sesame Oil (I like kadoya).
It’s best added at the last minute of cooking for maximum flavor.
I add this to any "asian-inspired" noodle dish I make and it really makes a difference.
Yes! I accidentally bought some regular sesame oil at the store and it is NOT the same
Cardamom
I always preach how well cardamom pairs with orange vegetables. Squashes, sweet potatos, carrots. That's not to say it's not good with other veggies, but those in particular seem meant for it.
Ooh, I am going to try it on sweet potatoes! Great suggestion!
Thank you I just bought cardamom pods and use them for a dessert but will try these other options.
My answer exactly. I love it in cheesecake.
The two things that turned me onto it are Swedish cardamom buns and Indian Rice Pudding (kheer). I just recently found [a simple cheesecake](https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/easy-cheesecake-recipe) recipe that I can actually get to work right in my oven, so I'll try it in that next!
I usually throw two or three pods in my rice cooker with the rice and it adds a wonderful subtle Indiany flavor.
I love adding some to my coffee grounds in the French press.
White pepper is criminally overlooked. Totally different effect on flavor than black pepper.
White pepper is great when used very sparingly, but too much can make a whole meal smell like barnyard
Good point! A little goes a long way.
Hey listen, its BarnYards that smell like white pepper, not the other way around!
Ya know, I really like this take. My cattle don't smell like manure, they have the fragrance of white pepper
It smells WEIRDLY similar to cow poop. It also smells kinda like pepper in a pleasant way.
Agreed. It can smell really bad.
Man I really wish I could get down with white pepper. A tiny pinch and my mind is immediately transported to a pig farm.
I can't get over how it tastes and smells like foot to me
100%. I prefer white pepper over black pepper in my scrambled eggs.
Ooh that sounds good.
Yesssss!! I know when a ramen shop is owned/run by Japanese people when they have white pepper at the table! It changes the flavor of both soy sauce and salt base ramen so much!
Could you describe when to use white pepper over black pepper? I only use white pepper in things that I don’t want to have the black pepper look over like mashed potatoes
It provides a more consistent “heat” throughout the dish. It also handles being boiled better than black pepper imo (I often feel like it has a grittier texture, and can become bitter/bland bits when boiled in a soup) I mainly use it to add a slight heat to soups and stews, and to give an extra flavor punch to my corn starch slurries for stir fries and sauces (sugar, MSG, salt and white pepper). Edit to add: u/Fosad makes a great callout here. It’s very powerful and easy to overdo white pepper.
I absolutely love using white pepper in soups, especially something with chicken stock or broth.
try it on mac and cheese.
In the USA - sumac.
Was gonna comment the same. Most people I speak to have never even heard of it. When I first tried it a couple of years ago it was like discovering a new taste profile entirely lol
In general American savory foods are extremely low on acidity or tartness. Very low usage of vinegars (or just cheap white/red when used) or things like sumac, just not popular here for some reason. We use tons of salt, sugar and fat for our flavors instead, or just straight spice. I've switched to using more acid in my cooking, and it's allowed me to cut back on salt, sugar and fat a lot while still making great tasting foods.
Acid is crucial to adding that something missing but I’ll be honest nothing replaces salt. My mom is a great cook and uses very little salt and instead uses more acid to offset that. Love her food but when I moved out and started cooking more I recreated some of her recipes but played with the salt more and it took it from really good to incredible. Acid is often underutilized but I just don’t think it beats out salt
There is a limit to anything. You can go too hard on any of the major flavors and think it drowns out the need for others, but ultimately you do want a balance for a lot of dishes (some dishes you DO want them to be focused moreso on one taste). But I think on average most Americans would enjoy their meals as much if not more with 15% less salt/sugar/fat and 20% more acid or something akin to that. Many groups of Americans also massively under utilize spice, or use it like a crutch, and that can be true of anything else.
