Photo by Rebecca Blackwell: Strawberry shortcake made with my Grandma’s Angel Biscuit recipe, fresh berries with sugar and a pinch of salt, and vanilla ice cream. The swap of ice cream for whipped cream was at the suggestion of Christina Fiore, and I will never go back.
Hello friends!
I actually have two answers to this week’s question: I think salt in sweet foods is underrated and sugar in savory foods is underrated.
I rarely come across a dessert recipe that I feel has enough salt. Salt brings out the flavor of all the other ingredients in a dish and just because something is sweet doesn’t mean I don’t want to maximize the flavor of everything in it. Likewise, a teaspoon of sugar (or another sweetener) in savory dishes, adds a surprising amount of brightness and balance, especially in spicy foods. Also, a bit of sugar can help to make up for the unfortunate reality that unless it’s picked fresh from your garden, the produce you’re buying was probably picked before it was fully ripened and does not contain the amount of natural sugars that mother nature intended.
What about you? What food or ingredient do you feel is underrated?
Pssst!If you are a food writer with a substack newsletter, did you know that there are guest post and other contribution opportunities available to you here in the FoodStack library? The purpose of the FoodStack library is to help connect food writers on substack with a larger audience. One of the best ways to do that is as a contributor. If that sounds like something you' might be interested in, contact Lynn at foodstacklibrary@gmail.com
This is a hard one! Cabbage is underrated - so versatile, cabbage salad made from both white and red cabbage, vinegar, oil and a bit of fresh garlic is wonderful.
Steamed and dressed with butter to accompany roasts.
Stuffed savoy cabbage leaves either in a Greek way or a Ukrainian way.
I’m a fan! Haven’t had much success growing it though!
I was just thinking exactly this last night. We had pasta e fagioli for dinner but I was craving some veggies so just did some hispi cabbage, first panfried with some olive oil and garlic and then steamed until tender with a little bit of water. And it was so delicious. Could have eaten an entire bowlful of that!
I love cabbage! You're so right about it being underrated. I also love to cook it at high heat so the outside of the leaves gets blackened and crispy. So good!
I am with you on salt in sweet foods Rebecca! Desserts need seasoning too! I always use salted butter in my cakes. It makes a big difference.
For me, it's pink pickled onions. I think they are wonderful and add so much freshness and light to a dish. I love them on Swedish salmon, tacos. I even put them on a beef stew once and it was divine! I use a recipe from Rachel Khoo and add juniper berries to them. Which adds a lovely aromatic, citrus note.
I've reduced salt so much in my cooking and baking, that I often find things far too salty on anything I buy, such as artisan bread on the occasion I don't want to bake my own. Even when I attend cookery classes, I have to reduce the amount of salt they suggest in their recipes, because I know it will be far too salty for my taste. Taste is a fine balance and subjective. What suits one person will not suit others.
Yes! Desserts need seasoning too! I also love pickled onions and almost always have some in my refrigerator. I've never thought to add them to beef stew but will definitely try that and that makes me thing that they'd probably do the same thing for meatloaf.
I think fresh lemon juice is underrated it’s a magic ingredient, I add a squeeze with butter to freshly cooked long grain rice and cooked leeks, squeeze to finish sauteed mushrooms. I urged my cooking class attendees to never ever use bottle lemon juice. I freeze cubes of lemon 🍋 juice when on sale so handy.
I agree with you 100% I almost always add some lemon juice to vegetables and soup - it doesn't matter what kind. I love the idea of freezing lemon juice into cubes!
I often puree my fruit and make ice cubes to use in smoothies. I have a tray that makes smaller cubes that I use for lemon, lime, and pineapple juice to use for cooking.
Good quality olive oil is my vote. I didn’t really know the difference until I went to a local olive oil producer and toured their vineyard and production area. After sampling their oils, I realized how fresh, clean, light, and lovely good olive oil tastes. And that most of what is sold in grocery stores and big box stores is second rate at best and mildly rancid at worst. Wow what a difference!
Completely agree. Traveling around the country, I've learned can be somewhat difficult to find good olive oil and it can be difficult to know what you're buying until you get it home and taste it. When I find a good one, I usually purchase several bottles... but they never last long enough.
