"Freshly cracked pepper?" A Poll for Culinary Finishing Touches

hi. i have a deep love for black pepper. and lemon is in my religion. but the idea of fresh chopped cilantro or parsley literally gives me goosebumps.

so i really don't know. those are my 3.

umm also freshly shaved parmesan is like nothing else. big pieces shaved on top of a salad or a bowl of pasta

i wasn't supposed to eat dinner tonight and now all i can think about is pasta

yeah parm is the correct answer

i though of making a black pepper / lemon / parmasean poll but went with an impulse to be more inclusive

HAHA.

voting lemon

squeezed lemon into the jus from the roast chicken tonight

feels like the right choice

Black pepper, but parm and red pepper flakes close behind. Most of these are circumstantially delicious, but those three I will put on anything.

xp it is the right choice. i would concur that red pepper desperately needs a mention.

parm is the most delicious
black pepper is the most versatile
lemon probably has the most potential to improve an otherwise dull food

I have gotten really into adding plain, whole milk yogurt to stews and spicy dishes though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4DU8oiYGRk

i voted for other, ketchup and/or mayo really finishes a dish tbh

ketchup is sauce!

still haven't had dinner o_O where's the midnight pasta stand when you need one

anything except paula deen's "finishing butter"

(and i'll skip the whole lot of whipped cream -- just a tablespoon is fine)

i voted for red pepper flakes why because PIZZA

i have to tell you something. i have been in a sublet this summer. and i have ordered like 10 pizzas (i know because the boxes are next to the fridge). and i have not had red pepper this whole time. it was really hard.

wait am I seriously the only person here who is all SALT, OBVIOUSLY!

ugh point taken

i like really really really chunky salt. like ice blocks. or ice bars

bars as in establishments there is, where the bar is made of salt

I would cover my bridal bed with fresh chopped scallions

you almost got me at "shaved truffle" but I thought about the bill afterward, only chumps eat that foodstuff

i have not had red pepper this whole time. it was really hard.

have you asked the pizza place if the have any lil packs?

tomorrow. omg. exciting.

Man, I want to have a 10-pizza season again sometime soon. Haven't gotten that bold in nigh-on a decade.

Crushed red pepper flakes, for pizza and everything else.

This is probably black pepper for versatility but stirring cream or yoghurt into sauces beats pretty much anything.

this is pretty obviously fresh chopped herbs, nothing else will have as great an effect

lemon zest is a v good habit to get into tho, dish depending

Depends on the herbs really, coriander does a lot more than parsley, even when fresh.

yeah i wouldn't pretend to stan for parsley on its own but even still it will fill a plate with that fresh up-front ~life~

also mint motherfucker, mint

voted pepper but i do like a few pumpkin seeds roasted in soy sauce sprinkled over the top of things if i'm cooking for other people

the answer is salt, obviously, but everyone knows that

if the question is "which of these things do you put on your food more frequently than most other people," red pepper flakes, the good kind at any rate

the secret answer is "a fried egg"

sorry to be all "oh you forgot to include this poll option" but garlic powder would have been a good one.

lol no

Depends on the meal and what's needed to complement it. A squeeze of lemon juice on a paella. A handful of freshly chopped coriander on a curry. Black pepper on top of crab linguine. Malt vinegar with chips. It really varies.

Gremolata would probably float a lot of peoples' boats here, being equal parts chopped garlic, lemon zest, and parsley.

A grind of black pepper on a paella. A handful of freshly ground black pepper on a curry. Black pepper on top of crab linguine. Black pepper with chips.

I was with you until black pepper on chips.

What? Black pepper is the best chips/fries topping.

You're fucking crazy. The BEST chips / fries accompaniment is mayo, but we're not in the land of sauces here, so I'm not mentioning it. Apart from just then. But sans mayo, salt & vinegar wins.

No, no, no. Black pepper and then dip it in a strawberry milkshake! But as you said, we're not in the land of sauces here.

the secret answer is "a fried egg"

this is true though

first time i put black pepper on french fries was a revelation, they're potatoes duh

salt and pepper on chips is great, but chip shop chips need vinegar to cut through the grease

lol @ "some croutons" btw
I put a crouton on a french onion soup but I feel like most of my eating life has been picking out croutons.

