You will find through a Google search lists of all the necessary ingredients you need in your pantry to cook and bake.
There are though, four ingredients that are the most important, and you cannot do without them.
Each of the 4 most important cooking and baking ingredients serves a particular function, reacting with each other and other ingredients to create the structure, flavor and texture of the finished cooked dish or baked good.
These include:
Salt
Salt is one of the most important ingredient in everything we cook and bake.
Salt is unique and the only mineral we use in cooking and baking.
It primes our palates to identify and enjoy flavors and textures. Salt works to amplify and balance what we taste.
Different types of salts have varying textures and levels of salinity.
There are different types of salt.
Salt crystals differ in shape and size and the various types will melt at differing rates.
Choose a lighter, smaller crystal like table salt for baked goods and larger grains or flakes as a finishing salt.
Whichever type of salt is used, it directly influences flavor in a surprisingly complex way.
Adding a hint of salt to batter won’t give the cake a salty flavor. Rather, salt reduces bitterness and allows sweetness to come forward, producing a more well-rounded flavor.
Salt is not only a flavor enhancer, but also affects the tenderness of a baked good.
Ultimately, salt is used as a seasoning to enhance the taste of food. It makes bland foods such as carbohydrates, like bread or pasta palatable and it helps to bring out the natural flavors in food.
– Read and Know More About – What You Should Know When Cooking With Salt –
Vinegar
Few ingredients have the versatility, range, and potency of vinegar when it comes to cooking.
There are different types of vinegars as well.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – pickling vegetables – flaky pie crusts – salad dressing & vinaigrettes
- Rice Wine Vinegar – Japanese sauces & condiments
- Sherry Vinegar – glazing vegetables – pan sauces
- Balsamic Vinegar – Meat, Salads & Desserts
– Try This Deliciously Yummy Balsamic-Honey Glazed Chicken and Asparagus –
Citric Acid
Citric acid is used in preparing foods for preservation and adding flavor. The sour flavor to be exact.
Like those sweet and sour candies. Yes, their sweetness is from sugar and the sour flavor is from the use of citric acid, among other naturally occurring acids.
Citric acid is also used in pickling fruits and vegetables to making jams and jellies.
Zest of lemons as well as oranges contain citric acid and can be used as an agent for enhancing flavor in cooking and baking.
Lemon zest is a popular flavoring for baked goods and desserts as well as in savory dishes, such as meats and sauces.
Some Lemon Zesty Recipes
- Gluten-Free Blueberry Lemon Bread
- Moroccan Baked Chicken Thighs With Broccoli
- Chicken Potato Leek Soup
Lemon juice can replace or compliment vinegar in salad dressings, or to marinate and tenderize meat, poultry or fish.
Try These Salad Dressings And See How Vinegar Is The Star In These Vinaigrette’s To Complete Your Salad
Sugar
In addition to imparting sweetness, sugar is added to food to contribute not only to flavor (sweetness), but most importantly to color. Such as the browning of baked goods and meats.
Sugar interacts with other food ingredients, enhancing the flavor profile.
Here is some to remember about sugar in your baked goods.
Sugar is hygroscopic, which means that it both attracts water and holds onto it, leading to a moist cake.
If you reduce the necessary amount of sugar in a recipe, you’re also decreasing the cake’s ability to retain moisture.
You can replace the reduction of every 1/4 cup sugar with: 3 tablespoons raw honey or maple syrup. Keep in mind the flavor of each replacement as regards the one you choose.
Sugar acts synergistically to increase the aroma of a flavor or balancing bitterness, such as with dark chocolate.
More Deliciously Yummy Recipes
- Apple Cinnamon Upside-Down Cake
- Chocolate Mexican Coffee Cake
- Slow Cooking, is it Safe?
- Chicken Sausage & Tortellini Soup
- Honey Roasted Nuts
