Celebrity chefs carry great influence. Unlike other celebrities who may have just caught a lucky break and ended up famous overnight, it's pretty much guaranteed that these chefs started at the bottom and spent years honing their craft in various kitchens around their respective regions. Because of this wealth of experience, we look to them for advice, cooking tips, and ingredient explanations. And since we aspire to be experts just like them, does that extend to trying recommended ingredients like stale bread and pickle brine? Absolutely. Keep watching to find out about other underutilized ingredients celebrity chefs swear by.
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00:00Celebrity chefs carry great influence. We look to them for advice, cooking tips, and
00:06ingredient explanations. And since we aspire to be experts just like them, does that extend
00:12to trying recommended ingredients like stale bread and pickle brine? Absolutely, along
00:19with these other underutilized ingredients.
00:22Giada De Laurentiis has a foot in nearly every culinary door, from television and restaurants
00:28to cookbooks and kitchen product lines. The De Laurentiis recipe vault is studded with
00:33eclectic influences. Produce-driven California plates, light and healthy recipes, and indulgent
00:40desserts all play a part. But cheese graters, Roma tomatoes, and all things Italian cuisine
00:47are central to her culinary outlook.
00:50Parmesan cheese, however, is an obvious cornerstone ingredient to her repertoire. Salty cheese
00:55chunks with engraved Parmigiano rinds have received plenty of airtime on De Laurentiis'
01:01numerous Food Network shows. But after the prized meaty center is all used up, De Laurentiis
01:07doesn't throw the rinds away. Instead, she saves them in a plastic bag and stores them
01:12in the freezer for later use.
01:15The waxy rind imparts a buttery richness that melts into slow-cooked broths, soups, and
01:21tomato sauces, leaving simmering spoonfuls teeming with complex umami flavor. So the
01:27next time you grate your way through a Parmesan cheese wedge, don't toss the rind. Instead,
01:33start a freezer collection to make a magic potion of your own.
01:37"...bottoms up."
01:45Made from ground-up sesame seeds, tahini paste imparts a seductive creaminess, upfront nuttiness,
01:51and pleasant, bitter undertone to the beloved healthy chickpea spread, aka hummus. But hummus
01:58barely scratches the tahini surface. Canadian chef and Top Chef Canada host Eden Grinchpan
02:05can't name an ingredient she loves more, and her tahini passion might just change the
02:10Middle Eastern condiment's U.S. trajectory.
02:13Full of praise for the sesame paste, Grinchpan has developed recipes for savory and sweet
02:18dishes, making this not just a favorite ingredient, but an incredibly versatile one as well. Just
02:25like any other ingredient, no two tahini pastes will taste the same. Ethiopian, Israeli, and
02:31Lebanese sesame seeds all impart a unique regional flavor that influences the final
02:37tahini product. Effusive bitterness can overpower tahini's nuanced qualities, so finding a smooth
02:44paste with a pleasantly light, bitter flavor is often a good quality indicator.
02:50Anchovies are highly polarizing, but Iron Chef Bobby Flay won't let popular opinion
02:55shake his fondness for the salty fish. Anchovies are a Flay Pantry staple. So much so, he compares
03:02their salt-forward taste and effortless flavor-boosting capabilities to the timelessly fashionable
03:08bacon. A personal pantry tour unveils rows of dried chilies, spices, and canned tomatoes,
03:16but his standout secret weapon hides in a small glass jar packed with oil.
03:21Anchovies are often misjudged, leaving pizza eaters who find the small fillets garnishing
03:26their wood-fired pies skeptical. Flay admits to using anchovies as an undercover flavor
03:32enhancer all the time, employing the tiny fish to bolster dynamic umami flavor in many
03:38dishes. An episode of Bobby & Giada in Italy does just that. Flay helps cook up a Roman
03:45anchovy butter pasta, utilizing the powerhouse fish to add extra richness.
03:50"...good one!"
