Favorite ingredient

[ouch]

What's your favorite ingredient? Mustard? Chili peppers? Lemon grass? Truffles?

You may make multiple posts, but let's keep it to one ingredient per post. Please include your favorite examples of the breed, and anything else you'd like to add.

I'll start with mushrooms. I nice shitaki or portobello tastes like steak to me, and I love the haunting, earthy fragrance of cepes, morels, and chanterelles. From omelettes to oyster sauce, I'll put 'em in anything.

[Ookla The Mok]

Chives.

You can add chives to almost anything. It is subtle, but it certainly brings something to the table. Also, it makes an otherwise boring looking dish look better. Never underestimate the aesthetics of your food. If it doesn't present well, it doesn't taste as good as it could.

[castlecraver]

Hot sauce. And there's nothing better than the classic Tabasco.

[Texican]

I like shiitake as well. It's bacony-earthy flavor takes well to stews. I use them whenever I make Chankonable stew during Bright Week (the week after Easter). It is a flavorful stew packed with a lot of protein, commonly used by Sumo wrestlers to "bulk up."

[Rayman]

My current favorite is smoked paprika. It's a great way to add color and smokiness to your chili (and maybe other dishes), without adding more heat. So far, I've only used the McCormick brand, but I'm sure there are other brands.

[Jim]

http://www.johnmariani.com/archive/2006/060702/black%20angus.jpg

http://www.dentondesigns.net/images/print/aaa.jpg

[Prof]

Kaffir lime leaves

[Prof]

+1 on the chanterelle mushrooms

[Prof]

Vermouth (instead of white wine). Adds a little something extra, especially when combined with mushrooms and/or shallots.

[Austin]

Hot sauce. And there's nothing better than the classic Tabasco.

Yep!

[Jimro]

Garlic

If you add it at the beginning of a soup/stew or roast it will lose the sharp garlic flavor and turn into something sweet and buttery. Add it late for that classic garlic punch.

Jimro

[liege]

Fresh butter.

[Ookla The Mok]

Garlic

If you add it at the beginning of a soup/stew or roast it will lose the sharp garlic flavor and turn into something sweet and buttery. Add it late for that classic garlic punch.

Jimro

I would have said garlic, but I am Italian. Garlic isn't really an ingredient, it's more of a requirement.

[Shane]

Hamhocks.

[sweetzen]

Onions. White, yellow, red, green... it doesn't matter. And even if you don't want to eat them, they make a great subject for a still life. :biggrin1:

[TimmyBoston]

Cream and/or butter

If that doesn't count: a wide variety of chili peppers

[TimmyBoston]

Hot sauce. And there's nothing better than the classic Tabasco.

Sorry bud, while Tabasco is some tasty stuff on pizza or scrambled eggs it's no where near hot sauce. :w00t:

[Groundhog]

Olive oil.

[farace]

I would have said garlic, but I am Italian. Garlic isn't really an ingredient, it's more of a requirement.

Oh, yes. I agree completely. I try to find the purple garlic, but those and the pink ones aren't that common here, and I generally have to do with the white ones. Also, I prefer the ones with the hard stalk in the middle rather than the ones with cloves that get tinier and tinier the farther in they go.

[scoopster]

A round, smooth stone.

With this stone and all the aforementioned ingredients I'll make a lovely soup, enough for a large forum to feast on.

[scoopster]

OK, seriously the plain, lowly, simple onion - the base for all good cooking.

[Suzuki]

While not my "favourite" ingredient, I find that adding sherry instead of white wine to certain dishes really adds a nice flavour.

In particular, I find that sherry works well with sauces and soups - I generally use a nice dry fino.

[moses]

Put me in the onion camp, I think. So much flavors, and so very versatile.

-Mo

[Prince]

Jalapeno's (pickled or fresh depending on the heat)

[Scotto]

Parmegiano-Reggiano.

[castlecraver]

Sorry bud, while Tabasco is some tasty stuff on pizza or scrambled eggs it's no where near hot sauce. :w00t:

Do you have a favorite? I've tried quite a few of the "too hot to handle" sauces, and while I can usually handle them just fine, I also like to taste the flavor of the sauce and the food. Tabasco to me has the right balance of heat and flavor without overwhelming the dish.

[boboakalfb]

Salt...Kosher, Grey, Sea etc. Without its proper use, food just isn't the same, and don't think you can just add it at the end.

[moses]

Bob pretty much hit the nail on the head. Salt is truly the ubiquitous ingredient. Probably 90% of what we eat includes it. Although some people have to, for most of us who love to cook, it is extremely hard to imagine doing without it.

