Tell me about that one ingredient, that when discovered, it opened your mind to a whole new world of flavor possibilities!
For me, the first to come to mind is Worcestershire sauce. I’m talking about way back in my youth. It was my first introduction to what we now call umami. When I noticed my mom put it in her meatloaf I began experimenting. At the time I was just blown away by how much it changed things. I even used to put it in my Top Ramen I was so obsessed lol. More recently, dukkah. Trader Joe’s is correct when they say to take bread, dip it in olive oil, and then dukkah. So tasty!!
What about you?
Fresh lemon juice / zest. Just wow.
And in conjunction with that, though not an ingredient: microplane. Great for zest, hard cheese, (Frozen) ginger,…
For pasta dishes: Sun-dried Tomatoes
For tacos: pickled onions!
Quick pickled red onions are the bomb. They go with so much!
Not an ingredient, per se, but for me the game changer was the flavor compounds from the Maillard reaction. Good browning is what makes some soups and sauces and meats and vegetables taste better than others. Regular supermarket cauliflower or broccoli or zucchini or ground beef or roast chicken taste way better just from proper temperature and moisture control (boiling water tops out at 212°F/100°C so the presence of liquid water tends to keep temperatures too low for Maillard reaction to happen). It’s why grilling tends to taste better than, like, boiling, for many dishes.
Smoked Paprika! Gives anything a quick/easy smoky flavor, with just a touch of heat (not like cayenne pepper). It’s works with just about anything.
Some mf gonna come here and say cum
Vinegar. Adding vinegar to things can brighten them up or, depending on quantity, give something a sour flavor that is needed sometimes. I experiment with all kinds of vinegar. I even use the brine from my jar of spicy pickled vegetables in my cooking or to make a salad dressing. I also like to swap it with lemon juice to see what happens. For example, I have learned that I prefer lemon juice rather than vinegar in my alioli mayonnaise I make (probably not original, but I figured it out on my own). Going in the other direction, I prefer vinegar over lemon juice for making tartar sauce. I think my vinegar discovery started when I was a little kid. In my home town, famous for its fishing, lobster trapping, and clamming, you’ll find malt vinegar on the table at any restaurant. We use it on french fries and fried fish as a condiment. When I was a small child, I dipped my french fries in ketchup, splashed them with malt vinegar, and squeezed lemon juice on them. So, I think french fries are pretty much the vehicle to my discovery of ingredients. In turn, I have a tendency of turning condiments into ingredients I think I will dip french fries in just about anything on hand, at least once or twice.
Same here, I’ve been making vinaigrettes for everything. Not just vegetable and pasta salads, but meats and roasted vegetables as well. I’m also falling into fermentation fast and hard. I just started with a variety of fermented cucumbers, and am already planning to ferment beets, turnips, peppers, tomatoes, and cabbage this season. I’ve also been wanting to make some vinegars, I think I’ll start with choke cherry and raspberry this year.
I think I’ll also make some fermented sauces. I’m thinking a fermented tomato ketchup, and a couple sriracha style pepper sauces, with different types of pepper.
Next spring, I’m already planning both fermented asparagus and strawberries.
I don’t ferment anything, but it’s something I’ll think about trying.
It’s a rabbit hole, let me tell you! Just learning about different approaches to salt concentration is kind of nuts. Then all the different container styles - ceramic crocks, different styles of mason jar crocks. The use of tannins to keep some vegetables crisp.
I am into it. I made my own Limoncello once. It was a wonderful beverage, but yeah, the constant vigilance. The container selection. Made me crazy!
Maybe it’s my autism, but I’m feeling like the obsession is right up my alley. But I’ve long felt like I’m wasting my life on work, and just want to play in the garden and kitchen all day.
You like it. It has nothing to do with your autism. I mean, I have a thing for pickling, and it’s really specific. I like to make hot pickled veggies. I have a huge jar, and it’s for one thing: my hot pickled veggies. I have patience for that endeavor, because when I make them, I make them, in the fridge. When they’re pickled, I use them on everything. It goes with my thing for vinegar. When it comes to fermented things, I prefer to buy them already fermented, mostly because I don’t trust myself to ferment at home. I think it is fantastic that you have that kind of attention to detail that fermenting has at home. I’m willing to bet your fermented stuff is amazing. I love fermented ketchup, for example, and I buy it already made and cherish it. I would love to make it on my own, but I don’t feel confident about doing it. It’s what I’d call my limit in the kitchen. You could probably convince me it’s not so bad. The closest I’ve gotten to fermentation and successful is friendship bread starter and sourdough bread starter. I can handle that, because it’s something you put in the fridge. Do you see what I mean? I’m all about food safety and all that, so I’m cautious. I ought to be more brave like you and just go all out on fermenting things at home, because I think I’d evolve.
