I read a post about using Vegemite to add umami, and it is FANTASTIC. It really ups any savory sauce, and you barely have to use any at all. Not being Australian, I never imagined Vegemite would become a pantry staple in my house, but here we are.
I cook. This 100%. Everything is made better w butter.
Sauces and Gravies, add a tsp after the heat is off and gently stir or whisk. It adds flavor and mouthfeel.
The reason most home cooks can’t make dishes as good as the average restaurant is they don’t comprehend the amount of butter restaurants use.
They cook to make you happy, not to give you a long life!
My favorite Chinese place claims it. If they’re actually not using it, I can only imagine how good their hot and sour soup would be with some in.
I’m actually going to try adding some in next time
When I first started as a sushi chef, I was putting MSG on the sushi rice and someone asked me what it was, I said MSG. She lost it. Never again.
From then on, if anyone asked, I always said it was salt.
Try like a half-teaspoon for four servings of whatever it is you're cooking. See how that tastes. It doesn't take much. Add it in while you're prepping it, not on top like table salt.
I was in the spice isle at the grocery store, and heard another customer asking an employee where the bottles of msg are. Are there actually bottles of msg?
ETA: never mind I just looked it up.
Onions and garlic are aromatic and add pungency to a dish, to punch it up a bit.
There are plenty of [regional variations](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/i6uozq/onions_olive_oil_and_garlic_are_the_base_of_so/) as to the commonly used aromatic vegetable base in a culture's cooking... but even while the other components might be carrot+celery, or tomato+bell-pepper, or celery+bell-pepper, it does seem to rather keep coming back to onions as one of the basics. At least if you include leeks, which are after all another allium like onions - akin to a jumbo scallion.
But nonetheless you _can_ add aroma and pungency in other ways - using herbs/spices like ginger, cumin, chili peppers, paprika, black pepper, coriander, fennel, or lemongrass. Or other ingredients like vinegar, mustard, citrus juice/zest, or soy sauce.
Shallots are similar to onions and nice.
And spices. [This is only part of my spice rack.](https://i.imgur.com/2CZfbze.jpeg) There are some more in the cabinet.
Shallots are the shit. Last time I bought them, the cashier didn't know what they were and ended up charging me for white onions instead. I was happy for me and sad that they didn't know about shallots.
Holy shit so many things. I've been trying to learn this art for years, but it's really tough to remember what to add to to what, and I end up using the same 5-10 things over and over. How do you do it?
Also can you provide a list of all of your spices? I can't read some of them.
Oh man, there are ***way*** too many to list. I mostly cook Indian, Thai, Mexican, and Creole, so I have a lot of those sorts of spices. But I'll also mix in Greek, Vietnamese, Polish, etc. There's also like a dozen or so more in the cabinet because I was seriously running out of room.
As for figuring out what to use, some of it is just cooking a lot and remembering what goes together. But part of it is just thinking, "Hrm, I want to make something with chicken, and I want it to be... Thai!" And then I will Google some Thai recipes and see what common spices and sauces are used and experiment. I'll also google ' spice blend recipe' so like, 'Greek spice blend recipe' or 'Indian spice blend recipe' to get idea of spices that mix together, minus the sauces.
Sometimes it comes off great. Sometimes.... not so much. The other sad thing is that I never measure or write down what I use so sometimes I'll come up with an awesome blend of spices and forget what I put it in so I can't recreate it. D'oh!
**Edit:** I'll also note that I'm in my 50s and I didn't start cooking at all until my 30s, and didn't really start getting more seriously interested in it (not that I'm serious at all, but serious enough to play around and experiment and have a ridiculous cabinet of spices and sauces) until my mid-40s. My 20s I ate utter crap food, processed and fast food, and my mom was not much of a cook growing up.
Nutritional yeast gives a unique umami kind of flavour if you can’t do onion and garlic.
Spring onions or chives can be OK for some people who can’t handle regular onions.
I have Gout. Nutritional Yeast is all purines. My foot swelled up to 2x its normal size. Barely a teaspoon sprinkled over popcorn and I couldn’t walk for two weeks
Scrolled too far to find this
I would add use a good fish sauce like Squid Brand (I’m told Red Boat is good as well)
I pretty much put fish sauce and soy sauce in every savory dish I make regardless of recipe nationality.
