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Baking is a science, but cooking is an art. A true culinary master can simply follow their instincts and whip up a delicious meal out of seemingly simple and underwhelming ingredients. But we can all manage to improve our skills in the kitchen, so if you’re interested in learning some cooking hacks, you’ve come to the right place.
Redditors have been revealing their best kept kitchen secrets, so we’ve gathered the most brilliant ones down below. From incorporating creative ingredients to going against the grain and making up their own cooking methods, enjoy reading through all of these unconventional tips. And be sure to upvote the suggestions that you can’t wait to experiment with while making dinner!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
That I have absolutely no idea what I did and can't recreate it exactly if I tried.
Ace 5 months ago (edited)
Well yeah, I think many people do that to a certain degree. I generally know exactly what I put in, but not in what exact quantities, particularly herbs, spices and seasonings, which tend anyway to be adjusted to taste towards the end of cooking. I rarely measure anything except for baking. And of course there's often a degree of substitution if you find you've run out of one ingredient, or used tinned vs. fresh tomatoes, that sort of thing.
Auntriarch 5 months ago
If someone asks me for the recipe I have to make it again and write it down as I do it.
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Anonymouse 5 months ago
I was making chocolate chip cookies once, but a friend said they were allergic to chocolate, so instead of the chips, I added nutmeg, cinnamon, mace, all spice, etc. and tried to replicate an egg nog flavor. Hit it so far out of the park, I have never been able to make it again. so sad.
Howl's sleeping castle 5 months ago
Same. Once I cooked cottage cheese and peas curry for office potluck that people absolutely loved. They asked me for the recipe and I was like add this, add that, do this, do that. One person asked the quantity and I said 'what you feel is correct'. Because that's how I cook
Ace 5 months ago
Mmmm, haven't made muttar paneer for ages. It was one of my wife's favourites, so one of those that she would generally make if we were doing a multi-dish curry dinner.
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R Dennis 5 months ago
I've had people ask me for recipes and I have none... it's based on ingredients on hand and how I feel. Whenever someone wants a recipe, I make them watch me cook and figure it out.
Scarlett O'Hara's Ghost 5 months ago
The whispers of my elders guides me.. "that's enough my child"
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Germán Noé Soto 5 months ago
My mother was like this while we were growing up. She'd cook the great dishes and never remembered how.
LookASquirrel 5 months ago
Plus if you're using as many fresh ingredients as possible you go with what's in season or available so it's never the same.
michael Chock 5 months ago
Mayonnaise on grilled cheese works because it is oil thickened with a little bit of raw egg.
RELATED:
#2
The secret : if someone makes something you love, don't ask for the recipe, ask to make it with them one day. Sometimes the hidden secret is in how they make something, not the recipe itself.
Binny Tutera 5 months ago
I have a cookie recipe that has won awards. I give out the recipe, but some people tell me it’s not like mine. Did you flip the cookies over when you cooled them like it says in the recipe, Joan?
#3
That's one of my biggest peeves. I'm a fairly accomplished chef. It has paid my bills for the last 15 years. If someone asks me a question I will answer it honestly and try to give them good advice.
I've worked with chefs that will say s**t like, "if I told you, I'd have to k**l you."
Yeah hilarious Matt, was it fennel or star anise you pedantic a*****e?
Sarah Belt 5 months ago
My chef Matt was like this, too. Bro, the url to epicurious is at the bottom of the printed recipe you gave me.
#4
Cinnamon and Nutmeg are often thought of as holiday spices, when used in conjunction and with sugar. But these are hardly their only uses. Both have very strong savory applications. I add some to chili and tomato sauces to add warmth and complexity. Nutmeg is my secret ingredient in any bechamel base.
Edit: it has become painfully aware that some of you snooty brats think nutmeg isn't a secret to which I say, yeah it's not really if you watch food Network on the regular. However there are some parts of the world where people never heard of adding it to their cheese sauce. And I come from those parts. Check yourself. Thank you in advance.
No Man 5 months ago
I used to eat at a restaurant in Phoenx run by a Lebanese family. They used cinnamon in my favorite savory dish of theirs. Took me a year to figure out what it was. When I asked, they seemed almost apologetic about it.
Dill 5 months ago
I used to cook an Elizabethan era stew that had cinnamon in the recipe. Think it was lamb... Was gorgeous. Not sure where it went unfortunately.
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Jemima Bauer 5 months ago
On the flip side, hot peppers aren’t exclusively for chili or savory food. A little ghost pepper goes in Mexican brownies or huckleberry jam. I’m about to make peach jam with spicy banana peppers. 😋
Damned_Cat 5 months ago
Many years ago, I was making chile colorado from a recipe and wanted to add some cumin. I accidentally grabbed cinnamon and stirred in several healthy dashes before I realized my mistake. OMG, the cinnamon took that sauce to a whole new delicious level. After that, I finally learned how many uses cinnamon has as a savory spice.
UKGrandad 5 months ago
"Nutmeg is my secret ingredient in any bechamel base." A proper bechamel sauce uses mace, not nutmeg. Mace is the lacy covering of nutmeg inside the shell. It is more intensely fragrant than nutmeg and has a far more complex flavour. In bechamel, nutmeg is an inferior substitute, not a 'secret' ingredient.
Megalodon Meg 5 months ago
Bad news, mate. You're one of the "snooty brats"
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Sue User 5 months ago
I never heard of that, but i did hear of mace, whichis the outer cover of nutmeg.
Load More Replies... Ace 5 months ago
I have a blend of cinnamon, cloves and star anise (the latter in smaller proportion than the others) that I use as a base spice mix for several Mexican chilli dishes. Nutmeg is not something I've ever thought about adding to the mix, but may give it a go he next time I'm doing it.
Sarah Belt 5 months ago
I like adding just a dash of cinnamon to recipes that incorporate chocolate or coffee. It's like a salt for those things.
