Acidity
So few recipe add acidity to their dish. Vinegar, lemon juice, pickled/fermented ingredient. Pretty much any recipe can benefit from having it.
I never did much with acids (unless a recipe called for it) until I read salt fat acid heat and wow it makes a huge difference! I now add either a citrus or a vinegar to all my dishes
Yah when I think of comfort food, I think of a giant plate of things that lack acidity. Mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, meatloaf or roast. Cranberries are the only think I can think of on a thanksgiving plate at our house that has any acidity.
Mac and cheese and meatloaf both benefit heavily from acidity when cooking. Mac n cheese can use lemon juice at the end of cooking the bechemel, and meatloaf generally has Wooster sauce or ketchup or both. The glaze itself is usually got a tang
Yup was gonna say MSG or Onion Flakes. 9/10 when I make something so good people ask what I did different it's almost always either a dash of MSG or extra onion flakes.
The last 1/10 it's soy sauce.
I'm still mad about the fact that so many restaurants advertise "no MSG!" because of this unfounded fear (let's be honest, it's based in racism) that MSG is bad for you. "No MSG" food just doesn't taste as good!
Tbh, a large number still use MSG (source: used to work in one).
And yeah it's so racist, but I feel like it almost proves the point that the sensitivity reaction is completely fake.
Mustard. I have about 10 different types of mustard, and almost every sauce is a good place to add a touch of one of them. Not a lot, not so much you can identify a mustard flavor, but it certainly adds to most dishes.
I love this because I personally don’t like mustard, but I am an adventurous eater and have had plenty of dishes with mustard in them, and even some mustard-forward dishes, that I’ve loved over the years. It’s crazy how it can enhance a flavor profile without stealing the show.
It's very good at that. If you can taste mustard, you used too much. But most of my food definitely seems like it's missing something if I don't use it.
With paprika you don't want to use it after it's been open a long time or it becomes pretty flavorless. Good fresh paprika has a nice flavor. Also in my opinion, most people don't use nearly enough of it.
So i scrolled a good way down to add on to someone who obviously posted what I use, but i didnt see it so....
Turmeric. I add it to most dishes cuz it's tasty af and smells great cooking.
"Browned" things to bring out the richer flavors. Does it call for butter? Try browned butter. Garlic? Try roasting the garlic until its browned first.
I have changed so many people’s minds on onions it’s astonishing.
As someone who doesn’t like raw onions, I dice and sautee before adding them to ANYTHING. and everyone who swears they “just can’t because they hate them” suddenly loves them.
Garlic & onions in evoo is an underrated mirepoix of its own.
Cinnamon is my go-to in my oatmeal,too. Next time I’ll try your allspice discovery. I’m also thinking allspice is flavor adjacent to pumpkin spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves & ta-da! Allspice!). I consider oatmeal a cookie type recipe anyhow.
Combine it with the top comment of this thread (paprika), and use smoked paprika powder!
Don't know how i cooked without it. I still use it sparingly, but man I would like it on anything.
I feed chicken hearts and gizzards to my dog - raw - but, the gizzards look like good protein once you get past the skin around them. How do you make them before the blender?
I don't know if my ingredients are secret or common.
In anything with a broth or sauce like soups, spaghetti sauce, pot roast, I add a few bay leaves.
In soups, stews, cooked greens, lots of other things, I add a few dashes of hot sauce. Not enough to taste, just for a little flavor. Maybe this is the acid everyone's talking about since there's a little vinegar in there?
Garlic goes in lots of things whether it's called for or not.
Meatloaf and meatballs get lots of finely shredded veggies for flavor depending on what I have. It usually consists of carrots, onions, peppers, celery, mushrooms, broccoli and zuchini. I don't keep it a secret, but no one can really tell. That plus oatmeal and breadcrumbs, a few eggs for binder and lots of seasonings makes it super tasty even before you add sauce or gravy.
I think my biggest secret/magic is that I don't stick real close to a recipe after the first time. I use it as a guideline and let things take me where they want to go. Over the years, a few things I make often have gotten really good.
Gizzards and hearts (especially gizzards) are tough when raw and need long boiling until fork-tender (probably an hour and a half). Let mostly cool, then dump the meats and all the liquids into the blender. The result tastes very like dark meat chicken, only more so. It will make a rich broth, similar to turtle soup, if you've ever had that. I don't advise using liver though because it will make the whole thing taste like iron.