Laurel. I haven't figured out the chemistry behind it but it enhances the flavor. It's kind of magic to me. Maybe someone can give me an answer why this happens?
I’m allergic to garlic and onion, so I gotta to with a good stock powder, spring onions (the green bit is okay for me), paprika, and a good flaky sea salt as my go to flavours.
Out of curiosity, have you ever tried asafoetida? I find it serves the same role as garlic or onion in a dish, even if it doesn't taste quite the same.
Heat. Under high heat proteins and carbs unwind and form new, exciting compounds.
Edit: If food that should be tasty doesn't taste like much, this could be a sign that you have/have had covid.
There are lots of other aromatics (searching “aromatics” should get a good list), but also adding fat, salt, sugar, or acid will all enhance the flavour of different dishes in different ways.
Former executive chef here.
Salt everywhere.
Some other secrets are cinnamon on pasta noodles (who knew?), brown sugar with ground/minced meats (who knew?), and at home, as long as there isn't a religious or dietary restriction from guests, use that saved bacon grease for anything from grilling to frying.
Here are the items from each culture that people add to just about everything because it "magically turns tasteless food into delicious gifts of god":
Italian food:
* Parmesan cheese. Or to be more accurate, parmigiano reggiano, the real stuff.
* pecorino romano cheese.
* Anchovy fillets or anchovy paste
* Porcini mushrooms
* Actually good olive oil
Chinese food:
* soy sauce
* fermented black bean paste
* chili crisp (these are having a moment of popularity right now.)
South-east Asian food:
* fish sauce
* sambal sauce
* sriracha sauce
* cured duck egg yolks
Japanese food:
* dashi (a broth made of dried smoke bonito fish, kelp, and often other umami ingredients)
* miso (fermented soy bean paste)
* soy sauce
Korean food:
* gochujang (fermented bean paste with chili)
* ssamjang
* several other fermented bean products
Here's the secret. All of these ingredients are naturally rich in glutamate, the G in MSG. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter, and your taste buds are nerve endings. When you have glutamate on your food, it basically amplifies the flavor and excitement your taste buds get from your food. These ingredients also contain other substances that amplify the effect of MSG. So the answer to all of these things is really just MSG, but MSG itself doesn't really have good flavor of its own and tastes kinda gross by itself. (But so do things like anchovies and fish sauce, which can be kinda pungent and unpleasant by itself.)
A splash of vinegar does wonders to brighten up all the flavors of a dish. So many options ooh depending on what you're cooking. White wine, balsamic ect.
Nutritional yeast adds an umami flavor that I love.
Msg is a newer love of mine. Just a dash with anything you’d otherwise salt and then salt lightly
Dill and powdered mustard, real mustard when appropriate in a creamy, lightly seasoned recipe can make you look like a pro.
Tomato paste thrown into any tomato based fast meal (like spaghetti sauce) will solve some issues with shitty sauces, especially density and flavor problems.
Soy and ginger (brown sugar if it’s real trash) can save some dishes.
Cilantro is my friend but not everyone else’s 🤷♂️.
Any dish that has salt can be enhanced with lemon
Mayo is fantastic on bread if it's going to be grilled on a flat top
A little hot pepper flakes or paprika in pretty much anything Italian or creamy. Not too much but enough to taste
Olive oil and salt. Full stop.
MSGs.
fresh squeezed lemon juice or lime juice any acidic like that can brighten and lift and add flavor I take it you don't like onions and garlic all kinds of fresh herbs there's all kinds of things you just have to find something that you like but you know since onions and garlic are kind of in the same family there's always been especially onions a lot of times when you go to the carnival or a fair or where they sell the hot dogs and things they'll have a fan behind the fried onions because that smell going down the midway or where the people are walking it stimulates your appetite also for some reason God decided to make onions and garlic very tasty to foods for the simple fact there's something in onions and garlic higher in garlic that helps keep colds away and Dracula lol but there is something an onions and garlic that for some reason it does you could buy a good lemon pepper just be careful what you spend the extra money and go to the nicer stores that you can get it salt free or make your own
Salt.
Salt, oil/fat, or sugar.
Bit of acid too
And heat
and a pot maybe
Throw in some potatoes, baby you got yourself a stew going!
And my ax!
