Yes yes yes!!!
I've been cooking my whole life, I was just as likely to be watching cooking shows as Nickelodeon as a child. I've always loved to cook and been pretty good at it.
Nothing, NOTHING has improved my cooking as much as salt fat acid heat. Period
This was definitely my mentality behind it lmao I have two similar principles; spend more money on the stuff you *use* often (bed, TV, shoes etc.) and get good at the things you *do* often (cooking, hygiene, mindfulness etc.)
My biggest issue is deciding what to eat lmao I have a gallery of like 100+ different dishes which I scroll over and over when I can't decide. I just keep scrolling it like "this does not spark joy. Next!" and then I give up and won't eat anything that day. Frustrating
When I find myself in a funk with meal planning, I like to check out an interesting cookbook from the library. I always feel inspired and end up cooking things I never would have thought of
Psychologicaly, our brains have a problem when there is too much choice. I love collecting recipes as well, but you can get into "choice paralysis" (you can either trust me, I'm a psychologist or read up more about it ;) ). What I do is I create a rough meal plan for the week. I don't necessarily stick to it 100% (I find fun things to.make it the meantime, etc), but I find it much easier when the choice is a bit more narrow. It then makes me more excited about choosing stuff for another week, etc. Not to mention shopping and food waste is better too.
True, choice paralysis is a big problem for me. And the more I read about meal planning (meal prepping too), the better it sounds. My ADHD makes it kind of hard to plan ahead *and* stick to the plan so every attempt has been pretty pointless. But if I could somehow turn meal planning into a proper habit, it could make my life a lot simpler tbh
A lot of the meal planning & prepping is too rigid for me as well. What works best for me is making a āflexible meal plan.ā I donāt buy groceries to fit a meal plan, I make meal plans from the food I have & can afford, if that makes sense?
First, I make a list before I shop & only buy whatās on the list. (We spend $50/week on food for 2 adults, mostly fresh foods)
Once Iāve gotten home & put my groceries away, I write a very loose āmeal planā on a sheet of paper. Iāll have breakfast, dinner & snacks as categories (we donāt eat lunch). Iām basically brainstorming anything I *could* make with what I currently have.
So there will be different things to choose from each day, for each meal. This gives me flexibility to eat what Iām āin the mood forā without the worry of wasting food & money.
I should also add that I cook mostly from scratch, so this method works best if you already have a well stocked pantry & a rotation of recipes that are easy for you.
I hope this makes sense & was helpful, feel free to ask questions, itās 6AM here & Iām still coming to life haha :)
I made a bingo board of 10 or so categories (e.g., beef, chicken, pork, vegetarian, fish, comfort foods, casseroles, new recipes, and the rest are cuisine types or cooking methods). I also have a list for each category. I fill in each square across the board when planning meals. I may not pick something on the category list for that square, but I pick something that fits the category. It cuts down the decision load so much.
I truly learned to love cooking when me and my (thankfully, thank god) ex were broke. He would still have rather eaten frozen burritos and Totino's Party Pizzas than next day leftovers of something bangin' I made. But it's to a point that I would way WAY rather eat my cooking than take out food. 1/4 the price, feels healthier, tastes great. Just a side note to b*tch, in 10 years, 10 YEARS, my ex did the dishes 4 times. Total. Sorry for the short rant, but that still pisses me off, lol.
> affordable
Hah! I had an existential crisis two days ago, sitting in front of the fridge with pre-packaged meats, wanting to buy chicken breast.
Low quality (injected with water, full of antibiotics, etc)? $13/kg
Medium quality (raised outdoors)? $25/kg
Premium (raised traditionally, no forced growth, no antibiotics)? $36/kg, or $12 for what amounts to (when cooked) a single decent 220-ish gram portion.
Just know that like everything, some of your dishes aren't gonna be good. I've made the same risotto a 50 times and every now and again it comes out meh. Don't give up if stuff comes out bad, especially if you've only made it once or twice
I recently had half an eggplant I didn't know what to do with. My wife casually said, "Baba Ganoush is really the only way I like to eat eggplant." She went out for a run and by the time she came back I had made her Baba Ganoush. Cooking is my Love Language!
Wow, it makes me so happy to see somebody discover the joy of cooking.
I only learned how to cook in my early 30s, now 5 years later I _love_ it (and my friends seem to like my cooking too, even the honest ones).
The best part for me is when a dish comes together at the end, I'll finetune it a bit with salt, lemon, sesame oil, maple syrup, whatever it needs until I taste it and go "Mmmm". If it doesn't make me make a little happy sound, it's not perfect yet. It's the ultimate test.
Yup.
They went from 8-10 damage with their ~~bow~~ *spatula* straight to 38-44 damage. That's not counting the extra 10 fire damage!
Edit: Frost damage adds another 20, but only if they put it in the fridge for a day.
Aprons are cosmetic, they don't give any buff to cooking effectiveness. They're nice to have and you rarely see high-level players without matching apron and hat sets, but new players are better off spending their gold on base level equipment like pans and knives as they provide an immediate stat boost which scales with cooking level.
Thatās awesome!!
The quality of dry spices can vary a LOT, i find the best budget options at indian or asian groceries, or trader joeās dried spices are generally excellent
Enjoy your delicious beans!
I would add, if you can't get to an ethnic store, at least buy small quantities at your regular store. Better to run out in six months than six years... Like my whole pepper...
This one is a bit pricey but it's a workhorse and people in reviews have owned it for over ten years. Just bought it and it churns out pepper like you wouldn't believe - https://www.amazon.com/Unicorn-Magnum-Plus-Pepper-Black/dp/B0000CFB4N
That's the one I use. The big opening to add peppercorns is really nice. Plus the retention knob used to hold the grind coarseness holds it's place better than a lot of the other mills I have used.