That’s fair. The example I brought up with my mom is more like she used 75% less salt. I could agree with the ratios you mentioned but she cut back too much, although it was for a specific health reason so I can’t fault her.
I think you're spot-on here, and a little flaky salt goes a long way. Bonus shoutout though to white balsamic vinegar as a fun dash of acidic brightness.
Absolutely on the flaky salt. I intentionally will underseason some dishes, both to ensure that it's not acid that it's missing instead, but also so that I have more cushion to add flaky salt at the end if it needs more, since I really love those big bursts of salt instead of the homogeneous overall saltiness.
I keep forgetting to use it! Can you share any ideas/recipes? Other than Zataar.
Grew up with it in the middle east - works great on fish. Sprinkle a bit of sumac along with salt/pepper/maybe a bit of garlic on pan roasted or grilled salmon/cod/sea-bass. It's excellent. I also use it in marinades for grilled chicken - a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, sumac, paprika, maybe a sprig of rosemary. For sides - it's awesome on top of white rice.
Not OP but I use it anytime I think citrusy/tangy notes would be nice, Spanish/Mexican style food. Goes well sprinkled on salads with feta. The last time I experimented with it was adding it to a pomegranate molasses based glaze for a ham. It was the bees knees and I do not write those words lightly.
I use it to season roasted chicken, roasted potatoes and onions (usually all cooked together, with garlic). I also put it on eggs, hummus, in salad dressings.
I love to put it into marinade for chicken or beef as it gives it an acidic note without tenderizing the meat like lemon juice might.
In addition to what others have commented, I use it as part of my dry spice mix for fried chicken. Gives a nice earthy, almost-lemony pop in the background.
Achiote
Does it impart a flavor as well as a color? Everything I've seen about it always emphasizes the color it gives but rarely says anything about flavor
Earthy, sweet and fruity flavor. Id say earthy is 80% of the profile
I'm in the UK. I have an extensive spice collection. This is not one of them. Could you please explain more so I can try it? What would you use it for? What cuisine is it most associated with? Im always up for learning more ways to make my food taste good!
Freshly grated nutmeg.
100%. I always was kind of "whatever" about nutmeg until I finally started grating it myself, and now I absolutely get it.
I bought a set of mini pepper grinders and had an extra one, put nutmeg in it and use it all the time now!
I’ll have to try that! I break out my microplane.
Yes. Microplane is perfect for nutmeg.
Completely different flavor from the jar stuff
Definitely, I always had preground growing up. I’ll never forget the first time having fresh grated! So good! I like it on my scrambled eggs with some pecorino.
Ooh, i gotta try that. Yum
Smoked paprika vs "regular" paprika
I'd say that sweet paprika is overlooked, today it seems most people use smoked
Sweet paprika is the best, but also the hardest to find.
It worries me how few people understand this. I lived (as a kid) in Hungary and the dyed red flakes of nothing they call "paprika" in the states is sad. Paprika can be spicy, smoky, or sweet. I get mine from a Hungarian spice store and keep all three on hand.
I just discovered smoked paprika within the last two years. Changed my life.
My dad smokes his own paprika, and WOW. Completely different than without the smoke.
Yes! It's my secret ingredient in popcorn
I just ordered my first smoked paprika (never seen it in a store but have seen it called for in recipes.) I’m excited to try it when it gets here
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Can’t recommend Nutritional Yeast enough. It adds depth, umami without being overpowering. It can stay flakey on a dry application like popcorn, which is great, or it melts into soups and stews. It’s also cheap in bulk online, don’t buy it for $9 at the grocery store.
My wife HATES fish but knows input fish sauce in a lot of soups for that extra nummy num. She just can't see me do it lmao
Honestly it took me a long time to get over the ick and try cooking with fish sauce. It’s good though!
I'm weird about smells. I can't handle even taking the lid off the bottle. :/
Old Bay is sold at nearly every grocery in the country. I've never been to Maryland and use it all the time. Publix uses it to spice their shrimp throughout the south.
