The best most fun ingredients and their applications

Okay, I need tips for ingredients with fun applications, esp. ingredients I can make at home. I'm talking about everything from chickpeas for hummus to chicken fat for schmaltz. Buttermilk for buttermilk biscuits (and butter too :o). Home-made tahini from sesame-seeds. That sort of thing. Not "flour, so you can make pancakes". If you must recommend flour I want something like seitan to come out of it! Or sprouted wheat for Essene bread.

So, what're your favourite ingredients for making fun things? It doesn't have to be something you yourself actually make at home. Just something you like.

Funny, when I saw the thread title I was going to suggest hummus. Because I'm going to go buy some for lunch.

I'm surprised you know/use the word schmaltz!

I'm a big fan of finding creative uses for smoked salmon. But it's too damn pricey to do all the time, though maybe it's cheaper in your parts.

You lazy schmuck, don't buy hummus, make it :mad:

Schmaltz sounds like the best thing ever but I haven't yet started collecting chicken-fat for making it. It's coming :up:

Smoked salmon is fairly pricey here too :( however, salmon in general is fairly affordable and hot-smoking it in the oven is pretty nice. Not sure if I know of many uses for it besides eating the hell out of it :o

Get fresh salmon and make delicious gravad lachs! Very simple, very tasty, just takes some time.

Every time I see the word "hummus" I have to think of the word "humus" - which means potting compost over here.

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Originally Posted by Dreadnaught

I'm surprised you know/use the word schmaltz!

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And I am suprised that it is used in English. Though we write it Schmalz in German but well wikipedia again knows all the answers:
"Schmaltz comes from the Middle High German Smalz - grease, tallow, or fat,[3] which is cognate with the English word "melt".

The word שמאַלץ shmalts is the Yiddish word for chicken fat,[4] The term entered English usage through Yiddish-speaking Jews who used this word mostly to refer to kosher poultry fat."

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Buttermilk for buttermilk biscuits (and butter too ).

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You don't make butter with buttermilk. Buttermilk is the leftovers when you make butter from milk.

For cooking I especially like hebrs like thyme, rosemary ect.
If you like to try something special with you might try to cook with Schabziger (a herbalized cheese):
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...bziger_004.jpg

http://www.classic.com.au/wizard/Schabziger.htm

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Originally Posted by Khen

Every time I see the word "hummus" I have to think of the word "humus" - which means potting compost over here.

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That's because people are too lazy (or too ignorant) to spell hummus with the correct diacritical mark. The h is commonly spelled ḥ, either as a voiceless uvular, pharyngeal, or velar fricative (depending on exactly what region you're from).

On the OP: I personally love using toasted sesame oil in a lot of dishes - it adds a very distinct and fun flavor.

I also enjoy high grade tuna (mostly ahi) because it's a good base to do a lot of fun things, from sashimi/maki to tuna steaks, some great salads, etc. Only problem is that you can't have too much because of mercury etc., it's tough to find top grade fish at times, and it's expensive as hell.

Let's see... quinoa is great and healthy, although there are of course the problems with source and its effect on local farmers in Bolivia and Peru. It's a fantastic protein source, though, and can be used as a based in a whole bunch of dishes - either as a replacement of a more traditional starch (e.g. rice, couscous) or in salads et al.

There's a lot of things you can do with sweetened condensed milk for creamy desserts (things like key lime pie et al), but one really cool thing is to make dulce de leche and use it as a topping.

Zaatar is fantastic and very versatile for cooking - I particularly like it to flavor things like dips (hummus, high grade olive oil, etc.) and proteins (e.g. chicken). You can make variants on your own, but there's lots of commercially available blends as well.

On the spices angle, I've been meaning to try harissa since I've heard it's fantastic, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Coriander/cilantro is also great, and not just for mexican food.

I love wine and things based on wine - notably balsamic and wine vinegars. All three add great flavor to plenty of dishes, with the better wines adding a richness and complexity to what might otherwise be a fairly boring dish (e.g. chicken or brisket/steak). You can probably make your own vinegars as well, though I imagine it might be tricky. In a similar vein, it's pretty easy to make other liquids that have great flavor combinations - infusions, liqueurs, etc.

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I've got for now.

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Originally Posted by wiggin

That's because people are too lazy (or too ignorant) to spell hummus with the correct diacritical mark. The h is commonly spelled ḥ, either as a voiceless uvular, pharyngeal, or velar fricative (depending on exactly what region you're from).

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Let's have sex and never stop

:haha:

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Originally Posted by Nessus

Let's have sex and never stop

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I'm actually not as informed about linguistics/lexicography as I'd like to be, but I happen to have an interest in pronunciation of Middle Eastern dialects. I'm flattered, though.

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Originally Posted by wiggin

I'm flattered, though.

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You sure about that? :o

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Originally Posted by wiggin

I'm actually not as informed about linguistics/lexicography as I'd like to be, but I happen to have an interest in pronunciation of Middle Eastern dialects. I'm flattered, though.

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To be fair, I knew you're spoken for!

I heard diesel and fertiliser are fun ingredients.

Almonds: almond meal, almond milk, almond paste, nougatine, lotsa fun baked yumminess :up: just need to figure out where I can get large amounts for cheap