03:58Simmering pots full of rusty orange-red tomato sauce have plenty of uses, but Rachael Ray
04:04has a go-to tomato product for all her saucy needs that doesn't get enough love, at least
04:10not here in the U.S. On The Rachael Ray Show, the chef explains that passata is made from
04:16fresh, ripe tomatoes that are ground and put into a bottle. The main difference between
04:21tomato passata and tomato sauce lies in its uncooked nature. Although some cooks claim
04:27passata can also consist of cooked and pureed tomatoes, most agree that it stands out as
04:32being uncooked. It's also important to note that no added seasonings or vegetables are
04:38mixed into passata's tomato base. If Ray is cooking with tomato products, odds are tomato
04:43passata is involved. Unlike many store-bought tomato sauces, Ray points out that passata
04:49doesn't contain any added sugar. Recipes such as her garlicky tomato sauce incorporate passata
04:55as the stand-alone tomato ingredient, while her You Won't Be Single For Long Penny a la
05:00Vodka accentuates the puree's naturally sweet juiciness in conjunction with more toothsome
05:06canned tomatoes.
05:09Chef-proclaimed cocktail queen and back-to-basics culinarian Ina Garten surpasses celebrity
05:14chef status and heads straight to royal tiers. With over 3 million Instagram followers thirsty
05:21for Garten's exhaustive cooking tips, word travels fast when she advocates for an indispensable
05:27pantry item collection. A few years ago, Garten unveiled one staple she can't live without
05:33— mustard.
05:35But she doesn't halt her condiment infatuation at classic French Dijon mustard. Garten raises
05:41the bar, vouching for whole-grain mustard's unique texture. The creaminess of Dijon and
05:47the texture of whole-grain mustard create a magical emulsion with an iconic mustardy
05:52bite. Her crispy chicken thighs with mustard sauce stay true to this method, incorporating
05:57both mustards into one creamy sauce and relying on the whole-grain mustard to add a sassy
06:03surprise pop with every bite.
06:06"'Pardon me, would you have any grey poupon?'
06:09"'But of course!''
06:10José Andrés is both a chef and a humanitarian, but feeding people is at the forefront of
06:16all culinary outreach avenues. As the founder of World Central Kitchen, a non-profit organization
06:22that provides food disaster relief, Andrés knows a thing or two about the impact of a
06:27freshly cooked meal. Wasting any food at all goes against his benevolent spirit, so
06:33Andrés is sharing a passionate petition to save day-old bread chunks and use their aged
06:38character to create culinary magic.
06:41Andrés shared one of his favorite ways to cook with stale bread, inspired by his Spanish
06:46upbringing. Migas is a typical Spanish dish made from stale bread, lots of olive oil,
06:53Andrés shared his twist on the classic, featuring migas with paprika-studded chorizo and sweet
06:59grapes. Stale bread chunks work to chorizo's oily advantage, soaking up all the flavorful
07:05greasy bits. Andrés also recommends using up extra bread in soups, which can resuscitate
07:11day-old bread with a little help from flavorful broth.
07:15A Top Chef contestant, restaurateur, author, and James Beard Award nominee barely scratches
07:21the surface of Kwame Onwuachi's accomplishments. Meanwhile, when it comes to sharing his culinary
07:26talents, Onwuachi's Trinidadian, Nigerian, Jamaican, and Louisianaan heritage is a driving
07:33force. One of his favorite ingredients touches on his Nigerian roots and takes the shape
07:38of a small cube. Maggi cubes are a common seasoning in West Africa, and a cornerstone
07:44ingredient in Onwuachi's go-to comfort foods. He is so passionate about this flavor bomb
07:50ingredient that he imported tubs of maggi cubes from Nigeria when he opened his D.C.
07:55restaurant Kif & Kin. Although it is no longer open, his impactful culinary footprint and
08:01homage to traditional Nigerian flavors forever changed the restaurant world. Onwuachi has
08:07since introduced the mighty maggi cube to countless people, and it's only a matter of
08:12time before the U.S. catches on to the spirited Unami building block.
