Game-Changing Ingredient in Your Go-To Recipe

[Patrycja]

Hi, I'm new here!

Have you ever added an unusual new ingredient to a recipe that you make the same way all the time, but after taking a chance and trying it out, you can't go back to making the old classic recipe?

For me it was adding mint chocolate to a brownie

 

[karadekoolaid]

Hello and welcome, Patrycja!
I think mine would be chile con carne. One day, I decided to add a small square of dark chocolate to it. Definitely a game changer!

 

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

A recent game changer for me is this concentrated chicken stock. It tastes like the dark concentrated bits in the bottom of a roast chicken pan. I confess I use far more than recommended but if whatever is supposed to be tasting meaty needs bolstering this is the fix! It’s a bit like chicken marmite!

Cors I recognise this is only useful to Brits so as a second ingredient I’d choose smoke!

 

[badjak]

Fish sauce....
Makes everything taste better (almost everything)

 

[Morning Glory]

Adding black cardamom to home-made soups - in particular, vegetable soup and lentil soup.

Using Indian Bay leaves instead of European Bay in all sorts of recipes. They are totally different plants.

 

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

Adding black cardamom to home-made soups - in particular, vegetable soup and lentil soup.

Using Indian Bay leaves instead of European Bay in all sorts of recipes. They are totally different plants.

Interesting. Never heard of Indian bay leaves and never been a huge fan of the common or garden variety.
How does the flavour vary?

 

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

Fish sauce....
Makes everything taste better (almost everything)

It did nothing for the Angel Delight

 

[Morning Glory]

Interesting. Never heard of Indian bay leaves and never been a huge fan of the common or garden variety.
How does the flavour vary?

That is a difficult question to answer! Its difficult enough to describe the usual bay flavour. In a nutshell I would say it adds a meaty flavour which is quite surprising. A lot of descriptions on line suggest they are sweeter and similar to cinnamon. You need to buy on-line or in an Asian shop.

They are easily distinguished. Indian bay leaves are larger and have veins running along their length - the top ones in the picture:

 

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

That is a difficult question to answer! Its difficult enough to describe the usual bay flavour. In a nutshell I would say it adds a meaty flavour which is quite surprising. A lot of descriptions on line suggest they are sweeter and similar to cinnamon. You need to buy on-line or in an Asian shop.

They are easily distinguished. Indian bay leaves are larger and have veins running along their length - the top ones in the picture:

View attachment 119807

Cheers m’dears
That’ll be my next ‘what produce did you buy?’

 

[karadekoolaid]

A lot of descriptions on line suggest they are sweeter and similar to cinnamon

From what I understand, Indian bay leaf (tej patta) is the leaf from a cinnamon, or cassia tree.

 

[TastyReuben]

It did nothing for the Angel Delight

It works wonders in the Angelfish Delight.

Wikipedia