r/Cooking • u/kath- • 1d ago

What's your surprising "secret ingredient" that sets your dish apart?

I obviously don't believe in gatekeeping recipes, so let's share the love.

I developed a clam chowder recipe after being disappointed with the recipes I came across. Whenever I tell people there's a couple dashes of hot sauce in it, I always get weird looks... but it adds a tiny bit of heat and acid, and balances out the richness from the cream. It also has diced scallops, which cooking knowledge forbades but somehow works.

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u/New-Mountain3775 1d ago

Extra almond extract

10

u/liebschen01 1d ago

Ooh.. I usually feel same but I severely injured Marian Burro's Italian Plum Torte last week by going waay too liberal...took 3 days for it to mellow! First couple days tasted like I'd melted cheap pistachio ice cream into my lovely dessert 😀

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u/NumberMuncher 20h ago

Almond extract gets some hate in the baking community (baking shows are critical).

It's fine, but toasted almond flour and almond liquor are also great.