Do you use Secret Ingredients?

Do you use Secret Ingredients?

The one I use are:
Pickle Juice
Baking Soda aka sodium bicarbonate
Sugar

I had a friend tell me:

White pepper
cheese crackers.

Do you have a secret ingredient?

A little nutmeg in savory dishes is a favorite of mine. I was confused why historically American colonists back in the ye olden times used nutmeg in nearly everything so I tried it. It just gives it a little something something. Use it sparingly, it works well with cheesy dishes too.

Cardinalflower (Lobelia cardinalis) has apparently been added to food as a grated root to renew love, resolve arguments and prevent divorce. I haven’t tried it.

Timothy Norton wrote:A little nutmeg in savory dishes is a favorite of mine. I was confused why historically American colonists back in the ye olden times used nutmeg in nearly everything so I tried it. It just gives it a little something something. Use it sparingly, it works well with cheesy dishes too.

similar to this, a bit of star anise in something like a chicken noodle soup can be a big (but not fully identifiable) change.

Timothy Norton wrote:A little nutmeg in savory dishes is a favorite of mine. I was confused why historically American colonists back in the ye olden times used nutmeg in nearly everything so I tried it. It just gives it a little something something. Use it sparingly, it works well with cheesy dishes too.

This seems to be one of the killer ingredients as well in the background of bologna and hot dogs.  If I make vegan versions of either, that pinch of nutmeg is the ticket!  Another secret ingredient is mushroom powder.  The 'umami body' from it can be quite satisfying.  One more:  Faux "Lawrey's Seasoning Salt" homemade with the crucial flavoring of celery powder.

John Weiland wrote:...the crucial flavoring of celery powder.

Agreed. If you're having a Chicago-style hotdog, there're all the big, charismatic ingredients that trick people into thinking they're the most important element. But it's really the celery salt.

I try not to keep any culinary secrets (other than grandma's cookie recipe - I have no idea why, there's never been a rule about that one being secret, and it's not complex, I've just always felt that it was a family recipe that should stay in the family, and as such I only share it with those who qualify as family) so I share these with pleasure:

-Marmite in savory dishes, esp. vegan ones. The dark, aged, umami flavor it imparts is similar to soy sauce, which I also use. All my beans get a small scoop of marmite. I'm currently wondering if a dash of it would improve my vegan pesto.

-Vanilla bean powder. This is some bougie, expensive stuff, and I can't pretend otherwise, but the extra flavor it adds to baked goods is worth it. I source mine from a local spicery called Oaktown Spice Shop.

-Homemade ferments and preserves. I always have random vinegars, honey garlic experiments, lemon preserves, and other such recipes I'm trying to use up so I can reclaim their precious jars.

Roxy Van wrote:-Marmite in savory dishes, esp. vegan ones. The dark, aged, umami flavor it imparts is similar to soy sauce, which I also use. All my beans get a small scoop of marmite. I'm currently wondering if a dash of it would improve my vegan pesto.

I bet it would! I know it was always the magic ingredient in my gravies.

If you're not vegan, worcestershire sauce is also a great something-something sort of magic ingredient.

Fish sauce in anything that needs depth. A few drops in a pasta sauce, a soup, even scrambled eggs, and you'd never know it was there but you'd miss it if it wasn't. Miso stirred in at the end of a broth does the same thing.

Few will admit it, but Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup is the emergency sauce that binds together many a rough and ready supper.

Dark chocolate and orange zest in chili con carne

I also use marmite and worcestershire sauce in most of my savoury dishes. I second cocoa in chilli..... If I haven't got worcestershire sauce I have been known to put a small pinch of mixed spice in.

As regards nutmeg: the 'secret ingredient' in many UK savoury pies is mace. That is the coating on the outside of nutmegs, similar flavour but is slightly more difficult to get hold of.

♥️♥️♥️LOVE♥️♥️♥️

apple cider vinegar (ACV)
its an excellent all round topic, and i believe its as important as putting oil in your car. Jim Humble of MMS fame would often state that most people have a low acid level int heir stomachs, leading to all kinds of pathogens and health issues, not to mention a lack of acidity not being available to destroy pathogens in the body. It also makes a great base for salad dressings, and predigests proteins like red meat to make them easier to digest in the stomach, and help kill parasites too. Its also one of the worlds best apparent hair tonics and shampoos when diluted. I cant praise it enough

garlic for a strong immune system and an unbeatable savory taste that gives you italian mario plumber vitaltity

organic herb powder collection. always a great way to boost the nutrition and medicinal power of every meal. from cinamon and nutmeg in hot cacao, to cayenne and chinese 5 spice powder in food w mustard seeds and a bit of fresh parsley, rocket and nasturtium from the garden, its probably why i never get sick

Of course love, but the rest is a secret.   Ok, ginger leaf, Cuban oregano flowers, tea leaves, and Bearss lime leaves for our farms Earl Grey blend.   Cardinalflower is a new one, thank you  M. Ljin.  I adore new spices and ones we grow ourselves the most.  

Has anyone ever tried to put together a volunteer cookbook from Permies?   Cookbook with anecdotal excepts on how people in different places grow the ingredients?  Permies, has a truly unique good food as health genre with a miraculous diversity that I don’t see anywhere, perhaps?  If the world is a mess, offer it good food grown locally as the answer we know it is.  Cheers.

The mushroom powder comment caught my attention. I've seen it mentioned a few times as a way to add some depth without making the dish taste obviously like mushrooms. Another one I keep seeing is a little unsweetened cocoa in chili. Not enough to make it taste like chocolate, just enough to darken the flavor a bit. Has anyone here tried that?

David Nightingale wrote:Has anyone ever tried to put together a volunteer cookbook from Permies?   Cookbook with anecdotal excepts on how people in different places grow the ingredients?  Permies, has a truly unique good food as health genre with a miraculous diversity that I don’t see anywhere, perhaps?

Great minds think alike! Barbara and Rachel got together and put an index for permies recipes here It would be interesting to make it into a book as you suggest....

A little yellow mustard in any sort of beaten-egg or melted-cheese dish. (Discovered, along with white pepper, in a souffle recipe.)

Balsamic vinegar and celery salt in tuna sandwiches and deviled eggs. (This is boring. What's handy? Add that.)

Brown sugar in tomato dishes (to cut the acid).