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In fact, it is very easy to cook delicious food. As the great Michelangelo said when asked about the secret of his sculptures, "I just take a block of marble and cut off everything superfluous!" Like any art, cooking is about making simple things beautiful. Suffice it, for example, to recall the incomparable Julia Child and her famous phrase: "You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients."

Yes, it really is all about the ingredients. The same little thing or its absence can completely change the taste of the same dish - turn something tasteless into incomparable, and vice versa. We all probably have stories in our minds about how someone, literally with a pinch of something special, made others lick their fingers and beg for more.

Recently, another popular thread on "secret" ingredients appeared in the Reddit Cooking community. Its topic starter asked just one simple question: "What's an ingredient you held out on buying only to later realize you'd been missing out?" As of today, the thread already has 725 upvotes and almost 660 different comments, revealing many personal culinary secrets.

Bored Panda has created a special selection for you of the most non-standard, outstanding and simply the most popular comments of the original thread, so now please feel free to scroll to the very-very end of the list, save the best ingredients and receipts - and be sure to tell your own cooking secret in case it's not in our selection!

More info: Reddit

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Real Parmesan cheese instead of the sawdust in a green can

Shakes2011 , Scott Rubin Report

Final score:
150points
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#2

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group High quality/real maple syrup. I could never justify spending so much money on so little product, finally had some extra money at the farmers market and grabbed some. I’ll never go back. The flavor is so concentrated you only need a tiny bit so it lasts just as long but tastes 100% better.

Beep-BoopF**kYou , Ed and Eddie Report

Final score:
143points
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#3

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Local honey

CptRavenMad , nickodoherty Report

Final score:
117points
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Very often, the so-called "placebo effect" can affect the taste of food - when you think that there is some ingredient in a meal, but it is not there, though you literally feel it! Remember "Michael Jordan's secret drink" in the first Space Jam? Here is something in this style. After all, making our brains believe that food is incredibly delicious is the main task of any cook. Hence the various requirements for serving, because beautiful presentation of a dish is already half the battle.

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#4

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group This isn't one I've held off on, but it's one that once I got it, it's replaced a bunch of other ingredients for its ease of use.

Sambal Oelek.

Regardless of cuisine, if a recipe calls for hot peppers, no longer do I bother with trying to keep them in my fridge, chopping them up, etc. A spoonful of sambal oelek goes in, done. (The only exception is for pickled jalapenos in nachos or roasted green chiles.)

(And, yes, this may make me "bad," but I'm disabled and I only have so much energy for cooking, even if I love to do it. Making one step easier with minimal negative effects? I'm there for it.)

(And this is from someone who doesn't like the flavor of sriracha, so I replace it with sambal oelek in recipes too.)

C4bl3Fl4m3 , Flying Puffin Report

Final score:
116points
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#5

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Dried tomatoes. They intensify the sauces so much due to umami concentration.

food_shmood , Harold Litwiler Report

Final score:
115points
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#6

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group I wasn't aware til recently (ignorant American here) that there were more than one kind of white rice. I grew up with instant. Now I'm married and experimenting with cuisines, I find the rices are different. Short grain vs long grain vs Jasmine long grain are ALL different, and the dishes are also. Short grain goes great in Risotto, Sushi and Glutinous balls (with the yummy stuff inside), long grain is good for breakfast, as a side to something with gravy or sauce (think gumbo, red beans and sausage or salisbury steak) or very long grain (jasmine or extra long grain that is tasty with curries and stir fries and bulgogi).

Once I understood the difference, I buy them individually from the Korean or Japanese markets near me. Like using brown sugar vs White vs Honey.

Each has it's use and each tastes great in the other recipes but there is a thing for the specific rice or sauce.. It CAN be interchanged but they are better if you know the proper cuisine to match them with.

Mamasan2k , Steven Jackson Report

Final score:
104points
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"It's hard to give an example offhand, especially when you have hundreds and even more of these examples in your head, accumulated over the years of professional experience - and you just can't choose which one," says Roman Sardarian, a chef from Odessa, Ukraine, whom Bored Panda reached out to for comment. "However, I'll try to give probably the simplest. Kebab or barbecue. What makes this dish incredibly flavorful, while completely retaining the texture of the meat? For me, the simple answer is dried red basil, which is also sometimes called regan."

“Probably, it has happened to you that you passed by some good meat restaurant, felt that incomparable smell - and then tried in vain to recreate it at home? Well, it's all thanks to dried red basil. In fact, we first perceive food with our nose, thanks to the smell, then with the eyes - and if the aroma and appearance of the food tell us that it is tasty, then most of the work has already been done," says Roman Sardarian.
#7

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group European butter. Everything tastes better and better texture.

carringtonagain , Quinn Dombrowski Report

Final score:
99points
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Hugh Cookson
Hugh Cookson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Depends where in Europe. Butter in Ireland tastes completely different to the butter in France, England and Germany.