Sarah Pryde 5 months ago
ive become a coffee lover in another way...yall NEED to try cinnamon, honey and oatmilk in your coffee.,...its MAGIC
#5
I have no secrets. If anyone asks me how I make anything I'll tell them exactly how I'm exhaustive detail it they're willing to listen. Even my family's most treasured recipes I will teach you how to make it.
StrangeOne 5 months ago
Unless you're planning on profiting off a special recipe, I don't get why people refuse to share recipes and guard them as if they're a rare treasure.
PeepPeep the duck 5 months ago (edited)
I do with my great great grandmothers chicken recipe, as it’s been a that way since she made it an offical dish for the family, I’ve never come across it anywhere else and working in alot of kitchen all over the country I’m in, I’m never giving that secret out 😂 she didn’t want it to be that way. So for me it’s keeping a specific ethnic traditional alive through the family that was almost exterminated from existence, and respect for her wishes. I’m the only family member to master it and get the thumbs up from my mum - the previous keeper and champ of cooking it 😂 teaching my nieces soon who are 13 now. And I give out all other family recipes I have but just not this one.
Load More Replies... Jonas Fisher 5 months ago
100% agree. People who have "secret recipes" are a******s. It's like saying that you get more enjoyment out of eating food when you know other people want it but can't have it.
R Dennis 5 months ago
If the recipe came from someone else, I won't share it without permission.
Megalodon Meg 5 months ago
Okay, but why? More than likely that recipe has been shared with the person who gave it to you, and the person who gave it to them, and the person before who read it in a book or some s**t.
Load More Replies... #6
One day I walked in on my boyfriend chopping onions to freeze. SITTING IN FRONT OF THE TV WITH A LITTLE WORKSTATION.
I don't know why it never occured to me that you could sit down while doing repetitive prepping. Growing up I had only seen little old ladies do that and I guess I internalized that as a privilege to come with age ?
Anyways yeah. My secret is that I peeled these potatoes on the sofa and I think you can taste the extra layer of comfort. The potatoes peeled over a bowl in the sink taste like "I've been peeling for 10 lbs and my back hurts from the weird angle I've been holding my neck at while I dissociate in a room with zero entertainment ".
Mabelbabel 5 months ago
I do a lot of baking-its far easier sitting down when mixing (and holding the bowl in your lap whilst creaming the butter and sugar helps the butter soften much better). It makes it more comfortable and doesn't affect my efficiency, so why not? It's like making cashiers stand as opposed to sitting at check-outs, they can do the job just as well sitting, so why force them to stand and be uncomfortable?
Lesliie Balmat 5 months ago
YES!! Treat the check out people with kindness, you freakin slave masters
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Roxy222uk 5 months ago
Just a couple of evenings ago I was watching late night TV while peel, coring, and slicing some apples to go in the dehydrator.
Roxy222uk 5 months ago
Oh, and stop peeling potatoes. It’s completely unnecessary work, and most concentrated levels of nutrients are right under the skin getting peeled off too.
Load More Replies... Auntriarch 5 months ago (edited)
If you are a short person, kneading dough and whisking egg whites is easier if you put the bowl in the sink, it's nearer the right level than the worktop usually is. (Unless you're my sister in law who has a section of her work surface several inches lower than the rest of it for this purpose, posh hey?)
Papa 5 months ago
On the other hand, I do prep work on our kitchen island instead of the counter tops, because it's higher. Working slightly bent over is hard on tired old tall men with bad backs.
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Barbara Wilcock 5 months ago
I make my meatballs on a big tray infront of the TV watching South Park!
Trisec Tebeakesse 5 months ago
I'm the other way. I need to be in my isolated kitchen bunker without much distraction, or you're getting an extra fingertip in the chili.
Sarah Belt 5 months ago
I like to peel garlic this way. It takes longer than smacking them with a knife, but I find it relaxing
Papa 5 months ago
I have started buying the little plastic boxes with a couple dozen garlic cloves already peeled. I know it's more plastic waste, and I'm trying to cut back on it, but I'll relent enough for that.
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Spittnimage 5 months ago
I make devilled eggs sitting at my desk. I peel them at the sink and do the rest at my desk.
Sarah Pryde 5 months ago
ive done this while chopping up apples to make home-made apple butter....its my fall ritual every year
#7
I still cook with a lot of butter, lard, and bacon fat. Heavy cream, sour cream, or Greek yoghurt where it calls for milk in a lot of recipes or boxed mixes, like mac and cheese. I don't cook with "low-fat" anything.
Angela C 5 months ago
Good. "Low fat" shît usually replaces the fat with large amounts of salt and/or sugar so it just ends up being bad for you in a different way
#8
I think cooking secrets are irritating. I always tell people exactly what my recipes are if they’re interested.
meeeeeeeeeeee 5 months ago
Why has BP picked so many comments saying they don't like secrets...yes, great, but you've titled this 60 cooking secrets, so maybe pick the comments with them.
Søren Schilthauer 5 months ago
Me too. They are usually shocked by the amount of butter, cream, stocks, spices etc. I use to make it tasty :)
Binny Tutera 5 months ago
Texture and taste are not achieved with by holding back.
Load More Replies... Howl's sleeping castle 5 months ago
I am married to a south indian. I got the recipe of 'rasam' from my MIL which was a better version of how my SIL makes it. I added a little twist and now every one agrees that my recipe is better. I have shared what extra I do. But somehow mine is still better.
Michael Largey 5 months ago
I tell all of the "what", but I can never describe the "how" completely.
#9
A couple of splashes of Worcestershire sauce elevate minced beef.
Huddo's sister 5 months ago
The main reason I have Worcestershire is for meatloaf. Also about the only time I use tomato sauce (ketchup).
Michelle C 5 months ago
Salt and coconut aminos work well for us, depending on what my family or I will make with ground beef.
Bartlet for world domination 5 months ago (edited)
A kind of gluten-free soy sauce?
Load More Replies... #10
Having an actual secret recipe that you won't tell anyone else is straight up weird. So much of cooking is passing on knowledge to others.