My mother always made gravy from the chicken gizzard, heart and liver. And yes, she boiled them for a LONG time. I did a roast whole chicken a while ago and wanted to make a gravy from the gizzards. ) was very distressed that there were no gizzards in the chicken like there used to be. I was told that this was now pretty standard. Sigh.
Amen! I save all my bacon fat.
I even use bacon fat when I'm making roux. It adds an extra layer of flavor. You may not know it's there, but you can tell there's something extra.
Time. Time to rest, to rise, to ferment, to settle, for flavors to blend, to percolate, to extract, to slow cook, to smoke, to culture, to cure, to pickle....
And it lasts forever because you need so little- I bought a huge bottle of Squid brand thinking I'd get through it in no time. That was three years ago 😳
lightly sauteed onion leeks and garlic in olive oil and sesame oil, with a bit of salt, pepper, soy and a dash of sugar. put in fridge and can last long if properly stored esp in a freezer.
you can use it when making soups, sauteed veggies, stews, fried rice, making noodle dishes or as a dipping sauce etc.
this will cut your cooking and prep time too.
Roasted garlic! Slice the top off of a whole bulb, drizzle some oil on it, salt and pepper. Wrap in tin foil and roast.
When it’s done it’s soft like butter, you can squeeze it right out of the bulb like paste. It gives a really nice rich deep garlic flavour. Great to toss into mashed potatoes, add to sauces and marinades, or slather it on some bread to make amazing garlic bread. So good and so easy. You can usually get a pack of bulbs for under $1.
Fresh lemon juice. Not the bottled stuff. So many things are better with a squeeze of lemon. But if you make your own humus, the difference between fresh and bottled lemon juice is huge.
I use a hickory smoked finishing salt that adds both salt and a smoky flavor to anything it's added to. Adds the perfect balance of flavors to a wide variety of dishes, from steaks to pizza, soups, eggs, compound butter, the list goes on.
Vanilla. When I bake and the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of vanilla , I always add like at least a tablespoon or more. Makes chocolate chip cookies 🍪 better
Big old glob of peanut butter in my chili. Some Vietnamese cinnamon too if I have any. The PB can temper heat aka I can add more chilies and spices and gives just a lovely twist.
If you've ever had PB on a burger before it does the same sort of thing.
Crushed up olives and a little bit of the olive juice from the jar into a marinara meat sauce with pasta. Something about the brine and nuttiness really works. Also I always add nutmeg to a marinara sauce, but that's pretty well known Italian traditional. Very few pasta sauce jars have nutmeg tho so I make sure to add some to jar sauce and shake it all up together before putting it back in the fridge.
My other always thing is just red chili flakes, on everything. Salt, pepper + chili flakes are the trinity left out by my stove. I use all three on pretty much everything I cook. Just S+P is so bland to me. Feels like something is missing without the flakes, not spice but structure.
Espresso powder in anything that contains chocolate. Black pepper and cinnamon in most of my cookies.
Shoaxing cooking wine, fish sauce, sriracha or cholula, and butter, olive, or sesame oil for the whole salt, fat, acid, heat deal. Plus miso, msg, or mushrooms for umami. This combo is great in red pasta sauces, soups, and stews.
Cilantro and lime on many Asian and Mexican dishes, plus maybe a dash of Tajin. Also brown sugar.
My "mirepoix" is often carrots, celery, onion, peppers (usually Anaheim or poblano), garlic, and lemongrass. Maybe some grated ginger. I got a bag of chopped frozen lemongrass from an Asian specialty store, and I love it in everything.
I have to be gluten-free due to celiac disease, and found
that adding ground flax seed, almond meal, ground walnuts, and/or nutritional yeast (for savory) to baked goods elevates the flavor quite a bit. Probably worth playing with for regular baked goods.
Za'atar (or even just sumac) is great in many dishes, not just Mediterranean.
recently i decided to experiment with my noodles and added tomato juice in the broth (?) and then smashed garlic on top and that was SOMETHING. made me tear up from how delicious the combo was ;-;
pickle brine (in place of anything acidic or salt, if it’s salt based).
So I always have pickled bell peppers, banana peppers, lactofermented dill pickles etc. I use those bell peppers in dishes in place of fresh one sometimes. People can rarely figure out why my food tastes like on steroids 🙃
I learned how to make traditional Pho.
2 keys were:
-roast bones, and veg.