08:18Alex Guarnaschelli made headlines showing off her high-end kitchen to fans, and never
08:23has a celebrity chef been so relatable. Amidst the impressive gadgets and decor, she has
08:29an entire shelf dedicated to sauerkraut and pickles. With such a vast pickle collection,
08:35you can bet the chef makes a point of using up leftover brine. She doesn't limit its use
08:40to cocktails or consuming it plain for numerous health benefits, but incorporates the brine
08:45into up-cycled recipe components. Guarnaschelli has shared an easy recipe for salad vinaigrette,
08:52using leftover brine for an added touch of acid and salt. For her door-of-the-fridge vinaigrette,
08:58she combines one part each of pickle juice and balsamic vinegar, three parts olive oil,
09:04and a spoonful of Dijon mustard for thickness. Guarnaschelli also notes that she uses the
09:09brine to re-pickle new vegetables or to add a splash of salt and acid to marinades.
09:16Pepitas are so much more than just a salad garnish, and Patty Hinich, host of Patty's
09:22Mexican Table on PBS, shares just how transformational they can be. The seeds
09:27are a foundational ingredient in many Mexican dishes, including salsas, moles, soups, and
09:34even drinks. Not only are pepitas incredibly nutritious, they're packed with antioxidants,
09:40fiber, and healthy fats, but blending them creates an incredibly creamy texture.
09:45Much like nut-based milk, the seeds' oils emulsify with liquids, causing the sauce
09:50to lighten in color and develop an unctuous texture that lingers on the tongue. Pepitas
09:56are small, but in numbers can transport almost any aromatic base into a thick and luxurious sauce.
10:03Hinich adds pepitas to her mole poblano in addition to peanuts, almonds, and raisins.
10:09Four types of chilies, onions, tomatoes, and tomatillos forge the iconic mole paste base.
10:16Chef and former Top Chef contestant Richard Blaze is known for his molecular creations
10:22and firmly believes everyone should have a hefty duck fat supply, claiming that
10:27anything cooked in duck fat has a flavor that you can't get from oil or clarified butter.
10:32Blaze recommends either roasting a duck and saving the rendered fat or buying it from the
10:37grocery store. Either way, duck fat has been compared to liquid gold. And there's a bonus
10:43here — it can be stored in the fridge for weeks or in the freezer for months. Duck confit is a
10:48classic French preparation, and Blaze won't argue against cooking duck legs in their own fat.
10:54His San Diego restaurant, Juniper & Ivy, features a rotating menu, including items such as a whole
11:01roast duck and even a maple cream tart with a crust made with duck fat.
11:07Born in Seoul, Korea and raised in Los Angeles, California,
11:10Roy Choi grew up with diverse food cultures. Choi's endeavors stretch beyond his fusion tacos,
11:17and his fans know that he is always ready to use ingredients in new and unexpected ways.
11:23Case in point? In 2018, Choi incorporated one of his favorite beverages, kombucha,
11:28into remarkable dining room plates at his Chinatown restaurant,
11:32Chego. Choi commonly integrates fermented foods into recipes,
11:36so it wasn't that far-fetched to splash some kombucha in a dish.
11:40He adds the fermented tea to salad dressings, cold noodles, and even sorbets. But recommends
11:47the novice kombucha drinker try deglazing a pan of caramelized pan drippings with the beverage.
11:54Alice Waters is the brilliant mind behind Chez Panisse, but her impact echoes way beyond the
12:00award-winning restaurant's square footage. For over five decades, Waters has built a food empire
12:07and calls green garlic one of her favorite springtime farmer's market finds.
12:12Green garlic is essentially immature garlic, pulled from the ground before the bulbs can dry
12:17out. A pleasant, mild garlic flavor sets this early bird crop apart from its older siblings.
12:23Waters has written that she discovered its range of flavors following a fleeting season
12:28of premature harvests yielding young and delicious green garlic.
12:33It's a pivotal ingredient in Chez Panisse's potato soup.
12:37Sleep well, Miss Lucy. The garlic will protect you.
