Unauthorized Uses: Secret Ingredient Edition

I have a few go-to ingredients when I need to punch up the flavor of a dish, and unusually for my cooking style—where I like to stick pretty close to whatever tradition I’m working from and not get too fusion-y—I use these ingredients completely indiscriminately. They’re flavor powerhouses, basically:

• Pomegranate molasses: This has a lip-smacking tanginess I can only describe as “buttery.” Whether there’s actually butyric acid in it, I don’t know, but I sense butter esters. I use it in place of balsamic vinegar in salad dressings, lentil soups, and chilis; I use it in place of plum extract in my kimchi. It just has the perfect balance of sweetness and sourness with that buttery depth to it.
• Pimenton (smoked hot paprika): The heat, fruitiness, and smokiness of pimenton make it really versatile. I put it in or on nearly everything: menemen, garlic aioli, barbecue shrimp, grilled corn, cornbread, etc.
• Gochujang: Heat, sweetness, umami. I replace half the tomato paste in coq au vin and boeuf bourguignon with gochujang. It’s also awesome in any tomato sauce and any chili-type stew. It’s a fantastic secret ingredient in any barbecue sauce.
• Rose water and orange blossom water: Just a drop or two of this adds an unobtrusive but really lovely floral dimension to whipped cream or any fruit dish. I tend to use rose water with anything in the apple (malus) family and orange blossom water with stone fruit.
• Greek yoghurt: this really probably goes in the category of “substitutions,” but it adds body and a mellow acidity to baked goods, dressings, sauces, and cream or cheese-based desserts. I started out using it because I never had buttermilk around, but now I sub it most of the time when milk/buttermilk are called for in a recipe—I just thin it to the right consistency with water (or milk or cream—whatever I have around).
• Lavender: Of course it’s in Herbes de Provence, but it’s also great on its own, rubbed under the skin of a chicken you’re going to roast, or added to a quiche, a chicken soup/stew, or a fruit compote. I used it to make umeboshi, believe it or not. It opens up a nice, fresh, minerally door in whatever dish you add it to. Just use the tiniest amount, or you’ll end up with Essence of Floor Cleaner.