# Your Secret Ingredient **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 26, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-secret-ingredient/305541 "2005-05-26T01:58:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-secret-ingredient/305541/61 "2005-05-27T13:28:54Z")
I’ll go with the cumin. I put that in pretty much anything sauce related. I guess the biggest secret is that I try to use fresh spices whenever possible. I grow oregeno and basil during the summer and go right out into my garden and pick the leaves fresh while I’m cooking. Someone mentioned white basalmic vinegar on collard greens. While you couldn’t pay me to eat collard greens, white basalmic vinegar on spinich is wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-secret-ingredient/305541/62 "2005-05-27T15:27:30Z")
Natural orange oil. ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-secret-ingredient/305541/63 "2005-05-27T15:35:52Z")
I put basalmic vinegar in a lot of things too - sauteed mushrooms for over steak especially. Baker’s chocolate in chili and stews Baker’s sugar in cheesecake - it’s a finer grind, so things don’t feel gritty sesame oil ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-secret-ingredient/305541/64 "2005-05-27T15:46:46Z")
> [@scott evil](#): > > **MsRobyn** will appreciate this: St-Hubert BBQ (rotisserie) chicken seasoning. A combination of salt, “spices” (I’m sure there’s pepper in there), onion and garlic powders, and (yes, I know…) MSG. Kind of like seasoned salt. I season flour with it when dredging meat before searing. Heck yeah I appreciate this. I love St-Hubert seasoning for chicken and meat; it’s got a good kick without being very salty. I like my food flavorful but not salty. If anyone knows where I can order more, I’d love you forever. 🙂 Robin ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-secret-ingredient/305541/65 "2005-05-27T16:11:49Z")
Sherry or white wine in milk- or cream-based sauces and soups. I also use sherry in herb butters. Red wine in tomato or other hearty sauces. Fresh spices whenever I can get them, or Penzey’s brand spices when I can’t. A thousand times better than anything you can buy bottled at the store. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-secret-ingredient/305541/66 "2005-05-27T19:10:55Z")
A dash of happiness and a pinch of joy and a smidge of love! OK, seriously, sometimes a sprinkle of cinnamon, if I’m making my mom’s Bavarian apple torte. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-secret-ingredient/305541/67 "2005-05-28T03:08:29Z")
Chipotle flakes, three years old. If I want hot there are lots of ways to get hot, but old chipotle flakes lose the heat, and concentrate the smokey peppery goodness, for things I don’t want particularly hot. ---
**Author:** ![scott\_evil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@scott\_evil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scott_evil)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-secret-ingredient/305541/68 "2005-05-28T17:48:55Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > Heck yeah I appreciate this. I love St-Hubert seasoning for chicken and meat; it’s got a good kick without being very salty. I like my food flavorful but not salty. > > If anyone knows where I can order more, I’d love you forever. 🙂 > > Robin I did a search, and can’t find any online supplier that sells and ships it. I’m not sure if I can personally send foodstuffs to the U.S. I could go to the post office and ask; maybe there’s just a special form to fill out. It’s not like I’d be sending loose powder in a baggie. You could always write to centre\_de\_service\_au\_client@st-hubert.qc.ca and ask if there’s a way to order it. In the meantime, mix some salt, MSG, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder together with some paprika and try that. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-secret-ingredient/305541/69 "2005-05-28T18:48:36Z")
I use nutmeg in a lot of things. Nutmeg in spaghetti sauce, added to Old Bay seasoning on chicken, in hot chocolate, in coffee, on ice cream. Oh, it’s great in mashed or scalloped potatoes. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-secret-ingredient/305541/70 "2005-05-28T19:35:27Z")
> [@lizardling](#): > > Cinnamon in chocolate. Not enough so it tastes cinnamony, but adds lovely depth to the flavour. Yep, I add it to my brownie mix, about a tablespoon. Mmmmmm! ---
**Author:** ![serious\_lark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@serious\_lark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/serious_lark)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-secret-ingredient/305541/71 "2005-05-29T05:06:28Z")
Breads or cakes: strained applesauce or crushed pineapple : either product adds sweetness and moistness (and lets me sneak in more fruit in the diet of my toddler). Cream-cheese icing for carrot or pumpkin cake: a little molasses adds a richness to the flavor that has to be tried to be believed. I found this in a recipe and now won’t make cream cheese icing any other way. Salad dressings, dips, etc.: fresh chopped garlic (none of the preserved chopped up garlic that can be bought in stores can compare). Also, \*\*trupa \*\* adds that a pinch of mustard in a vinagrette helps to keep the dressing from dephasing. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-secret-ingredient/305541/72 "2005-05-29T05:24:25Z")
when in doubt, add more wine [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-secret-ingredient/305541.md?page=3)