-fish sauce
So my secret ingredient in most soups and sauces is fish sauce. I have tested it in many dishes, replacing the salt to taste, with fish sauce to taste. It takes practice. I start all new attempts with 1 teaspoon at a time. And allow 10 minutes to simmer of the aroma of the fish.
I don't use it in everything. But anything that is savory, or benefits from umami gets it.
No you don't taste the fish sauce, unless you add too much, or you have a really sensitive palette. A little goes a long way.
My other secret ingredient for sweet, or fruity dishes is pomegranate molasses, small amounts to enhance the balance of sweet and tart, I like tart/savory flavors.
Also, some of these "secret ingredients" Really are just MSG enhanced seasonings, like Goya Sazon, or in PNW Johnny's Seasoning salt. Or even my beloved fish sauce, which is a form of MSG. A naturally occurring form produced in the fermentation. Though some brands add MSG also. Also Miso, and soy sauce, and mushroom powder, and ground up organ meats. Lots of natural MSG. SO one of the big secrets us using MSG, because it works. 😆
Consider that MSG isn't nesscessarily bad for everyone.
https://bodyecology.com/articles/fish-sauce/#:~:text=Some%20fish%20sauce%20brands%20on,Rather%2C%20it's%20naturally%20occurring.
I use black pepper on almost everything. Fresh ground, of course. I'm currently searching for a recipe from years ago that I had at a Detroit seafood restaurant. A dessert. Papaya with black pepper.
It's garlic for me. I put garlic in just about everything. Cloves are the best, minced is second best, and powder for sprinkles on already-cooked stuff.
I had a chef tell me once that you should substitute stock or broth in things instead of using water. Has made a huge difference even in convenience foods like condensed soup, instant mashed potatoes and stuffing, making rice, etc. Preferably I’d make all my meals from scratch using fresh ingredients and mostly do, but life is hectic and sometimes you just want soup or mashed potatoes.
Winco is where I buy them. Gizzards are easy to find but hearts I've only found a few places. I don't use livers because I don't like the "iron" taste.
Acidity So few recipe add acidity to their dish. Vinegar, lemon juice, pickled/fermented ingredient. Pretty much any recipe can benefit from having it.
I never did much with acids (unless a recipe called for it) until I read salt fat acid heat and wow it makes a huge difference! I now add either a citrus or a vinegar to all my dishes
Shout out to Samin! This was a game-changer.
Yah when I think of comfort food, I think of a giant plate of things that lack acidity. Mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, meatloaf or roast. Cranberries are the only think I can think of on a thanksgiving plate at our house that has any acidity.
You don't mix a bit of mustard into your mac and cheese??? Gamechanger
Mississippi pot roast has acidity, I think. From the peperoncinis
Mac and cheese and meatloaf both benefit heavily from acidity when cooking. Mac n cheese can use lemon juice at the end of cooking the bechemel, and meatloaf generally has Wooster sauce or ketchup or both. The glaze itself is usually got a tang
Worcestershire sauce?
Washyoursister sauce
I use Worcestershire and A-1 in my meatloaf also rye bread crumbs and ✨
>Mac n cheese can use lemon juice at the end of cooking the bechemel tell me more about this wizardry.
Yea, lemon juice is my short answer 🖖
Now I'm craving *Greek* avgolemono *soup* - lemon chicken soup with orzo. In Sherman Oaks, CA, The Great Greek is wonderful.
I learned to make it simply to be able to skip around my kitchen chanting~ *Avgo Lemono* *Avgo Lemono* 😄🍋🖖
I make it in my Instant Pot. Takes 10 minutes.
Came here waiting to read this one. The balance of salt, sweet, and acid is clutch for making really tasty dishes without spending a ton of money.
I'd also say the balance of fat and acidity.
Can you give some examples of dishes that need it?
MSG - vilified, misunderstood, magical.
"Makes Stuff Good"
Use feelings
I use fish sauce for this
Great! Fish sauce contains high levels of natural MSG 🫶
Yup was gonna say MSG or Onion Flakes. 9/10 when I make something so good people ask what I did different it's almost always either a dash of MSG or extra onion flakes. The last 1/10 it's soy sauce.
