Save time and make quick work of dinner prep by reaching for our Milk Street Premium Essentials Ginger Confit whenever you need fresh ginger. Inspired by our Sofrito and Garlic Confit, we developed a ready-to-use ginger product that shows off fresh ginger flavor and avoids the problems of supermarket ginger pastes, which can be overly hot, packed with additives and haunted by a woody, stringy texture. Technically, this versatile product is a puree, not a confit: We learned, in over a year of testing, that ginger’s sunny flavor gets lost in the fat that creates a confit, but it shines in acid. So we made our version with lemon juice and rice vinegar instead, for a balanced acidity that doesn’t interfere with ginger’s brightness. The confit’s texture is sublime—we carefully balance pureed pulp with ginger-rich liquids—and it’s the closest thing to fresh ginger we’ve ever tasted out of a jar, with enough acid and sweetness to balance the heat of ginger. Its flavor is neutral enough that you can use it in everything from ginger cookies to stir-fries to vinaigrettes; a hint of coriander adds depth without skewing the confit to any single cuisine.

Like flaky salt or a squeeze of lemon, pickled red onions are one of those essential hip-pocket ingredients that will make a dish pop. They’ve got the right combination of piquancy and sweetness to elevate and sharpen flavors and an addictive crunch to keep a dish engaging start to finish. But after being dissatisfied with the versions we found on the market, we decided to make our own. Milk Street’s Pickled Red Onions are the perfect balance of tart, sweet, spicy, with rich onion flavor. The addition of coriander, allspice and árbol chili adds a great depth to the mixture, while the fresh crunch adds bright texture—other versions we tried were mostly mush. Use as an all-purpose accent for almost any dish, from tacos to curries to salads.

Coaxing out the rounded, complex flavor of garlic is an essential part of the cooking process, but what if you don’t have time? Pre-prepped grocery store jarred garlics are typically raw—so they won’t speed up the process much—and often taste bitter and harsh, or lack flavor altogether. We searched for a garlic that was pre-prepped (to avoid painstaking slicing and grating), shelf-stable and already cooked and flavored so it could be used straight from the jar. We didn’t see any products on the market that fit the bill. That’s why we developed our own. Enter: Milk Street Premium Essentials Garlic Confit, which features more than a whole head of garlic in every jar. To make it, we simmered delicate slivers of garlic with herbs and spices in a creamy blend of extra-virgin olive oil and buttery Indian ghee. First, you taste the rich, rounded garlic—slow-cooked and tender. Then, the bright tinge of lemon followed by the aromatics steeped in the confit’s silky oil: warming, earthy bay leaf and fruity Aleppo pepper with a hint of heat. This complex mélange of flavors is bold enough to stand alone, but it also easily blends into all kinds of savory dishes and cuisines.

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We created our sofrito to be the perfect building block to cook a wide variety of recipes in less time, based on the tradition of Italian and Spanish grandmothers who make this by the jar to simplify cooking and boost flavor. After much testing, we came up with an aromatic base of sautéed onions, carrots and celery, complemented by the bright tones of tomatoes, white wine and vinegar. For additional depth, it has earthy, umami notes from mushroom powder, aromatic notes of rosemary and thyme, and just a hint of heat from black pepper and Kashmiri chili powder. A few tablespoons of this jammy sofrito is all it takes to spread rich, concentrated power into soups, sauces, stews, braises and nearly anything else that needs a boost of big flavor.

The easiest way to change the way you cook is to use high-quality spices—it will transform food with minimal effort. Fresh and potent, they pack a fresh, lively punch. We’ve sourced our Milk Street spice line from some of the best producers around the world to help you cook in a simpler, bolder way. This sampler pack of spices comes in resealable pouches for maximum freshness. Our Za'atar, a Middle Eastern herb-and-sesame spice blend, is punched up with Aleppo-style pepper, sumac and garlic for a complete one-stop seasoning. We have whole Sichuan Peppercorns with a floral, resinous and citrusy flavor as well as a mouth-numbing quality that's iconic in Sichuan cuisine. The sampler also includes our Sichuan Salt, which is rounded out with warm five-spice powder, musky white pepper and a touch of sugar. Our Smoked Paprika is essential to Spanish cooking and packs a rich, potent smokiness and subtle sweetness. Produced in Turkey, Urfa Pepper is a glossy, deep burgundy-colored chili flake with an earthy, smoky flavor, moderate spice level and notes of cocoa and tobacco. And Sumac is a Middle Eastern spice that we think of as a “dry acid” because it adds a sharp, tart accent to dishes without the need for citrus juice or vinegar.

The Milk Street Spiced Salt Sampler Pack includes all six of our flavors in regular, full-size containers.
Cooks around the world dress up their salt, from garlic salt in the republic of Georgia to cumin salt in the Middle East. Here at Milk Street, we have developed six new seasoned salts to upgrade your cooking in just seconds. Our Mexican-style Chili Lime salt also contains a hint of brown sugar and is great on meat, beans, even popcorn. The sweet-savory flavor of our Sesame Matcha, inspired by Japanese cuisine, is perfect for soup, noodles and sweet berries. We have added mustard seed and cardamom to our Madras Curry, which we love on chicken, eggs and seafood. Cumin and Pepper pairs nicely with rich meats or root vegetables such as potatoes. Light, bright Lemon Herb contains coriander and caraway and is a nice addition to chicken, greens and seafood. Finally, earthy Persian Mint with cardamom and cumin is ideal with meat, salmon and vegetables.

Marinara Magic is an upgraded Italian seasoning blend that features fennel seed, oregano, chili flakes and Parmesan. It adds instant depth and flavor to not only pasta sauce but also soups, stews, pot roasts or beans. Likewise, use Rice Spice for any manner of grains; the savory, warming blend includes earthy turmeric, coriander seed, fennel and dill, with a touch of red miso for umami. Veggie Lift, a light and savory mix with caraway, coriander, fenugreek and garlic, adds a delicate complexity and aromatic boost to any vegetable. And our bright, zesty Poultry Power is reminiscent of Madras-style yellow curry and features abundant warm spices, chilies and piquant flavors like tart mango (amchoor) and citrus.

We like to think there are few dishes za’atar can’t improve. Our rendition of this Middle Eastern herb-and-sesame spice blend is punched up with Aleppo pepper, sumac and garlic for a complete one-stop seasoning. It’s also the perfect savory addition to your morning avocado toast, fried eggs or even a bagel smeared with cream cheese.