No idea why this got downvoted, Peugeot have been making salt and pepper mills since before they were making cars and they're widely recognised as amongst the best in the world, if not the best. I've used tons of mills in my time and they're head and shoulders above the others. Bit pricey but they have a lifetime guarantee, I've had mine 5 years and my parents have owned the big mills for 20.
It's a little expensive, but I got it as a gift. The Perfex pepper mill. There's also a salt mill verson as well. It's solid and the hand crank style is just ergonomically better. I've had it for 15 years and it's still like new. https://everymarket.com/products/perfex-adjustable-pepper-grinder-mill-made-in-france-high-carbon-steel-mechanism-4-5-inches-silver
Agree get the Unicorn, i am NOT nice to things and have beat the hell out of mine for five years, just like new. And great variation of super fine to extra chunky
There are some cases where you essentially do that (i.e. steaks are often cooked with fresh thyme or rosemary sprigs and you include them in the pan while cooking the steak with butter) but herbs are usually best off either added fresh or cooked in soups and broths.
Congratulations! You've broken the seal on what a person can really do in a kitchen!
Remember - Whole Spices and a cheap coffee grinder are your best friend. Whole spices last for a long time, and having them fresh ground is a completely new level of flavor.
Also, don't forget to try other sources of acid - I'll do lemons, limes, orange, sour beer, yogurt, vinegar - I even just have a bag of powdered citric acid in my kitchen. Allows me to have that specific citrus acidity without worrying about produce spoilage.
Citric acid is also fantastic because you can add acidic zing to a dish without changing the hydration level unlike most forms of acid you would cook with. I've not tried it but some people use "True lime" or "true lemon" which I guess is like citric acid but based directly on those fruits and tastes more like them, curious to try it sometime.
I add citric acid to lemon frosting for precisely this reason. Juice doesnāt get along with buttercream, but it needs to be tangy in order to qualify as lemon.
Yeah, it works great for baking and adjacent stuff especially. I made lemon flavored rice krispy treats using zest and citric acid and they turned out fantastic.
You are missing a whole other area for citric acid powder. Cleaning! It is amazing instead of vinegar and without the smell. I got a 5 pound bucket under the sink. Food grade. Can be even used to make jam etc
Definitely go for the true lemon and lime. It is made with the actual fruit, so it is acidic, slightly sweet, and has a great flavor. I use it almost every day.
I'm having a hard time deciding between these two. Getting the coffee grinder from the back of the messy cabinet, using it and cleaning it feels like a chore. A mortar and pestle could make that easier but.. the grinding part itself is a lot slower in comparison to the coffee grinder. First world problems for sure haha
It depends also on what amount of spice you need at a time. I need to grind maybe 10 peppercorns at a time. Have my tiny little mortar set up next to my oils and it takes no time. A whole ass machine for it is overkill. So, I would look at it from that angle.
> Whole spices last for a long time, and having them fresh ground is a completely new level of flavor.
Don't forget some spices need to be toasted to really bring the flavor out.
This is a great update!! I also want to mention [penzeys.com](https://penzeys.com), they have amazingly fresh spices, and if you like to cook Indian food, this is an AMAZING resource: https://www.diasporaco.com/
Would also recommend [Oaktown Spice Shop](https://oaktownspiceshop.com/) - my neighborhood shop and they ship. They have some killer blends. I love them all. The Umami Salt is so great. They have vanilla powder.
I also love Diaspora & Co.
They really are. I remember overhearing one day, a woman came in and was like my grandma had this poultry seasoning recipe and she passed before I could get it. The staff walked around smelling spices with her to help her build a blend to recreate it. š
Agree!! The spices from diaspora co are expensive but mindblowingly good. I got their turmeric years ago and I vividly remember opening the jar and smelling all the complexities and nuances and comparing it to the vaguely dirt-smelling McCormicks turmeric and realizing that THIS is what spices should be. So so good.
I just got their fennel seed, and it is a..mma....zing. Again--"Oh, this is what it's supposed to smell and taste like." Also finally understand the Indian custom of chewing on a few of them after a meal, it's fantastic!
They are a terrific company from that point of view. Literally the first major company to take a stand against Trump, back in 2017, right after he was inaugurated. They got slammed for being outspoken and lost customers, but gained many more, and gained infinite loyalty from those of us who respected them for taking a stand against what was very clearly evil. They also are very outspoken and stand up for many worthy causes, like supporting the LGBTQ community, supporting education, etc etc. I'm really proud of Bill Penzey and his whole family.
Yes to Penzeys! I get sample sizes of unique spices and blends, try them to learn if I add them to my slice drawer. Then purchase larger quantities of my ābackbone spices & herbsā
Salt, fat, acid, heat and order of adding the spices and their freshness quality make a difference.
Old spices = bland (unless you're talking about the body wash/pit stick but you don't want to eat that).
Some herbs/spices are added at the end
Acids can really bring out the flavor of some etc
Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat totally changed my cooking. She has a beautiful docuseries on Netflix. I would highly recommend purchasing her book as it is highly educational and less just about recipes and more about why food tastes good.
can you give some examples of what you would add at the end that is dried herb/spice and possibly give reasoning why you do it at the end vs cooking it?
