What secret/special ingredient do you add to certain food/dishes?

zarazara

cumin, added to lots of things

a_sav

My secret tip is... a tin of scotch broth to shepherds pie andfrozen mixed veg.Cinnamon stick and clove or two to curries to add more flavour.Oil in the pancake batter so it does not stick to the pan

morganlefay

I thought HP in a lot of things was 'my' secret ingredient but I see it's everyones ! I have a really good beef casserole recipe made with a bit of streaky bacon in addition to the beef, celery with the onions, and grated rind of an orange and its juice in with the stock - just subtly different. Also I have had a bottle of Mr T's dry Oloroso sherry (about £6, had it two years, still good, so not much of an extravagence) which I add to chicken in white sauce and other things, giving a really deep and different undertone. Good thread, thanks !

embb

I add a Bayleaf to onion gravy when done in the oven, delish. I also add a little bit of Mustard when making macaroni cheese, brings out the flavour of the cheese.

randomtask_2

I quite like grated ginger in tomato soup.

Also, I drop in a little spoon of creme fraiche at the end for nice rich scrambled eggs.

mudgekin

Mushroom ketchup in lots of meaty things like stews and mince dishes. Smoked paprika in everything that calls for ordinary paprika and also to kedgeree.
Dried English mustard to anything cheesy

rachbc

Nutmeg and a splash of milk at the end of spag bol

Cinnamon and choc/ cocoa in chilli

Yoghurt mixed with mayo for coleslaw - gives a lovely tang

HM quince jelly in gravy

DKLS

Doing my student days, all my buns and cakes had a magic ingredient that you couldn't get from the supermarket

Now my secret ingredients are booze, Beer/port/Red wine with red meat, Vodka with Prawns, white wine in everything else.

champys

Add some cubed ginger bread or ginger cake (parkin style - here in france: 'pain d'epices') to a simple beef & onion stew.
Add a pinch of sugar to a home-made oil & vinegar salad dressing.

justpeyton4now

My "secret" ingredient is to use almond essence rather than vanilla when making cakes, loafs, biscuits and cookies. I think it gives a much better taste, especially in chocolate chip cookies.