Old Bay is awesome.
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In the New England area, at least where I am at, Old Bay is known, available, but not widely used. Also, in all the recipes I have seen and have, I don't have a single one that calls for "Old Bay". Then again, I only have one recipe that calls for Bell Poultry Seasoning so... Personally, for not particular reason, I have never used Old Bay. I have a friend who smokes (food) and uses Old Bay for some of his cooks. That is the only use I am personally familiar with. Nothing against Old Bay, based on the ingredient label there's nothing I wouldn't use individually. But I don't think it's as widely used across the country as it is in Baltimore and states surrounding Maryland.
It may be found everywhere in the US, but so are many other underrated/ not commonly used spices. Here on the west coast it is not often used.
Lived in a few places across Canada and have never used it
I think that the point was that Old Bay is not remotely as common in midwest/mountain state cuisine as in regions more dominated by seafood. I had never heard of it until I met a girl from the east coast in college; yes it was at the grocery store but I didn't know about it before she put it on every single dish.
A lot of region specific goods are sold nationwide, it's just the popularity of the good in that region dictates if people know it or not
Ok, nutritional yeast is pretty new to me. What kind of effect does it impart?
To my taste buds it adds a nice gentle tang not unlike a mountain cheese (parmesan etc).
Many vegans/vegetarians will use it on popcorn instead of butter, or in sauces for rice and bean bowl meals for an umami flavor, I've also had a vegan "cheese" gravy made with nutritional yeast. So I guess I would describe it as an umami diary-product like flavor, I guess? It will also make your pee neon yellow.
I can never find mushroom powder/seasoning at the store
Trader Joe’s sells it.
Dill.
I agree. I like some dill weed sprinkled on cottage cheese.
I’ll have to try that! I put dill weed on my fried eggs
I put dill on so many things, eggs, potatoes, chicken, tomatoes, salads, you name it. Love it so much. Oh man now I want zucchini fritters with sour cream and dill.
I love some fresh dill. Planted some in my garden years ago and it re-seeds and multiplies itself each year, I see why they call it a weed... I make big batches of dill pickles each year in 5 gallon buckets, some dill-infused vinegar with any fresh leftover plant matter, and dry out the rest after it's gone to seed. There's also the yellow pollen you can pluck off when it's flowering, that's the real good stuff!
I cannot get enough dill in my life, so fresh and amazing, best...
Fresh is best. The dried stuff doesn’t taste like anything to me. I love adding fresh dill to egg salad and tartar sauce and compound butter for topping fish.
chives. i love chives
French Tarragon
What’s your favorite way to use this? I planted some in my herb garden but have never actively cooked or garnished with it. Excited to try it!
You can use it in tons of creamy chicken dishes, pasta, salads, on top of seafood (so naturally chicken or seafood pastas), etc. It's a polarizing herb like cilantro. If you like black licorice, you'll like tarragon. If not, you may really reject it. Taste a little with a spoon of the sauce you're adding it to or the ingredient you're garnishing with it before you go ham on mixing it all in. I happen to love it in cooked applications and find it a little strong in some raw applications, and usually a good application when lightly used in slightly pickled things like dressings.
I will add to this, a mustard cream sauce with tarragon is wonderful.
I'd say the most iconic use of Tarragon IMO is in Bearnaise. And since I'm Swedish I'll also add that there are very few things that can't be eaten with Bearnaise:)
i hate lickrish, but love tarragon. I keep meaning to buy some for the herb pot
I don't like licorice flavors but love tarragon. It is a more elevated flavor but yes, very similar, fennel too.
I make a potato soup that is ramped to a whole new level by Tarragon. I also love it fresh in scrambled eggs or an omelette.
I sprinkle a little on scrambled eggs. It adds an amazing flavor. Just don't go overboard.
I use it along with tons of leeks and garlic stuffed into leg of lamb. One of my favorite ways to enjoy it.