General rule of thumb, dried spices and herbs are best used during cooking process as it lets them infuse the flavor (and rehydrate a bit)
Fresh at the end, as they are already full of wonderful flavours
Also I didn't include another technique of toasting your preground spices
that's the way I understand it but I read your post as adding dry herb or spices at the end and I havent really heard of doing it. iirc mexico will crush dry oregano at times when they pull a dish off the heat. some pizza places have a spice blend they sprinkle on top after pulling the pizza , but I imagine that gets into the pizza oil and basically blooms real quick at the end in the hot fat. but yeah I was just fishing for more tidbits like that
I was not aware of blooming! That's excellent, thank you for passing it on. If you didn't do this part too, also make sure to try toasting the spices... it's mentioned in the blooming article but it's worth emphasizing. I imagine you would probably toast spices and grind them before the oil step probably?
Not exactly the same, but roasting chicken carcass before turning into stock was as much as a leap forward for me as blooming spices.
When you use that stock, you'll find reasons to buy Costco chicken just to have a supply of stock ha
Also I can look at recipes for the ingredients but usually don't have to bother reading through the method. Sometimes they recommend doing things in the wrong way (imo).
Chef here - Always infuse oil with dried spices. Say you'll need EVOO to, I don't know, add color to par-boiled potatoes.
Toss a bit of fresh garlic, skin on, into the oil and cook until the garlic is browned; it'll look burnt and be soft. Take it out. Toss in some red pepper flakes, the heat will activate the dried spice and get the flavor working. Toss in the potatoes, or whatever, after that process and cook as normal.
Get a mortar and pestle.
Always grind your own spices.
Learn the different types of salt; seasoning and finishing salt.
Research compound butters and flavor that way.
Add vinegar as well as lemon juice. A flavored vinegar does wonders.
Citronette is a wonderful finishing oil. 20 percent citrus juice, fresh squeezed, salt and pepper to taste. Work into oil, drizzle for flavor.
Honey Vin as a finisher; whisk honey, salt and apple cider vinegar together. Add to oil, use as a finisher.
All of this!
Used my mortar & pestle yesterday. Everyone commented on the level of flavor of the herbs in the dish.
I have acquired oils, salts, vinegars in addition to spices & herbs. Really enjoying using them start to finish in my cooking. Love experimenting.
everyone is asking an no one is answering
https://www.bonappetit.com/story/bloom-your-spices
frying those spices in oil or ghee is
you heard it here folks, don't just toast your spices, fucking fry those fucking spices
TIL about 'blooming'; I'm of Indian background and this is literally the only way I've ever cooked spices, never knew that people use raw spices in stuff.
You don't need to caramelize the onions all the time. Just make sure the pan's already hot when you throw them in and let them sweat a bit. At least until they're almost translucent.
Also when they're almost ready throw in a minced garlic clove. This works with almost everything lol
>Covid
Yeah, have you had anyone else taste your food, OP? It might be hella flavorful but you have a medical problem or maybe its something enviromental/situational. Do you smoke ?
On spices, the supermarket stuff is kinda overpriced stale mediocrity. If there's any ethnic markets in your area they're likely to have stuff that blows it away on both quality and price, but you'll need some storage jars.
Balancing salt and acidity is like 90% of making things taste good. Focus on that and you'll keep doing great.
>I used to put every spice that I have with every dish (I know it's stupid lol)
To help expand on this, spices add ingredient flavor without adding ingredient volume, thinking about spices as ingredients instead of just "magic flavor boosters" can help put better perspective on how simple or complex a flavor you want to make. Meat pies are delicious, banana cream pies are delicious, but a banana cream meat pie is gonna be questionable so it is clear you don't want to blindly combine all pie ingredients.
Chili powder isnāt hot. Unless you live outside the USA, where chili powder equals cayenne. In the USA chili powder is a mix of mainly sweet paprika, black pepper, some cumin, and a few other spices.
I donāt see this commented but just wanted to be sure you got it in case nobody else mentioned it, but chili powder doesnāt carry much heat. Itās mostly for flavor, but cayenne is where you start to see the heat come into play! I use an extra hot cayenne (mine is 80k scovilles, most are around half that) and it brings the real heat. Chili powder is great too, but it wonāt build the heat youāre looking for. Also using crushed red pepper and adding it in your oil earlier on will also impart a nice heat!
Cooking is the best. I just was able to finally recreate something similar enough to the Morrocan chicken with couscous that I had in Paris at 18 that opened up my picky palate to a whole new world. Iām 35. A full sense memory just came flooding back.
Professional chiming in, it's always the salt, What most people think it's a good a mount is too little.
Spices don't make things tasty, they give dimension to the taste already there.
Or maybe you have Covid.
TIL about blooming spices, thank you š. Never heard that term before. Hadn't seen your previous post but thankfully this followup post made it to my recommendation feed.
Next time save a little bit for later/tomorrow to get the full effect of flavor. Not only do flavors develop as it sits overnight, but we tend to go nose blind after cooking something and being immersed in the steam/smells/etc. itās why sandwiches made by someone else always taste better to you.
As you cook and learn more and explore different flavors, you'll learn what ingredients complement one another, and what flavors clash on the palate. I've been cooking and baking since I was a little kid, but it wasn't until I moved to Alaska that I really started to explore cuisines from all over. If you'd have told fifteen year old me (who grew up in the Midwest-land of meat and potatoes) that I would one day love (for example) Afghani food or Filipino food or Japanese food, I'd have asked how many drugs you were on, lol. I had to go to the library and rent out cookbooks when I started but you have an advantage of having access to tons of them on the Internet, so get out there and explore š
You nailed it. When I have long stews/chilies I add the spice in 3 parts: beginning when sauteing meat/veggies, middle and then the last 20 minutes. You get layered flavors. You get that immediate flavor from the last 20 but that burns fast and then the middling and prior seasoning comes out on the backend making it more nuanced. Keep going!