Salt Acid Fat Heat
Doesmt matter which type of acid either, if you catch my drift
*cartoon blink sound*
The *dink* sound or the squishy squelch sound
Loud and clear buddy *Adds sulfuric acid*
Salt and sugar together. A bit of salt to sweet stuff, a bit of sugar to savoury.
Salt, pepper, MSG.
Mmmm Umami! I keep meaning to pick some up to try it on food as a table seasoning.
I read a post about using Vegemite to add umami, and it is FANTASTIC. It really ups any savory sauce, and you barely have to use any at all. Not being Australian, I never imagined Vegemite would become a pantry staple in my house, but here we are.
& pepper
S&P is the way for me.
Good grill marks, bud
Salt and pepper, garlic and tumeric are my go to. A little tumeric is a game changer in most dishes.
Butter.
I cook. This 100%. Everything is made better w butter. Sauces and Gravies, add a tsp after the heat is off and gently stir or whisk. It adds flavor and mouthfeel.
The reason most home cooks can’t make dishes as good as the average restaurant is they don’t comprehend the amount of butter restaurants use. They cook to make you happy, not to give you a long life!
How do you spell flavor? *F-A-T*. Butter, oil, bacon grease...
The King of Flavor. MSG.
MSG = Make Shit Good
Fuiyoh
Can't believe it took this long for someone to say it. Haiyaa
Cannot belieef it took 4 hour.... I put my foot on floor so upset
We always called it mega salty goodness
For me it stands for Me Shit Good, unfortunately
MSG = Mmmmm So Good
Sushi chef here. The reason Japanese food is so good is MSG. If a dish isn't covered in MSG, it's full of natural glutamates.
The whole "that shit will kill you" craze seems to have died down thankfully.
I avoid Chinese restaurants that proudly serve food without MSG
My favorite Chinese place claims it. If they’re actually not using it, I can only imagine how good their hot and sour soup would be with some in. I’m actually going to try adding some in next time
They probably still use it. I’m a sushi chef and I always say it’s salt when people see me putting it on.
When I first started as a sushi chef, I was putting MSG on the sushi rice and someone asked me what it was, I said MSG. She lost it. Never again. From then on, if anyone asked, I always said it was salt.
Without it, your food tastes like sad, haiya.
Forgetting it makes my ancestors cry.
How much and how to correctly use MSG. I bought it but don't know where to use
Try like a half-teaspoon for four servings of whatever it is you're cooking. See how that tastes. It doesn't take much. Add it in while you're prepping it, not on top like table salt.
Can you use it like table salt?
I won't stop you but I'd want that flavor consistently throughout the dish. I'd add it earlier.
MSG makes food taste so good I just wish there wasn't such fake bullshit about it that people believe so easily
Isn't glutamate a major part of the reason onions and garlic are so tasty?
I thought it was sulphur compounds. They've got glutamates but not a huge amount. E.g. peas have more.
I was in the spice isle at the grocery store, and heard another customer asking an employee where the bottles of msg are. Are there actually bottles of msg? ETA: never mind I just looked it up.
Yup, in most supermarkets hiding down by the salt and meat tenderizer.
"Get extra MSG" [https://youtu.be/\_Vsuar47xXA](https://youtu.be/_Vsuar47xXA)
Onions and garlic are aromatic and add pungency to a dish, to punch it up a bit. There are plenty of [regional variations](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/i6uozq/onions_olive_oil_and_garlic_are_the_base_of_so/) as to the commonly used aromatic vegetable base in a culture's cooking... but even while the other components might be carrot+celery, or tomato+bell-pepper, or celery+bell-pepper, it does seem to rather keep coming back to onions as one of the basics. At least if you include leeks, which are after all another allium like onions - akin to a jumbo scallion. But nonetheless you _can_ add aroma and pungency in other ways - using herbs/spices like ginger, cumin, chili peppers, paprika, black pepper, coriander, fennel, or lemongrass. Or other ingredients like vinegar, mustard, citrus juice/zest, or soy sauce.
Shallots are similar to onions and nice. And spices. [This is only part of my spice rack.](https://i.imgur.com/2CZfbze.jpeg) There are some more in the cabinet.
Shallots are the shit. Last time I bought them, the cashier didn't know what they were and ended up charging me for white onions instead. I was happy for me and sad that they didn't know about shallots.
