— Maria Allen

So cheese flavor, uh, generally speaking me means umami. It could, it could mean a more specific cheese sort of a flavor. But, uh, more if we step back and think about, um, um, taste and flavor development, um, I think about umami. And in order to, to get that flavor right into foods, what I often use is miso paste. And in fact, um, you know, with a lot of sauces and, and soups and stews, I'll, I'll use miso paste, and I've got a couple of them, uh, at least, um, all the time in the refrigerator. Now, I also mentioned that, uh, my colleague, chef Shar, uh, suggests miso powder. And, uh, you can find that, uh, pretty typically in, in, uh, your, your grocery stores these days. And so, dude, check around and see what, what, what might be available in your urban area. But, uh, miso powder is basically miso paste that's been dried and then powdered, um, to create, uh, an ingredient, you know, that can be used, um, without imparting so much, uh, liquid. Um, or it might be easier to use because it's in a powder form, a dry form versus a wet form. So, uh, consider that as well. But, uh, you know, do think about, uh, you know, even, uh, other ingredients. I'm gonna, I'm gonna talk about cooking more generally for just a moment here. But, uh, you know, think about, um, um, Vegemite or a, a mole paste, you know, from the, the Mexican cooking tradition, you know, know, these are a couple of other examples that are very rich in flavor and also umami from, you know, all of the ingredients that go into 'em. In the case of, uh, you know, Vegemite and, and some of these similar ingredients, they're, they're fermented, uh, as well. Um, so, you know, give these a try and see if there's one or two ingredients that, uh, really resonate with you that, uh, you might wanna keep in your inventory. But, uh, miso powder and miso paste, uh, would be a, a couple of things that I would start with first.