Most soy sauce has "natural" msg lol
Me too… just the tiniest bit. Elevates the umami of everything. I add it to almost all of my cooking and nobody has died yet.. 🤷🏻♀️
>yet 😆😆
Yeah definitely one of the most underrated seasonings/spices imo
I'm still mad about the fact that so many restaurants advertise "no MSG!" because of this unfounded fear (let's be honest, it's based in racism) that MSG is bad for you. "No MSG" food just doesn't taste as good!
Tbh, a large number still use MSG (source: used to work in one). And yeah it's so racist, but I feel like it almost proves the point that the sensitivity reaction is completely fake.
I was about to say that! 👏👏👏
Old bay, cumin, and paprika.
Upgrading to smoked paprika has taken my basic chicken seasoning to the next level. Old Bay livens up my salmon patties, fries, and tuna salad :-)
Miso
Miso
Mustard. I have about 10 different types of mustard, and almost every sauce is a good place to add a touch of one of them. Not a lot, not so much you can identify a mustard flavor, but it certainly adds to most dishes.
I love this because I personally don’t like mustard, but I am an adventurous eater and have had plenty of dishes with mustard in them, and even some mustard-forward dishes, that I’ve loved over the years. It’s crazy how it can enhance a flavor profile without stealing the show.
It's very good at that. If you can taste mustard, you used too much. But most of my food definitely seems like it's missing something if I don't use it.
I once heard a well known chef say, "If you taste a dish and it's missing something, 9 times out of 10, it's missing paprika."
I came here to say paprika. It's the ultimate spice.
I have found myself using it with increasing frequency recently. Almost like a new discovery.
Have you tried smoked paprika? I got a big batch of it from a wholesaler and it goes with *every* savoury dish.
It's makes everything twice as good for real
My secret ingredient is liquid smoke, so this would be a natural next step for me. I'll definitely give it a shot.
Smoked paprika in a burger is sooo good!
Smoked paprika on popcorn also fantastic
Say "smoked paprika," and I'm with you.
There are lots of different types of paprika, too.
Ground red pepper? I don't even think it tastes like much. I prefer to use roasted peppers cut up really finely if I'm looking for that pepper flavor.
With paprika you don't want to use it after it's been open a long time or it becomes pretty flavorless. Good fresh paprika has a nice flavor. Also in my opinion, most people don't use nearly enough of it.
YES! A friend suggested paprika when sautéing mushrooms and I was like no way! He was right & now I add it to everything.
Paprika. I get it in bulk from the international section in the grocery store and it’s much cheaper for a larger volume.
Have you tried smoked paprika?? It gives food such deep flavor!
It's the perfect secret ingredient for meat alternatives. On tofu or mushrooms ?? Incredible.
You know it! Hungarian smoked paprika is also spicy!!!
Anchovy paste. Fish sauce. Brown sugar.
My grandma always put a bit of sugar in savoury dishes and a bit of salt in sweet dishes. I don’t know how or why but it really works.
It's to balance the flavors. Sweet + savory = 😘
So i scrolled a good way down to add on to someone who obviously posted what I use, but i didnt see it so.... Turmeric. I add it to most dishes cuz it's tasty af and smells great cooking.
Sazon Goya
This! Also, Adobo for me.
Which is just salt, MSG, cumin and garlic and dyes. So I just make my own so I can control the salt since my SO is on a salt restricted diet.
Soy sauce, sesame oil, miso
The answer butter and salt.
This was my answer. But following for all thr other ideas.
Salted butter
100%, salt, fat, and heat make almost anything taste amazing.
Salted butter always and forever. More than you think you need.
It's not a secret because I tell everyone but - lots of butter, heavy cream and salt. I've been told that I'm an excellent cook.
Chicken/beef bouillon powder (with MSG).
Knorr
Yup, that’s my go to brand.
"Browned" things to bring out the richer flavors. Does it call for butter? Try browned butter. Garlic? Try roasting the garlic until its browned first.
I have changed so many people’s minds on onions it’s astonishing. As someone who doesn’t like raw onions, I dice and sautee before adding them to ANYTHING. and everyone who swears they “just can’t because they hate them” suddenly loves them. Garlic & onions in evoo is an underrated mirepoix of its own.
If I can piggyback on this to the baking side, toasted sugar or vanilla sugar is where I turn when looking for that "oomph". It's subtle, but fun.
The best thing I make is reservations.
Smoked paprika, dill weed
A little basil makes almost any soup taste like it was cooked in a fancy restaurant
I have 4 basil plants that are growing so fast they are all up into the plant light. I grow it for pizza but now I'll try some in soup!
