Citric acid. You can add that little bit of brightness without also adding moisture. A little goes a long way. Sometimes if something tastes like it needs more salt or spices, it might actually just need a little acid.

I don’t really have one myself, but there was a lady I knew growing up who made, hands down, the best chili ever. She wouldn’t reveal her recipe or secret ingredient to anyone and swore she’d take it to her grave.

Years later, she and her daughter got into a fight and the daughter posted her mom’s chili recipe on Facebook to spite her. The secret ingredient was, apparently, grape jelly.

Olives, they can add so much to almost any dish. Bonus points if you preserve them yourself. Other than that I really love when the ginger is fried first before anything else.

I love adding nutmeg and white pepper to any kind of bechamel-based dish I make.

Garlic. Just garlic. And then add more garlic. 😆

But seriously, a pinch of MSG can make a big difference.

A small dash of sugar in savory dishes.

Lately, it’s been smoked paprika. It makes so many dishes better. Eggs, roasted potatoes / vegetabls, chicken. I’ve tried it in many dishes I otherwise would not have and I’ve been loving the flavor it imparts.

It’s not a secret one at all as I based it on some existing seasonings but I’ve got a lot of mileage out of

• coarse ground black pepper
• salt
• cayenne pepper
• dill weed
• coarse ground coriander seeds
• garlic powder

I don’t have any smoked paprika right now or I’d toss that in too. Just grind the spices for a few seconds in a mortar and pestle. I’m pretty generous with the cayenne, say this ends up roughly 1:1:1:2-3:0.5:1 ratio, sometimes I add some red pepper flake too. The seasoning this is ripping off uses dill seed instead of dill weed but hey, use what you have right?

Everything that starts with the process of braising onions/garlic and vegetables in general: Before proceeding to add further ingredients, put in a splash of balsamic vinegar, let it cook a bit and then continue with your recipe.

If you make a soup or sauce based on tomatoes and you want it a bit spicy - try to also mix in a bit of cinnamon. Not much, but tomato + spicy + a bit of cinnamon is a great combo.

Also your tip: instead of using plain salt, use any kind of bouillon (depending on the dish) for a richer taste.

I don’t know about ‘most’ of my dishes, but I do use an awful lot of smoked paprika…

My secret is basically paying attention to different uses of chilis. Hot sauce, chili oil, chili powder, whole chilis, and chili flakes can all provide heat, but they do it in different ways.

Hot sauce also provides acid, which is good for some things. It’s obviously also water-based, so it dissolves into aqueous solutions.

Chili oil can incorporate other flavors that can’t be extracted in aqueous solutions, and it won’t affect any crispy or crunchy elements the way hot sauce would.

Chili power, when labeled “chili powder” is often underwhelming (this is highly dependent on region/culture as different peppers are used in different places). Cayenne is obviously good for heat, smoky paprika is really good for any time you want a little smoke flavor. Anything that actually calls out the specific pepper can be great.

Whole chilis are great. Specifically, I really like to use dried Mexican chilis in different blends. I’ll also use fresh peppers, but they provide different things to the food.

Chili flakes have a similar problem to the powder where if they dont tell you what type, it’s probably not great. I specifically like ancho chili flakes and Aleppo pepper flakes, both of which typically dont have the seeds, which I find unpleasant.

Use beef flavoured Lipton soup mix with your burger meat. You might not need a whole pack, unless you like it salty.

Time.

No matter what dish it is, more time spent makes it better. Taking that few extra minutes to get a real nice brown on the ground meat, getting a nice char or caramelization on the onions and peppers, letting the pot of soup just sit and simmer for a couple extra hours. Being able to just relax and let flavors develope helps out so much.

Time is why your grandparents cooking was always the best. Why that bowl of chili hits so much better the second day. Why BBQ is so amazing.

Take the time to really enjoy making food. The best part is, for most things, it’s not a lot of added time to make it much better.

A little bit of Dijon mustard goes great in a lot of things. Also love ground sumac.

Anchovy Paste for tomato based sauces

Sansho pepper as a finishing spice (zesty citrus aroma with mild numbing effect) for poultry/fish.

Bragg Liquid Aminos Nutritional Yeast