Bouillon cubes

Bouillon cubes go into everything. Soup, rice, lentils, stew. One cube, some water, instant flavour.

Of everything in my pantry, they were the worst single item. A bouillon cube is mostly salt that happens to taste like chicken. Drop one in a pot and the whole pot is salty, every serving of it.

The swap that surprised me was dried shiitake. Soak a handful in hot water and the soaking water turns into a dark, savoury broth. It does the job the cube did, without the salt. It's the base of my shiitake-lentil ragu and goes into the slow-cooker chicken and shiitake. The mushrooms themselves go in too, so nothing's wasted.

When I have the time, homemade stock works as well, and I control exactly what goes in it.

The cubes are gone from my cupboard. I don't miss them, and the soup doesn't either.