Who do you go to when you need some cooking tips? Most probably, your mom or your grandma. In recent years, we also learned to adopt some tricks from online cooking content or cooking TV shows. While those are all great, don’t you sometimes wonder why it is that the same dish cooked by the chef of your favorite restaurant tastes so much… more interesting than when you try to recreate it at home?
Talent and years of study and hard work any chef puts into their cooking is very important, of course, but also, every chef has a small secret, and that’s the ingredients they use to make their dishes ever so appealing. Some of them share these secrets so that you also can become better at cooking and impress your guests.
We have collected a list of ingredients for you to incorporate in your cooking, as recommended by chefs online. You don’t have to be a professional cook to pick up some useful tips, even if it’s just for food to make at home for yourself and your loved ones.
Let’s take a look at the chef’s table and see what ingredients they recommend to have in your fridge or pantry. Which ones do you already have at home? Which ones were a complete revelation to you? Share this article with your cooking-loving friends and don’t forget to tell us how your enhanced cooking goes.
#41
"Garam Masala! I find it to be so good in many savory dishes. I replace cumin with it whenever it’s called for. It’s INCREDIBLE in chili or any Asian-influenced dishes!
Not an expert in Indian cooking or even the spice world in general. So I realize it’s not a perfect substitute, I just ran out of cumin once in the middle of cooking, subbed it in, and fell in love! I totally understand why some recipes may not be suited to it, this is just my opinion based on my experiences."
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7points
#42
"Nutritional yeast. Adds a nutty, cheesy flavor and a creamy texture to anything you add it to, and it's absolutely packed with nutrients. Anyone who doesn't have a container of nooch in their cabinets needs to up their game."
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7points
#43
"Liquid Smoke.
It is great for getting that smoke taste in vegetarian dishes."
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7points
#44
"I was served the steak with a dry rub of Herbs de Provence once. Now it is the only way I'll make a steak."
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6points
#45
"Everything bagel seasoning. Let me tell you right now, THAT IS THE BEST SEASONING EVER. It is salty, seedy, I don’t even know how to put it in words."
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5points
#46
"Not a chef, but cilantro. It makes food so much fresher and earthier. The world hit a revolutionary breakthrough when they added cilantro to guacamole."
5points
#47
"Adobo."
iLutheran replied: "Oh, I stopped using those products when they became cloud-based subscriptions."
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4points
#48
"Vietnamese fish sauce (different from Thai fish sauce). I've been working in the kitchen for 10 years, mostly in the Italian kitchens and Aussie steakhouses, but my most favourite ingredient is always Vietnamese fish sauce (for my foods only). It contains salt, seafood and umami flavour and I don't have to use MSG. I tried Thai fish sauce but the smell was quite strong, and the flavour wasn't good.
My second favourite ingredient is white wine. Some chefs like to add a dash of lemon or lime juice to their foods (western foods), but I think white wine works better."
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4points
#49
"Anchovies! Gives so much more depth to many pasta dishes."
4points
#50
"Compound butter and compound oil. In my opinion the saying, a team is only as strong as its weakest player can most of the time be very true in a kitchen. Seasoning your butter or your oil can make a world of difference especially with meat because oils will soak into most anything very well so the flavors that they impart are very important in either that umami kissing you on the cheek or kicking you in the face."
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3points
#51
"Sodium citrate. I can turn any shredded cheese (single or blend) into a sauce of whatever consistency is needed, in five minutes. No messing with roux, just velvety goodness."
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2points
