Mustard. English mustard powder to be specific.
I put it in and on everything. On chicken, pork, steak, lamb, and fish. In sauces, gravy, and stews. In tuna, chicken, or egg salads. There is nothing a touch of mustard won’t make even better.
Add very strong coffee to chocolate recipes, especially brownies. It doesn’t taste like coffee, it just makes the chocolate flavor better.
And one from the replacement wife: salt a baked cookie. It tastes super-buttery.
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. I love that stuff.
You stole my Mom’s super-secret secret! I never saw anyone but her do that. She makes the best chocolate frosting you ever had in your life.
Honey and beer.
Also: roasted pinenuts.
Anything I make that has a tomato sauce base (chili, lasagna, etc.) you’re also going to find crushed pineapple and brown sugar. Also, sometimes in my chili I may add a cup of black coffee for texture.
More than you know. Fleur De Sel by Artisan is likely the finest sea salt in the world. I’ve been using it in all my recipes and have noticed a marked increase in flavor. I also use their Sel Gris as a replacement for salt at the table, and most recently I have been experimenting with their black lava salt on steaks and such. Here is a PDF of their line of salts. They are pricey by salt standards, but this stuff truly is the single best thing you can do to upgrade the flavor of your food, IMHO.
A little bit of freshly grated ginger works wonders in meat dishes. But it has to be fresh and used sparingly. I found that out after experimenting with Chinese ingredients at home. Oyster sauce is also nice for a spicy and sweet hint on veggies.
I think ginger and MSG go a long way towards giving Chinese dishes that Chinese-y flavor. But, I’m still not satisfied. There’s something about food at Chinese restaurants I still can’t exactly duplicate at home. I want to know what that elusive flavor is. Some say it’s the well-seasoned woks they use and the dangerously high flames people can’t produce at home.
Cardamom – I love it, and use it not only in pulla (a sweet, braided yeast bread eaten with coffee), but also add it to chocolate cake, brownies, hot chocolate, rice pudding, oven pancakes. If I make coffee, I add a tablespoon or more of it to the coffee grounds.
Tom yum soup paste for chicken or turkey soups. I swear, if you make a chicken soup with tom yum soup paste in the broth, add some extra ginger, garlic, onions, and medicinal mushrooms, it will cure you.
Grana padana in scrambled eggs or on vegetables.
I make a spice mix of coarse ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and kosher salt (2:2:2:1) and put it on/in anything savory.
Brown Sugar
What is really great, those frozen buffalo wings, extra spicy ones, roll those in Brown Sugar befor cooking them in the oven. Sweet and spicy.
You’ve got an extra http:// in there.
Accent is kinda pricey and if you search out the Asian section, or an Asian market you can probably find a big bag or container of the stuff much cheaper.
Same thing with sesame seeds too. I used to winch at the prices for a tiny container in the regular spice section then found a big jar of toasted sesame seeds in the Asian section for 1/4 of the price. I always check out the Mexican spice section too. The spices they sell in plastic bags are way cheaper than the same thing in a McCormick’s jar. I only buy McCormick’s because I want the jar I’m then going to refill from much cheaper sources.
Prepared horseradish (not h-sauce) has a magical effect in a meat dish. Right out of the jar, you’d think it’s something to use sparingly. :eek: Once it cooks in, though, it’s no longer in-your-face. It doesn’t make your eyes water, it makes your mouth happy. You’re thinking half a teaspoon, but use two tablespoons.
A stout beer in sauces, meats, chilis, casseroles, etc.
Conversely, diced mango in sauces, meats, chilis, casseroles, etc.
In meatloaf, about 3 T French dressing gives nice flavor.
In Spagetti, I use alspice. I used to use McCormik’s chicken Herb seasoning in a lot of stuff, but they stopped making it. I really miss it!
Personally I use Maldon sea salt as opposed to your run off the mill generic table salt as I like the texture of it when sprinkled onto foods where you can get the crunch of the crystals but I thought that ‘chic’ salts were roundly debunked as no different when added and diluted into food by the world renowned food writer Jeffrey Steingarten. I was looking for a link but cannot find a relevant one, the book ‘The Man Who Ate Everything’ is a must read for any foodies and I must say I have noticed no difference when using table or specialist salt. Perhaps you put more in when using the posh stuff?
Cumin makes meats happy.
Wow…all my secret ingredients popped up right away: nutmeg, butter and salt.
Many foods, especially carbohydrates, are nothing more than butter-delivery systems.
Is THE secret ingredient for deviled eggs!!! AWESOME.