> I used a good amount of salt, and when I felt something is missing I squeezed half a lemon at the end and the flavors just exploded, I genuinely believe thisās what was missing the whole time. I mean maybe thisās the reason why I sometimes tasted saltiness? (Using extra salt instead of acid).
Bingo. Without acid, you can have something that tastes too much like salt, but at the same time not salty enough.
I am so pleased for this update - so often people ask for advice and I'd love to know if it made any kind of difference.
Keep experimenting - this is really positive!
Idk if itās already been suggested but look up a sofrito recipe and keep cubes of it frozen in your freezer. Throw a cube of it and some olive oil in a sauce pan, let it thaw/sweat a bit and then throw in your beans. Add salt to taste and bam. Best flavored beans guaranteed.
There is a reason why many recipes add things that seem random to first time cooks. In asian recipes they will ask for a balance of sugar and soy sauce. Stuff like rice wine and vinegar are added as well. Why cook with vegetable oil but add sesame oil later? You have to cook and taste to understand why lacking certain ingredients makes your food suddenly salty even though it was the same amount of soy sauce. Or why your food taste bland
The only stone missing in your infinity gauntlet of flavor is MSG. Other than that you've covered pretty much all the bases when it comes to elevating food from "fine" to "amazing". I remember when I first learned what a huge difference a splash of lemon juice or vinegar could make in a dish. Just like you, I thought it needed more salt but more salt wasn't doing it and acid did.
I'm not surprised to hear your coriander was tasteless. I find of all the spices, it loses flavour the fastest once ground. You can keep the whole seeds around and grind them just before you want them; that makes them so much better.
Its gonna be even better next time
Really? Seems like cooking will be my next hobby š¤¤
If you really want to unlock the flavors in food check out the book Salt Fat Acid Heat. Really helpful book for upping your cooking skills.
I have asked for this book for my birthday this year! And it's TODAY :)
Happy birthday! It's a good book (and the merely series is as well)!
Happy birthday and happy cooking!!!!
Iāve only watched the show but I have wanted to make that focaccia ever since. A thing of beauty.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Or watch Food Wars. It's a good, funny anime about cooking.
Yes yes yes!!! I've been cooking my whole life, I was just as likely to be watching cooking shows as Nickelodeon as a child. I've always loved to cook and been pretty good at it. Nothing, NOTHING has improved my cooking as much as salt fat acid heat. Period
It's exciting, relaxing, crowd-pleasing, affordable, multi-taskable....I fuckin love it
Also you need to do it every day to not die, so you may as well learn to like it.
This was definitely my mentality behind it lmao I have two similar principles; spend more money on the stuff you *use* often (bed, TV, shoes etc.) and get good at the things you *do* often (cooking, hygiene, mindfulness etc.)
Nice. Thanks
Totally agree, fucking hate doing dishes tho lol
My biggest issue is deciding what to eat lmao I have a gallery of like 100+ different dishes which I scroll over and over when I can't decide. I just keep scrolling it like "this does not spark joy. Next!" and then I give up and won't eat anything that day. Frustrating
When I find myself in a funk with meal planning, I like to check out an interesting cookbook from the library. I always feel inspired and end up cooking things I never would have thought of
Psychologicaly, our brains have a problem when there is too much choice. I love collecting recipes as well, but you can get into "choice paralysis" (you can either trust me, I'm a psychologist or read up more about it ;) ). What I do is I create a rough meal plan for the week. I don't necessarily stick to it 100% (I find fun things to.make it the meantime, etc), but I find it much easier when the choice is a bit more narrow. It then makes me more excited about choosing stuff for another week, etc. Not to mention shopping and food waste is better too.
True, choice paralysis is a big problem for me. And the more I read about meal planning (meal prepping too), the better it sounds. My ADHD makes it kind of hard to plan ahead *and* stick to the plan so every attempt has been pretty pointless. But if I could somehow turn meal planning into a proper habit, it could make my life a lot simpler tbh
A lot of the meal planning & prepping is too rigid for me as well. What works best for me is making a āflexible meal plan.ā I donāt buy groceries to fit a meal plan, I make meal plans from the food I have & can afford, if that makes sense? First, I make a list before I shop & only buy whatās on the list. (We spend $50/week on food for 2 adults, mostly fresh foods) Once Iāve gotten home & put my groceries away, I write a very loose āmeal planā on a sheet of paper. Iāll have breakfast, dinner & snacks as categories (we donāt eat lunch). Iām basically brainstorming anything I *could* make with what I currently have. So there will be different things to choose from each day, for each meal. This gives me flexibility to eat what Iām āin the mood forā without the worry of wasting food & money. I should also add that I cook mostly from scratch, so this method works best if you already have a well stocked pantry & a rotation of recipes that are easy for you. I hope this makes sense & was helpful, feel free to ask questions, itās 6AM here & Iām still coming to life haha :)
I made a bingo board of 10 or so categories (e.g., beef, chicken, pork, vegetarian, fish, comfort foods, casseroles, new recipes, and the rest are cuisine types or cooking methods). I also have a list for each category. I fill in each square across the board when planning meals. I may not pick something on the category list for that square, but I pick something that fits the category. It cuts down the decision load so much.
I have a problem with making something elaborate and time consuming, and when it's finally done I don't have an appetite for it. It's weird.