12:42New York Times food reporter and cookbook author Priya Krishna knows her way around
12:48Indian spices. The Dallas, Texas native published Indian-ish in 2019,
12:54a food-forward familial tribute exploring the intersection of Indian influence in American
12:59society. Krishna includes only one chicken recipe in her most recent cookbook and credits
13:05the lone dish's success to a single ingredient, amchur. Krishna explains that amchur is made from
13:12unripe mangoes that are dried out in the sun and then processed into an indispensable seasoning
13:17powder. She raves about amchur's acidic boost, which instantly transforms a neutral protein like
13:24chicken breast. Not only does it add a bright flavor, but it also helps to tenderize the meat.
13:30She recommends subbing lime or lemon juice for amchur's enticing acidic flavor,
13:35or mixing the tart mango powder into softened butter to spread on sweet summer grilled corn.
13:41Nigella Lawson's cooking philosophy is designed to fulfill and satisfy the cook,
13:48not just those who dine. In 2014, an admirer wrote to the chef asking about a very particular
13:55UK ingredient — cold-pressed rapeseed oil. It's made by taking small batches of rapeseed
14:01and crushing them with a stone to extract oil. The temperature cannot exceed around
14:0680 degrees Fahrenheit to preserve the natural flavor in the final oil product.
14:11BBC Good Food calls cold-pressed rapeseed oil British olive oil. With the seed's natural
14:17pepperiness left intact, Lawson recommends using the nutty, mustardy oil as you would
14:22extra virgin olive oil in a vinaigrette and drizzled on vegetables. Award-winning chef
14:29and famous chopped host Aron Sanchez is on a mission to preserve an unlikely portion of a
14:35highly esteemed herb. According to Sanchez, cilantro is one of his favorite ingredients,
14:40but it is only complete when both the leaves and the stems make the final cut.
14:45Why? The bulk of cilantro's zesty flavor lives in the stems. Sanchez recommends saving all
14:52vegetable scraps from a week's worth of cooking and simmering the leftover bits with water to
14:57create a homemade vegetable stock. Throw it in the freezer and use the flavorful broth for soups
15:02and sauces. In addition to soft corn tortillas, expert meat placement, and exclusive white onion
15:09usage, Sanchez claims the secret to an elite taco is using the entirety of a cilantro bunch.
15:15There is no need for tedious leaf stripping. Grab a handful, run a sharp knife through
15:20the herbaceous bundle, and sprinkle with reckless abandon.
15:24Andrea Nguyen from Viet World Kitchen is a tofu connoisseur, and although her knowledge of Asian
15:30food is vast, she has a special place in her culinary heart for tofu. Nguyen calls silken
15:36tofu an underutilized ingredient in many parts of the world. According to Nguyen,
15:41unlike firm tofu, its texture is soft and pudding-like. Thanks to its production,
15:46which uses extra-rich soy milk, silken tofu has a unique fatty flavor and creamy consistency
15:53that's incredibly satisfying. With such a delicate yet luscious texture, silken tofu
15:59can present itself in many different ways. It can be cooked, or not, served hot or cold,
16:05or blended to amplify its natural creaminess. Nguyen recommends using it in soups, purees,
16:11and even desserts.
16:13David Chang's knack for innovation, bold statements, and challenging the status quo
16:18is the secret sauce behind his food empire's success. The New York Times coined Chang's
16:23bossam a brined and slow-cooked pork shoulder with a sweet and salty brown sugar caramelized crust
16:31a miracle in 2012. Flashy chunks of buttery, fall-apart pork steal the show,
16:37but the ssamjang sauce often gets overlooked. The sauce is an essential component of the recipe,
16:43transforming the dish. The word ssamjang actually means a sauce for wraps, so each variation,
16:50store-bought or homemade, is unique. The two essential components are doenjang and gochujang.
16:57The former is a slow-fermented soybean paste, and the latter is a spicy Korean red chili paste.
17:03When the two are combined and mixed with sesame oil, garlic, and honey,
17:08the delicious result is a sauce for dipping grilled or braised meats.
