to ask for the special ingredient...

[Aburg163]

you all add to your cooking. I have recently started eating a lot more after not being able to for a while and I spend all of my time in the kitchen. I'm sure I'll get bored eventually but for now cooking and eating is the best thing ever. I want to know, as I am getting more accustomed to all these wonderful recipes floating about online what your ultimate secret ingredient is. Not really an AIBU apologies but I'm so interested! For example I had someone reccomend a pint of beef stock for my tuna pasta bake. It was incredible but not something I'd have thought of. Share your secrets!

Bouillon powder to season mashed potato.

Worcester sauce to anything containing minced beef

Worcester sauce to anything containing minced beef

A lump of butter just before taking the soup off the stove.

Ooh these are good! I'm making Shepherds pie I could try both of these suggestions!! Or cottage pie whichever one is beef haha

@Pythone

A lump of butter just before taking the soup off the stove.

Oooh I love this especially when it's so cold out!

Tiny bit of soy sauce in gravy 😬
And a good dollop of a fruit jelly like jam

Possibly a teaspoon of vinegar too! Unless I stuffed a lemon up the chickens bum 🤣

A spoonful of marmite to stews and soups

Or a spoonful of lao gan ma crispy chilli oil...

And a large glass of red wine whenever you cook

If the dish is lacking a bit of flavour and you think it needs salt - it may actually need a little vinegar (and salt). Not too much though!

I put cauliflower cheese mushed up under my mash when doing cottage/shepherd's pie. Adds cheese and veg

Wine, garlic and lots of herbs.

Pesto and balsamic vinegar to a bolognese.

Dark chocolate to a chilli

Brown sauce in shepherds pie, stew and lasagne

If a sauce is missing something it's usually either acid or salt. Add little by little though!

Marmite in spaghetti bolognaise, pasta bake, chilli

Celery salt in stews or anything tomato based like spag bol or chilli

A little lemon juice enhances almost anything.

Mayo in my mash.
Marmite/equivalent in any gravy based dishes.
Glug of port if i make bisto veggie gravy.
Big knob of butter in oil for roast potatoes.

Franks red hot sauce to guacamole

Celery salt

Salt.

Also bread and butter. Never use marge.

Marmite and a squirt of bbq sauce in shepherds pie

dark chocolate in a ragu, a bit of sausage meat in Bolognese sauce.

Spoonful of whole grain mustard in the meat for your cottage pie/shepherds pie - put it in after you have softened the onions, before anything else so you cook it off a little. Ditto some garlic puree.

Once cooked, it doesn't make the whole thing taste mustardy/garlicky, but it does round out the flavour of the meat element massively.

Salt - we've been taught that salt is evil, but salt is a flavour enhancer, use it wisely!

Celery/celery salt will give anything a more meaty/umami flavour so its good for adding to soups, stews, casseroles. If you are going to use actual celery, dice it pretty fine though as the stringy fibres are yuck.

Add your spices/flavours at the beginning and let them mature, don't add these things at the end as the spices (particularly hot stuff like chili) will be raw and harsh.

Umami paste from Morrison’s!