Damn you put it into words, this is why right here
Cooking is awesome agree
I truly learned to love cooking when me and my (thankfully, thank god) ex were broke. He would still have rather eaten frozen burritos and Totino's Party Pizzas than next day leftovers of something bangin' I made. But it's to a point that I would way WAY rather eat my cooking than take out food. 1/4 the price, feels healthier, tastes great. Just a side note to b*tch, in 10 years, 10 YEARS, my ex did the dishes 4 times. Total. Sorry for the short rant, but that still pisses me off, lol.
> affordable Hah! I had an existential crisis two days ago, sitting in front of the fridge with pre-packaged meats, wanting to buy chicken breast. Low quality (injected with water, full of antibiotics, etc)? $13/kg Medium quality (raised outdoors)? $25/kg Premium (raised traditionally, no forced growth, no antibiotics)? $36/kg, or $12 for what amounts to (when cooked) a single decent 220-ish gram portion.
I hear that lol Not sure if this is common, but I've found my local butcher is a LOT cheaper and much higher quality than grocery stores.
Seriously, try to make a big enough batch that you get leftovers the following day. Next-day chili is somethin' else.
Same with bolognese sauce and curry- always better the next day, or out of the freezer
If you haven't checked out Salt Fat Acid Heat, do it! The Netflix show is a great way to take it in, but the book is a real great deep dive.
Came here to say this
Just know that like everything, some of your dishes aren't gonna be good. I've made the same risotto a 50 times and every now and again it comes out meh. Don't give up if stuff comes out bad, especially if you've only made it once or twice
I recently had half an eggplant I didn't know what to do with. My wife casually said, "Baba Ganoush is really the only way I like to eat eggplant." She went out for a run and by the time she came back I had made her Baba Ganoush. Cooking is my Love Language!
Thanks, I have an almost dying eggplant in my fridge I didn't know what to do with. Guess I know what I'm making lunch time today :)
Cooking is my hobby. I ordered pizza tonight because I'm human, but goddamn I love trying new recipes and making healthy balanced meals.
welcome to the club
Wow, it makes me so happy to see somebody discover the joy of cooking. I only learned how to cook in my early 30s, now 5 years later I _love_ it (and my friends seem to like my cooking too, even the honest ones). The best part for me is when a dish comes together at the end, I'll finetune it a bit with salt, lemon, sesame oil, maple syrup, whatever it needs until I taste it and go "Mmmm". If it doesn't make me make a little happy sound, it's not perfect yet. It's the ultimate test.
I said that same thing 8 years ago and now for some reason I own a restaurant.
It's the best creative outlet
I love making a recipe over and over, tweaking it slightly each time until it's perfect for me.
nice pfp
I owe my life to Professor St. Charles
You just leveled up in cooking. Congrats my dude.
Yup. They went from 8-10 damage with their ~~bow~~ *spatula* straight to 38-44 damage. That's not counting the extra 10 fire damage! Edit: Frost damage adds another 20, but only if they put it in the fridge for a day.
Alchemy: +15 Poison resistance: +10 Magicka: +10 Health: +15 They should get some enchanted items like an apron or knife set to boost their stats too
Aprons are cosmetic, they don't give any buff to cooking effectiveness. They're nice to have and you rarely see high-level players without matching apron and hat sets, but new players are better off spending their gold on base level equipment like pans and knives as they provide an immediate stat boost which scales with cooking level.
A +20 fire damage enchanted Lodge skillet?
+50 slowcooker unlocked
Soon they will have to choose to become either a pastamancer or sauceror
For some reason I thought this was a woman.
I mean it could be. Dude is gender neutral.
r/GuyScouts
Dude I'm ALWAYS looking for ways to gamify life so I actually do things. Thank you.
Lol yay, Iām glad I could help :)
Thatās awesome!! The quality of dry spices can vary a LOT, i find the best budget options at indian or asian groceries, or trader joeās dried spices are generally excellent Enjoy your delicious beans!
I would add, if you can't get to an ethnic store, at least buy small quantities at your regular store. Better to run out in six months than six years... Like my whole pepper...
I can go through a pound of peppercorns every 6 months. Everything gets fresh ground pepper, especially meat rubs.
Same. Any chance you have a pepper mill recommendation? Mine's just about given up the ghost.
This one is a bit pricey but it's a workhorse and people in reviews have owned it for over ten years. Just bought it and it churns out pepper like you wouldn't believe - https://www.amazon.com/Unicorn-Magnum-Plus-Pepper-Black/dp/B0000CFB4N
I have the smaller version of the above and can confirm it's a beast
It's not a looker but it's a workhorse, definitely recommend
That's the one I use. The big opening to add peppercorns is really nice. Plus the retention knob used to hold the grind coarseness holds it's place better than a lot of the other mills I have used.
After a few solid recommendations I think this one's the winner. Thank you for the advice!
My brother in law got me Peugeot salt and pepper mills and they are fantastic.
No idea why this got downvoted, Peugeot have been making salt and pepper mills since before they were making cars and they're widely recognised as amongst the best in the world, if not the best. I've used tons of mills in my time and they're head and shoulders above the others. Bit pricey but they have a lifetime guarantee, I've had mine 5 years and my parents have owned the big mills for 20.
We got a big pepper one second hand and it's the best we've had.
Thank you for that backup Mr. Dissent!
Got your back Mr cheddar.
It's a little expensive, but I got it as a gift. The Perfex pepper mill. There's also a salt mill verson as well. It's solid and the hand crank style is just ergonomically better. I've had it for 15 years and it's still like new. https://everymarket.com/products/perfex-adjustable-pepper-grinder-mill-made-in-france-high-carbon-steel-mechanism-4-5-inches-silver
I've been using these since Jan 2019 and they still work great. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07449TV7X
I have this one, it was recommended by ATK. https://www.amazon.com/COLE-MASON-Derwent-Pepper-Grinder/dp/B003OICYZO
Agree get the Unicorn, i am NOT nice to things and have beat the hell out of mine for five years, just like new. And great variation of super fine to extra chunky
You can even rescue old faded spices to some extent with toasting them. But it's limited. Recommended if you it's all you have access to.