SouthernGal 5 months ago
I used to know someone who always changed a quantity or omitted an ingredient if she shared a recipe. She didn’t want anyone to make it as well as she did. What an insecure jerk!
Mel in Georgia 5 months ago
Had a best friend who straight up told me she wouldn't share her grandparents' recipe for delicious pancakes. Family secret! I didn't get it. Who wouldn't want to share the key to deliciousness! I bore people with descriptions about how I make recipes excellent.
Philly Bob 5 months ago
Agreed! And when they pass, the recipe goes with them. It's stupid. I'll teach anyone willing to listen.
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Cronecast AtTheRisingMoon 5 months ago
I think during a time when women weren’t encouraged to find success outside of the home that special recipes and being secretive about those recipes was part of preserving a sense of accomplishment, or self identity. I am just glad we live in a time where making a great pound cake is not something that is guarded as part of a personal identity.
Trisec Tebeakesse 5 months ago
Our recipes aren't secret, but in Great Grandma's hand, it's more like a list. Some of the traditional Christmas cookies I learned at my mother's side. But then after I got them right, I went back and carefully measured everything out and wrote it down. You might find a lot of "secret" family recipes are like this.
#11
Butter is way better than mayo for grilled cheese. Who cares if the browning is even, I want it to taste good.
Ace 5 months ago
Who the F would use Mayo on a grilled cheese sandwich? (Assuming that they don't simply mean a piece of cheese, grilled, but then that would be even worse).
rorschach-penguin 5 months ago
Have you actually tried it? It's shockingly good.
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Stephanie Did It 5 months ago
Mayo on the outside of grilled cheese tastes sweet to me. Not good.
J Wess 5 months ago
Grilling the bread with mayo on the outside has elevated my grilled cheese game exponentially. I scoffed at it when I heard about. Then decided to try it. I happily admit I was wrong ☺️
#12
I bring baked good to work quite often and I’ll print out stack of the recipes, and what I’ve changed, so people can make it at home and know exactly what the ingredients are.
There are way too many food allergies and I don’t want to accidentally k**l my coworkers.
#13
I like to blend up some charred jalapeno and fresh cilantro and add it to my homemade corn tortilla dough.
Also, I love adding roasted poblano peppers to my pinto beans (and often actually go for peruano beans instead of pinto too).
Peri 5 months ago
Typically it's smoked jalapeños that are considered chipotle peppers
Load More Replies... #14
Add very thinly sliced garlic fried in oil to your pastas or fried rice. It gives it so much flavor and a really nice crunch. Also, the secret to never burning your garlic is to keep the heat consistent and add garlic to the pan while it’s still cold. First add it with the oil, then turn the heat on medium and keep it on the same level of heat. That way, the flavor slowly infuses in the oil and makes it fragrant. Once it’s starting to get nice and golden you can take it off the heat - it’ll continue to fry up since the oil is still hot. Literally everyone obsesses over how I make my fried garlic, but it’s very easy :).
Huddo's sister 5 months ago
I can't eat garlic or onion, but I can have garlic/onion-infused oil, because it is water soluble but not oil soluble. If I couldn't use the infused oil, my food would be so much more bland.
Janissary35680 5 months ago
I always start my sofritos in cold oil. I can tell when it's ready by the smell.
#15
Key lime juice instead of lemon in hummus. People always ask me my secret, and that’s the only change I make. (Have had a key lime tree out back for years.).
#16
A dash or two of soy sauce in a meat gravy is never amiss.
Huddo's sister 5 months ago
I like the song How to Make Gravy, but I don't think the recipe for gravy in it is right.
#17
I entered a chili cookoff last year, but I didn't have a good recipe up my sleeve since it's not something I ever make. After delving into a ton of research about the secret ingredients people use, I eventually threw my hands up and ended up putting in practically ALL of them. We're talking 10 different types of chiles, ground espresso, dark cherries, fish sauce, masa harina, cocoa powder, steak, pork butt, bacon, pumpkin beer, tomato paste, beans, shallots, sweet potatoes, worchestershire sauce, msg, coriander, Mexican oregano, galanghal, smoked paprika, cloves...
If someone wanted the recipe, there's no way I could have even come close to piecing it together. It was certainly unlike any chili I had ever eaten, but to my great astonishment, it actually won the grand prize!
BrownEyedPanda 5 months ago
I've GOT to try this chili! Served with homemade cornbread, I would happily lose my everloving mind!
Mel in Georgia 5 months ago
My husband has won chili cookoffs, and his secret is smoking the chili in a Big Green Egg!
Auntriarch 5 months ago
I'm inclined to believe this, certainly my best chilis have been the ones where I've kept adding things and adding things
#18
I always save and use the flavoured oil in jars of preserves like marinated feta or artichokes. Especially in blended soups like pumpkin or carrot. Also a bit of chocolate in many savoury dishes like curry or thick soup. Just a square of dark chocolate.
Huddo's sister 5 months ago
I make a pickled/marinated eggplant and I have used the leftover oil in so many random things. Pretty much any time I make something without a recipe and it seems bland, I will see what's in the fridge to add. I think the last think was when I made tortillas with lentils and cheese, because I didn't have much in the cupboards to eat. Lime pickle is really good with that too.
#19
A pinch of MSG in anything savory, and a teeeeny pinch of salt in any dessert, especially if it involves chocolate.
No Man 5 months ago
I have been told by a number of excellent cooks that the appropriate amount of salt makes anything taste more intensely of itself...
nottheactualphoto 5 months ago
Used appropriately, salt acts as a flavor amplifier.
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Howl's sleeping castle 5 months ago (edited)
Sometimes I add msg to mild curries and they taste good
#20
Fish sauce in many non-Asian dishes. Perfect umami and doesn't taste taste like fish.
NatalieC 5 months ago
I've always wondered: Is fish sauce a sauce that's made of fish? Or is it just a sauce that you eat with fish?