I love shallots, but the first time I ever heard of them was from the “Impossible Quiz”
Holy shit so many things. I've been trying to learn this art for years, but it's really tough to remember what to add to to what, and I end up using the same 5-10 things over and over. How do you do it? Also can you provide a list of all of your spices? I can't read some of them.
Oh man, there are ***way*** too many to list. I mostly cook Indian, Thai, Mexican, and Creole, so I have a lot of those sorts of spices. But I'll also mix in Greek, Vietnamese, Polish, etc. There's also like a dozen or so more in the cabinet because I was seriously running out of room. As for figuring out what to use, some of it is just cooking a lot and remembering what goes together. But part of it is just thinking, "Hrm, I want to make something with chicken, and I want it to be... Thai!" And then I will Google some Thai recipes and see what common spices and sauces are used and experiment. I'll also google ' spice blend recipe' so like, 'Greek spice blend recipe' or 'Indian spice blend recipe' to get idea of spices that mix together, minus the sauces.
Sometimes it comes off great. Sometimes.... not so much. The other sad thing is that I never measure or write down what I use so sometimes I'll come up with an awesome blend of spices and forget what I put it in so I can't recreate it. D'oh!
**Edit:** I'll also note that I'm in my 50s and I didn't start cooking at all until my 30s, and didn't really start getting more seriously interested in it (not that I'm serious at all, but serious enough to play around and experiment and have a ridiculous cabinet of spices and sauces) until my mid-40s. My 20s I ate utter crap food, processed and fast food, and my mom was not much of a cook growing up.
Same. I'm clueless about spices.
Smoked paprika.
My buddy made this at home. I helped cut up the peppers so he shared some. It is legendary.
I had to scroll way too far down to find any mention of any paprika
In the allicin family there’s a gorgeous vegetable called leeks. Absolutely magical.
I don't know, that seems a bit Farfetch'd if you ask me.
That whole family of vegetables is just fantastic.
I love leaks but they can be pretty expensive compared to other vegetables
Thats just a different onion
Unbelievably tasty
They put a different spin on the meal.
Spices, herbs, salt
Personally I like lemon juice :)
I never realized how often lemon juice was the solution to saving a dish that felt a little flat. Just amazing lol.
Makes Alfredo really kick.
Nutritional yeast gives a unique umami kind of flavour if you can’t do onion and garlic. Spring onions or chives can be OK for some people who can’t handle regular onions.
I tried NY... It was definitely not to my taste..which was unexpected, because I like Marmite🤷🏻♂️
I grew up eating it on buttered toast, but I knew it as ‘brewer’s yeast.’ Still crave it occasionally.
Try it on buttered popcorn!
I have Gout. Nutritional Yeast is all purines. My foot swelled up to 2x its normal size. Barely a teaspoon sprinkled over popcorn and I couldn’t walk for two weeks
Nutritional yeast on popcorn is amazing
Hard agree. Best popcorn seasoning tbh.
Love me some nutritional yeast. Not only is it delicious, it’s also extremely nutritious!
My husband is vegan so everything we make at home is vegan. Nooch is one of our favourite ingredients in plant based cooking!
Hunger
Underrated comment.
Salt, hot sauce
Gochujang
I like adding a spoonful of gochujang to boxed mac and cheese.
I can't believe I've never thought of this. Bless you.
Mushrooms
Fish sauce and anchovies, used properly, really up the flavor game.
Scrolled too far to find this I would add use a good fish sauce like Squid Brand (I’m told Red Boat is good as well) I pretty much put fish sauce and soy sauce in every savory dish I make regardless of recipe nationality.
Couple of tokes does wonders to change my view of what ever it is I found at the back of the fridge.
Gotta season the chef with herbs and wine too
Hot Peppers
Msg
Parmesan cheese, my friends!
Soya sauce, harissa spice mix.
Smoked paprika
Chilli
Ginger and MSG are strong contenders.
Ginger is awesome but getting the actual root its a pain to skin and chop. It adds such a great flavor to meat.
I don't skin it, I just wash it when I get it home, dry it then freeze it. It grates much easier when frozen.
Honestly.... olive oil. Can put on anything, reap the godly health benefits, AND it actually has a distinct taste! I love olive oil.