For my second entry, though, I'm going to go with peppercorns. Just the basic, traditional black pepper is a fantastic way to add a little kick to any number of savory dishes. It can easily be overdone, of course, but in the right amount, it can make all the difference for everything from a ribeye to split pea soup. Even more so than most spices, grinding it when you need it, rather than using pre-ground makes a huge difference.

And, besides the basic black, it should not be forgotten that there is actually a huge variety of peppers, with all sorts of nuances. Red and green are pretty common, but there is a lot more. I forget the name, but I recently came by some wonderful big soft peppercorns with a mild and distinctly fruity flavor that were just amazing in a red wine based sauce for either pork chops or steak.

-Mo

[ouch]

Olives. Put them in pizza, pasta, and salads. Grind them into tapenade. Can't live without them.

[Tiggercat]

Lime.

Whether in a drink, on chicken or fish, in soup, or just about any other way, I just love the taste of lime.

[Zeni]

Dill. Can you tell I'm Scandinavian?

[Zeni]

Pumpkin. Not the crap you get from a can. Real Pumpkin. Sliced, Diced, and Roasted.

[thirdeye]

Garlic,

It is so versital...I love stuffing a huge elephant clove into meatballs(made with extra garlic of coarse), baked and simmered in none other than a good garlic gravy.

Now for the build: I take a nice fresh loaf of crusted french bread sliced length ways, add sliced onion (thin red), spread shredded lettuce, sliced smoked gouda (thick) and meatballs.....cut into sections served with dipping bowls of gravy.

Is it time to eat yet????? :drool:

[ouch]

Pumpkin. Not the crap you get from a can. Real Pumpkin. Sliced, Diced, and Roasted.

Potage au potiron is an old Ouch family tradition around Halloween time. Roasted pumpkin pureed with home made chicken stock, white turnip, cinnamon stick, fresh nutmeg, and heavy cream with home made garlic croutons: to die for.

[ouch]

Garlic,

It is so versital...I love stuffing a huge elephant clove into meatballs(made with extra garlic of coarse), baked and simmered in none other than a good garlic gravy.

Now for the build: I take a nice fresh loaf of crusted french bread sliced length ways, add sliced onion (thin red), spread shredded lettuce, sliced smoked gouda (thick) and meatballs.....cut into sections served with dipping bowls of gravy.

Is it time to eat yet????? :drool:

Wouldn't it be better on garlic bread? :lol:

[Zeni]

Potage au potiron is an old Ouch family tradition around Halloween time. Roasted pumpkin pureed with home made chicken stock, white turnip, cinnamon stick, fresh nutmeg, and heavy cream with home made garlic croutons: to die for.

I'll be that Guy dressed up in a Hobo costume at your door on Halloween.
Trick or treat
Smell my feet
Give me something Good to eat.

What turned me into a Pumpkin freak was my girlfriend's Thai Yellow Pumpkin and Seafood Curry. The wife made it once with Butternut. I told her I moving to London.

[thirdeye]

Wouldn't it be better on garlic bread? :lol:

I tried it and oddly enough, garlic bread kills it...:a33:

[ouch]

I tried it and oddly enough, garlic bread kills it...:a33:

That's odd, alright.

I love roasting garlic. :thumbup1:

[Winzzy]

Hot sauce. And there's nothing better than the classic Tabasco.

I think Tabasco is heavy handed, one dimensional, and not friendly with other flavors. It tends to take over a dish and crowd out other tastes. While it certainly does have its uses, I think a better all around hot sauce is Siracha. Plays much better with other flavors in your dish because it isn't so acidic.

[Winzzy]

Smoked paprika has been my favorate as of late... New kid on the block kinda thing.

[Winzzy]

Garlic has to be my all time favorite ingredient though, classic, complex, plays well with others, easily available, makes everything taste better, adaptable in its use, not to mention the medical benefits.

An all time classic that has been improving life for eons. GOOOOO Garlic!!!

[profipsy]

Smoked paprika for me too, and / or smoked chillies!

[ouch]

Smoked paprika for me too, and / or smoked chillies!

Can't live without the now ubiquitous chipotle.

[scoopster]

Looking towards culinary trends of the future, I shudder. Favorite ingredient for soylent green? It ain't onions! :eek:

[moses]

Oh, did I mention olive oil? It's probably in more food I cook than any other single ingredient, except salt.

-Mo

[Hobbesoxon]

Red chilis and flower pepper (hua jiao). Tast-y!

Grinding down the huajiao really produces a special kind of "hot", in perfect compliment to the chili pepper (pick a strong jalapeno, perhaps). It's the cornerstone of Sichuan cuisine (SW China), and rightly so. No wonder they call the girls from that region "Spicy Girls"... :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[sparkchaser]

Bacon.