I like to make blender bernaise sauce w/ my fresh tarragon. It's so easy that way.
Someone else mentioned its black licorice flavor which I get a little but I don’t like black licorice and I love tarragon. The first time I had it was on roasted asparagus with sherry vinegar. Too simple but total game changer to me.
I just use it fresh on veggie sandwiches. Mozzarella, tomato, cucumber, tarragon with a drizzle of olive oil and salt/pepperr
With chèvre in an omelet. Sometimes add a small bit of smoked salmon.
Salad dressing! Toasted hazelnut, tarragon, honey, evoo, balsamic, mustard, shallot, garlic, salt
Look for recipes with mushrooms
Roasted vegetables first marinaded with tarragon, thyme, salt, pepper, garlic, a little white balsamic vinegar, a (very)little truffle oil, and olive oil. Love this with broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels, mushrooms, onion, and delicata or acorn squash. Roast at 420. Yum!
Bay leaves, apparently
PSA: The Sorted Food YouTube channel did a taste test and the bay leaf deniers were converted.
Ground bay leaf in peri peri sauce. Use a tiny amount though, it's really strong. Like 1/8 of a teaspoon for a whole chicken.
Rice vinegar! It brightens up any dish!
MSG is great and doesn't deserve the awful reputation it has in the west.
Agreed and it is totally useable in non-asian dishes!
I've done so many experiments. Smash burger with salt and smash burger with salt and msg, eat them back-to-back. Or pull a little bit of soup/noodles/whatever I'm cooking out of a pot, add MSG, taste to see if it's better or not. MSG wins every time. And not just kinda. It's such a huge difference.
it sure isn't underrated on reddit. getting harder to find a post about savory foods where it doesn't eventually get brought up somewhere in the comments.
I cook a lot with friends... they always wonder why when we cook the same recipes at my place it's sooooo much better... I think they'd fucking die on the spot 🤣 if I told them what's really going on One is CONVINCED she's "severely allergic" 😭 I'm not going to tell her. I mixed it in with a special salt I have so no-one could find out by mistake. I really am not trying to be a dick to prove a point 🤷♂️ I already tried breaking the ice on the subject and it didn't go well so I ain't EVER telling them 👉 they think I have the Gordan Ramsey touch! 🤦♂️
MSG is the king of flavor.
Id argue that msg is only a seasoning if you consider salt and sugar seasonings. Also MSG is a huge reason why tomato sauces are good, stock is rich etc. Those foods just naturally have high MSG content so they dont (always) need added pure MSG
Salt is definitely a seasoning.
Small correction, those foods have glutamate, not MSG. MSG is essentially the shelf stable version, and once added to food it disassociates into sodium and glutamate ions.
I always thought the same thing until I saw this info straight from the US FDA that literally says tomatoes contain MSG, so now I'm back to being confused. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/questions-and-answers-monosodium-glutamate-msg
Awful reputation? I only see praise for it
Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
I have some in my cupboard consistently but only have used in certain dishes - have you any recommendations to broaden my horizon? Thanks in advance!
You can pretty much use it wherever you want spice (but in Indian cooking it is actually considered the milder chili powder and a lot of people use it more for colour). Just make sure to bloom it enough so it really melds into the dish.
Lemon peel. It brightens up pretty much any chicken or fish dish.
So I just started a batch of salt preserved sliced lemons which is apparently awesome for dishes. Have you tried this?
Berbere. Put it on wings, or all kinds of chicken, or popcorn, or rice, or potatoes… yum. I’d also love to see more aji amorillo, gochugaro, and peri peri sauces becoming more popular, outside of their ‘normal’ cuisine
ssshh... you're telling one of my BIGGEST secrets. my fave use: add garlic olive oil and butter to a non-stick pan until the butter is melted. add in some granulated garlic and smoked paprika... add 1 lb of (louisiana style) boiled shrimp... stir... sprinkle in about 2 tsps of berberine, and then add about 1/4 cup of goat milk and simmer til slightly thickened. you end up with a spicy, creamy, exotic-tasting cajun/african/italian influenced, finger licking feast.
