This blog post might seem a bit out of place in comparison to my normal posts recreating family favorites. But bear with me, this will feature in my next recipe heavily. This one is also a bit more wordy.
Ever since getting dr's orders to go low sodium, I have been doing deep dives into how flavor is made. It turns out, salt amplifies that umami flavor. You know, that elusive, hard to describe savory flavor. Yes, it boosts other flavors too, which is why you have to double up on seasonings to get the same payoff. But umami is a bit different. I focus a lot of my recipes on boosting that elusive flavor profile, usually by using tomato paste or Worcestershire sauce and even molasses. But I have recently started dabbling in mushroom powder
I don't particularly care for mushrooms. I don't like their texture, even when made into a duxelle or battered and deep fried into perfection. So using a mushroom powder allowed me to add their unctuous umami without their texture.
Here's what I did...
I found dried mushrooms at my local grocery store. It was really that easy. I don't exactly live in a metropolitan area either, but they had them. You can also order them on various websites. I used shiitake for their meaty texture, porcini for their smokiness and chanterelle for their fruitiness (kind of like how we add an acid to trick the tongue into saltiness).
Now I add a tablespoon or two to most sauces and it just elevates that dish even higher. By the time your palate realizes it doesn't have any salt, it's moved on to the next bite.
Ingredients
1oz dried shiitake mushrooms
1oz dried porcini mushrooms
1oz dried chanterelle mushrooms
Add all the mushrooms to a blender or grinder, whirl until powdered and store in an airtight container.
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