What is your secret ingredient?

Willie84

Willie84

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24 Feb 2014
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Location
Michigan
I have to confess, I put grape jelly into a lot of my sauces. Sauces for things like bbq meatballs, etc. What secret ingredient is your favorite?
 
Oh, sounds good. Thanks for the great tip! One question though, about using these in tomato based dishes... would you use just these? Or do they go well with other traditional spices for tomato sauces? Thanks!
 
Willie84 said:
Oh, sounds good. Thanks for the great tip! One question though, about using these in tomato based dishes... would you use just these? Or do they go well with other traditional spices for tomato sauces? Thanks!
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palm sugar or any sugar goes well with any tomato dish, including things like lasagne - something my Grannie taught me decades ago.
Tamarind & palm sugar together work well in any dish that can stand a fruity addition to it.

I often also add cumin, coriander, paprika, garlic, or various others combined to tomato based dishes as well.
this is one of my tomato based 'bung it' recipes which uses quite a few herbs & spices including tamarind & palm sugar. It is favourite here in our home.
 
Marmite in Bolognaise or other mince Italian dishes, but don't tell my wife or daughter who hate the stuff :)
 
so before I went paleo I used to make this amazing coffee cake with white beans. Usually I'd use garbanzo beans. No flour. I loved seeing the look on people's faces when I told them what the secret ingredient was, they never would've guessed. The cake stayed amazingly moist for a few days too….hmmmm….thinking I might have to go buy some beans :)
 
veggiespls said:
so before I went paleo I used to make this amazing coffee cake with white beans. Usually I'd use garbanzo beans. No flour. I loved seeing the look on people's faces when I told them what the secret ingredient was, they never would've guessed. The cake stayed amazingly moist for a few days too….hmmmm….thinking I might have to go buy some beans :)
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I have a similar recipe for black bean brownies. They too are exceptionally moist and I love watching peoples faces when the realise it is totally vegan as well!
 
Personally I can taste fish sauce in most cases when it is used in a dish, but apparently it's rather common for people to not notice it, nor the "fishy" smell. It's a bit strange considering fish sauce by itself has a rather distinct and pungent odor. I've been playing around with it off and on in recipes, but I can never really say that I *like* it all that much. Fish sauce and sesame oil are kind of overkill for me, when in most cases I would rather just use some soy sauce.

Smoked paprika is a favorite of mine, because it packs so much flavor - especially when compared to regular paprika. It adds a nice "meaty" and smoky taste and aroma to even the most bland dishes.

Of course, using Mayo to "butter" bread for grilled cheese sandwiches works surprisingly well too. At first I was concerned it would make the sandwiches greasy, but actually if you think about it, mayo is oil combined with other ingredients, whereas oil and butter are basically 100% fat, so it's technically slightly less in fat.
 
I usually put a dash of chutney and worcestershire sauce in my mix when I make savoury mince for cottage pie or stuffed butternut or something.
 
Lately, I am a fan or oregano and end up mixing it with all my food items. I also like to mix with all my egg preparations except boiled eggs (for obvious reasons). :)
 
Honey :)
I use it whenever I can ; in stews, casseroles, desserts, basically anywhere.

SatNavSaysStraightOn wrote earlier that sugar goes well with tomato based dishes ; that is true and the same can be said about honey. Great combinations that I've come across lately include pork and mustard with honey, Greek yogurt and nuts with honey..also a dish called "honey fingers".
That's when you stick your fingers into a honey jar while cooking and lick them clean. Not my most sophisticated dessert but what you're gonna do ? :D
 
oivas said:
Lately, I am a fan or oregano and end up mixing it with all my food items. I also like to mix with all my egg preparations except boiled eggs (for obvious reasons). :)
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I also use Oregano and Basil in most of my meals. These two ingredients go with almost anything, from marinades to sauces. I also you thyme a lot when preparing meals consisting mostly of meat.
 
I use Oyster sauce a lot, even in dishes that don't require it. I only put in a bit if that is the case, though, since I don't want the dish to get overpowered by it. I only add it because it has great depth and the taste of it is hard to replicate.
 
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