I grated some parmesan on my soup, sat down at the computer and … no contest. It's salty *and* umami.

paprika on (really good) french fries is better than black pepper.

Is there an easy way to grate cheese

Cheesegraters so hard to clean

you can buy these amazing graters/zesters. a friend has one, i was using it on nye last year and it blew my mind. think it was 30 quid or something but god it was good.

Poll is missng an important option btw. Furikake http://i.imgur.com/F7YsIY2.jpg

乒乓 get a microplane cheese grater

Probably the most "oh my god" moment I've had with a utensile

Looks decent

Another important missing option is crushed raw garlic

yes yes yes, microplane is crucial parmasean / romano and also zesting citrus

i am a garlic fan but i do not think i would garnish a dish with it, that is a pretty advanced move

http://i.imgur.com/E1iqrlh.jpg

My god

http://i.imgur.com/gDs5pJ4.jpg

Wow

no no, don't get that mechanical stuff. such cleaning

This is your new family

http://karawheeler.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/microplane-graters.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/NaVKvPN.jpg

Dang, microplanes so versatile

hahaha

http://karawheeler.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/microplane-graters.jpg

yeah these are the ones i was using. they are a revelation.

My parmesan always gets microplaned, also garlic (fuck a crusher). Heels: no.

jesus christ dan youre not using a microplane???

i cant imagine grating cheese on an old style cheese grater now

still standing by my chopped scallions, and the option "raw chopped onion" by definition covers fresh garlic

chopped shallots too

i still use a box grater if i'm shredding up a block of emmenthaler or something

i think there's some cook's illustrated cheese grating hack where you spray oil on the grater so the cheese doesn't stick to it but no, i'm not doing that

yes alright let's just say that the onion/scallion option cover all members of the allium family, ok jeez

what about sesame oil? i find it lifts some things. i feel like soy sauce should be allowed here if olive oil is. but it is called a sauce so i can understand its omission.

in the name of stopping this thread becoming another war about mayo.

Maybe it's because I don't eat meat or fish, but I don't quite get regular salt as a "finishing touch"? If its needed, I always add salt in the initial frying/stewing/boiling phase, not as a finale. Does it make any difference at what point the salt is added?

before and after

maybe during

People Who Put More Salt On Their Food Before Even Tasting It

Re parmy cheese: stuff graters, just use a vege peeler!

??? Don't you get awfully big peelings with that?

lemon/lime

lots of these are nice but when a soup calls for a little squeeze of lemon before serving you know you're about to chow the fuck down

nakh reminds me that bonito flakes are also a great topping

http://i.imgur.com/7LKhggR.jpg

I love the way bonito rustles in the breeze

did u realize that actually comes from a tree

Yes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzGe04LUBRc

Another great topping is the raw quail egg

the wind blows gaily
through the undulating leaves
of the bonito

re: salt, i wanted to include an option for fleur de sel, smoked salt, that kind of thing? where it's used for texture or more complex flavor than regular table/kosher salt

fleur de sel on a warm chocolate chip cookie? try it.

http://i.imgur.com/u8rLmvU.jpg

So cute

i have never quail egg'd

Try it next time you make a carbonara

quails eggs are nice but i haven't had them raw

feel like a disgusting savage for saying this but um, some soups really benefit from a sprinkling of crushed-up crisps

smoked salt is good on loads of things, or a mix of smoked and normal.

Fucking hellfire @NickB's disgusting savagery.

Aerosol cheese. On ice cream.

I stand with NickB, crunchy fatty bits are a good topping. See e.g. http://i.imgur.com/vmWJmRO.jpg

People moaning about how hard it is to use regular box cheese graters baffle me. Like people who claim CD jewelcases are hard to open.

That's not crisps on soup, though.

