The Walmart BetterGoods Seasoning I Use On Almost Everything

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About a year ago while shopping at Walmart, I tried a seasoning that has since become my personal holy grail of all savory flavorings: Walmart BetterGoods Mushroom Umami Seasoning. To say I use this on pretty much everything is an understatement. I'd recently learned about combining MSG with salt for an umami-loaded seasoning and was scouring the spice aisle for easy ways to get the essence of savory into my dishes. Then I spied this little bottle filled with speckled brown powder. Its ingredients were simple yet filled with tastebud-pleasing components. The top hits on the list are sea salt (salt being the classic flavor enhancer, onion (its high glutamate content makes it a great umami source), mustard seed with zippy pungency, and porcini and white button mushrooms. Mushrooms are a major umami-boosting ingredient, as anyone knows who has ever cooked them and enjoyed the rich, "meaty" flavor they release.

The seasoning's label suggests trying it with eggs, soups, and veggies, and that's a good start. It lends an extra-deep savoriness to fried or scrambled eggs, omelets, chili, black bean soup, West African peanut soup, ratatouille, Walmart steam-in-the-bag broccoli (a Great Value product you should always buy, FYI), and anything else you can think of. But that list is not exhaustive. Keep reading for how else I use this seasoning, plus some tips to make sure you keep your flavors balanced.

Besides eggs, soups, and vegetables, the BetterGoods Mushroom Umami Seasoning goes into basically every meat dish I prepare, except fish (I'm particular). It's great in the rubs I apply to pork or chicken — one Mexican-style, the other a blend of paprika, curry powder, garlic, salt and pepper, smoked paprika, coriander, and a pinch of nutmeg. I've also used a dab in an almond flour breading for chicken tenders. Beyond meat, grains love this stuff, too: mac and cheese, quinoa, rice pilaf, and cauliflower rice (which is one way to make it delicious).

That said, get to know this seasoning before you fling it around without measuring. I suggest sprinkling a fleck on your hand and tasting it first to get an idea of its personality. Remember salt is its primary ingredient, so adjust your recipe accordingly. For six scrambled eggs, I use just a couple of shakes and tiny pinch of extra salt; that ratio was the result of "error" (I skipped "trial" and learned the lesson straightaway).

The seasoning mix also contains crushed red pepper (giving it a slight spice), black pepper, thyme, and an anti-caking agent that stops working if you shake this over hot food too many times (ask me how I know). The thyme is subtle, so don't worry about throwing off the flavor profile of, say, an Asian-style dish like ramen. In fact, don't worry about anything except your store running out — when mine did for a couple of weeks, life was a little less tasty for a while.