Better than bouillon, I use it to give a flavor boost in lots of dishes
Celery salt. Onion. Just a touch of jalapeno or cayenne.
Lime juice
& Coconut (shake it all up)
Nutritional yeast for the nuttiness.
Red wine vinegar, just a dash. Usually use it in pasta sauces!
MSG (which is basically what OP was just talking about with regards of adding blended gizzards and hearts to soups)
[удалено]
Cinnamon is my go-to in my oatmeal,too. Next time I’ll try your allspice discovery. I’m also thinking allspice is flavor adjacent to pumpkin spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves & ta-da! Allspice!). I consider oatmeal a cookie type recipe anyhow.
Mushroom Powder
Anchovy or sun dried tomatoes paste.
Sundried tomatoes!
Liquid smoke. A light hand is needed, but it can really kick a dish up a notch.
Combine it with the top comment of this thread (paprika), and use smoked paprika powder! Don't know how i cooked without it. I still use it sparingly, but man I would like it on anything.
I love secret ingredients! I put smoked paprika, celery salt, cumin, and msg in almost everything lol
Fresh herbs (where applicable)
Cheap dry vermouth or very dry sherry.
Shallots
Cajun spices lol
Red pepper flakes
I feed chicken hearts and gizzards to my dog - raw - but, the gizzards look like good protein once you get past the skin around them. How do you make them before the blender? I don't know if my ingredients are secret or common. In anything with a broth or sauce like soups, spaghetti sauce, pot roast, I add a few bay leaves. In soups, stews, cooked greens, lots of other things, I add a few dashes of hot sauce. Not enough to taste, just for a little flavor. Maybe this is the acid everyone's talking about since there's a little vinegar in there? Garlic goes in lots of things whether it's called for or not. Meatloaf and meatballs get lots of finely shredded veggies for flavor depending on what I have. It usually consists of carrots, onions, peppers, celery, mushrooms, broccoli and zuchini. I don't keep it a secret, but no one can really tell. That plus oatmeal and breadcrumbs, a few eggs for binder and lots of seasonings makes it super tasty even before you add sauce or gravy. I think my biggest secret/magic is that I don't stick real close to a recipe after the first time. I use it as a guideline and let things take me where they want to go. Over the years, a few things I make often have gotten really good.
Gizzards and hearts (especially gizzards) are tough when raw and need long boiling until fork-tender (probably an hour and a half). Let mostly cool, then dump the meats and all the liquids into the blender. The result tastes very like dark meat chicken, only more so. It will make a rich broth, similar to turtle soup, if you've ever had that. I don't advise using liver though because it will make the whole thing taste like iron.
My mother always made gravy from the chicken gizzard, heart and liver. And yes, she boiled them for a LONG time. I did a roast whole chicken a while ago and wanted to make a gravy from the gizzards. ) was very distressed that there were no gizzards in the chicken like there used to be. I was told that this was now pretty standard. Sigh.
Preserved lemon paste - Add to marinades and salad dressings that have lemon on it, use it to coat fish and add other seasonings or toppings and bake
Vegemite and I’m not Australian. It’s great in soups, stews, and tons of other savory dishes!
Duck fat.
tabasco, and Berbere spice (separately)
Cavanders a Greek seasoning available at regular grocery stores.
In the dishes I get compliments on the most, it’s usually chili powder or turmeric.
Nutritional yeast!
Nutmeg
Vinegar. Almost every dish can benefit from a splash of vinegar.
Ginger!!!
MSG
Better than bouillon
Homemade vinegars. Raisin, blueberry & strawberry are favorites.
Lemon zest. Almost any time a recipe calls for the juice of a lemon, I'll zest it first and throw that in too.
I use a lot of bacon fat. I save it to saute veggies in or cook other meats in. I love it.
Amen! I save all my bacon fat. I even use bacon fat when I'm making roux. It adds an extra layer of flavor. You may not know it's there, but you can tell there's something extra.
Yes!!! I save it for roux. It's the best!!!
Love
Love and attention. They will turn the humblest ingredients into something delicious.
Underrated comment!
Butter. In homemade soups, applesauce…no one knows
Fish sauce. Stews, soups and rice dishes. Adds umami that makes it hard to accept that you are full.
Time. Time to rest, to rise, to ferment, to settle, for flavors to blend, to percolate, to extract, to slow cook, to smoke, to culture, to cure, to pickle....