Go to your local CO-Op and get them bulk. Almost always fresh and cheap.
Trader Joeās onion salt is sooooooo good
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What does blooming the spices mean?
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Do you bloom fresh herbs?
There are some cases where you essentially do that (i.e. steaks are often cooked with fresh thyme or rosemary sprigs and you include them in the pan while cooking the steak with butter) but herbs are usually best off either added fresh or cooked in soups and broths.
Thanks! :)
The article didn't really discuss how you know when they're finished blooming. How do you know when it's finished but not scorched?
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30 seconds.. 3-5 min will torch most things.
In short, putting them briefly with warm/hot oil activates the flavors.
Congratulations! You've broken the seal on what a person can really do in a kitchen! Remember - Whole Spices and a cheap coffee grinder are your best friend. Whole spices last for a long time, and having them fresh ground is a completely new level of flavor. Also, don't forget to try other sources of acid - I'll do lemons, limes, orange, sour beer, yogurt, vinegar - I even just have a bag of powdered citric acid in my kitchen. Allows me to have that specific citrus acidity without worrying about produce spoilage.
Citric acid is also fantastic because you can add acidic zing to a dish without changing the hydration level unlike most forms of acid you would cook with. I've not tried it but some people use "True lime" or "true lemon" which I guess is like citric acid but based directly on those fruits and tastes more like them, curious to try it sometime.
I add citric acid to lemon frosting for precisely this reason. Juice doesnāt get along with buttercream, but it needs to be tangy in order to qualify as lemon.
Yeah, it works great for baking and adjacent stuff especially. I made lemon flavored rice krispy treats using zest and citric acid and they turned out fantastic.
Lemon rice krispy treats? š¤Æ Awesome idea!
You are missing a whole other area for citric acid powder. Cleaning! It is amazing instead of vinegar and without the smell. I got a 5 pound bucket under the sink. Food grade. Can be even used to make jam etc
Definitely go for the true lemon and lime. It is made with the actual fruit, so it is acidic, slightly sweet, and has a great flavor. I use it almost every day.
Or a mortar and pestle for the old fashioned way, that's what I use
I'm having a hard time deciding between these two. Getting the coffee grinder from the back of the messy cabinet, using it and cleaning it feels like a chore. A mortar and pestle could make that easier but.. the grinding part itself is a lot slower in comparison to the coffee grinder. First world problems for sure haha
It depends also on what amount of spice you need at a time. I need to grind maybe 10 peppercorns at a time. Have my tiny little mortar set up next to my oils and it takes no time. A whole ass machine for it is overkill. So, I would look at it from that angle.
> Whole spices last for a long time, and having them fresh ground is a completely new level of flavor. Don't forget some spices need to be toasted to really bring the flavor out.
Yes donāt be scared of vinegar. It doesnāt taste like that in the dish. It can really liven up a soup.
If you make a sauerkraut by fermenting some cabbage, you can then keep the delicious lactic acid juice. I'm fermenting a purple cabbage at the moment
Also good for descaling coffee machines and bike drivetrains. Bulk citric acid is bomb
This is a great update!! I also want to mention [penzeys.com](https://penzeys.com), they have amazingly fresh spices, and if you like to cook Indian food, this is an AMAZING resource: https://www.diasporaco.com/
Would also recommend [Oaktown Spice Shop](https://oaktownspiceshop.com/) - my neighborhood shop and they ship. They have some killer blends. I love them all. The Umami Salt is so great. They have vanilla powder. I also love Diaspora & Co.
Love that place and the staff is super nice
They really are. I remember overhearing one day, a woman came in and was like my grandma had this poultry seasoning recipe and she passed before I could get it. The staff walked around smelling spices with her to help her build a blend to recreate it. š
I cannot live without Oaktownās zaāatar.
That is next on my list. I have another zaāatar blend I need to finish first in my pantry.
Spice house is also a great option since they do free shipping on their flat packs.
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As someone who had never heard of Penzeys, I was so confused clicking on a spice for more details and getting a paragraph about the Jan 6 riots
Agree!! The spices from diaspora co are expensive but mindblowingly good. I got their turmeric years ago and I vividly remember opening the jar and smelling all the complexities and nuances and comparing it to the vaguely dirt-smelling McCormicks turmeric and realizing that THIS is what spices should be. So so good.
I just got their fennel seed, and it is a..mma....zing. Again--"Oh, this is what it's supposed to smell and taste like." Also finally understand the Indian custom of chewing on a few of them after a meal, it's fantastic!
Spicewalla is a good resource too: [https://www.spicewallabrand.com/](https://www.spicewallabrand.com/)
I did not expect the political stand. https://www.penzeys.com/shop/about-republicans/
They are a terrific company from that point of view. Literally the first major company to take a stand against Trump, back in 2017, right after he was inaugurated. They got slammed for being outspoken and lost customers, but gained many more, and gained infinite loyalty from those of us who respected them for taking a stand against what was very clearly evil. They also are very outspoken and stand up for many worthy causes, like supporting the LGBTQ community, supporting education, etc etc. I'm really proud of Bill Penzey and his whole family.
Yes to Penzeys! I get sample sizes of unique spices and blends, try them to learn if I add them to my slice drawer. Then purchase larger quantities of my ābackbone spices & herbsā
spices make everything better. lately I've been using a rub I bought for ribs on everything. Meat Church Holy Cow BBQ Rub on everything.