#21
I throw a cinnamon stick or two into my pot of chili.
Mel in Georgia 5 months ago
It's the key to Cincinnati chili. Also just made moussaka and the cinnamon made the dish!
#22
I take lazy shortcuts, make the guests do the work, and pretend it’s part of the dining experience. People literally eat it up. Like roasting an entire unprocessed bulb of garlic in oil and showing guests how they can squeeze the garlic out of the skin like a paste and dip bread in the oil. Takes 2 minutes and I don’t have to peel the garlic. Or setting out ingredients for people to make DIY pizzas or paninis.
DIY dishes have been some of my most popular dinner parties, and nobody will ever know I chose the dish at the last minute because I had to clean my house and didn’t have time to make something. I don’t even roll out the pizza dough, I just sprinkle down some flour with a rolling pin and say that’s part of it.
K Barnes 5 months ago
I don't think this is the hack the OP thinks it is. Anyone who actually cooks isn't going to be fooled or impressed by this and think it's part of the dining experience (which is fine, I am happy to help cook at a dinner party). People who don't cook would probably get into it and think it's part of the dining experience.
calico cat is back 5 months ago
Disagree. I have a girlfriend who does this & it’s a lot of fun. You can always learn something new & trade tips & tricks.
Load More Replies... #23
Coffee & chocolate have always complimented & enhanced each other.. As a French chef once explained to me. When in Switzerland you get a small cube of chocolate with your coffee, you put the cube of chocolate under your tongue - every time you take a swig of coffee you wiggle the coffee around in your mouth slowly melting the chocolate which enhances the coffee. Inexperienced people just eat the chocolate & then drink their coffee.
UKGrandad 5 months ago
I like chocolate and I like coffee, but I cannot abide them in combination.
Janissary35680 5 months ago
Then you're absolutely gonna hate coffee and/or chocolate combined with anything containing capsaicin like 🌶️. Yum😋
Load More Replies... #24
Tripling the butter in mashed potatoes.
Ace 5 months ago
Some people add cream as well, and dont forget the salt!. Sure, the result is a creamy luxurious potato puree, but personally i like mashed potatoes to still have some texture, So maybe just add a little milk or cream if they're too dry/floury, then a k**b of butter on top of them when served on the plate.
Rosie Hamilton 5 months ago
Crushed potatoes rather than mash? Still broken down but with a few chunky bits and a good dollop of butter, mmmmmm!
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Philly Bob 5 months ago
Yes! But half sour cream and half heavy cream if you have it!
Load More Replies... #25
My meatloaf is packed with carrots, celery, onions, spinach, and other healthy stuff that my mother's family would avoid. I blitzed in the food processor, sweat them in a pan, and add to the mix. They love it, and request my meatloaf often, they'll never know I'm poisoning them with health.
Also, I add oyster sauce to my pasta salad. My wife knows, but everyone else would probably wig out. Everyone says I have the best pasta salad around.
Lady Eowyn 5 months ago
I hope you tell people. Oysters are among the shellfish I'm deathly allergic to.
Ren Karlej 5 months ago
Shellfish are a common allergen! This is definitely not one to keep a secret!! Ingredients shouldn't ever be.
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Anonymouse 5 months ago
I make meatloaf to clean out my refrigerator of leftovers. It is amazing what you can put in there.
Mel in Georgia 5 months ago
The key to so many meat sauces is a caramelized sofrito - celery, onion, and carrots. Cook them to death, on low heat, so no moisture - only oil - remains. I imagine this would add so much to a meatloaf!
Huddo's sister 5 months ago
I thought carrots, celery and onions were standard in meatloaf. What does the mother's family have, literally just meat?
#26
The absolute key to all of my curries is tomato paste. No fresh tomatoes, or tinned, chopped, diced etc. it creates silky, umami, concentrated flavor.
Janissary35680 5 months ago
The important thing about tomato paste as an ingredient is to fry it until it's dark and fragrant and the rawness is gone.
Mel in Georgia 5 months ago
Browning tomato paste has elevated everything I use it in!
Load More Replies... #27
Putting a couple of drops of toasted sesame oil into the water before making my rice pilaf.
#28
When making home fries, dredge the boiled potato chunks in instant mashed potatoes. It gives them a lovely, crunchy coating.
Mabelbabel 5 months ago
Mary Berry recommends coating par-boiled spuds in semolina for added crunch (the dry flour version, not the tinned milky dessert version).
Sarah Belt 5 months ago
Tell me more about this semolina dessert, please!
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#29
Huge Secret: DC area resident here. There is a chain of restaurants around the DC area called Flame Kabob that has homemade 'White Sauce" that they serve, which is more addictive than crack c*****e. I spent several years trying to replicate the sauce, trying several dozen recipes. It is said by most kabob gurus to be a "Yogurt" based sauce. I finally managed to get a peek at someone making a large vat of this white sauce in the kitchen of one of their restaurants. Newsflash: It f*****g made mostly from Hellman's mayonnaise, spices, and cucumber, with VERY little yogurt in it. I was shocked, to say the least. Yes, I can now reliably replicate the sauce, and my entire social circle thinks I am some sort of cooking God...lol.
Saint_Zipcodus 5 months ago
I love kabob, I love mayo... But I really dislike the so-called youghurt sauce that's unmistakenly based on mayo.
Janet Sparrow 5 months ago
We have always gone to It’s great Italian seafood restaurant in North Beach San Francisco. They have a dish they called shrimp scampi for years. We couldn’t figure out what the sauce was. It’s a mayonnaise based sauce people!
#30
Everyone loves my meatloaf recipe and I’m happy to share the ‘secret ingredient’ - its chorizo. A pound of ground beef, half a pound of ground pork, and a ~3 inch chunk of chorizo. It hides in the background just enough.
#31
I always add around a tablespoon of dill pickle juice into my creamy potato salad and pasta salad dressings.