I've had potato chip sushi before, it's great

Well it's mostly a childhood hangover really but it does add a bit of saltiness and a bit of added texture, like soup with tortilla chips in it. Would never dream of doing it to food I was making for someone else though. xps

People moaning about how hard it is to use regular box cheese graters baffle me. Like people who claim CD jewelcases are hard to open.

get a microplane

I bet crisps on a thick creamy soup would be great too. Crisps are great soups are great, great + great = great

did u realize that actually comes from a tree

It does? It thought it was a dried fish and have put it away when veggies are over :(

I had something similar in the past but iirc it used to basically injure the shit out of me. Need a stable base for grating.

day0 you are kind of blowing my mind with all these toppings, kind of embarrassed by my limited poll options now

Sex is great, kittens are great, sex with kittens? No thanks.

i don't follow

It's okay elmo. United together we can overthrow the Western Hegemony

xpost

hey guys check this out *sprinkles fritos over beef consomme*

you see a lot of recipes for nachos in soups

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7msfd_saturday-night-live-pepper-boy_fun

Of this list, parm and red pepper flakes, pretty much equally, depending on the dish (sometimes both.) The seasoning I use the most, from eggs to sandwiches to soups to grilled meats is Tony Chachere's Creole (I think I have posted this somewhere else before.)

http://c745.r45.cf2.rackcdn.com/img/2009/tonys_21.jpg

GREAT ON EVERYTHING

Ice cream?

I'll stick with my four preferred uses, thanks...

I've just remembered that when we went to Berlin, every restaurant table had salt, pepper and a pot of this stuff. Never tried it...

#TeamBlackPepper

Based merely on my usage, I voted squeeze of lemon.

I'm a fan of a lot of these, though

a sprinkle of salt has to be the winner

and not like, salting yr food gah but like, FINISHING a dish? yeah there's no contest.

cmon u guys

i dunno, vg, nothing really compares to the appetizing yet slightly barfy aroma of a good parmasean

and squeezing a lemon wedge is widely recognized as an alchemical act

and you say salt is obvious

pssh

I wouldn't likely 'finish' with salt since I'd likely have already salted something or would finish with something else; scallions or black pepper or chili flakes lemon or whatever after salting

i don't even really like parmesan and the only thing I finish with lemon is fish

idk

you guys are clearly all off on some crazy fancy trip

i um, just ordered the red pepper

i'm glad, theres no need to go without

Salt or pepper will prob win this

Lemon/lime prob should

Anyone saying the answer is OBVIOUSLY anything shd be banned from eating imo

Anyone saying the answer us OBVIOUSLY NOT anything, if that thing is "some croutons" then they are otm

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6K1wnADbMSI/TtauPZVv0tI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/_auh3Rrrdqw/s320/goldenmountain.jpg

I tell you what is OBVIOUSLY NOT the answer. Fucking white pepper, get that stuff away from me.

Str8 white pepper

white pepper usefull in cream based sauces tho, if you can about whiteness

ok I'm prob being a touch contrarian ('prob')

cracked pepper is probably the clear winner since as MW pointed out not everything requires or is made better by salt. But pepper is almost always welcome

fin

I've come to appreciate white pepper for its ability to totally blend into stuff like dressings. No reason to sprinkle it on stuff though.

what about some sort of aioli zig-zagged over the top from some sort of squeeze bottle

i said no sauces

no sauces goddamn it

butter lobby gonna be sad about this thread : (

butter is better for putting in things than on things imo (other than maybe a fresh-baked muffin or toast)

baked potato! c'mon

also peas; carrots; fluffy white rice

huh, just like plopping down some carrots on your plate and then slathering butter on them? Never occurred to me.

well, you cook them first. you could steam them.

Whoops, sorry

http://www.tropicalsunfoods.com/uploads/gfx/531.jpg

Man I'd like to suck on some of that

*realises cock refers to fowl*

Nooooo

loool

"Cock Flavoured Seasoning in the conference room"

*realizes it doesn't taste like penis*

haha

♫♫ we had joy, we had fun, cock flavoured seasoning from sun ♫♫

...

this is difficult. i feel like i've witnessed the most magic from lemon though.

lemon juice. i just have a thing for it. and um, i love squeezing the lemon.

mint is sooo dope. my most recent discovery is black pepper on popcorn. feel like cayenne deserves a shoutout for simple heat

and um, i love squeezing the lemon

yup

cayenne so dangerous tho! just the slightest excess can lay waste to all other flavors

omg this thread reminds me of that time, that martha stewart had on snoop dogg on her show, and used white pepper

and he was like WHITE PEPPER??! he was like wtf is white pepper

it was some funny shit

i like the spices that have a russian roulette element to them, lol

xp hahaha

it was really too good

i like the spices that have a russian roulette element to them, lol

― maven maven (Matt P), Wednesday, August 28, 2013 3:20 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this makes me picture a blacked out six-spice dispenser with a spinning chamber

his is difficult. i feel like i've witnessed the most magic from lemon though.