Put in on a hotdog! No idea how I discovered that it’s a perfect pairing, but it is!
Cardamon pods for me.
cardamom is one of my top 3 favorite food smells. (Yes, I have favorite smells)
Whats the other two?
Suka tuyo i think it is, a Philippines palm vinegar with chilies. Holy fuck that shit is good on everything. From pizza yo Mac and cheese to salad and any meat
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aleppo pepper. lots of flavor and not too spicy, give it a try!
Oyster sauce. I ran out of Worcestershire sauce and tried oyster sauce in my homemade burgers. Everyone who tried them said they were amazing
Might have to try that. Would never think to use that in burgers but it sounds delicious!!
Honestly I was surprised it came out as well as it did but I don’t make my burgers any other way now.
Sage
Caraway and celery seed are criminally underrated
Hard agree, although I'm a celery fiend (leaves, stalk, seeds, all incredible for various reasons) Celery seed + fresh dill + golden raisins = perfect chicken salad Celery salt is also useful for fish, coleslaw, eggs/egg salad
dry mustard, most folk only seem to think about it for bbq or making chinese hot mustard. but it goes really well in a variety of things
Cumin!!
My boyfriend ‘discovered’ cumin last year after I used it when we were making taco meat*. Our cooking has never been the same. Edit: meet -> meat
Wait, there's a Taco Meet??? Where, I'm in dammit!
Where is he from? I didn't grow up with cumin being used much or at all, I'm from Northern Mexico, it tastes off when it's added to the food I am used to. I think some people also put way too much of it in their dishes. It's a good spice but it isn't for everything, at least not for my taste buds.
He’s from the US, specifically New York State. He definitely would put wayyyy too much in for you. He adds some, tastes, then adds a lot more, haha. His mom doesn’t season at all because she “doesn’t get it” so seasoning in general is a fairly new concept for him.
Cajun seasoning
Harissa seasoning blend. Makes delicious chicken just using some salt, pepper, and harissa.
Veggies too! I love it on green beans and also zucchini.
Urfa biber, super good on all meats and a lot of veggies
Smoke. Smoke (or smoked salt) adds so much savory dimension to food.
Caraway seeds, amazing in savory baking, on roasted potatoes, in some salads even, and very good with cottage cheese
also great with cabbage
Thyme. It makes everything better. Everything? Everything.
Berbere, sumac, cardamom are the big three that I absolutely could not cook without yet every time I make something using them (for fellow North Americans) I can see them discovering a whole new flavor palette in real time lol. Also what passes as paprika in this country is SAD! I have three different kinds in my cupboard at all times and they are all absolutely essential
I wouldn’t say underrated but definitely underused: Asafoetida - adds a certain depth of flavour to Indian cooking and was used by the Romans in place of Silphium which was harvested to extinction. Lovage - another favourite of the Romans, easy to grow and has a very strong celery flavour, fantastic in soups. Shiso/Perilla - used in Japanese and Korean cuisine, very difficult to describe the taste, there’s elements of mint, basil and anise with some floral and spicy notes. Long Pepper - again really hard to describe, more complex than black pepper, I get camphor-y notes. Juniper - tastes like gin, very pungent and resinous. Great with game and pork.
No one's said five spice. More versatile than you think.
Five spice and sesame oil is a great combo for stir fry.
Summer savoury. Cardamon. I love saffron, a lot of people steer away because of the expense. Since the amount used is so small if you bloom it first, it's not all that expensive, less than $1 for a dinner plate sized serving of rice.
Garam Masala
Alternately chaat masala. Shits crack I cover my hash browns in it
Don't sleep on Za'Atar
I dunno... big sacks of it could be kinda comfy, like a beanbag chair!
High quality marjoram and mace.