Also a touch of honey instead of sugar in mayo based dressings is divine.
setsuriseikou 5 months ago
Dill pickle juice cookies are vegan and surprisingly good: https://1000.menu/cooking/22248-pechene-na-rassole-ot-ogurcov-prostoe
#32
* Parmesan on tomatoes for sandwiches
* Chili crisp oil on eggs for salads
* Salt in coffee grounds
* Instant coffee in dry rubs
* Turmeric replacing saffron
* Cold day old rice for fried rice
* Yellow potatoes any time a recipe calls for Russets
* Dot of mustard to keep any mayo base from separating
* Taco seasoning instead of standard chili seasoning
* Wrap burgers and subs
* Salt egg mix before scrambling
* Don't stir the rice. Just leave it covered till it looks dry then wait 5-10 minutes.
Lady Eowyn 5 months ago
I've always salted my eggs before scrambling them. My dad taught me that. Scrambled eggs was the only thing he ever cooked.
Carrie Laughs 5 months ago
I always seasons them too... would seem strange not to.
Load More Replies... Anonymouse 5 months ago
Rice - 1x rice, 2x water ( I prefer chicken broth ), boil liquid, add rice, stir, cover, simmer 15 minutes, turn off heat, and let sit for 10 more minutes, fluff and serve. Nice to be able to basically leave it alone, while it cooks!
#33
Tiny cubes of apple in a potatoe salad is the most amazing surprise blast of flavor ever.
Ren Karlej 5 months ago
I know I would personally highly dislike that - it would be a sudden 'wrong' texture for me when bitten into. The flavour would be fine. Each to their own though 😃
UKGrandad 5 months ago
'..one more letter..' Dámn, but that man is an idíot!
Load More Replies... Michael Largey 5 months ago (edited)
Potatoe potato / Tomatoe tomato / Let's call the whole thing off / ...
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 5 months ago
I think that would taste nice, but I would want to know about it before I eat because apples mess my stomach up. Having so many intolerances and allergies, I have to know what is in everything before I eat it. I don't eat out much, or eat much food I don't make myself.
Huddo's sister 5 months ago
I like 'mock' apple pie though, where the apples are replaced with either zucchini or choko.
Load More Replies... 
#34
I don’t gatekeep if asked, hell I’ll just share for the joy of it.
Gatekeeping “secret” recipes or ingredients is so lame and will make me not want to eat someone’s food anymore.
I’m also really good at reverse engineering dishes anyways. So I have pissed a few snooty people off pointing out I can taste the “secret” ingredient.
Good. You shouldn’t be trying to prevent the sharing of ideas and good food.
Here’s one of my weirder ones that is really nice; when making a blackberry pie or cobbler- add about 1/8-1/2 tsp basil, finely ground. Yes. Basil. Also about 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground is best.
It brings out the deep jammy berry flavors more but you can’t taste the spices.
(And it very well may be a thing already but I did stumble across it on my own).
Huddo's sister 5 months ago
Basil is nice with blackberry, or quince. I have seen some good recipes for pizza with a blackberry, basil and fetta topping.
#35
Oh, that soup I made that you think is so flavorful and restaurant-like? I just made it with a pressure cooker like the restaurant would lol
Also butter. SO much butter.
nottheactualphoto 5 months ago
The pressure cooker is a wonderful tool. A proper stovetop pressure cooker, that is, not no fool Instant Pot :-)
Dill 5 months ago
My mother used one all the time. Food coming out of it was excellent... though the noise gave me a headache every single time. Unfortunately, can't stand it!
Load More Replies... #36
Adding gochujang paste to cheese toasties adds umami in a way that adding more cheese doesn't. Not a secret tho, just that I only just discovered this myself.
Trisec Tebeakesse 5 months ago
Gochujang is my new God. I've always been a big hot sauce person, but my son is in actual chef that specializes in Asian cuisise and he introduced me to this. I've been known to eat it directly from the tub with a spoon, calling it "Red Pepper Pudding".
K Barnes 5 months ago
When I moved back from Korea 15 years ago gochujang was really hard to find, I had to drive to a part of my city with a large Korean population about 45 minutes away. Now they have it in most mainstream grocery stores in the Asian section (and kimchi at most, too). So nice to see that it's that popular!!
Load More Replies... Michelle C 5 months ago
I add chili paste to my food all the time! A little spice does wonders.
#37
There is a specific meal in my country which requieres weird combo of ingredients to be perfect. Imagine hash browns, sauerkraut and slow roasted pulled pork all mixed in one fatty and fulfilling dish. To keep the hash browns from soaking up the fat so much and to keep the whole think moist, a little milk or cream should be poured in before adding the meat. Which, combined with sauerkraut, is the the ultimate hell for many people.
I'm not gatekeeping this because I want to keep my secret recipe, but because people find it disgusting. I don't get it, but it's true. Nobody cares about cream in sauerkraut soup, but find it weird in this one.
Mel in Georgia 5 months ago
One of my go-to easy comfort dishes is sauerkraut, potatoes and smoked sausage cooked in one pot. This sounds similar. Would so eat this.
e gads 5 months ago
Heres a tip: imagine pot roast and french bread.to keep the bread dry you add a dollop of ranch to the lettuce before adding the macoroni.
Philly Bob 5 months ago
Is that before or after adding the pickled guava?
Load More Replies... Michelle C 5 months ago
Make it turkey, beef, or lamb for me and I’m good (I am allergic to pork.).
#38
I sub espresso for the water in the Ghirardelli box brownies. I also love adding a good tahini swirl (chocolate tahini is next level) & some flakey salt on top. If I’m feeling lazy, I use blonde espresso from Starbucks. Not a secret, and I will tell anyone who asks. If you need something easy but exciting to bring to a party, make these and enjoy complements & a slight ego boost lol.
Ace 5 months ago
This is a packet cake mix, I assume? (rather than the old Kodak camera that came into my head when I read Box Brownie) . In which case I suggest they just learn to cook themselves. You can make brownies from scratch with just ten minutes or so of mixing, they'll be cheaper, better and with whatever 'special' ingredients you care to add.