― maven maven (Matt P), Wednesday, August 28, 2013 3:07 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

They say alcohol makes bad songs sound good and weed makes good songs sound amazing. That's like lemon vs. parm to me.

Except, you know, with food, instead of songs.

by the same token a sprinkle o' meth on my burger never fails

You know? If we just mixed all these finishers together...

Salt seems to make the most sense, but I cook with salt and so rarely feel the need to finish a dish with it. Obviously the right finisher depends on the food, but the one that probably makes me the happiest is butter. Lemon is a close second.

I don't even have any butter in my house

According to today's NY Times, a surprisingly high percentage of imported spices are tainted by salmonella and sprinkling them on food (after cooking) can cause food poisoning.

salted butter or unsalted butter? xp

No butter. I try to avoid it but man, is Breton Demi-Sel some good stuff.

huh, just like plopping down some carrots on your plate and then slathering butter on them? Never occurred to me.

― #fomo that's the motto (Hurting 2)

that's how vegetables work in the midwest dude

best finishers for corn on the cob: butter, parm, paprika (or cayenne)

hey guys check this out *sprinkles fritos over beef consomme*

feelin this

Also-ran for corn - chilli jam

Not having butter in the house makes no sense to me. Butter is not evil and having it in the house won't like, make you fat. It's just a basic ingredient in cooking, like parm cheese or lemon or olive oil or red pepper flakes.

I don't eat enough butter (or bake enough) to not have butter go bad and I tend towards olive oil cooking more than butter cooking anyway so if I have butter in the house, it's because something very specific required it and even then I'd suggest you smell it before you eat any 'cause it might be two months old.

Like if I ever have a hankering for mousseline potatoes, that REQUIRES butter.

I keep unsalted butter in the freezer and pull it out a stick at a time for that very reason. I did buy some fancy imported salted butter recently because I was in a heavy toast and jam phase.

yeah i'm not voting butter in this poll but its culinary properties and uses are too numerous and wonderful to disregard

butter 4 life

Cannot vote in this insane poll, surely answer is "it depends on the dish", right?

Also, chopped raw onion is a thing? thin slices of green spring onion (is that what you guys call scallions?) works on azn dishes, but chopped raw white onion as a garnish?

yeah not sure about that apart from Pico de gallo

i can only come up with hot dog topping, but I'm sure there's others

Cannot vote in this insane poll, surely answer is "it depends on the dish", right?

― It is like ganging up on Enya (Trayce), Wednesday, August 28, 2013 6:31 PM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah that's why i say "all the above" variety is the spice of life etc

ohhhh raw chopped onions on hot dogs = yesss

raw chopped onions solo are good for tacos, tomtoes n chilis not vital.

u&k on a bowl of texas red

yes.

damn straight

what the fuck is NOT better with salt

nothing, that is what

Yeah, I vote salt. As much as I like the other choices, not salting things would leave me the most dissatisfied.

Whole lot of whipped cream, studded with croutons, topped with a pat of butter, and some salt.

pasta with some butter, truffle shavings, freshly grated parm, and freshly cracked black pepper

Too much salt or pepper could mess a lot of things up. What could a little fresh lemon or lime juice possibly ruin? Gotta think the latter is the favorite in this poll.

It would ruin anything it could curdle...

Too much fresh lemon or lime juice could mess things up. What could a little salt or pepper possibly ruin?

Yes I was gonna comment on the logic flaw in that sentence :)

Firey Guy and the other Food Network pillars of the community dropping "a little S&P" and "freshly cracked peps" all over the place has soured me on the poll from since I saw the title.

would consider other things if salt weren't a poll option, and if the question didn't include "what is most versatile?"

cuz the answer is salt, obviously.

runners-up:

pepper
butter
olive oil
herbs
lemon/lime juice

are you folks all eating underseasoned food all the time, idgi

would i put on food if everything i might want were already in there in perfect proportion?

money

(what) would

parmesan is obv

The BEST chips / fries accompaniment is mayo

cannot go unchallenged

trying to remember the name of a savoury/salty generic topping that supermacs used to put on their chips when i did my mandatory stint there...... another of those that was advertised and 'great with everything'....

cum

that's finishing for sure

I do not consder salt to be a finishing touch. It is integral to the process of creating the dish and should not be a final touch.