[boboakalfb]

Bacon.

As annoying as Emeril can be, he is on to something...

[Suzuki]

Can't live without the now ubiquitous chipotle.

Yup - dried and fresh chiles are right up there


Oh, did I mention olive oil? It's probably in more food I cook than any other single ingredient, except salt.

-Mo

Agree - use it all the time - I get some great Greek olive oil from a small vendor who imports it from his family's olive farm/grove.

One thing that I can't believe hasn't been mentioned is BUTTER.

Especially if you can get a good fresh churned or cultured version.

[moses]

One thing that I can't believe hasn't been mentioned is BUTTER.

Especially if you can get a good fresh churned or cultured version.

It was, actually, a couple of times I think. But it bears repeating.

-Mo

[redbike]

Red wine. Does wonders for chili, and tomato sauces.

Of course olive oil and garlic also help, as does smoked paprika for the chili. Spanish smoked paprika is definitely worth getting. Confession: if I had to choose between shaving and cooking, I'd choose cooking.

jim

[moses]

Confession: if I had to choose between shaving and cooking, I'd choose cooking.

No kidding. Not even close.

-Mo

[Suzuki]

No kidding. Not even close.

-Mo

+2

While I don't profess to be a gourmet chef, cooking is high on the list of favourite things to do - its one of the few areas in which I am creative/artistic.

[Mr. Gillette]

Good ol' Kentucky Bourbon-- it can add a nice flavor to almost anything!

[Mysterion]

Oh, did I mention olive oil? It's probably in more food I cook than any other single ingredient, except salt.

-Mo

I'm glad somebody got around to it. We always keep a couple of kinds on hand--a basic extra-virgin for cooking, and a nice, unfiltered oil for salads, drizzling, and (with good coarse salt,) complementing Mrs. Mysterion's freshly-baked boules. We live blocks from an Italian wholesale distributor; easily 80 varieties of olive oil, and an equal number of vinegars. It smells like Heaven.

[analog_kid]

http://www.noblefoodsfarm.com/GreensGuide/images/cilantro-large.jpg


Cilantro baby! It is a required ingredient in salsa in my house. I throw it into a lot of stuff because it's great at bringing a lot of subtle flavors to life.

[Doug]

SMOKE! Think it’s not an ingredient, try BBQ without it and you’ll be eating roast beef. I haven’t found anything that doesn’t taste better smoked. I’m sure if smoked a popsicle it would be good.
Doug

[mental]

Olives. Put them in pizza, pasta, and salads. Grind them into tapenade. Can't live without them.

Out of all the things posted so far, I think this is my favorite. Tapenade and olive salad makes me think of muffalettas. Plus olives in martinis... And of course I love them plain. One side of family is Italian, and many family meals included a bowl or two of olives. My mother-in-law has a very simple appetizer which consists of large green olives wrapped in bacon and then cooked on a small electric grill. The crispy, smoky bacon plus the saltiness of the olive... Now I'm hungry.

[mental]

One thing per post, so here's my next one - fresh basil. My Italian grandmother and aunt always have some fresh basil growing around the house, and the scent and flavor is something heavenly, for me. On homemade pasta, she'll pick some fresh basil right before serving it, tear the leaves up, and put it on top of the pasta. So incredibly good.

When she sends "care packages" of food home with us, if pasta is included, there's often a small packet of fresh basil sent along with it... she is really the traditional Italian "Nana" when it comes to the love of cooking for family.

[Scotto]

Red chilis and flower pepper (hua jiao). Tast-y!

Grinding down the huajiao really produces a special kind of "hot", in perfect compliment to the chili pepper (pick a strong jalapeno, perhaps). It's the cornerstone of Sichuan cuisine (SW China), and rightly so. No wonder they call the girls from that region "Spicy Girls"... :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

I make a wicked stir fry with them. I love the numbing sensation they give along with the spice. Weird and wonderful.

[MTgrayling]

Someone mentioned Chives. I use them more as a garnish, but I have a pot growing in the window every winter and I couldn't be without them. Brightens everything visually as well as taste wise.

For an ingredient. Chili's: Serrano, Tabasco, Jalapeño, weird purple African ones, orange Caribbean peppers, I love and grow them all. :thumbup:

[ratcheer]

One of my favorite ingredients is herbs de Provence, which give a wonderful savory aroma/flavor to all sorts of meats, stews, soups, etc. I only discovered this mixture a few months ago.

Tim

[ratcheer]

http://www.johnmariani.com/archive/2006/060702/black%20angus.jpg

http://www.dentondesigns.net/images/print/aaa.jpg

Well, yes!

Tim