Rosie Hamilton 5 months ago
100% this. Brownies are so easy and no box mix is a good as any brownie made from scratch. Well... unless you pick a really duff recipe or mess it up! Generally though they're far superior and not much more work.
Load More Replies... Lady Eowyn 5 months ago
I've found that a lot of recipes for chocolate baked goods call for espresso powder. It's not something I use on a regular basis so I'm not going to spend the money, and everything I've tried tastes fine without it.
Ace 5 months ago
Just use a cup of strong black coffee, doesn't really matter how it's made, and adjust liquid quantities accordingly.
Load More Replies... #39
Vegemite in bolognese.
Amanda Fondaumiere 5 months ago
Im really surprised i havent seen nutritional yeast mentioned yet.
ROSESARERED 5 months ago
Apricot jam and Vegemite...both help to make it taste like it's cooked for 12 hours, rich and yummmmy
nottheactualphoto 5 months ago
That's a boost for any savory dish. And as with the umami bombs others have mentioned, there is such a thing as too much. It should just make the dish more rich and savory, without adding any identifiable flavor of its own. (Vegemite, Marmite, fish sauce, soy sauce, dashi, aged cheese, Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, tomato paste, miso paste, shrimp paste, mushrooms, and of course straight up MSG...)
#40
I know there's a well-known cookbook that covers this, but:
If anything you make seems bland, you need to add more fat (oil or butter), more acid (tomato, citrus, or vinegar), more heat (cayenne, hot sauce), or - most of the time, and especially with desserts - more salt.
No matter what spices, no matter how fresh your ingredients, whatever is not popping with your dish can be fixed this way.
Auntriarch 5 months ago (edited)
Sounds like "Salt, fat, acid, heat" by Samin Nosrat. One of my favourite books. But in the book heat refers to temperature not spices.
Mark Alexander 5 months ago
Also a series on Netflix. It's not the book but shows the concepts in action. It's like "The theory of cooking. "
Load More Replies... #41
I'll tell anyone these "secrets":
I grate nutmeg into my English style scrambled eggs
I add a not shy amount of Chinese Five Spice to my ground Italian sausage when making a Zuppa Toscana
I add a healthy tablespoon of Smoky Harissa Paste to my Texas chili, bloomed in rendered beef fat.
Roxy222uk 5 months ago
As an English person I’d **love** to know what makes scrambled eggs ‘English style'
Carrie Laughs 5 months ago
Doing a quick search: French-style: Cooking method: Slowly cooked over low heat, often with a bain-marie (water bath) and added butter, resulting in a custardy, soft texture with very small curds. Creamy, soft, and almost liquid-like. English-style: Cooking method: Eggs are cooked over medium heat, with a splash of milk or cream, a small knobof butter and stirred frequently to create small, delicate curds. American-style (Diner-style): Cooking method: Eggs are beaten and cooked quickly over high heat, often on a griddle, resulting in larger, more well-defined, larger curds, can be dry. Who knows how accurate this is! Some French people said they'd never cooked eggs like that and a few people said they all did it the 'English way' regardless of where they lived!! 🤷♀️
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#42
I do the coffee trick as well. Mayo on grilled cheese I find abhorrent though. It makes the sandwich taste the way a wet dog smells. Butter forever and always.
I start regular dried pasta in cold water. They cook faster and it prevents sticking. People bristle when they see it because of the mandate to add pasta to boiling water, which I assume came from cooking fresh pasta where it is necessary. But cold water works better for dried pasta. Biggest proof is lasagne noodles. I can cook two boxes in a big pot that started in cold water. No stirring. No oil. And pull them out one at a time with no sticking. Do that with boiling water and it’s a big ball of pasta gum.
Trisec Tebeakesse 5 months ago
I'm Italian - I always add pasta to boiling water; I've never seen it gum up like that. I also camp, and I've seen Scouts add dry pasta to cold water and heat it up. You could patch highways with the resulting blob of goo. So I have no idea what this person is actually doing.
Papa 5 months ago
I am not Italian, but I love pasta, and I was also puzzled by the part about their method preventing sticking. I add mine to boiling water and have never had any problems with that.
Load More Replies... Carrie Laughs 5 months ago
They use 'noodles' in lasagne? Or is that a difference in language issue...????
Betsy S 5 months ago
Lasagna noodles are a thing. They are wide and flat with ruffly edges. If you think of "noodles" as just being round and hollow, these would be more accurately referred to as pasta sheets, but most people just call them lasagna noodles.
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Deborah B 5 months ago
For your grilled cheese, butter the bread, and pepper and salt it. The seasoning on the outside of the grilled cheese elevates it. Also, try cranberry sauce inside with the cheese. It's great.
Sue User 5 months ago
Roasted red pepper sauce in *some* grilled cheese ( gouda ).
Load More Replies... Never Snarky 5 months ago
A thin coating of your favorite mustard in a grilled cheese sandwich before grilling.
#43
A bit of red curry paste in pumpkin soup gives it a nice flavor.
ROSESARERED 5 months ago (edited)
I add ground ginger, sweet Paprika, tumeric and keens curry powder. I also roast the pumpkin with tomatoes onions and a couple of carrots...lots of pumpkin, and bacon fat.ti help the riasting..Serve with a swirl of cream, partly, and pumpkin seeds.
Huddo's sister 5 months ago
I recently went to a coffee & chat group with the topic favourite recipes and this was a pretty common one. I do it differently though, I do a Thai pumpkin soup with curry paste and coconut milk.
#44
1 TBSP mayonnaise in the batter when making a Dutch baby gets the most dramatic puff ever.
#45
The classic restaurant cook technique: enough olive oil to k**l you.
Carrie Laughs 5 months ago
Going to be very honest - I dislike the flavour of olive oil (so does my husband coincidentally) and if too much is used I find it can spoil the flavour of food, it is a very strongly flavoured oil after all. Yet I love olives! 🤷♀️
Bob Jones 5 months ago
I agree. Sometimes on TV you see someone taking ages cooking an elaborate dish...and then they pour olive oil on it before serving!