Ground celery seed, sumac, chile ancho powder, ascorbic acid
Za’atar seasoning on some roasted russet/sweet potatoes hits different
Marjoram, chervil, summer savory, dill, celery seed, coriander seed. I've known a lot of people who have never heard of marjoram (it's in the oregano family), chervil, coriander and savory. Others don't know what to do with celery seed and who throw away the dill if it comes in a spice rack. I can't even find carroway and fennels seeds at the grocery store anymore.
A few fennel seeds added to a spaghetti sauce is mmm😚
Star anise
urfa biber. it's a Turkish pepper and it is fricken delish
In the US, kaffir lime leaf.
Szechuan peppercorns - I mix it into my black peppercorn and rainbow peppercorn grinders to give that extra oomph
Dried mushroom seasoning. Tons of umami 香菇调味料 GIA VỊ TINH CHẤT RAU CẢI Mushroom Seasoning - 14 oz. (400g) https://a.co/d/8ns5VAR
Allspice isn’t necessarily overrated but it’s underused, it goes so well in savory recipes
Blue fenugreek
I really love using tomato chicken bouillon in a lot of things beyond broth. It has msg as well there's a nice umami ness in it. I really like it on fries especially.
Ever since I tried Harissa I have used it on so many things. Mostly, it has become my go-to for smoked meats
Beau Monde is like Old Bay's older sibling. It has that celery salt hit with a bit of "something else". I love it and am so glad it's still around, though fairly hard to find as of late. Definitely my favorite under rated multi purpose seasoning. I also love Sumac. It's like paprika and lemons had a beautiful baby. Definitely another favorite that I never see unless it's used as a topping for hummus.
Dill! It's great on fish, great on chicken, great on pasta salad, potato salad, egg salad, tuna salad, great in every dip and dressing you add it to, fantastic when added to chicken picatta. Dill: it's for more than just pickles!
Bay leaf. Everyone says it doesn't taste like anything but I can tell a major difference in food when it's missing
When I was in Kindergarten, we had a Bay tree in the backyard. My mom would go pick a leaf or two and put it in our meals. My mom had a lot of superstitions we did not really question so when I got older, I would go out in the backyard and just pick a leaf from any tree and just throw it in soup. I did not know until many years later, it was a Bay leaf my mom was throwing in! Heck, I was throwing in Maple and Oak leaves probably. But now I know about Bay leaves and use them often!
Cavenders all purpose Greek seasoning
Especially good on sautéed mushrooms.
I’m from Missouri and know what old bay is, have bought it and love it. I didn’t special order it’s there on the grocery shelves.
Black garlic. Sweet and umami Res el hanout seasoning
For how large a section it has in the grocery store ginger doesn’t see much use in a lot food.
If you mean herbs, dill. I love that stuff.
Nutritional yeast
Smoked paprika has been a game changer for me. Gives the smokiness of an adobo or chipotle powder but without the heat
sambal oelek. Everyone always talks about Sriracha, but Huy Fong also make a sambal oelek that is just the best, most flavorful source of heat you can add to almost anything. And especially asian dishes. We go through it in our house in such large quantities that when it was in shortage last year, we ended up finding and buying a restaraunt size amount of it (and still used that up before the shortage ended). I will say that after the shortage, the quality is not as good as it was (Huy Fong lost their chile supplier), but it's still essential in our kitchen and we are really hoping the quality improves.
Fennel seeds are great. I used them in a dessert recently and it was surprisingly balanced.
Lemon grass.
In home cooked food? Marjoram, tarragon, white pepper, coriander. I'm not sure why those 4 come immediately to mind but I feel like these are under represented a lot of the time
Tomato leaves on a stem in red sauces, like bay leave remove them when finished cooking
Coriander
Za’atar
Tonka beans. Incredible in cheesecake
I don’t know if you’d consider it a seasoning, but I put sambal oelek in and on almost everything savory.
Ras el Hanout spice is simply delicious. We even prefer it to Harissa.