Maybe slighly off-theme, but:
Cucumber and spring onions
They are great on lunch-sandwiches (e.g. salami, cheese, cucumber, a few spring onions) and multiply my satisfaction with just 20seconds of extra work.
It’s surprising how 2-3 slices of a tasteless thing can increaae taste so much.
+1 to spring onions. Great garnish to give a little extra life to stuff
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My favorite MSG sources are the Zatarans Blackened Seasoning and No-chicken bouillon.
I think this is what I came here to say, too! Bags of MSG are soooo cheap, I have a tiny jar of it next to my oven and it’s so satisfying and so much fun to taste what you’re cooking before and after adding a sprinkle of MSG. Amazing difference!
I’ve learnt to add umami in lots of other ways, but for some recipes, msg really is a good hit.
MSG is really important in my cooking, too. It really adds a nice flavor to any vegetable dish. I use it for so many things, even when a recipe doesn’t call for it and especially for when a recipe doesn’t call for it. I always laugh at myself when I use MSG to season my spaghetti sauce because tomatoes have some MSG in them already. But they need more MSG, you know? They need so much more that on top of the MSG I also use Worcestershire sauce.
It’s always been MSG! Adds a little extra to everything!
Chicken. Perhaps it is less the ingredient in this case than the techniques associated.
It’s not that I didn’t each chicken, but learning to roast a whole chicken was the gateway to real day-to-day cooking for me. I’d roast a chicken on the weekend, make sandwiches or salad with leftovers, make broth with the carcass, make soup or pot pie or gravy with broth and other leftovers, etc. Before cooking was something that seemed like a special occasion but now I had something that sort of begot more food naturally.
If I had to pick a single ingredient, probably cumin or curry spice if I can be allowed to cheat. So many dishes to add that to.
Butterflied roast chicken was the single recipe from Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat that really nailed home so many of the lessons for me - especially about seasoning your meat overnight! Amazing what a difference it makes - one of my fave easy cooks now!
Anchovies! If you’re only using anchovies for pizza and putanesca you’re missing out on so much! Pop one or two of them in your tomato sauce right around when you fry the garlic before adding the tomatoes. It won’t make them taste fishy but it will give it that extra something. Smush them and put them in your glaze! In your dressing!
Also less a single ingredient and more a mindset - booze. You need to use more booze in your cooking. I don’t just mean “use more wine”, I also mean different types too. Sake in your teriyaki, beer in your beef stew, cider in your pie filling, brandy in your stroganoff, kirch in your (sweet) pie, use it! Istg so many recipes I see online omit the booze or call it optional and it hurts me so much.
Also if you don’t have anchovies, you can punch up a sauce in much the same way with fish sauce. Its probably not identical to using actual anchovies but it’s much easier to keep in a pantry.
I mean I guess a bottle of fish sauce is technically easier to store than a jar of oil and fish but imo that’s a little silly
Also kinda different flavour profiles
Colatura di Alicci is anchovy sauce. Garum is also anchovy-based for the existing commervial versions.
Schezuan peppercorns. I’ve had the same packet for years because it takes so little to add a very unique, peppery numbness to any Asian dish. Literally grind up a pinch in a mortar and pestle with some msg and put it in any Asian cuisine to elevate all the other flavors dramatically
On a related note: pixian doubanjiang. It’s a spicy bean paste and a key ingredient in several well-known Sichuan dishes: hot pot, spicy poached fish, mapo tofu, ants climbing trees, etc
Habanero powder… adds smokey spicy flavor so good
I’ve been getting into a recipe book lately that regularly suggests using the zest of a lemon/lime as well as just the juice. I can’t believe I used to throw it away! It adds a slight bitter counterbalance as well as some nice floral notes to whatever I’m preparing.
It’s basically the same for me! I’d say anchovies/fish sauce in general. My first introduction was through Thai fish sauce, which I grew up with and learned how to use in Thai cooking. Then, I started cooking with anchovies in oil and Worcestershire sauce in what I viewed as their respective cuisines. At some point I understood the similar role these ingredients played in providing the umami element needed to complete a dish, and that made me feel more confident using them in a wider variety of foods and “across” cuisines as needed. Used in the appropriate amount, they won’t overpower a dish or turn it fishy; a little bit provides so much flavor!
Garlic chilly powder. An Indian mate of mine introduced it to me recently, and I reckon anyone who loves spicy food should have this in their pantry. You could use it as a spice in your stir-fries and curries, or sprinkle it on your fries/roasted veggies/pizza/pasta, add it to your favorite sauce or salsa, or just add some to whatever dish your making to give it a spicy garlicy boost. You can find this ingredient in Indian stores, if not, it’s simple enough to make it at home.
