Five ingredients to add flavor to any dish

Ever get bored of eating the same old things, but not sure what to change to make it more interesting? Here is a short list of some simple ingredients you can add to any recipe to spice it up!

1. Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
This one's a double whammy! Not only is this little can shelf stable, inside are two extremely powerful flavoring agents. The Chipotle peppers offer a good kick of heat with a lot of smokiness, and can be added whole to stocks and sauces or chopped up and added to salsas, dips or really whatever you want.
The adobo sauce offers a ton of smokiness as well, but not as much of that pepper heat. This can be used instead of the peppers if you want to decrease the heat in a recipe.
And coming in at just a dollar or per can, this ingredient is a great thing to pickup and keep in the cupboard to liven things up little bit.

2. Mushrooms
Coming in in all shapes, sizes, and varieties, mushrooms are a great way to add flavor, texture, and even color to a dish.
First are the ubiquitous button and Bella mushrooms, which you'll find in every grocery store. They provide savory, umami flavors to any dish and a succulent snap, even if you cook them to death.
Then if you want to shake things up a bit, there's a whole world of more exotic gourmet mushrooms that exist. From the multitude of oysters, including pink, blue, gold, king, and trumpet, to lions mane and wine cap, the list of mushrooms goes on and on.
Each different kind of mushroom offers different textures, flavors, and colors! There's a whole exciting world of umami flavors packed fungus to explore! I got an upcoming article discussing how to use some of these kinds of mushrooms, so be sure to check it out!
Sidenote, if you don't like mushrooms but still want to take advantage of their savory, umami-boosting power, check out mushroom seasoning/powder.



3. Acids
Acids, like the things that dissolve through stuff? Kind of, but not really, what I'm talking about here is acidic foods, specifically things like lemon juice, lime juice, and vinegar. Adding these kinds of ingredients in small amounts dosent make food sour or too acidic, but helps to bring contrast to a dish. Squeezing some fresh lemon or lime juice on top of vegetables or adding a splash of vinegar into a sauce can really liven up a dish!
In addition, there are all kinds of juices and vinegars with their own flavors that you can add to add another note of complexity to any dish! Orange and grapefruit juice can be used instead of lemon or lime juice. For vinegars, there are the wine vinegars, like red, white, and champagne, to all sorts of different kinds of seasoned and flavored vinegars. Dont be afraid to experiment and add a splash of something acidic to your next meal!





4. Seasoning blends

Most grocery stores I have been to have all sorts of different seasoning blends packed onto the shelves next to the indivual spices. From the more basic, like lemon pepper and curry powder, to unique and specialized blends for different kinds of meats and cooking methods. Each of these blends packs in tons of flavor in one small package, and picking up a few blends creates a huge variety of flavor! If you ever get bored of what you are eating, id recommend to check some of these out and see what kind of interesting flavors you can come across!



5. Stock
Vegetable, chicken, beef, shrimp, etc. If a recipe ever calls water, try adding some stock to bump up the flavor! Stocks and broths are water with flavor components already dissolved into it, so if you're ever stuck wondering how to make those boiled/steamed vegetables a little bit more interesting, consier adding to or replacing that water with some stock!



Let me know if you try any of these tips, or if you have any more of your own.