Using more sauce on your food is a game-changer

Looking at a majority of the people in the world, when it comes to eating food, the flavor is the number one priority. However, looking at the upper-Midwest, we are sometimes in the habit of forgetting the importance of flavor. An unseasoned meal is not a good meal. You can add spices, experiment with cooking styles or try a different sauce. Just do something to spice up your food.

In my opinion, when it comes to the preferred form of flavoring, sauce can’t be beaten. If you don’t use sauce often or there are many foods you don’t enjoy, I highly recommend giving the category of food a try. Seriously, it will make your food taste much better.

Some people may say that sauce covers up the flavor of your choice of food, and that opinion can be absolutely true in some cases. But the spreadable, addictive liquid is so much more than a flavor used to cover-up food, it is a chance to enhance food.

Used appropriately, the sauce can intensify flavor to make bland and overdone food better than ever. If you are not sure how to use the sauce, believe me, the internet is a highly useful source. If nothing else, go out on a limb and try a new sauce in any form, you might be surprised by what tastes good.

There are a few specific sauces that I have learned go well on almost any food. One sauce, in particular, is Yum Yum sauce, often found at Japanese and Chinese restaurants in the area. This sauce is the consistency of ranch but is better than ranch (sorry Midwesterners). 

You may think that ranch can go on anything, but trust me this Yum Yum sauce really can go on anything and everything. Well, anything food related, please do not apply to clothing or furniture. My favorite use of this sauce is in yakisoba broth or fried rice. Even if it is often paired with Asian cuisine, it can be used like a good ole’ American ranch.

A few others I highly enjoy on my foods are Sriracha sauce, Tabasco, Hoisin sauce and an easy-to-make sauce of minced garlic, soy sauce and lemon juice. At least one of these sauces will pair well with your favorite foods.

If you’re feeling less adventurous, there are some more basic sauces that you’re probably already using, like honey mustard, barbeque sauce, mayo and even ketchup. If you find yourself using these sauces frequently, you might be surprised how much you like some of the more adventurous sauces. 

All of these sauces listed enrich that unseasoned and flavor-lacking food college students are always eating. Just because you’re on a budget doesn’t mean your food needs to taste like you are. If you are not using sauce on food, you are truly missing out!