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#46
Miso paste in creamy pastas and mushroom risotto etc.
#47
I mince and fry saute my onions and garlic ahead of time.
50# of onions get minced and thrown in a pot with water and a touch of salt to break down cell walls. Then they're roasted with olive oil till golden brown and delicious. Cooled, flat-frozen, done for the year.
Garlic is blenderized then fried in oil, then put into a strainer to recapture the oil for re-use. The low-oil result is flat frozen too.
Doing multiple batches all at once on one day really reduces total time spent. I can leapfrog that 20 minutes that start every dang recipe!
ROSESARERED 5 months ago
I add ground ginger when frying onion in butter, with a dash of oil to stop the butter burning....makes the onions sweeter
Huddo's sister 5 months ago
I can't eat onion or garlic anymore so I use infused oil and that saves me time :)
#48
A small amount of curry powder in chicken soup. Not enough that you can identify it. Kicks it up a notch.
ROSESARERED 5 months ago
And added to tinned soup it takes away the tinny flavour some seem to have
#49
If you’re cooking chicken, ALWAYS add white pepper. No matter what recipe, it fits every single time. White pepper is the secret ingredient.
Sally Moen 5 months ago
I grew up in a family that loved their black pepper, especially fresh ground black pepper from a pepper grinder. Wasn't until later I found out about the subtle peppery taste in white pepper. Same plant, different parts.
Huddo's sister 5 months ago
My family were the opposite. My dad would only eate white pepper (still does) so that's all we had in the house. It wasn't until he moved out and my mum started cooking a wider range of foods that I tasted black pepper.
Load More Replies... Stephanie Did It 5 months ago
White pepper is key to KFC's secret herbs and spices. Makes sense!
#50
Tonka Bean extract in my chocolate chip cookies. Trust me on this.
Carrie Laughs 5 months ago
Tonka beans are the seeds of the Dipteryx odorata tree. They have a vanilla and spice flavour - really delicious.
Load More Replies... #51
I've used marmite in brownies and it gives them a chewy sort of chocolate cheesecake flavor and no one ever knows what it is but they always love it. I said what I said. I'd be happy to tell but a few people might be grossed out and not eat my brownies lol.
Roxy222uk 5 months ago (edited)
When my kids were little I used to make ‘party sandwiches’ filled with ‘party spread’, cut into appealing shapes, like stars, with biscuit cutters. They always went down well. Unless someone had allergies I didn’t reveal the recipe because it was literally just throwing butter and Marmite into the food processor until it was savoury and well mixed. Literally nothing else in the sandwiches. I got the idea from Nigella Lawson who quite rightly pointed out that children at parties aren’t there for the sandwiches, so why waste time with expensive or fiddly fillings. Plenty of Marmite haters ate those sandwiches right up.
Huddo's sister 5 months ago
My sister likes vegemite and butter to be mixed before she puts it on bread/toast, so she has a jar premixed ready to go.
Load More Replies... Auntriarch 5 months ago
People might be grossed out and not eat the brownies - that sounds like an upside to me
#52
Smoked salt. So easy, adds so much depth.
We’re vegan/vegetarian and it makes all the difference in dishes that use bacon. (If anyone knows of a *good* bacon substitute I am all ears!) And I sprinkle it on vegetarian burgers as they cook and they get that nice smoky flavor.
The Darkest Timeline 5 months ago
You know what I hear frequently from vegans and vegetarians? How they don’t miss meat and that their food can be just as flavorful, satisfying, and delicious as anything with meat. If that’s the case, why are they constantly looking for meat substitutes?
Betsy S 5 months ago
NOT a vegan, nor vegetarian, so I can't speak to that exactly but I do have gluten and bovine dairy intolerance, so it can be difficult at group meals. I can eat much of what appears on the table as long as they didn't put the bread stuffing into the turkey, didn't slather the veggies with butter sauce, and the gravy is made with cornstarch instead of flour. I guess I could sit there and just not eat the gravy or the meat, but it does feel awkward when my plate has only dry mashed potatoes and a bit of veg. Sometimes having the "imitation thing" is what smooths over social situations. So meat substitiutes MIGHT be a way for them to blend into a group meal wihtout making everyone feel awkward. I don't know, but it's a thought.
Load More Replies... #53
A bit of ketchup or sugar in stews, stir frys, pretty much anything with tomato or acidic sauce.
#54
I use bourbon in place of vanilla extract 90% of the time and it's almost always better. Everyone is always shocked or think it somehow makes what I'm baking boozy or something but it's roughly the same alcohol concentration as vanilla extract, it's just a different flavor.
Lady Eowyn 5 months ago
I know a lot of people who don't drink who would be upset about this, despite the fact that the alcohol burns off in the baking. I like vanilla extract and it's a staple in my pantry.
Carrie Laughs 5 months ago
People shouldn't assume it burns off.... While some alcohol evaporates during baking, it's not entirely eliminated. The amount of alcohol remaining depends on the cooking time and temperature, with longer cooking times and higher temperatures resulting in less alcohol. For example, after 15 minutes of baking, approximately 40% of the original alcohol remains, and after 2.5 hours, about 5% can still be present. Rather depends on how much you start with as well. Always tell people!
Load More Replies... Ace 5 months ago
Puzzled me for a second, this one, given that bourbon vanilla is just a specific type of pod, from Madagascar IIRC. Took me a while to realise that they meant whiskey. And now I'm wondering, given that oak casks can imbue a wine with a vanilla-like flavour, whether it's related. Does Bourbon Whiskey really have vanilla flavours?
The Darkest Timeline 5 months ago
Bourbon most certainly can have notes of vanilla in its flavor profile
Load More Replies... #55
Happy to share, it’s only a secret cuz nobody’s asked 🙃
A little caper brine (as long as the vinegar precedes the salt in the ingredient list) really wakes up dressings, pasta salads, … anything that needs a little acid. Just mind the salt, I often then cut down on any additional.
