Remember the wonderful cartoon "Kung Fu Panda" and the protagonist's adoptive father, who cooked delicious noodles with a secret ingredient? Yes, of course, later it turned out that there was actually no ingredient (we hope this was not a spoiler!), But it often happens that every person who is fond of cooking has their own secrets.
Just let's recall the famous secret mixture of 11 herbs that glorified Colonel Sanders and his chicken dishes all over the world - almost eighty years have passed, but KFC still keeps its composition top-secret. In general, there is always some little thing that can turn an ordinary meal into a real masterpiece.
There was a thread in the Reddit Cooking community a few days ago, whose topic starter asked just one simple question: "What is your secret ingredient?" The Original Poster also admitted that they use a tbsp of cocoa powder when they make lentil or black bean chili (wonderful idea, we support it!) Other redditors liked it too, and now the original post has almost 1.2K upvotes and over 1.2K different comments.
Bored Panda has collected for you a selection of the most popular, interesting and original ideas, whose authors are confident in their kitchen magic. So feel free to scroll to the very end, and don't forget to share your own cooking secret (especially if you're a KFC top manager!)
More info: Reddit
#2 Vanilla

More of a baking one than cooking, but I always double/triple the vanilla in EVERYTHING, and always add a little vanilla if the recipe doesn't list any. And I always add more ginger/cinnamon/nutmeg than the recipe lists.
140points
#3 Coffee Instead Of Water For Brownies

Use coffee instead of water for brownies
136points
#5 Shallots

Shallots shallots shallots. They elevate any dish and take olive oil based pasta sauces to a whole new level.
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115points
#7 Squeeze Of Lime

General squeeze of lime in chicken noodle soup
96points
#8 Powdered Mushroom

Powdered mushroom. I put in in everything savory that has a liquid base. It’s essentially an Umami bomb. I buy dried shiitakes at an Asian market where they are cheap, powder them in the vitamix, and store in vacuum sealed mason jars.
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94points
#10 Worcestershire Sauce, Siracha, Pickle Juice, And Mustard

Depending on the dish - Worcestershire Sauce, Siracha, Pickle Juice, and Mustard.
90points
#12 Nutmeg In Mac And Cheese

Nutmeg in mac and cheese.
Molasses in chile.
Dash of acid in anything rich (not a secret but it feels like one!)
Molasses in chile.
Dash of acid in anything rich (not a secret but it feels like one!)
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67points
#13 Cayenne

Cayenne. It started with *Food Wishes* and now I put a little dusting on many recipes
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59points
#14 Peanut Butter

A little creamy peanut butter thickens a sauce (like a roux would) and adds a complex toasted umami component to the flavor. Just don't overdo it.
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56points
#15 Cornstarch

Cornstarch. Not a flavour thing, but a texture thing. Dredge proteins for crisp-crunch. Add into baked goods for super softness. Thicken sauces quickly for cling and gloss.
and msg, especially in super simple vegetable heavy dishes, like zoodles.
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55points
#16 Acid In Beans
Acid in beans. Squirt of lemon, splash of vinegar, depending on the dish. Makes a huge difference even though you can't actually identify it as being in there.
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52points
#17 Fish Sauce

For me it's fish sauce. A little bit of fish sauce in the sauce goes a long way. I recently saw people on here debating on what the best brand of fish sauce is. I've always been a Three Crabs guy but the consensus seemed to be for Red Boat. I bought a bottle of Red Boat and I've been using it but I'm not sure which I like better yet.
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51points
#19 Tarragon

A tiny amount of tarragon in fries (frozen or homemade), not enough that you get flecks of green on every fry, just a bit enough to get the aroma but people usually have a hard time wondering why the fries taste so good.
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46points









