Upgrades Worth The Extra Expense

Upgrades Worth The Extra Expense

Honey Upgrade: Raw honey - The texture is a little gritty since it is unfiltered and tiny sugar crystals are whipped in to help keep the jar from crystallizing (warming up the honey quickly solves that problem) but the flavor is phenomenal! Comparing raw honey to the stuff in the bear is like comparing a fine Italian wine to your kid’s grape juice. You won’t go back. I may or may not lick this straight off the spoon.

What I buy: Wedderspoon 100% Raw Organic Dandelion Honey

Beef Bouillon Upgrade:  Mushroom Powder - Essentially it is just ground up dried mushrooms. While a simple enough concept, the flavor is almost beefy and is excellent in everything from beef stew to pasta sauce, and soups and has the bonus of being vegetarian & vegan friendly in recipes that call for a beef stock. This is one of those things you add to a dish that makes it taste richer without affecting the texture and can be added to most things that call for beef bouillon.

What I buy: Hoosier Hill Farm Porcini Mushroom Powder

Butter Upgrade: Ghee - Ghee is a cultured and clarified butter that is most often used in Indian cooking. Removing the milk solids means you can use the oil to cook at high heat while providing all the sinfully good flavor of butter without the burning. Typically the product is also shelf stable which is nice when you have limited fridge space. While a little pricier, ghee made from grassfed cows is truly worth the extra expense as it is made up for in flavor and the fact that a little goes a really long way. 

What I buy: Pure Indian Foods Brand Grassfed Organic Ghee

Coffee House Upgrade: Matcha Green Tea Powder - It is simply ground green tea which has a wonderfully sweet and earthy taste. This powder is surprisingly versatile since it blends so well and has been used to flavor everything from ice cream to green tea protein shakes. After a little experimentation I even opted to add some powdered spirulina along with the green tea to surprisingly good results. (Heads up, spirulina is strong stuff so use sparingly until you’ve acquired a taste for it.) 

What I buy: Kiss Me Organics Matcha Green Tea Powder

Tea Upgrade: Vanilla tea - A newly discovered favorite fit for a Queen. After having tried various cheap brands I gave up on most flavored teas because even though they smelled fantastic the taste wasn’t anything special which is quite a shame. While searching for gifts for some tea drinkers I stumbled across a particular one that is so good I’ve gifted it more times than I can recall. A good vanilla tea is like drinking vanilla beans and is astoundingly comforting. 

What I buy: Harney & Sons Fine Teas Vanilla Comoro Tin

Spice Upgrade: Saffron - If there’s only one dish you ever use this stuff for it should be paella. The combination of slightly crisped rice, saffron, and seafood is an indulgence all its own. Saffron is expensive because it is the handpicked stigmas off the saffron crocus flower. The plus side is it takes very little to go a long way, as in a pinch of saffron is more than adequate for a paella dish feeding 6-8 hungry people. Saffron has a slight metallic aftertaste to super tasters so it isn’t for everyone. But, it adds a beautiful orange color and depth of flavor that is so unique there’s really no substitution for it. Saffron is wonderful as a flavoring for otherwise plain rice, and with a little garlic as part of an aioli.  

What I buy: Spicy World Pure Spanish Mancha Saffron 5-GramBox