17:13An underrated Yemeni spice found its way onto Minnesota farmland as one of Food Network
17:18celebrity Mollie Yeh's essential pantry ingredients. Hawaij, a spice blend consisting
17:25of cumin, coriander, black pepper, cardamom, turmeric, and ginger, features warm and peppery
17:32notes. The word translates to mixture in Arabic and refers to sweet and savory blends. Every
17:38Hawaij mix is unique, as different spice ratios lend to infinite variation. For example, a blend
17:45used to flavor coffee is heavier on ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, much like
17:52pumpkin spice warms trendy autumnal Starbucks cups. Yeh uses it wherever she can, adding the
17:58cozy spice mix to soups, chicken pot pie, casserole bakes, and even carrot cake.
18:05When Padma Lakshmi gave fans a peek into her home kitchen, she revealed which ingredients she
18:10swears by. Lakshmi says that she stocks preserved lemons like the rest of the world stocks milk.
18:16The lemons are stored in aromatic saffron and a jealous seed-infused oil,
18:21ready to add an intense, salty lemon flavor to nearly anything. Preserved lemons are salt-cured,
18:27which removes moisture and concentrates the lemon's essential oils and juices.
18:33Lakshmi likes to chop them up and saute them with olive oil, garlic, and lean protein,
18:38deglazing the pan with a bit of water to create a fragrant, flavor-packed sauce.
18:44Senegalese-born chef and cookbook author Pierre Chiam is introducing the world to
18:49West African flavors with passionate gusto. Thanks to Chiam, Fonyo is now sold all over
18:56the country. Fonyo is super nutritious and gluten-free, with a cooked texture that
19:01resembles polenta or cream of wheat, and welcomes saucy ragous or meaty braises.
19:07Chiam pays tribute to Fonyo's 5,000-year history in his cookbook,
19:11The Fonyo Cookbook, An Ancient Grain Rediscovered. But in 2017,
19:16he began promoting the ancient grain with a Fonyo product of his own.
19:21For Marcus Samuelsson, one very flavorful and brightly colored spice blend is essential to
19:27his cooking, and he always brings back an assortment of berbere seasoning from trips
19:32to Ethiopia. The dynamic mix of chili, salt, cardamom, garlic, and ginger reflects his heritage,
19:39both Ethiopian and growing up in Sweden. Berbere is prepared all over Ethiopia,
19:45but Samuelsson only discovered its complex lure years after becoming a chef.
19:50He adds it to slow-cooked stews, fish, guacamole, and even cocktails. One of his favorite fusion
19:57dishes is adding berbere spice to classic meatballs served with pasta, couscous,
20:02or cracked wheat. But for Samuelsson, the magic comes down to experimentation.
20:07As he states himself,
20:09"[Spices are windows into the countries they come from. Once you have good spices,
20:14you don't need much more."
20:16At first glance, herring might not screen hip and current. After all, the ingredient is rich
20:22in history and cultural tradition. But Joe Nathan argues that herring also amplifies refined
20:28restaurant plates. And for the last decade, chefs have re-evaluated a traditionally resolute
20:34ingredient and embraced its experimentation. Nathan commends restaurant plates that showcase
20:39smoked herring in any and all forms. And there are a lot of them. The New York City Aquavit
20:46Annual Summer Festival has honored the underutilized fish and given us all reason to
20:51give it a chance. For the home cook, grilling, frying, or sautéing herring fillets in a generous
20:57herby butter pool are all great options.
21:01Fresh produce receives the bulk of culinary attention, but North Carolina chef Katie Button
21:07swears by a specific dried ingredient — dried mushrooms. When mushrooms are dried,
21:12their natural flavor intensifies, adding an incredible depth that not even fresh mushrooms
21:18can achieve. Having shelf-stable dried mushrooms stocked in the pantry is a great way to reduce
21:24waste while appreciating infinite possibilities. Button explains,
21:28"...they're reduced down to their perfect mushroom essence, so you get that back out in a really big
21:34way." Button loves to brew dried mushrooms with slow-cooked chicken stock, but a quick pulse in
21:39a spice grinder turns the umami powerhouse into a powdery seasoning for fish or meat.
21:45Innovative opportunities are limitless, and it's only a matter of time before this
21:50underutilized fungi ingredient receives the hype it deserves.