^ my thoughts exactly

When somebody asks for salt I am reminded of my failures

salt

it is most def a finishing touch on say, fries

or eggs! plain things

he secret answer is "a fried egg"

― max, Wednesday,

I vote black pepper but thanks to my Cuban upbringing I squeeze sour orange on meats and chicken.

salt makes many plain things palatable but v rarely makes something palatable into something ~special~

true

a little salt on potatoes or eggs is very lovely. i hardly ever use it on anything else as a finisher.

salted butter is a cheat answer to this right

Freshly chopped basil, cilantro, parseley, chives or tarragon make sense as a finishing touch (they don't need heating in oil to add flavor, and they'll turn brown if added from the start). My second most common finishing touch is lemon juice, mostly to brighten up soups.

http://img.coopathome.ch/produkte/ganzgross/front/30/3022310xun.jpg

this shit here is the shit

wtf is that shit

it is aromat

it tastes like idk

like if u just shook powdered stock onto yr food i guess maybe, but with a hint of that stuff as a kid that made your tongue fizzle?

it is some years since it was in my presses at home hence it took me til now to remember the name

Salt, MSG, milk lactose, onion and garlic powder & yeast extract.

I do think more cooks should become comfortable with adding a bit of MSG to their dishes. Or yeast extract (another umani flavor enhancer).

thelonious my old friend, wherefore art thou MSG

ty Sanpaku

Too much, of course, and your labored over meal starts tasting like a frozen entree or Chinese take out.

well yes of course, moderation etc, degrees of moderation vary depending on content, seasoning rules

Fresh truffles cause that's how I roll.

yo I use plenty salt nowadays and I don't hate but people lean WAY too hard on it at the expense of their cooking imo. take a year of reducing salt and reacquaint yrself with the taste of your food imo

the only things i add salt to these days are eggs, spuds and porridge

SALT RULES YOUR BALLS

I'm more of a lemon zest man myself re: my balls

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

yo I use plenty salt nowadays and I don't hate but people lean WAY too hard on it at the expense of their cooking imo. take a year of reducing salt and reacquaint yrself with the taste of your food imo

― combination hair (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Friday, 30 August 2013 01:25 (Yesterday) Bookmark

realest talk. salt is such a finely balanced thing idg how ppl can be all om nom nom moar about it

plus it should be in the cooking anyway not lumped on top at the end

o rite i skipped a bunch of posts soz

S'ok they were about spurs

SALT > YOU

Cant make head nor tale of that equation without soviet russia as a comparator tbh

in soviet russia fries (chips) salt YOU (and pour malt vinegar on YOU)

take a year of reducing salt and reacquaint yrself with the taste of your food actual seasoning imo

salt is great u guys mad.

that said I voted for truffle shavings.

salt is fine. it's hugely overused. I'm as guilty as anybody, it tastes great, but when you want to actually make something great, you dial it back and focus on the actual flavors instead of the boost you get from salt.

very easy to ruin something with too much salt, and hard to correct. difficult to ruin something with too much parm.

ppl ruin pizza with too much parm sometimes

that's usually fake parm, which is already ruined. but, just shake some off, good as new.

Imagining Granny shaking a pizza like a bed sheet.

I choose my food based on how good I think it is going to taste heavily salted.

Even the idea that you'd just "sprinkle salt" on something as a finishing move is so rong. I corrected the seasoning already. There is no salt on my table.

Look at what you don't bring to the table, iirc

Even the idea that you'd just "sprinkle salt" on something as a finishing move is so rong.

What if you were playing mortal kombat against a slug

Delicious lol

Even the idea that you'd just "sprinkle salt" on something as a finishing move is so rong. I corrected the seasoning already. There is no salt on my table.

friend I love you but the chefs who disagree w/you on this point are some pretty remarkable cooks

"Add salt" is as generic as "oil the pan", "preheat the oven" or "turn off the burner". Could we put "turn off the burner" as a culinary finishing touch?