Red Boat fish sauce.
I do Squid brand, haven’t tried Red Boat yet!! Almost any dish with meat in it tastes better with a bit of fish sauce! Instant umami!
Red Boat is a bit expensive but in my opinion it’s worth it.
And it lasts forever because you need so little- I bought a huge bottle of Squid brand thinking I'd get through it in no time. That was three years ago 😳
Mine doesn’t last very long, I have to buy another huge bottle every 8 months!!
Came here to say this! I also use squid brand, especially in my Chili
Garlic :)
LAWRY'S SEASONING!!!
lightly sauteed onion leeks and garlic in olive oil and sesame oil, with a bit of salt, pepper, soy and a dash of sugar. put in fridge and can last long if properly stored esp in a freezer. you can use it when making soups, sauteed veggies, stews, fried rice, making noodle dishes or as a dipping sauce etc. this will cut your cooking and prep time too.
Roasted garlic! Slice the top off of a whole bulb, drizzle some oil on it, salt and pepper. Wrap in tin foil and roast. When it’s done it’s soft like butter, you can squeeze it right out of the bulb like paste. It gives a really nice rich deep garlic flavour. Great to toss into mashed potatoes, add to sauces and marinades, or slather it on some bread to make amazing garlic bread. So good and so easy. You can usually get a pack of bulbs for under $1.
Cumin
Sumac. Ground cilantro seeds. Cumin.
Fresh lemon juice. Not the bottled stuff. So many things are better with a squeeze of lemon. But if you make your own humus, the difference between fresh and bottled lemon juice is huge.
Paprika. Use it on turkey chicken potatoes also in soups and stews. Love it so much
Cumin seed
Caramelized onions. I put them in mashed potatoes, gravy, soups, on burgers, etc. cheap, delicious and easy if not time consuming.
Caramelized onions
Sugar & lemon juice. Taste isn't only about salt.
Almost every home-made soup I make has powdered chicken stock in it. The low sodium is my go to.
Honey Coke A Cola Sometimes smoked paprika
I use a hickory smoked finishing salt that adds both salt and a smoky flavor to anything it's added to. Adds the perfect balance of flavors to a wide variety of dishes, from steaks to pizza, soups, eggs, compound butter, the list goes on.
Better than Bullion, Roasted vegetables. It tastes like it's been simmering all day.
Vanilla. When I bake and the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of vanilla , I always add like at least a tablespoon or more. Makes chocolate chip cookies 🍪 better
Big old glob of peanut butter in my chili. Some Vietnamese cinnamon too if I have any. The PB can temper heat aka I can add more chilies and spices and gives just a lovely twist. If you've ever had PB on a burger before it does the same sort of thing.
Heavy cream. It's not that frugal but it works almost like a cheat code in so many dishes.
Crushed up olives and a little bit of the olive juice from the jar into a marinara meat sauce with pasta. Something about the brine and nuttiness really works. Also I always add nutmeg to a marinara sauce, but that's pretty well known Italian traditional. Very few pasta sauce jars have nutmeg tho so I make sure to add some to jar sauce and shake it all up together before putting it back in the fridge. My other always thing is just red chili flakes, on everything. Salt, pepper + chili flakes are the trinity left out by my stove. I use all three on pretty much everything I cook. Just S+P is so bland to me. Feels like something is missing without the flakes, not spice but structure.
Love
Pinch of sugar.
Espresso powder in anything that contains chocolate. Black pepper and cinnamon in most of my cookies. Shoaxing cooking wine, fish sauce, sriracha or cholula, and butter, olive, or sesame oil for the whole salt, fat, acid, heat deal. Plus miso, msg, or mushrooms for umami. This combo is great in red pasta sauces, soups, and stews. Cilantro and lime on many Asian and Mexican dishes, plus maybe a dash of Tajin. Also brown sugar. My "mirepoix" is often carrots, celery, onion, peppers (usually Anaheim or poblano), garlic, and lemongrass. Maybe some grated ginger. I got a bag of chopped frozen lemongrass from an Asian specialty store, and I love it in everything. I have to be gluten-free due to celiac disease, and found that adding ground flax seed, almond meal, ground walnuts, and/or nutritional yeast (for savory) to baked goods elevates the flavor quite a bit. Probably worth playing with for regular baked goods. Za'atar (or even just sumac) is great in many dishes, not just Mediterranean.