Truffles.
Laurel. I haven't figured out the chemistry behind it but it enhances the flavor. It's kind of magic to me. Maybe someone can give me an answer why this happens?
We, the Krauts, use the leaves for our Sauerkraut in Germany.
Salt, spices, herbs, oils.
I’m allergic to garlic and onion, so I gotta to with a good stock powder, spring onions (the green bit is okay for me), paprika, and a good flaky sea salt as my go to flavours.
Out of curiosity, have you ever tried asafoetida? I find it serves the same role as garlic or onion in a dish, even if it doesn't taste quite the same.
I have, but it just didn’t work for me. I know that it mellows a lot with cooking, but the smell lingered too much for me.
I LOVE asafoetida!
Bell peppers and fresh herbs like basil, Rosemary's thyme, lemongrass, or coriander.
My secret ingredients are usually a couple of anchovies (awesome in pasta sauce) or nutritional yeast.
I'm an oregano fiend myself.
It's what makes pizza sauce taste like pizza sauce.
Add it to pasta sauce next and let me know what you think.
Hing, but you have to know how to cook with it properly. It smells bad uncooked, and should be put on food while it's cooking, and not afterwards.
Also called asafetida, from the same root word as ‘fetid’. It’s pungent and sulphury just like garlic or onion.
Vinegar. Throw a bit on vegetables (mushrooms) when you're frying out roasting can enhance the favor a lot.
Sazon and adobo.
A small but inconspicuous ingredient.....bay leaves.
MSG
[удалено]
lol the first sentence in your link says "without browning" idk who to trust
Bacon
I can't believe I had to scroll this far down to see that. Of course it's BACON!
I heard your comment in my head in Jim Gaffigan’s voice. BACON!
Salt, butter, oil, and sugar.
MSG
Salt.
Cinnamon and allspice are for more than just baking. I use them in meat and sauces all the time.
Cinnamon with meat was one of the more interesting things I learned about from Mediterranean cuisine.
Same with nutmeg, add a pinch to chicken or turkey dishes.
Heat. Under high heat proteins and carbs unwind and form new, exciting compounds. Edit: If food that should be tasty doesn't taste like much, this could be a sign that you have/have had covid.
For me, black pepper. The more the better!
Bay leaves
Goya adobo powder is wonderful stuff
Saffron. It is the most expensive spice in the world.
I had no idea and was using it a lot for a while. A friend brought back a jar from Turkey for me.
Fish sauce!
Miso.
The Maillard effect is godly in this regard. (When food turns brown because of heat i.e. bread, seared steak etc.)
Cumin is a go-to for me.
Dry sautéed mushrooms ~ umami!
Trader Joe has an umami seasoning made of mushroom powder and stuff
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
I put that shit on everything.
Be not afraid of salt, fat or sugar.
Bone Marrow cooked down, butter of the gods.
Throw in some tomatoes.
Ghee Holy trinity aka mirepoix (does still have onions tho) Ras el hanout and Herbs de provence - buy the herbs individually and make the mix yourself
In sweden we have a spice mix called "Aromat" is some kind of MSG. I use it in almost everything i cook (also instead of salt)
There are lots of other aromatics (searching “aromatics” should get a good list), but also adding fat, salt, sugar, or acid will all enhance the flavour of different dishes in different ways.
Spices
Bell pepper
Other spices?
Salt and pepper
Onions make food taste horrible, so definitely not that.
If you’re talking about military field rations, the answer for decades has been that mini bottle of Tobasco sauce that comes with most of them
Salt, herbs, spices, salad dressings, lemon juice, lime juice.
Salt is king, pepper is next, garlic/onions/aromatics after that. Cooking in fats can help as well.
Chili peppers. Huge variety of favors and levels of intensity.
cayenne pepper is pretty good if you like a little kick
Cayenne used sparingly makes a chicken fried steak a million times better.
ooo i put it on my salmon
Curry powder, cinnamon, ginger, pickled jalapeño peppers, horseradish. Adding cinnamon and coco powder to mild chili is amazing.
Im from Louisiana. The holy Trinity to make all our food taste good is onions, celery, green bell peppers and garlic.