The idea that it's a "finishing touch" is like suggesting that underwear is an "important accessory to your outfit"

we aren't talking about like, morton's iodized salt

maybe I am

lol

no but the most discussed foodstuff itt is fries, so

i finish off my fries with a topping of soup crackers, personally

fiore di sale imo

a dollop of creme fraiche or a sprinkle of herbs will routinely get acknowledgement but if you think your diner is gonna be transported to new culinary dimensions because you have Maldon's or whatever on your green beans you are sorely mistaken

xp lol

fries and pizza are the world's greatest foods but "culinary finishing touches" suggests to me that we're talking about how you finish your soup, steaks and sides

also, an option missing from this poll that is sorely sorely missed is chopped nuts.

I do not sorely miss that option.

Salt should be part of the cooking process, but that only adds one layer of flavor. I like the mix of cooked in salt and also fresh salt on top. It's a distinct difference in taste.

"fresh salt" !???!?

lolll

very easy to ruin something with too much salt, and hard to correct

i have literally never seen this happen outside tv shows where the housewife can't cook or the kids make a special mother's day breakfast in bed and confuse the sugar for the salt

I ruined guac once with too much salt

did your husband get mad or just say 'don't worry, honey, tonight can be pizza night!'

If you over-salt a soup or stew you can sort it out a bit by chucking a whole potato in the pan, then fishing it out before serving. You're welcome.

we went out and bought more avocados but the avocados were not ripe and wouldn't mash into the existing guac and it was ruined and a terrible night was had by everyone involved.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

well.

tbh would've voted montreal steak seasoning if i could, i don't know what that suggests about me

never had oversalted food????

montreal steak seasoning is so good.

omg that looks really nice. I live in a jewish neighbourhood,I wonder if I could find it in a deli here.

I love how Julia Child likes to talk about "a slice of foie gras" as a finishing touch. "Serve topped with freshly ground black pepper, braised asparagus, capers, or, if available, a slice of foie gras".

Yer kosher (coarse) salt added to a non-soupy, undersalted dish is unlikely to ruin anything. It has nowhere near the dish ruining capacity of, say, cloves.

For fellow health nuts, capers have crazy amounts of the flavonones kaempferol and quercetin. As I've found the liter+ sized containers of capers at my local food importer warehouse, I've taken to snacking on them, adding them to salads, probably ruining dishes if others with less kooky priorities were joining me.

a sprinkle of maldon on ice cream is A++++. that doesn't ruin anything.

also, good olive oil, cf. big gay ice cream.

Even the idea that you'd just "sprinkle salt" on something as a finishing move is so rong. I corrected the seasoning already. There is no salt on my table.

The idea that it's a "finishing touch" is like suggesting that underwear is an "important accessory to your outfit"

It is fundamental, so maybe "finishing touch" isn't right. More like a preference for long johns, boxers, or briefs.

Dictating salt level is not like having the final word on whether you include cardamom or not or how much. Taste for salt varies a lot by individual. Food that you think is appropriately salted as prepared might seem oversalted to another person, and for me might taste like you forgot to add any salt. It's like the difference between deciding the temp on your thermostat during your dinner party and deciding whether a guest gets to wear his sweater if he's the setting you choose is colder than he likes.

Or going back to the underwear analogy, a dictatorial attitude toward salt is like deciding everybody wears briefs with their outfits. I'd probably be comfortable, but my frail elderly aunt would be cold and want to add a layer of long johns.

First he showed up with lousy wine, then he called me a dictator

The wine was lousy but the dictate good

Near miss with Godwin's Law there.

ya it almost got natsy

Saltin

Musselini

Pan Pot

robespierrewhite

idi amin, i'm not quite ready to order yet

[post withdrawn on advice of counsel]

Thats not fuckin true

counselconscience

A lot of people said lemon juice, but I don't recall anybody saying lime juice, which is clearly the way to go. You could put lime juice and salt on your toenails and have a passable snack.

I said "lemon/lime juice" and expected it to be taken as read that the latter is preferred

otm re: limes, wth re: toenails