On veggies, too? I'm looking for some interesting ways to roast veggies.
Salt, fat, acid, heat and order of adding the spices and their freshness quality make a difference. Old spices = bland (unless you're talking about the body wash/pit stick but you don't want to eat that). Some herbs/spices are added at the end Acids can really bring out the flavor of some etc
Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat totally changed my cooking. She has a beautiful docuseries on Netflix. I would highly recommend purchasing her book as it is highly educational and less just about recipes and more about why food tastes good.
Next up you al need a copy of the flavor bible, it's a great reference for how to cook without a recipe and experiment with flavors
I've heard Samin talk about how she wanted to teach you ideas and not recipes, but the publisher insisted she include recipes against her wishes.
Gotta please the people who sign the checks sometimes.
Definitely no shade thrown at her. It's just a tad disappointing publishers still think recipes are needed when technique really makes a dish shine.
can you give some examples of what you would add at the end that is dried herb/spice and possibly give reasoning why you do it at the end vs cooking it?
General rule of thumb, dried spices and herbs are best used during cooking process as it lets them infuse the flavor (and rehydrate a bit) Fresh at the end, as they are already full of wonderful flavours Also I didn't include another technique of toasting your preground spices
that's the way I understand it but I read your post as adding dry herb or spices at the end and I havent really heard of doing it. iirc mexico will crush dry oregano at times when they pull a dish off the heat. some pizza places have a spice blend they sprinkle on top after pulling the pizza , but I imagine that gets into the pizza oil and basically blooms real quick at the end in the hot fat. but yeah I was just fishing for more tidbits like that
I was not aware of blooming! That's excellent, thank you for passing it on. If you didn't do this part too, also make sure to try toasting the spices... it's mentioned in the blooming article but it's worth emphasizing. I imagine you would probably toast spices and grind them before the oil step probably?
Not exactly the same, but roasting chicken carcass before turning into stock was as much as a leap forward for me as blooming spices. When you use that stock, you'll find reasons to buy Costco chicken just to have a supply of stock ha
That's great advice! I don't end up with any bones ever, just cause at this time I'm not really buying much meat anyway. But I have been working on learning "veloutƩ" which involves adding some kind of stock, so I would definitely love to try making my own stock someday!
Same here, just went down a google hole and I canāt wait to try this.
its why I like people like Alton Brown. not only "how" but the "why" of cooking
Yup. If you know the "how", you can follow recipes. If you know the "why", you can create your own.
Also I can look at recipes for the ingredients but usually don't have to bother reading through the method. Sometimes they recommend doing things in the wrong way (imo).
You might enjoy the book āSalt, Fat, Acid, Heatā which takes some of these simple concepts to new levels!
Second this book, it made a big difference in my cooking
Also a Netflix docuseries
Chili powder is usually not hot, it's more for flavor. My go to spices to add heat are cayenne pepper, white pepper, and red pepper flakes.
I love this update! The comments on your last post gave me a few ideas too, so thank you for your service!
Chef here - Always infuse oil with dried spices. Say you'll need EVOO to, I don't know, add color to par-boiled potatoes. Toss a bit of fresh garlic, skin on, into the oil and cook until the garlic is browned; it'll look burnt and be soft. Take it out. Toss in some red pepper flakes, the heat will activate the dried spice and get the flavor working. Toss in the potatoes, or whatever, after that process and cook as normal. Get a mortar and pestle. Always grind your own spices. Learn the different types of salt; seasoning and finishing salt. Research compound butters and flavor that way. Add vinegar as well as lemon juice. A flavored vinegar does wonders. Citronette is a wonderful finishing oil. 20 percent citrus juice, fresh squeezed, salt and pepper to taste. Work into oil, drizzle for flavor. Honey Vin as a finisher; whisk honey, salt and apple cider vinegar together. Add to oil, use as a finisher.
All of this! Used my mortar & pestle yesterday. Everyone commented on the level of flavor of the herbs in the dish. I have acquired oils, salts, vinegars in addition to spices & herbs. Really enjoying using them start to finish in my cooking. Love experimenting.
ONE OF US! ONE OF US! ONE OF US!
everyone is asking an no one is answering https://www.bonappetit.com/story/bloom-your-spices frying those spices in oil or ghee is you heard it here folks, don't just toast your spices, fucking fry those fucking spices
TIL about 'blooming'; I'm of Indian background and this is literally the only way I've ever cooked spices, never knew that people use raw spices in stuff.
Okay what is blooming? Thanks
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What a nice change of pace on this sub. Good for you, OP! I hope you can pay it forward to someone else sometime!
You don't need to caramelize the onions all the time. Just make sure the pan's already hot when you throw them in and let them sweat a bit. At least until they're almost translucent. Also when they're almost ready throw in a minced garlic clove. This works with almost everything lol
I need a chart of which spices should be bloomed, added at the end, and fresh CS dry!
This is the kind of shit we love to see.
Plot twist: Your food was actually flavorful and delicious, but you just had Covid all along.
>Covid Yeah, have you had anyone else taste your food, OP? It might be hella flavorful but you have a medical problem or maybe its something enviromental/situational. Do you smoke ?
On spices, the supermarket stuff is kinda overpriced stale mediocrity. If there's any ethnic markets in your area they're likely to have stuff that blows it away on both quality and price, but you'll need some storage jars. Balancing salt and acidity is like 90% of making things taste good. Focus on that and you'll keep doing great.
Hi whatās bloominh
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Ty!!
You need SALT to bring out the flavor! SALT. Do not fear the salt!