I agree with sweet in the savory. My rub recipes always include sugar. I also add a bit of sugar to my chili and collard greens.
I think vinegar is underrated. I’ve pickled my own vegetables, made my own pepper sauce (a must on the collard greens) and made a depression era cake that uses no eggs but has vinegar.
Agree that vinegar is so underrated! Including as a baking ingredient! Am currently doing a deep dive into vinegar cakes - used to be a thing in the UK too apparently! And a few weeks ago I had a lovely cake at Loquat in SF with mahlab that was topped with a vinegar icing which was so delicious.
For me, the most underrated elements in food are water and salt. People often think of them as basic or generic, but when you dive into their variations, you realize how much they can elevate a dish or a dining experience.
Different salts—like fleur de sel, Maldon, or Himalayan pink salt—each have unique textures and flavor profiles that can completely change the character of a meal. Chemically processed salts, by contrast, often taste flat or bitter, which makes the natural varieties even more precious.
Water is equally fascinating. The mineral composition and origin of still or sparkling water dramatically influence its taste. For example, the lightness of Volvic water is completely different from the crisp, mineral-forward profile of Scottish spring water. These nuances might seem small, but they create entirely different experiences, whether you’re drinking it on its own or pairing it with a meal.
Exploring the diversity of something as "ordinary" as water and salt has taught me to appreciate the details in food and drink. What about you? Any everyday ingredients you think deserve more love?
I use Maldon as well. Really tasty. But I do like the French Sel de Guerande or a Pink Rock Salt as well. And that Murray River Salt from Australia is absolutely delicious on the simply cooked egg.
I just learned a couple of years ago how delicious collard greens are. I love them! I headed over to your newsletter to find your collard green issue but don't see it. Has it not been published yet, or am I missing it somehow?
I was a little sneaky about it and didn’t directly call them out as collards. The issue is called Recipe At The Top #4: smoky + tart mexican braised green sauce, I’ll link below!
This is a hard one! Cabbage is underrated - so versatile, cabbage salad made from both white and red cabbage, vinegar, oil and a bit of fresh garlic is wonderful.
Steamed and dressed with butter to accompany roasts.
Stuffed savoy cabbage leaves either in a Greek way or a Ukrainian way.
I’m a fan! Haven’t had much success growing it though!
I was just thinking exactly this last night. We had pasta e fagioli for dinner but I was craving some veggies so just did some hispi cabbage, first panfried with some olive oil and garlic and then steamed until tender with a little bit of water. And it was so delicious. Could have eaten an entire bowlful of that!
My husband is obsessed with red cabbage. All these ideas sound delicious!
Forgot to add - great for stir fries!
I love cabbage! You're so right about it being underrated. I also love to cook it at high heat so the outside of the leaves gets blackened and crispy. So good!
I am with you on salt in sweet foods Rebecca! Desserts need seasoning too! I always use salted butter in my cakes. It makes a big difference.
For me, it's pink pickled onions. I think they are wonderful and add so much freshness and light to a dish. I love them on Swedish salmon, tacos. I even put them on a beef stew once and it was divine! I use a recipe from Rachel Khoo and add juniper berries to them. Which adds a lovely aromatic, citrus note.
I've reduced salt so much in my cooking and baking, that I often find things far too salty on anything I buy, such as artisan bread on the occasion I don't want to bake my own. Even when I attend cookery classes, I have to reduce the amount of salt they suggest in their recipes, because I know it will be far too salty for my taste. Taste is a fine balance and subjective. What suits one person will not suit others.
Completely agreed Lynn. It is very much personal preference. And it's always good to think of your health!
It’s also possible to go a bit too far in reducing salt, causing food to be very bland.
Yes! Desserts need seasoning too! I also love pickled onions and almost always have some in my refrigerator. I've never thought to add them to beef stew but will definitely try that and that makes me thing that they'd probably do the same thing for meatloaf.
Oh yes, I can definitely see the acidity working with the meatloaf there!
