Spices/Sauces - season yo food white boy

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Nutmeg for cheese dishes, bechamel, or sauces with cream added. Chili pepper if I need heat in a dish. Cloves for stocks or red wine marinades. Allspice for pork rub, duck rub, or braises. Star anise for Asian dishes, duck a la orange, or mustard for ham. Don't do much mustard with sauces, should change that. Green cardamom sometimes for meatballs, but mostly for dessert dishes. Other varieties of cardamom go into curry powder or use for Chinese dishes. Sichuan peppercorn for Chinese dishes or chili oil. Turmeric for curry, Asian dishes, or for homemade stock to make it smell like bouillon cubes. Cinnamon for desserts, but also for some Asian dishes. Fennel for Asian dishes, but also Mediterranean French and Italian dishes. Probably other spices I'm forgetting, but this is just a basic rundown.
 
Nagato Kai Ni Surigao said:
Guys did you ever try pesto? it's really good. I used it with spaghetti and spinach and jumbo shrimp to make fancy food for myself.
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Yes, I have a planter with basil on my window, so when it gets overgrown I make pesto with it and freeze it. Tastes good on trout and I've used it in sauces a few times when I was lazy to chop fresh basil or didn't have enough of it.
 
Berbere and koseret.

They’re staples of Ethiopian cooking but I love them so much I put them in almost anything savory.

Berbere is a blend of about a dozen spices including chili pepper, coriander, ginger, fenugreek, cardamom, black pepper, and allspice. Traditionally used to flavor stews.

Koseret is a fresh, earthy herb that swerves near a minty flavor. Used to flavor clarified butter or oil.
 
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Salt + Pepper base

Citrics (zest etc), dill, ginger for pork, salads, chicken

Paprika (smoked, sweet, hot), cinnamon, saffron, liquid smoke, thyme my beloved, toasted peppercorns on pan, rosemary, za'atar for red meats (depending what i'm cooking)

Various peppers, pith in for extra heat depending on the dish, garlic for almost everything

Many more that i don't remember right now


The Blue Morpho said:
I was talking about this in sneedchat the other day, but ramps make the best butter. They have beautiful flavor combining the best of garlic and onions in a single herb. Find a friend who is into foraging, learn to forage them yourself otherwise you can probably find them at a decent farmer's market.
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Spiced butter is awesome, i do mine with thyme, rosemary and lime zest


Also, OP, cheat sheet:

Dehidrated spices are made for standing high heat
Fresh spice can be used at start when sweating mirepoix base
Fresh herbs only at the end, high heat destroys basil, for example, but you can get away if you use it to infuse oil
 
This stuff is quite versatile and gives a nice savory flavor to many dishes and meats.
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It's also like a dollar and you can get half a dozen uses out of it.
 
As a part-time job I helped make the pizza sauce in a pizzeria. The secret ingredient: onion powder. A lot of people sleep on onion powder. It seems obvious but even dishes with onions already in it can benefit from liberal use of onion powder, especially if it's something stewing like sauce.
 
Sambal, or any other chili paste in a jar.
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Comes in different flavors, super convenient, keeps forever (I put it in the fridge but idk if you need to).

Slap it on fresh veg with some vinegar and sugar, mix it with soy sauce, throw it in your soup, do whatever you want!
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Too much spicyness will upset your digestive tract though, so don't listen to those retards who insist that you need to transform your food into a chemical weapon of scoville units.
 
Basic tomato sauce is so easy and can go in alot of other dishes like Chile or Pot Roast.

You just use two standard cans of tomato, a quarter stick of butter, some garlic cloves, an onion, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes if you want some spice, and a little granulated sugar. Slow simmer on low for two hours and then puree it. I use a standard potato masher. Usually a puree after the first hour and let it reduce a bit for the second.

The result is delicious. And can go right on pasta. That or form a tomato base for other things. The slow cook and puree causes the garlic and the onions to dissolve completely in the tomato due to the heat and acidity.
 
mindlessobserver said:
Basic tomato sauce is so easy and can go in alot of other dishes like Chile or Pot Roast.