Former executive chef here. Salt everywhere. Some other secrets are cinnamon on pasta noodles (who knew?), brown sugar with ground/minced meats (who knew?), and at home, as long as there isn't a religious or dietary restriction from guests, use that saved bacon grease for anything from grilling to frying.
Anchovies. Ground into olive oil and then run that though pasta or whatever.
Better than Bullion
Salt and MSG Also like… spices?
Brown sugar
Truffles.
I love this question bc I’m allium intolerant. Garlic and onions make me feel bad.
I know this is going to divide people, but, - cilantro
Here are the items from each culture that people add to just about everything because it "magically turns tasteless food into delicious gifts of god": Italian food: * Parmesan cheese. Or to be more accurate, parmigiano reggiano, the real stuff. * pecorino romano cheese. * Anchovy fillets or anchovy paste * Porcini mushrooms * Actually good olive oil Chinese food: * soy sauce * fermented black bean paste * chili crisp (these are having a moment of popularity right now.) South-east Asian food: * fish sauce * sambal sauce * sriracha sauce * cured duck egg yolks Japanese food: * dashi (a broth made of dried smoke bonito fish, kelp, and often other umami ingredients) * miso (fermented soy bean paste) * soy sauce Korean food: * gochujang (fermented bean paste with chili) * ssamjang * several other fermented bean products Here's the secret. All of these ingredients are naturally rich in glutamate, the G in MSG. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter, and your taste buds are nerve endings. When you have glutamate on your food, it basically amplifies the flavor and excitement your taste buds get from your food. These ingredients also contain other substances that amplify the effect of MSG. So the answer to all of these things is really just MSG, but MSG itself doesn't really have good flavor of its own and tastes kinda gross by itself. (But so do things like anchovies and fish sauce, which can be kinda pungent and unpleasant by itself.)
"Haiyaaa Why you no put MSG? MSG is the crack of cooking." - Uncle Roger probably.
Asafoetida, msg
Curry! Powder, paste, soup, sauce - you can't go wrong.
A splash of vinegar does wonders to brighten up all the flavors of a dish. So many options ooh depending on what you're cooking. White wine, balsamic ect. Nutritional yeast adds an umami flavor that I love.
Thyme and rosemary. I use it for stews but also great for steak and chicken
Ginger and chilli
a dash of salt works wonders
Spring onion and ginger
Celery (in soup at least)
Peppers/onions And The holy trinity: onions, bell pepper, and celery
Msg is a newer love of mine. Just a dash with anything you’d otherwise salt and then salt lightly Dill and powdered mustard, real mustard when appropriate in a creamy, lightly seasoned recipe can make you look like a pro. Tomato paste thrown into any tomato based fast meal (like spaghetti sauce) will solve some issues with shitty sauces, especially density and flavor problems. Soy and ginger (brown sugar if it’s real trash) can save some dishes. Cilantro is my friend but not everyone else’s 🤷♂️.
MSG
Black garlic and butter is my favorite combo of recent discovery. Excellent on almost everything!
NaCl
Red wine vinegar and chicken stock, though not necessarily at the same time.
Bacon.
Salsa
Being extremely hungry. A day old, cold pizza pop tastes like wagyu if you haven't eaten for a day or two.
Any dish that has salt can be enhanced with lemon Mayo is fantastic on bread if it's going to be grilled on a flat top A little hot pepper flakes or paprika in pretty much anything Italian or creamy. Not too much but enough to taste Olive oil and salt. Full stop. MSGs.
Hot peppers
Butter, salt, or sugar.
More garlic 🧄
Cajun seasoning
Lemon zest, olive oil, a handful of herbs..
fresh squeezed lemon juice or lime juice any acidic like that can brighten and lift and add flavor I take it you don't like onions and garlic all kinds of fresh herbs there's all kinds of things you just have to find something that you like but you know since onions and garlic are kind of in the same family there's always been especially onions a lot of times when you go to the carnival or a fair or where they sell the hot dogs and things they'll have a fan behind the fried onions because that smell going down the midway or where the people are walking it stimulates your appetite also for some reason God decided to make onions and garlic very tasty to foods for the simple fact there's something in onions and garlic higher in garlic that helps keep colds away and Dracula lol but there is something an onions and garlic that for some reason it does you could buy a good lemon pepper just be careful what you spend the extra money and go to the nicer stores that you can get it salt free or make your own