Top five flavorings?

[eunny jang]

This is really fascinating.

Mine would be:

Pepper

Garlic

Sage

Butter

Rosemary

[petite tête de chou]

Black pepper

Sea salt

Garlic

Various ground chilis

Thyme

[Squeat Mungry]

Current top five:

salt

black pepper

paprika

ras-el-hanout

lemon

[GG Mora]

Garlic.

[jilli42]

Garlic

Sazon - makes everything better

Cumin

Pepper- tellicherry/red

Salt

[MGLloyd]

Vanilla

Cinnamon

Garlic

Rosemary

Oregano

[FistFullaRoux]

The list as of this moment: subject to change without notice

basil

garlic

onion

vanilla

citrus

[bleachboy]

Sazon - makes everything better

←

Vas is dat?

[fatmat]

I'm really enjoying looking at everyone's favourites. Thanks for taking the time to share.

Just to show my ignorance, can you tell me what are:...

ras-el-hanout - Squeat Mungry?

Sazon - jilli42?

Am I missing out on something good?

[ghostrider]

Is garlic a flavoring or a vegetable in this context? Someone listed onion above, same question. I can't live w/o either but am considering them vegetables, hence:

dried chili peppers

rosemary

thyme

marjoram

oregano

This is one of the few times I can say unequivocally that I'm glad to be on a low-salt diet!

[fatmat]

I call garlic and onions flavourings (shallotts too)- If they didn't add flavour I don't think I'd use them.

[CtznCane]

Since Salt & Pepper seem like they should be automatic I'll just add my 5 additional

1. Garlic

2. Rosemary

3. Thyme

4. Butter

5. Bourbon

having decided that and being close enough to cocktail hour, I think I'll go have a drink. but really, it is one of my favorites to cook with.

[Squeat Mungry]

can you tell me what are:...

ras-el-hanout - Squeat Mungry?

Sazon - jilli42?

Am I missing out on something good?

←

Hi, fatmat!

ras-el-hanout (I think it literally means "head of the shop" in Arabic) is a Moroccan blend of spices. See this page for more information about ras-el-hanout and for a Paula Wolfert recipe for making it. I didn't make the blend I'm using right now. I bought it at a local arabic grocery.

For what it's worth, sazon is also a spice blend, but it is of Spanish origin.

Cheers,

Squeat

[fatmat]

CtznCane -do you use bourbon lots in your food? how do you use it? I love to drink it. I occasionally use whisky to cook with, but not regularly.

[Smarmotron]

cumin

coriander

turmeric

chili pepper

ginger

[Kevin72]

I call no fair on having to include salt and pepper in the top 5. And, what the hell, garlic too.

1) Fennel seeds or fronds

2) Rosemary

3) Mint

4) Chilies

5) Lemon juice/zest

[jilli42]

Sazon is a seasoning blend and comes in several variations. My ex was Puerto Rican and his sister introduced me to it, as well as powdered Adobo and many excellent dishes. Hey, at least something good came of that realtionship.

I add it to a lot of the dishes that I cook. I use it when I season meat and when I make tomato sauce. It is especially good in bean dishes.

It is a Goya product & is usally sold near the canned beans. For about a dollar you get a package with 8 foil packets of it. Worth a try.

[Shannon_Elise]

Couldn't do without:

(Salt and Pepper are a given in my world)

Cinnamon

Vanilla

Hungarian Sweet Paprika

Garlic

Ginger

[bleudauvergne]

This is pretty hard. There are lots of seasonal stuff that I hesistate to mention because I can't use them all year round, like basil, tarragon, sage, etc.

OK the year round top 5 are:

1. Salt

2. Bay leaves always go into the stock no matter what other herbs.

3. Onion/shallot/garlic (it's one family)

4. Paprika - I use a lot of that because it makes up a big part of my general spice mix.

5. Fond de volaille (that's chicken stock reduced to concentrate it's flavor)

Ok that's five.

[TJHarris]

Pumpkin Seed Oil

White Truffle Oil

Sherry Vinegar

Yuzu

Wasabi

Chipotle

Balsamic

Smoked Paparika

Oops...Sorry, forgot that you only wanted 5!

[Rien]

(Salt and Pepper are a given in my world)

Makes me think that, yeah, salt and pepper and garlic are a given in most people's world. And if you're counting garlic, why not onion? If you count fats, so are butter and olive oil ... maybe either/or since a lot of the world breaks down - pre everything available everywhere, that is - into butter eaters or oil eaters. Right there, you've got the inevitable top five for Europe, America, the Middle East, North Africa, and a good portion of Asia. At least India and China - although, historically, much of Asia didn't have "salt," per se, but salty condiments like soy sauce and fish sauce. Maybe you've gotta add in ginger.

What's interesting to me is that the "base," the lowest common denominator, is pretty universal.

The other thing that interests me is that there are a few offshoots that stand alone. Japan immediately comes to mind. Nix garlic, pepper, onion, butter, and incorporate salt via soy sauce. Is this the true global outlier?

Funny that no one - or at least not many people - mentioned soy sauce. Or sugar.

For my tongue in cheek response, I'd say my top five are:

sweet

salty

sour

bitter

umami

Think I covered all the bases there.

Maybe that gives us a default five of sugar, salt, vinegar, (what's bitter?), and, hmmm, MSG?

rien

[Really Nice!]

Maybe that gives us a default five of sugar, salt, vinegar, (what's bitter?), and, hmmm, MSG?

rien

What's bitter? Chocolate, coffee, nut skins, poison...

Edited October 27, 2004 by Really Nice! (log)

[Rien]

OK, so that gives the five default flavors of:

Sugar

Salt

Vinegar

MSG

& Poison

Sounds like the recipe for the plot of a culinary whodunnit.

rien