Common Seasoning and Flavoring Ingredients

Any food product can be used as a flavoring ingredient, even meat (as when crumbled bacon is added to sautéed potatoes or diced ham is included in a mirepoix). Sauces, which are complex preparations containing many flavoring ingredients, are themselves used as flavorings for meat, fish, vegetables, and desserts. The term condiment means any edible substance that can be added to a food to contribute flavoring. Clearly, the list of condiments is nearly limitless.

We obviously cannot treat all possible flavoring ingredients here, but we discuss some of the most important. A survey of herbs and spices is provided in Table 6.1. Ingredients used primarily in the bakeshop are discussed.