Your DH sounds like a treasure to me! I'll have to give your question some thought. Every year I accumulate a few new finds that I call my favorite things and give them to my best friend, sister and sister in law (sort of like a poor persons Oprah's favorite things). But those things have not yet been culinary related. Good question. I'll be watching the thread for info myself.

Pomegranate molasses, preserved lemons, matcha tea, quinoa,
bamboo rice, are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Loved and use all of them quite often for cooking.
Great question by the way!

Shelley S.

Has your DH ever read the label carefully on a bottle of Angostura aromatic bitters which is available in every grocery store? So many cooking uses. A little bit here, a litle bit there adds that special 'something' to many recipes.

It's not really new, but I relatively recently found an inexpensive way to buy vanilla beans. Before I was too cheap to use them, now I use them whenever I can.

www.saffron.com is my source for beans. I got 1/2lb for $15, next time I'll buy a full pound for $20. There were 62 vanilla beans in the 1/2lb, so I broke them up and vacuum packed them. This way I can share with friends and family and spread the little black fleck love!

malna - How are you (DH) using the Sweet Chili Sauce. I have some in my pantry that I picked up at Marshall's a while back. I love Ginger People products and pick them up whenever I find them on sale. I was just going to glaze baked chicken breasts with it, but wonder if you've tried something more inspired.

Amck, I use Sweet Chili Sauce for Jessy's fresh spring rolls.

Back later with my list.

Sweet chili sauce is also great mixed with sour cream for a dip. (had it served that way in Australia with french fries).

Shelley S.

I recently discovered za'atar, a Middle Eastern seasoning mix. You can buy it premade, or there are a gazillion recipes for it, all slightly different. Most of the recipes include sumac, sesame, and thyme/oregano with salt. It's great in olive oil for a bread dip, or sprinkled on grilled meats or vegetables. The sumac gives it a sort of sour, tangy flavor.

I also have recently started experimenting with Cassia leaves (sometimes called Indian bay leaves) which have a very interesting, fruity-cinnamon sort of aroma. Broken into large pieces and simmered in sauces and soups, they impart a subtle, indescribable flavor.

Thank you - lots of great suggestions.

amck,
He uses it a lot as a marinade for chicken and shrimp, especially in stir fry. It's great on pork tenderloins, and he made a wonderful crusted salmon filet using the ginger chili sauce to stick the crumbs (can't remember if they were panko or ciabatta crumbs), sauteed it lightly and finished it off in the oven. It was yummy with saffron basmati rice and home-grown snow peas.

Thanks - That bottle kept getting moved further & further back on the shelf! I will pull it out and try some of the uses suggested.

nandina

I so agree with you about Angostura aromatic bitters. And if you have an upset stomach, put a little in some water and drink. It really helps a lot.

The newest addition to our pantry is Panko. Within the last week I've used it for breading crab cakes and baked pork chops and as a topping on macaroni & cheese. It's great stuff.

--Doug

Discoveries:
Real raisins (introduced by Compumom)
Bag in a Bag for FoodSaver - (a technique not an ingredient introduced by Peppi)
6 in 1 Tomatoes (introduced by Jessy, reinforced by Lars)
Balsamic Glaze (found on my own)
Chicken feet (Peppi, Gardengrl?)

Spanish pequillo peppers, Basque red pepper powder (Piment d'Espelette), fresh kaffir lime leaves, dried limes,fresh pes sprouts and fresh curry leaves. Not really new to me but they are becoming more common in other parts of the country.

And try growing and then frying peppers de padron. This link explains them but they are being grown here in Northern CA so I know seeds are available. Having a shady yard means no veggies for me to grow!

Here is a link that might be useful: peppers de padron

This is a great thread and I hope people will continue contributing. Discovering a new ingredient that I like is the most fun part of cooking. The worst part is when I get something in a restaurant and it contains an ingredient new to me and I can't find out what it is.

The problem where I live is that we are almost the last to get anything. Everyone else discovers everything before I do. My latest discovery was when I learned that sprouts didn't always mean alfafa because I don't like those. We can't get Spanish piquillo peppers, Peppadews or several other peppers here, as well as many other items, so I can't think of anything good I've discovered recently. I do remember my delight at my discoveries of real Parmigna Reggiano instead of the stuff in the green can, ginger, sesame oil, Fallot mustard, cilantro and culantro.

Beverly, you reminded me of one I forgot:
Parmesan rind

Cathy, I keep freezing my parmesan rind and forgetting to try them in soups.

Sounds silly, but Cumin is my (relatively) new ingredient.
I never could make a batch of really good chili, fajitias, taco meat, etc. Love it!

Deanna

Kaffir Lime leaves are amazing and I am such a big fan of cumin! I've recently tripped over Tamarind nectar [much easier and more available than tamarind paste/blocks] which has a great savory sweet all in one, phenom with chicken/duck/turkey.

Pistaschios, completely underrated as an ingredient and amazingly flavorful.

Happiest find in the past few months: getting a huge [in spice jar relativity] jar of both saffron and [what looks to be] orange [maybe a red/yellow amalgam?] curry from the spice lady in the outdoor market in St Maarten for 3 bucks each. I would pay about $3 for a fraction of a tsp for saffron and I have about 4 oz. I can't even imagine what that jar would go for here.

I like using Chinese 5 Spice in apple and winter squash dishes. I use it in place of apple pie seasoning or pumpkin pie seasoning.

I love Tuscan seasoning and Za'atar. I use them as a topping when I'm baking fresh bread.

Penzey's is your friend!

Maybe others knew about but I recently found garlic paste. I use it for anything that is quick cooking. I seem to only tolerate fresh garlic in long cooking recipes.

Um...I just recently discovered turnips.

I should probably be embarrassed about that!

Try these only if you are a hot foods aficionado, because these bad boys will certainly light you up:

1. Sriracha, specifically the Huy Fong brand. It's a wonderfully capsicum-y hot sauce. Very hot, hotter than Tabasco but not nearly as vinegary as Tabasco. I prefer the American made Huy Fong brand to the Thai version. Available at most Asian groceries; my local Indian grocer sells a ton of it.

2. Smoked Spanish paprika, or pimenton. This comes in three hotnesses, from sweet to bittersweet to hot. The sweet has very little zing, but does add a smoky fullness to the dish. All are great on eggs and meats. --A related condiment is chipotle powder. Chipotle peppers are jalapeno peppers which are allowed to get red-ripe, then smoked over oak fires, then canned in sauce. The powdered version is a little more convenient to use than the canned chipotle peppers.

Here is a link that might be useful: huy fong sriracha