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#8

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group When I first lived in my own apartment (sophomore year of college) I didn’t really know anything about cooking. When I went grocery shopping for a recipe, I would never buy an onion, because I didn’t think it would make a difference and I didn’t want to spend the money/time on it. Now I feel like I put onions in everything and it’s so funny to remember my ignorance 😅

imreadyiam5 , GraceMarcellaNorman Report

Final score:
98points
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JoJo Anisko
JoJo Anisko
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If someone in your family claims to hate onions (not talking allergies), try pureeing in blender. It's often a texture thing.

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#9

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Not so much an ingredient, strictly speaking, but a zester. Since using that I've added lime zest to things and love the fragrance it gives to dishes. I'm going to try using orange zest rather than orange essence in a chocolate porridge later this week.

Mob_Segment , thebittenword.com Report

Final score:
95points
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Mia Black
Mia Black
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For the Extra kick on savory food, my dad gave me the tip, to store an organic citrus in the freezer and just Geräte from the whole frozen fruit. You will not taste the bitterness from the white stuff. but the citrus Aroma. And you can use the whole fruit

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In the end, the most important secret ingredient that can turn any, even the most clumsy cooking into an absolute triumph of taste is love. After all, when you cook with love and for someone who loves you, it completely transforms any dish, because you literally put a piece of yourself into it. As the same great Julia Child once told, "I think careful cooking is love, don't you? The loveliest thing you can cook for someone who's close to you is about as nice a Valentine as you can give."

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#10

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Multiple forms of ginger: fresh, pickled, crystallized, big soft chunks, ground. I'm not big on spicy peppers (old people digestive issues), but spicy ginger goes in so many things! I'm probably an addict, tbh. I grew up with just ground ginger for baking at Christmas. Had no idea what an amazing thing it is until I was well into my 30s. I wasted so many years!

secondhandbanshee , Quinn Dombrowski Report

Final score:
93points
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#11

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group I have always used canned beans out of laziness. Finally decided to go for dried beans recently and I can't believe I didn't do it sooner. They do take longer to cook, but as long as I plan ahead it's fine. They taste so much better than canned.

drumgirlr , cookbookman17 Report

Final score:
78points
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#12

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Nutritional yeast on popcorn!

minfallible , Jeff Gunn Report

Final score:
74points
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#13

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Z'ataar

UniqueVast592 , Fshadid Report

Final score:
74points
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#14

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Real saffron—expensive but wonderful richness of flavor.

cloudceiling , Guillaume Paumier Report

Final score:
73points
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JoJo Anisko
JoJo Anisko
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yep.

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Simon Hirschhofer
Simon Hirschhofer
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yea, just the one in the pic is fake. That's Safflower, commonly sold to tourists who look for Saffron but have no clue what it looks, smells and tastes like.

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Patti Vance
Patti Vance
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i was in a little local market that had their spices in little bags. i loved to get my spices from there is it was one that was being used experimentally. one day, i saw that they had taken all their saffron down and selling it for a dollar a bag. i asked the owner why and she said that no one bought it. i bought the whole basket

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Jutta Plötz
Jutta Plötz
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can also grow it yourself. They make a beautiful addition to your garden

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Mary Hammett
Mary Hammett
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Our buffet used to have soup flavored with saffron and once I tasted it, I understood why people mortgage the house to buy saffron!

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Splattered Bug
Splattered Bug
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

$9000lb good business if ya grow it right. Visit the family farm in texas

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Data1001
Data1001
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Look up prices for real saffron online, and you'll see $5000/lb, $10,000/kilogram, etc. If you got a decent amount of it at a store or online and it didn't cost you an arm and a leg, it was probably not the genuine article.

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Emily
Emily
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All spices are so much better when you can buy them whole/dried and grind them yourself. Same for coffee

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Christina B
Christina B
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

1000% correct and a little goes a long way - totally worth it!

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#15

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Used to buy basic ground pepper, out of habit. I've since then started to grind my own, it's life changing :D

Also, beer yeast flakes as a salad topper.

ConfidentMap6225 , Dvortygirl Report

Final score:
69points
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#16

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Black garlic. I realized how much I was missing out when I decided to try it recently. Mashed up with some olive oil and goat cheese then spread on a sandwich has been my go to lately but it goes great in so many dishes.

TheFrostyjayjay , Foodista Report

Final score:
59points
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#17

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Lemongrass stalk. It taste and smells like lemonade and ginger. Can believe I slept on this.

_kineticaesthetic , stu_spivack Report

Final score:
58points
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Mama Penguin
Mama Penguin
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lemongrass is widely used in Asian cooking, especially South East Asian. It has a very distinctive scent and flavor and can be used as marinade, stir fry or steamed dishes, and soups. Dammit, now I want Soto Ayam.

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#18

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Kewpie mayo. It's pricey (which is why I held off) but for sandwiches & dishes where you can really taste the flavor of the mayo, it's absolutely incredible.

C4bl3Fl4m3 , Ben Chun Report

Final score:
52points
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ItsJess
ItsJess
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's so delicious; I used to think it was strange when I'd see videos of people eating takoyaki with bonito and Mayo drizzled on the top. Who would eat that much Mayo? Now that I've tasted it, it really has much more flavor and I can understand why it's used as it is.