You just use two standard cans of tomato, a quarter stick of butter, some garlic cloves, an onion, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes if you want some spice, and a little granulated sugar. Slow simmer on low for two hours and then puree it. I use a standard potato masher. Usually a puree after the first hour and let it reduce a bit for the second.

The result is delicious. And can go right on pasta. That or form a tomato base for other things. The slow cook and puree causes the garlic and the onions to dissolve completely in the tomato due to the heat and acidity.
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My usual go-to is a large can of San Marzanos, discard the nasty juice it comes in, and crush by hand, leaving it chunky. Then I add some garlic, EVOO, maybe an onion, basil and/or oregano. I usually don't add sugar but if I do, it's very little (like a quarter teaspoon in a batch), and after I've tasted it.

If it's for pizza, I don't cook it at all. For pasta, I may do the long simmer, but I'll still sometimes just do it fresh after simply heating it up.

I might or might not take out the onion. If I plan on taking it out I chop it really coarsely.

Also I forgot. A touch of anchovy paste is a great finisher.
 
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The real way to to do it is to use fresh tomatoes. But its a bit of a pain in the ass because you have to deskin them first and then seive out the seeds. Removing tomato skins fucking sucks.
 
mindlessobserver said:
The real way to to do it is to use fresh tomatoes. But its a bit of a pain in the ass because you have to deskin them first and then seive out the seeds. Removing tomato skins fucking sucks.
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You don't always have fresh tomatoes and grocery store tomatoes are garbage.
 
AnOminous said:
My usual go-to is a large can of San Marzanos, discard the nasty juice it comes in, and crush by hand, leaving it chunky. Then I add some garlic, EVOO, maybe an onion, basil and/or oregano. I usually don't add sugar but if I do, it's very little (like a quarter teaspoon in a batch), and after I've tasted it.
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yeah but who has time for that?
just buy Passata di Pomodoro, no need for crushing, no nasty juice.
most stuff in cans isnt good. just buy the stuff in jars at the market, those are much fresher and made with love.


Also the best sauce/spice is goosefat. its the biggest upgrade you can do to a dish
 
Stoneheart said:
most stuff in cans isnt good. just buy the stuff in jars at the market, those are much fresher and made with love.
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Cento is pretty good. Best is fresh plum tomatoes at the end of the season, a little soft but still firm. Use a sharp knife to put a tiny X in one end, then boil for 30 seconds or so. Skins come right off. I prefer the texture of crushed since even the "chunky" varieties aren't that chunky.

Also capers can be nice, especially if you're making a whore pasta style sauce.
 
DSP for president 2032 said:
Sambal, or any other chili paste in a jar.
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I've thought about getting sambal while shopping, but didn't know what to use it for. I'll have to try it someday!

As for something i've taken a liking to recently:
A friend got me to order some Lao Gan Ma, mostly as a meme, if you've seen the chinese John Cena videos.

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It's chili oil with tons of crispy chili bits. Even though i didn't love it at first, after a while it became a staple.
Put it on veggies, stir-fries, potatoes, rice, anything really. I don't eat much spicy food, and this was surprisingly mild. Highly recommended.
 
I might get pilloried for this but Trader Joe's sells dried garlic chips in a bag and they're great for when you want to make a fresh sauce but can't be arsed to peel and chop fresh garlic. Game changer.
 
Question Humanity said:
I've thought about getting sambal while shopping, but didn't know what to use it for. I'll have to try it someday!

As for something i've taken a liking to recently:
A friend got me to order some Lao Gan Ma, mostly as a meme, if you've seen the chinese John Cena videos.

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It's chili oil with tons of crispy chili bits. Even though i didn't love it at first, after a while it became a staple.
Put it on veggies, stir-fries, potatoes, rice, anything really. I don't eat much spicy food, and this was surprisingly mild. Highly recommended.
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This on rice is one of the most commonly eaten breakfasts or snacks.

I think sambal is great on freshwater fish.
 
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