#56
The trick to kfc chicken is dried tomato soup mix. Lipton used to make it and it's now hard to find because it's the "11 herbs and spices". If you make a copycat recipe it will only taste ALMOST like kfc.
#57
Put 1-3 Anchovies in anything stewed - Goulash, Bolognese, Chili, Curries, whatever. Pure umami and not recognizable at all.
#58
I don't understand why you wouldn't tell people about the instant coffee thing.
Alex Bailey 5 months ago
🤣🤣🤣 My cooking will be forever imeasurably improved.
Load More Replies... #59
This isn't so much a secret, but maybe a rare hack for pie crust. I was taught as a child to karate chop the dough before separating and rolling it out. You form it into a ball, and just square it/flatten it slightly to a length and width that matches the sides of your hands. Then quickly "chop" a pound sign into the dough, one time on each side. It's been tender, firm, and flaky every time.
On another note, a secret/not secret ingredient I like to employ is cardamom, just to show it some love. It doesn't seem to be used a lot in American dishes. It brings much spicy joy to coffee, pancakes, pumpkin and zucchini bread, fruit or veg pies, etc...
Angela C 5 months ago
The other secret for pie crust is vodka. The liquid of it helps you work the dough but the alcohol bakes out and leaves your crust flaky and delicious (I suppose theoretically you could use any liquor but vodka has a neutral flavor)
Mir Adwari 5 months ago
Don't often make pastry... but my husband loves my home made steak in red wine pies. I shall try this next time!
Load More Replies... #60
Mayonnaise in mashed potatoes make them creamier.
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Betsy S 5 months ago (edited)
Not a secret but a trick I learned when I had step kids that refused to eat vegetables. Get a chipper! Kids will eat almost anything if it's presented as French fries. I would do multi-coloured carrots, turnips, sweet potatoes, parsnips, yams, white potatoes, and anything else I came across that was dense enough. Supply fun dips (salad dressing) and they'll go to town. Did the same with apples and pears. Made them into "sticks". Kids love anything that's stick-shaped.
Papa 5 months ago
My children also went through a spell where they didn't want to eat vegetables. My wife would put them in a blender, add the results to tomato sauce, and put it over pasta. They never knew the difference.
Load More Replies... Robin Roper 5 months ago
The Chocolate Chip Cookies I make and everyone raves about are made from a recipe published in Consumer Reports about 40 year ago. The ingredients are the same as the one on the chocolate chip bag but the process different. Everyone says they are the absolute best chocolate chip cookies they have ever tasted.
Deborah B 5 months ago
Add a tablespoon of lemon juice, and a tablespoon of tahini to a pot of leek and potato soup, as well as some grated cheese. You can't taste the lemon or seseme, but it gives it a much more satisfying flavour profile. I also use ham stock, and add bacon, unless I'm cooking with vegetarians.
Roxy222uk 5 months ago
I never thought of putting tahini into soup, thank you. It gets bought for one or two recipes and then just sits in the cupboard.
Load More Replies... BrownEyedPanda 5 months ago (edited)
Three "secrets" I have in my arsenal for cooking: 1) Adding liquid smoke to hamburger meat and chicken not only enhances the flavor, but makes it easier for spices to stick to the meat. 2) A tablespoon of espresso powder added to any goods baked with chocolate makes you a culinary genius. 3) TIME. A lot of recipes take a considerable amount of time to complete correctly. An occasional shortcut is acceptable, as long as it doesn't compromise the outcome. In baking, I use Rapid-Rise yeast, sour milk in place of buttermilk (occasionally), and premix dry ingredients to save time. But that's about the extent of cutting corners. Otherwise, I make the time to bake and cook. As everyone already knows, home-cooked is so much better than store-bought.
Betsy S 5 months ago (edited)
Not a secret but a trick I learned when I had step kids that refused to eat vegetables. Get a chipper! Kids will eat almost anything if it's presented as French fries. I would do multi-coloured carrots, turnips, sweet potatoes, parsnips, yams, white potatoes, and anything else I came across that was dense enough. Supply fun dips (salad dressing) and they'll go to town. Did the same with apples and pears. Made them into "sticks". Kids love anything that's stick-shaped.
Papa 5 months ago
My children also went through a spell where they didn't want to eat vegetables. My wife would put them in a blender, add the results to tomato sauce, and put it over pasta. They never knew the difference.
Load More Replies... Robin Roper 5 months ago
The Chocolate Chip Cookies I make and everyone raves about are made from a recipe published in Consumer Reports about 40 year ago. The ingredients are the same as the one on the chocolate chip bag but the process different. Everyone says they are the absolute best chocolate chip cookies they have ever tasted.
Deborah B 5 months ago
Add a tablespoon of lemon juice, and a tablespoon of tahini to a pot of leek and potato soup, as well as some grated cheese. You can't taste the lemon or seseme, but it gives it a much more satisfying flavour profile. I also use ham stock, and add bacon, unless I'm cooking with vegetarians.
Roxy222uk 5 months ago
I never thought of putting tahini into soup, thank you. It gets bought for one or two recipes and then just sits in the cupboard.
Load More Replies... BrownEyedPanda 5 months ago (edited)
Three "secrets" I have in my arsenal for cooking: 1) Adding liquid smoke to hamburger meat and chicken not only enhances the flavor, but makes it easier for spices to stick to the meat. 2) A tablespoon of espresso powder added to any goods baked with chocolate makes you a culinary genius. 3) TIME. A lot of recipes take a considerable amount of time to complete correctly. An occasional shortcut is acceptable, as long as it doesn't compromise the outcome. In baking, I use Rapid-Rise yeast, sour milk in place of buttermilk (occasionally), and premix dry ingredients to save time. But that's about the extent of cutting corners. Otherwise, I make the time to bake and cook. As everyone already knows, home-cooked is so much better than store-bought.
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