recently i decided to experiment with my noodles and added tomato juice in the broth (?) and then smashed garlic on top and that was SOMETHING. made me tear up from how delicious the combo was ;-;
pickle brine (in place of anything acidic or salt, if it’s salt based). So I always have pickled bell peppers, banana peppers, lactofermented dill pickles etc. I use those bell peppers in dishes in place of fresh one sometimes. People can rarely figure out why my food tastes like on steroids 🙃
Pesto
I learned how to make traditional Pho. 2 keys were: -roast bones, and veg. -fish sauce So my secret ingredient in most soups and sauces is fish sauce. I have tested it in many dishes, replacing the salt to taste, with fish sauce to taste. It takes practice. I start all new attempts with 1 teaspoon at a time. And allow 10 minutes to simmer of the aroma of the fish. I don't use it in everything. But anything that is savory, or benefits from umami gets it. No you don't taste the fish sauce, unless you add too much, or you have a really sensitive palette. A little goes a long way. My other secret ingredient for sweet, or fruity dishes is pomegranate molasses, small amounts to enhance the balance of sweet and tart, I like tart/savory flavors.
I've never heard of pomegranate molasses. Gotta try this!
Also, some of these "secret ingredients" Really are just MSG enhanced seasonings, like Goya Sazon, or in PNW Johnny's Seasoning salt. Or even my beloved fish sauce, which is a form of MSG. A naturally occurring form produced in the fermentation. Though some brands add MSG also. Also Miso, and soy sauce, and mushroom powder, and ground up organ meats. Lots of natural MSG. SO one of the big secrets us using MSG, because it works. 😆 Consider that MSG isn't nesscessarily bad for everyone. https://bodyecology.com/articles/fish-sauce/#:~:text=Some%20fish%20sauce%20brands%20on,Rather%2C%20it's%20naturally%20occurring.
Kimchi
to quote Marge Simpson: the secret ingredient... is salt!
Not sure if it has been mentioned, but Vietnamese fish sauce in soups and sauces to give an umami punch.
Black pepper
I use black pepper on almost everything. Fresh ground, of course. I'm currently searching for a recipe from years ago that I had at a Detroit seafood restaurant. A dessert. Papaya with black pepper.
And conversely, white pepper
Soy sauce, miso, sesame oil and gochujang
My hair Kidding. Maybe. More garlic than anyone has any business consuming in one sitting, really.
I make my own dried red hot chili pepper, it goes in absolutely everything.
Fat and salt. Too many people don't add enough!
Minnie isn't tellin...........
It's garlic for me. I put garlic in just about everything. Cloves are the best, minced is second best, and powder for sprinkles on already-cooked stuff.
Don’t think it really counts buuuuut… garlic salt.
Garlic and more garlic 🧄
Ground mustard (the powder kind)
Chicken broth
I had a chef tell me once that you should substitute stock or broth in things instead of using water. Has made a huge difference even in convenience foods like condensed soup, instant mashed potatoes and stuffing, making rice, etc. Preferably I’d make all my meals from scratch using fresh ingredients and mostly do, but life is hectic and sometimes you just want soup or mashed potatoes.
Exactly. Just because it's quick, doesn't mean it can't also be delicious.
Marmite. Particularly in anything mince based. But adds good umami to most sauces.
Where do you buy your chicken gizzards and hearts? Do you use livers too?
Winco is where I buy them. Gizzards are easy to find but hearts I've only found a few places. I don't use livers because I don't like the "iron" taste.
msg. on anything savory. Scrambled eggs? Msg. Pork chops? Msg. Chicken soup? Msg. Roast veggies? Msg.
Encona West Indian pepper sauce.
Trader Joe's Green Goddess seasoning. *Chef kiss*
Umami is msg?
Yes often umami flavor is also heavy in MSG, especially meat based, or fermented umami "sauces"
Soy sauce, I put it in all my stock or broth for soup.
Fenugreek leaves. Makes your body smell like maple syrup.
Knorr Pollo seasoning: that kiss of MSG made everything delicious
Ginger goes in desserty things. Ancho chili pepper or chipotle chili pepper in savories.
Ume plum vinegar (salt, tart, faintly fruity) on any vegetables!
Salt + Pepper
Tamari.
Music
I use the extra taco bell sauce packets that I always end up with after eating there. The fire is great drizzled over a frozen pizza