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#19

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group White wine. I would use vinegar and lemon juice to risotto and other dishes that brought it up, and it just added an acidity that I really disliked. White wine adds a super awesome dimension of fruitiness with some acidity. It’s really great to cook with.

Right-Lavishness-930 , Thomas Quine Report

Final score:
51points
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#20

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Espresso powder. The difference it brought to my brownies is incredible.

Rainbow_mama , John Beans Report

Final score:
50points
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#21

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Sesame paste instead of peanut butter. Spicy sesame noodles. Makes a big difference.

Edit: dashi with miso soup

Edit2: Kerrygold butter (pure Irish butter) makes a difference in taste on toasted bread instead of regular butter.

Edit3: szechuan peppercorn. I would toast it and grind it up for Taiwanese popcorn chicken with Thai basil. Or use it for tea-smoked chicken drumsticks.

TonosamaACDC , Charles Haynes Report

Final score:
48points
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MeMosabe
MeMosabe
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When my wife first got Kerrygold Irish butter, I was puzzled and asked her, "Is this anything like Irish coffee?" She was not amused. :D

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#22

I bought crème fraiche to put in my mashed potatoes…life changing.

corLeon1s Report

Final score:
47points
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Madster
Madster
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love creme fraiche. I'm always finding ways to use up the rest of the tub from a previous specific recipe.

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#23

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Flaky Maldon Salt.

joseph11richard13 , sousvideguy Report

Final score:
46points
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Eric C.
Eric C.
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I buy this in 1.4kg buckets and use it for almost everything.

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#24

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Continuing the Chinese theme, have you tried the various vinegars (such as Chinkiang vinegar), chillis or fermented pastes? White rice vinegar and miso are great, but they create a very different dish.

Psychological-Ad7512 , WordRidden Report

Final score:
46points
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Hugh Cookson
Hugh Cookson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pop a little splash of Balsamic Vinegar into your Sunday roast gravy, add ; takes it to a different level.

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#25

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Celery seed.

Han_Yerry , raven seen Report

Final score:
45points
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Jeff Gabrisl
Jeff Gabrisl
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also, don't toss the celery leaves! Chop them like you would any fresh herb, they add a lot of flavor!

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#26

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Kashmiri chili powder. Most American recipes for Indian food use cayenne for heat, since that's more typically available here. Once I ditched cayenne for Kashmiri chili, my food started tasting a lot more like the Indian takeout I was trying to reproduce.

uggaguggaunclejoey , Jon Roberts Report

Final score:
44points
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#27

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Harissa paste, i put it almost everywhere now, when roasting potatoes, when marinaring chicken. It’s amazing!

Magister_Historiae , jules Report

Final score:
43points
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#28

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Semolina flour. I used to make homemade pizza without, and always got frustrated with how easily the dough/pizza stuck to the peel. Not anymore, thanks to _Semolina_ 🤌🏻

danishjuggler21 , Wesley Fryer Report

Final score:
38points
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Mary Lou
Mary Lou
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not an ingredient, but I found my pizza stone to be a game changer

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#29

Kaffir lime leaves! I was always using regular lime leaves and it's just far from the real thing. I've since bought a Kaffir lime tree haha. Still in the pot, need to put it in the ground for it to grow bigger.

eurekato Report

Final score:
38points
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Megan Curl
Megan Curl
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have not been able to find these for quite a while, and I’ve checked in several Asian markets. It makes me sad because they make such a difference in Thai curries.

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#30

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Asofodeta for Indian food. Thought I could substitute garlic, but it never tasted the same.

lacroixgrape , Patrick Verhaeghe Report

Final score:
32points
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#31

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Everything bagel seasoning- I use it in so many things it just Everything seasoning

Mozz2cats , theimpulsivebuy Report

Final score:
12points
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#32

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Black salt.

Smells like sulfur but tastes so good!

CatWings64 , Frédérique Voisin-Demery Report

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#33

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Maseca. I never cooked Mexican food until a few years ago. Being able to make tortillas, pupusas, etc on the fly is so convenient. I also use it to make champurrado on cold days. We now have a dedicated Maseca pourable container.

Covey_Of_Quails , Loren Javier Report

Final score:
12points
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#34

Grains of Paradise

Apple cider vinegar

Fish sauce

Mace

Fenugreek

Vegetable-Move-7950 Report

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LeeAnne B
LeeAnne B
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have never used any of these but it sounds interesting. I would have liked a quick explanation what you use these ingredients in.

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#35

Callebaut chocolate

Recent-Abalone7171 Report

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#36

30 Ingredients That People Wish They’d Started Using Earlier Because They Are So Good, As Shared In This Online Group Doubanjiang. Especially if you’re into Chinese cooking.

dayinnight , John Thompson Report

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#37

Coconut

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RMA
RMA
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Use toasted in salads, coconut cream in curries, coconut water in rice - it’s so handy.

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