Asklemmy

Monosodium glutamate

Old Bay in home made hamburger mix. Only do it if you're using an 80/20 mix because the flavor stands out too much if you use lean hamburger.

Garlic chilli powder. An Indian mate of mine introduced me to this condiment and it changed my life. I add a few pinches of it to most of my dishes now (noodles, pasta, pizza, sandwiches, fried rice, stir-frys and of course curries) - and it elevates then to the next level. (I love spicy food btw so this may not be for everyone, but for me it opened up a whole new world).

Other than MSG - garlic powder, lemon pepper, paprika, and gochugaru. Almost everything I cook has those 4 put in, with only the lemon pepper reduced if citrus is not part of the dish.

Heavy cream.

Butter.

Couldn't tell you. Every time I make something really good that's worth repeating, the recipe is immediately wiped from my mind forever. It's like some monkey's paw curse that I can only make the thing the most delicious way once.

Also, butter.

Love.

A lot of these are adding umami to dishes. For an umami bomb that doesn't taste like any particular ingredient you can blend together soy sauce, fish sauce, and tomato paste in smaller amounts and add the to your dish.

Dry yellow mustard powder in mac and cheese. Not the fiery English or Chinese stuff, just boring American yellow mustard.

A small splash of amaretto in macaroni and cheese. Only about a cap full, or one teaspoon, gives it an amazing sweet and salty flavour.

I discovered this incredible recipe one night when I was preparing some mac-n-cheese only to discover I was completely out of milk, and had to substitute the next best liquid I had on hand.

Worcestershire Sauce. It adds umami (anchovy drippings), smokiness (tamarind and molasses), acidity (vinegar), and salinity (anchovy drippings).

Soy sauce makes everything better. If there is some kind of sauce or broth just add a little bit. The extra salt and umami flavor elevate everything. Doesn't matter the cuisine. It goes great in burgers

Salt :D

Lots of home cooks are shy with seasoning in general (but especially salt). While not impossible, it's fairly hard to over season stuff.

That's why if you ever look at "miracle season alls" the first ingredients are usually something like "Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder".

If you want to be amused, look at these ingredients lists. Often the only difference is what food coloring is used.

For example.

https://www.heb.com/product-detail/tony-chachere-s-original-creole-seasoning/172479

Worcestershire sauce in tuna. It is delicious.

Cinnamon. Goes well with more savory things than I ever expected.

Parmesan in mashed potato. Not enough to be cheesy, just for some unami. Also using grainy mustard.

Smoked paprika. It throw it in a lot of stuff you wouldn't guess it was in, as it adds a little bit of a smokey flavour.

Add two or three tablespoons of sugar when you're making a batch of salsa, just a tiny hint of sweetness is all it takes~

Roasted garlic and/or roasted bone marrow. Soups, meat rubs, compound butters, whatever. The depth of flavours those two things add by themselves is amazing.

Acid. Lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, and/or wine. Salt and acid make the existing flavors fucking pop.

For anything cheesy, add a touch of nutmeg. Not enough to identify it, but enough to know that something changed.

Taste as you go.

MSG.

MSG. It’s amazing.