I think fresh lemon juice is underrated it’s a magic ingredient, I add a squeeze with butter to freshly cooked long grain rice and cooked leeks, squeeze to finish sauteed mushrooms. I urged my cooking class attendees to never ever use bottle lemon juice. I freeze cubes of lemon 🍋 juice when on sale so handy.
I agree with you 100% I almost always add some lemon juice to vegetables and soup - it doesn't matter what kind. I love the idea of freezing lemon juice into cubes!
I can see that, thanks Micheline for pointing it out. In the end it comes down to the right balance of salty sweet, bitter, sour and umami.
Yes! Lemon juice!!!
I often puree my fruit and make ice cubes to use in smoothies. I have a tray that makes smaller cubes that I use for lemon, lime, and pineapple juice to use for cooking.
Good quality olive oil is my vote. I didn’t really know the difference until I went to a local olive oil producer and toured their vineyard and production area. After sampling their oils, I realized how fresh, clean, light, and lovely good olive oil tastes. And that most of what is sold in grocery stores and big box stores is second rate at best and mildly rancid at worst. Wow what a difference!
Completely agree. Traveling around the country, I've learned can be somewhat difficult to find good olive oil and it can be difficult to know what you're buying until you get it home and taste it. When I find a good one, I usually purchase several bottles... but they never last long enough.
Agreed!
I agree with sweet in the savory. My rub recipes always include sugar. I also add a bit of sugar to my chili and collard greens.
I think vinegar is underrated. I’ve pickled my own vegetables, made my own pepper sauce (a must on the collard greens) and made a depression era cake that uses no eggs but has vinegar.
Agree that vinegar is so underrated! Including as a baking ingredient! Am currently doing a deep dive into vinegar cakes - used to be a thing in the UK too apparently! And a few weeks ago I had a lovely cake at Loquat in SF with mahlab that was topped with a vinegar icing which was so delicious.
I've never experimented with vinegar in baking. I'm going to have to dive into that!
I completely agree with you about vinegar - acid in general can take something from mediocre to delicious in an instant. It's like a magic trick.
For me, the most underrated elements in food are water and salt. People often think of them as basic or generic, but when you dive into their variations, you realize how much they can elevate a dish or a dining experience.
Different salts—like fleur de sel, Maldon, or Himalayan pink salt—each have unique textures and flavor profiles that can completely change the character of a meal. Chemically processed salts, by contrast, often taste flat or bitter, which makes the natural varieties even more precious.
Water is equally fascinating. The mineral composition and origin of still or sparkling water dramatically influence its taste. For example, the lightness of Volvic water is completely different from the crisp, mineral-forward profile of Scottish spring water. These nuances might seem small, but they create entirely different experiences, whether you’re drinking it on its own or pairing it with a meal.
Exploring the diversity of something as "ordinary" as water and salt has taught me to appreciate the details in food and drink. What about you? Any everyday ingredients you think deserve more love?
That's true. It's a delicate balance! And I know it can impact the chemical reactions in certain bakes, particularly bread.
And then it depends on what salt to use. I prefer sea salt.
Maldon sea salt I hope! Essex girl here 🤣
I use Maldon as well. Really tasty. But I do like the French Sel de Guerande or a Pink Rock Salt as well. And that Murray River Salt from Australia is absolutely delicious on the simply cooked egg.
Oooh delicious! Great salt variety there
Collard greens, but maybe because they are in their prime right now and therefore I just wrote an entire issue about them 😂
I just learned a couple of years ago how delicious collard greens are. I love them! I headed over to your newsletter to find your collard green issue but don't see it. Has it not been published yet, or am I missing it somehow?
I was a little sneaky about it and didn’t directly call them out as collards. The issue is called Recipe At The Top #4: smoky + tart mexican braised green sauce, I’ll link below!
https://open.substack.com/pub/lovinglymade/p/recipe-at-the-top-4-smoky-tart-mexican?utm_source=app-post-stats-page&r=2ex3ox&utm_medium=ios
Ah! Thank you!
The number of times I've added a spoonful of sugar to dinner... hehe.
Now that is a question! I come up with two, both solid culinary workhorses, deserving of a little kitchen respect. Celery and parsley.
Miso is the OG of bullions.