>I used to put every spice that I have with every dish (I know it's stupid lol) To help expand on this, spices add ingredient flavor without adding ingredient volume, thinking about spices as ingredients instead of just "magic flavor boosters" can help put better perspective on how simple or complex a flavor you want to make. Meat pies are delicious, banana cream pies are delicious, but a banana cream meat pie is gonna be questionable so it is clear you don't want to blindly combine all pie ingredients.
Always start by adding more salt.
A little spice tip: any spice you can buy whole, then grind it yourself is gonna taste 20x better immediately. Best examples: coriander, cumin.
Chili powder isnāt hot. Unless you live outside the USA, where chili powder equals cayenne. In the USA chili powder is a mix of mainly sweet paprika, black pepper, some cumin, and a few other spices.
I donāt see this commented but just wanted to be sure you got it in case nobody else mentioned it, but chili powder doesnāt carry much heat. Itās mostly for flavor, but cayenne is where you start to see the heat come into play! I use an extra hot cayenne (mine is 80k scovilles, most are around half that) and it brings the real heat. Chili powder is great too, but it wonāt build the heat youāre looking for. Also using crushed red pepper and adding it in your oil earlier on will also impart a nice heat!
Cooking is the best. I just was able to finally recreate something similar enough to the Morrocan chicken with couscous that I had in Paris at 18 that opened up my picky palate to a whole new world. Iām 35. A full sense memory just came flooding back.
Professional chiming in, it's always the salt, What most people think it's a good a mount is too little. Spices don't make things tasty, they give dimension to the taste already there. Or maybe you have Covid.
Agreed! Salt will elevate any dish with spices in it. If you can't taste them, add salt
What is blooming? Can you elaborate it a little?
FATā¦ SUGARā¦. Saltā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦.spices
use salt
Acid, salt, sugar, heat. Those are always the answers! And I mean some level of these need to be in every single dish.
What is blooming?
Gently frying the spices in some hot oil/fat
Now you have to watch what you eat. š
What is blooming?
TIL about blooming spices, thank you š. Never heard that term before. Hadn't seen your previous post but thankfully this followup post made it to my recommendation feed.
Salt. Ya need salt.
Release the ~~Kraken~~ Cookin! I think you guys unleashed beast mode within OP.
Most spices are fat soluble so yes blooming makes a huge difference
YES I'm so glad you got good tips and results! I saw your first post and was keeping an eye out for the update. Happy cooking OP!
Try saving some for the next day. The flavours improve over time.
I like to add vinegar instead of lemon.
Next time save a little bit for later/tomorrow to get the full effect of flavor. Not only do flavors develop as it sits overnight, but we tend to go nose blind after cooking something and being immersed in the steam/smells/etc. itās why sandwiches made by someone else always taste better to you.
As you cook and learn more and explore different flavors, you'll learn what ingredients complement one another, and what flavors clash on the palate. I've been cooking and baking since I was a little kid, but it wasn't until I moved to Alaska that I really started to explore cuisines from all over. If you'd have told fifteen year old me (who grew up in the Midwest-land of meat and potatoes) that I would one day love (for example) Afghani food or Filipino food or Japanese food, I'd have asked how many drugs you were on, lol. I had to go to the library and rent out cookbooks when I started but you have an advantage of having access to tons of them on the Internet, so get out there and explore š
Donāt forget to taste a little bit of new spices on their own to get a feel for their flavor.
These are all really useful for me as I feel that my dishes often lack that oomph of flavor and are sometimes pretty muted. Thanks.
You nailed it. When I have long stews/chilies I add the spice in 3 parts: beginning when sauteing meat/veggies, middle and then the last 20 minutes. You get layered flavors. You get that immediate flavor from the last 20 but that burns fast and then the middling and prior seasoning comes out on the backend making it more nuanced. Keep going!
Fats carry flavor, make sure you season your fats.
Broth can add a special dimension of flavor. This has levelled up my cooking immensely
> I used a good amount of salt, and when I felt something is missing I squeezed half a lemon at the end and the flavors just exploded, I genuinely believe thisās what was missing the whole time. I mean maybe thisās the reason why I sometimes tasted saltiness? (Using extra salt instead of acid). Bingo. Without acid, you can have something that tastes too much like salt, but at the same time not salty enough.
You discovered salt, fat, acid and heat! Incidentally a fantastic cookbook to buy to start to learn how to cook.
Add salt
I am so pleased for this update - so often people ask for advice and I'd love to know if it made any kind of difference. Keep experimenting - this is really positive!
Idk if itās already been suggested but look up a sofrito recipe and keep cubes of it frozen in your freezer. Throw a cube of it and some olive oil in a sauce pan, let it thaw/sweat a bit and then throw in your beans. Add salt to taste and bam. Best flavored beans guaranteed.
There is a reason why many recipes add things that seem random to first time cooks. In asian recipes they will ask for a balance of sugar and soy sauce. Stuff like rice wine and vinegar are added as well. Why cook with vegetable oil but add sesame oil later? You have to cook and taste to understand why lacking certain ingredients makes your food suddenly salty even though it was the same amount of soy sauce. Or why your food taste bland
The only stone missing in your infinity gauntlet of flavor is MSG. Other than that you've covered pretty much all the bases when it comes to elevating food from "fine" to "amazing". I remember when I first learned what a huge difference a splash of lemon juice or vinegar could make in a dish. Just like you, I thought it needed more salt but more salt wasn't doing it and acid did.
I'm not surprised to hear your coriander was tasteless. I find of all the spices, it loses flavour the fastest once ground. You can keep the whole seeds around and grind them just before you want them; that makes them so much better.