# We all have our secrets! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [July 30, 2026, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031 "2026-07-30T23:58:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/1 "2026-07-30T23:58:04Z")
What is your super secret ingredient that would horrify your friends and family if they knew you used it. Mine? A teaspoon of expresso powder in brown gravy. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/2 "2026-07-31T00:02:56Z")
You do check to see if anyone is trying to avoid caffeine, which the espresso powder almost certainly contains? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/3 "2026-07-31T00:08:30Z")
Well, I know my family. And 1 tsp of expresso in a huge skillet of gravy is not touching anyone in a dramatic way. I would not be serving pan gravy to guests I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/4 "2026-07-31T00:10:15Z")
Anchovies in a variety of savory main dishes. I don’t use them often but occasionally I do. They are always diced up so fine they disappear into the dish. No one knows they are there. The dish is not fishy tasting at all. I personally do not think I know anyone who would willingly eat an anchovy but never get complaints when it is hidden well. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/5 "2026-07-31T00:13:17Z")
Anchovies also, but I add them to my crunchy peanut butter and cream cheese sandwiches. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/6 "2026-07-31T00:20:43Z")
Quaker oatmeal flakes in my meatballs is the best I can do. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/7 "2026-07-31T00:41:55Z")
I’ve always used quick oats in meatloaf (store brands are just fine for that purpose, IMO). ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/8 "2026-07-31T00:45:28Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I personally do not think I know anyone who would willingly eat an anchovy but never get complaints when it is hidden well. When she was young, our daughter Elizabeth _loved_ salt. She would grab a salt pellet out of the water softener and suck on it. One time we went to a pizza place, and I ordered a large deluxe pizza w/ double anchovies. Because I love anchovies. Well, Elizabeth did, too. The next day, she asked me if I could buy some anchovies. So I bought a can of them at Kroger. And she ate them all in one sitting! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/9 "2026-07-31T00:49:24Z")
Not "secret, but when I bake a turkey, I use Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage with Sage. My stuffing is so high in demand, I make two batches- one in the bird, one in a casserole dish. > [@Seanette](#): > > I’ve always used quick oats in meatloaf My family used cracker crumbs. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/10 "2026-07-31T00:57:06Z")
Taco Bell Diablo Sauce in just about anything it could be thought of as being compatible with. Not all the time, just when the mood strikes, and the dosage depends on who I anticipate partaking. If it’s just me, all bets are off. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/11 "2026-07-31T01:41:32Z")
I will add I make a really great chocolate chip cookie (I almost never bake but that is the one thing I have gotten good at when it comes to baking). I use browned butter (that’s not so secret) and a bit of cinnamon. The cinnamon throws most people off. There is only a hint of it in there. Enough that people know there is something a little different but can’t quite figure it out. Promise it is yummy. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/12 "2026-07-31T02:45:12Z")
Moved to Cafe society, since this is about cooking. Also tagged as food-cooking. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/13 "2026-07-31T03:00:06Z")
In the same vein as anchovies - fish sauce. Just a dollop really develops the umami in so many dishes. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/14 "2026-07-31T12:19:24Z")
I always dump a tin of anchovies in EVOO into my tuna salad. I’ve loved them ever since I was in 5th or 6th grade. An anchovy wrapped around an olive and skewered onto a crouton of buttered toast makes a wonderful canape. Back in the summer of '75, I ordered a pizza with anchovies for my girlfriend and myself. Gina didn’t say anything while we were eating it, but when I tried ordering another about a month later, she said “Don’t tell them to put anchovies on it. I didn’t want to tell you the last time, but I almost gagged while eating them.” Five years later, another girlfriend practically threw a fit when she saw me sprinkling paprika on her fried egg. “I don’t want any of that nasty stuff on mine!” she said, trying to brush it off. She thought my spaghetti sauce was “too peppery” too. Blandness was the order of the day! ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/15 "2026-07-31T12:37:21Z")
My sister uses a little bit of vanilla extract in her cheese sauce, and since she told me that, I’ve taken to doing the same. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/16 "2026-07-31T12:42:30Z")
I use dark cocoa powder in my chili in proportion with the chili powder or pepper equivalent. I also put a dash of curry powder on fried and scrambled eggs. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/17 "2026-07-31T12:42:56Z")
I once made plov for me and my daughter when she was five or six. She was eating it heartily until I told her it contained chopped up prunes and apricots. She quit eating it and quietly pushed her dish away. A few years back, I accidentally grabbed a bottle of soy sauce instead of Worcester sauce while making a cottage pie. By the time I noticed my mistake, I had liberally doused the ground beef with the former and forced myself to carry on. Darned if the pie didn’t turn out to be downright tasty! I’ll be making another with soy sauce in the near future. Does anyone else besides me like to include carrots, parsnips, and other root vegetables in their mashed potatoes? I always do this when I’m making things like bangers and mash. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/18 "2026-07-31T12:44:06Z")
I don’t know about horrify, but I use MSG in my cooking. I’m often told that my Asian dishes are as good as, if not better than, the restaurants… ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/19 "2026-07-31T12:46:37Z")
Similar to anchovies, a little Asian fish sauce in stuff adds an umami burst without adding fishy flavor. > [@silenus](#): > > In the same vein as anchovies - fish sauce. Argh, I scanned the thread when I should have just done a thread search first. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031/20 "2026-07-31T12:47:01Z")
As one who suffers from _severe_ seafood allergies (virtually any fish causes anaphylaxis), I am grateful my friends haven’t attempted to ‘hide’ seafood in any dishes they’ve prepared. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031.md?page=2)