What's your secret ingredient?

[Kinsters]

I made a bolognese this morning and had an aubergine that needed using so roasted it then blended it up with the tomatoes. It added a lovely richness to the sauce.

What's your secret ingredient?

You’re both right AND wrong

Both sugar AND salt work to sweeten (Salt stimulates your salivary glands, causing them to produce the saliva that distributes flavor to your taste buds. It also suppresses your perception of bitterness, making that tomato taste even sweeter)

@KohlaParasanda

Smoked paprika.

Ditto

Divine stuff

Cinnamon in bolognese. Just a little, but it's lovely.

Milk

@Geamhradh

I knew this was going to be about either bolognese or lasagne

Very simply, more salt in the sauce than you'd imagine. It takes the sourness of the tomatoes away.

Add some brown sugar to dilute the acid taste

Also put just a bit of cinnamon in a tomato sauce. And a few quick grates of nutmeg.

I use allspice berries in stews and braised meats. I think I got that from my Mum's Scandinavian background.

Marmite, grated carrot, grated courgette, green pesto, red wine vinegar.

As others have said- sugar and salt. Bit of fennel if I have pork and beef in my spam bol.

My general secret ingredient is Msg - is my new secret ingredient after watching some Chinese Fakeaway recipes on YouTube and buying a bag of it. Not tried it yet with pasta though

I always blitz up carrot and peppers (match head size) . When cooked down it really does add a rich texture to the sauce.

Strawberry jam. Just a tablespoon.

@Bibbleybetto

As others have said- sugar and salt. Bit of fennel if I have pork and beef in my spam bol.

My general secret ingredient is Msg - is my new secret ingredient after watching some Chinese Fakeaway recipes on YouTube and buying a bag of it. Not tried it yet with pasta though

I started using a bit of MSG in some things too but was afraid of getting flamed. I have read a lot recently about top chefs rediscovering it. It helps me cut down salt, a lot.

Some of the studies relied upon in the past are flawed by one thing or another. Like feeding mice HUGE doses for their body size.

MSG fear and "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" are being linked to racism.

There are some people who are very sensitive but basically it is just the same as naturally occurring glutamate (umami).

Agree re: aubergine.

I grate them into tomato sauces and they dissolve but add a richness and a portion of veg

Ditto courgettes. Can be dissolved into curries etc.

Also add a pinch of nutmeg and a knob of butter to pasta sauce.

Worcestershire sauce in shepherds pie.

Use shallots instead of onions for a more mellow flavour. You can buy them chopped and frozen.

Add salt and seasoning before you put oven chips in the oven.

Cooking it for as long as possible.
Minimum 4hours on low,

Smoked paprika.

In everything. Game changer.

Melt some pancetta in the pan before adding your 20% fat mince, the extra fat is extra flavour

Capful of pernod.

Marmite, soy sauce and sometime bisto granules - shock horror!

Oh and a couple of anchovies

Stop putting cinnamon in things!

Teaspoon of cocoa powder in chilli.

If your runner beans are on the tough and stringy side, put a pinch of sugar in the cooking water.

Pinch of dried dill in the water when cooking sprouts.

Schwartz fish seasoning is good in all sorts of potato dishes. No idea why, it just is.

You can put yesterday's leftover cabbage in today's curry. Found this out earlier

Half a Wham bar.

Only kidding. Salt AND sugar.

The same as super hans

Tea spoon of sugar to reduce tomato acidity and a pinch of smoked paprika.

A bit of Worcestershire and soy sauce and a sprinkle of bisto best....tastes amazing 😻