The Top 10 Most Underrated Foods

Prepare to go on a life-changing flavor journey

I spend a lot of time growing, cooking, eating, and thinking about food. I breed plants to make them tastier. I raise fussy, expensive chickens because they are considered the best tasting breed. I grow my own saffron because I deeply love saffron rice but can't afford to shell out for the pricey little strands. Food is a big part of my life.

And over the course of that life, I have encountered some astoundingly tasty foods, some of which are not widely known in the United States, where I live. Many of those foods are readily accessible and inexpensive. So in the interest of spreading the word about these under-loved marvels, here are my top 10 most underrated foods:

Crab paste

You're probably familiar with shrimp paste, the super briny ingredient that is key to making exceptional and funky kimchi. Crab paste is a completely different beast: luxuriously rich and packed with umami, it provides instant complexity and deep oceanic flavor right out of the jar. Crab paste is most popular in the Philippines, an underrated food country whose cuisine is not nearly as common in the U.S. as Thai or Chinese food, thus the relative obscurity of crab paste. I strongly recommend keeping a jar—which can be easily acquired for under $10 at most Asian supermarkets—on hand.

Mojama

Another instant source of stunningly complex flavor, mojama is salt-cured tuna from southwest Spain. The curing and drying process powerfully concentrates all of the flavors found in tuna, making it an umami bomb that transforms any dish by adding a deep, salty bass note. Grated over an omelette or salad, it dials up the depth of flavor enormously. Mojama is easily on par with the much more hyped Jamón ibérico.

White sapote

A member of the citrus family unrelated to the unusual mamey sapote and the bland black sapote, white sapote is a super creamy tropical fruit that tastes like a fusion of peach, candied lemon, banana, vanilla bean, and pear. The consistency is like flan: smooth, fiberless, custardy. Native to eastern Mexico and Central America, white sapote bruises easily and tastes off if it's not perfectly ripe, which is why it's not widely available. If you live in USDA Zone 9 and up, plant yourself a tree to ensure uninterrupted access to this exceptional fruit.

Breadfruit

Another tropical fruit, but of a very different type. While breadfruit can't rival white sapote for flavor, it reigns supreme for versatility. Most commonly prepared in its unripe form, breadfruit is the best tree-based source of carbohydrates on the planet: it's often made into a mashed potato substitute, but the flavor is far more complex. You can do anything with it (and more) that you'd do with a potato, but what really earns it a spot on this list is that it transforms into something completely different when ripe, akin to a creamy jackfruit. Using ripe breadfruit in place of bananas in banana bread turns a good food into an otherworldly one. Add on to all this that the tree bares very heavily twice a year, and you've got a food that is criminally underrated.

Mutton

I cannot for the life of me understand why mutton is not a widely adored food. Lamb is considered a luxurious delicacy, and mutton is just more flavorful, more complex, more interesting lamb. It is the dark meat to lamb's white meat. Whomst among us does not prefer the flavor of chicken thighs to chicken breasts? And yet mutton is so obscure that it's almost impossible to find. And when you do find something called "mutton," it is rarely actual mutton. Even most online sources provide inaccurate definitions of mutton. So, for the record, here are the different ways to eat a sheep: 1) Lamb. Meat from a sheep that is less than 1 year old ("Spring lamb" is less than 3 months old), 2) Hogget. Meat from a sheep that is between 1-2 years old, 3) Mutton. Meat from a sheep that is 2 years old or more. Good mutton is dry-aged for at least 2 weeks and grazed on pasture, not grain fed. If you can find the real thing, hoard it because it is a truly exceptional food and ludicrously difficult to acquire.

Calabrian chili

My unpopular opinion is that Italian food is usually overrated. That is not say that it isn't wonderful, just that the hype often exceeds the quality. However, I'm happy to report that the Italians have concocted one of the world's truly outstanding condiments, which is inexplicably under-hyped. Whether whole or ground into paste, Calabrian chilis are traditionally fermented and packed in oil; contemporary versions often (sadly) use vinegar in place of lacto-fermentation. The result is a very distinctive, spicy, fruity, smoky, salty, multidimensional flavor that is quite unlike any other. For under $10, you can keep a jar of this stuff on hand and transform ho-hum dishes into spicy, mouthwatering flavor bombs with one dollop.

Pawpaws

Pawpaws are remarkable trees. They are in the Annona family, a tropical group which includes Soursops and Sugar Apples, indicating that they probably spread northward from South America over many thousands of years, naturally selecting for increasing levels of cold hardiness. This astounding evolutionary process has gifted us with a tropical fruit that can easily withstand -20F. The flavor is like a cross between a mango, kiwi, orange, and banana; the flesh is smooth and pleasantly creamy. Pawpaws grow all over North America and yet the fruit is rarely found commercially. That must change if we are to be a civilized people.

Ube

Another item of Filipino origin, ube is a purple yam that only just cracks this list—not because it isn't exceptional—but because it is finally getting some much deserved hype. That hype, however, is mostly the byproduct of "social media desserts", which are more focused on its startling purple color than its earthy, sweet, nutty, complex flavor. In fact, those desserts are often made with ube extract, which is a sad imitation of the real thing. Real ube is extraordinarily delicious—a flavor that is hard to describe but something like a lightly toasted almond with a dash of honey and vanilla—and simple to prepare, so please skip the bottle of purple extract and grab yourself a tuber. Note that ube is not the same thing as purple Okinawan yams, which are also excellent, but a different thing entirely.

Durian

The fact that durian makes this list is purely a function of geography: in many parts of the world—i.e. not the United States—durian is treated with the extreme reverence and unbridled adoration it so richly deserves. The truth is that there is no contest: durian is the greatest fruit on the planet. Better than my beloved mango, even. The taste is like every tropical fruit packed into one: it is the entire spectrum of flavor in a single bite, with each outrageous element discernible in an overwhelming symphony of deliciousness. Some cultivars are more intense in certain ways than others. I have had durians that taste and smell like an entire truckload of ripe melons reduced to a single creamy bite. Others taste like kiwis tossed in bourbon caramel. Others are simply impossible to describe. If you've never had a durian or you're willing to take another crack at this terribly misunderstood luxury, start with Musang King. If you want the full experience (short of traveling to southeast Asia) and you're willing to splurge, get a tasting variety set from these people.

Heart

Hearts are not commonly eaten in my neck of the woods, and that is a real shame. The heart is the darkest dark meat on an animal, packed with umami flavor and mouth-coatingly delicious. Chicken hearts are abundant, cheap, extremely easy to prepare, and outstandingly rich. Pig hearts are sizable and uber-flavorful. Beef hearts are enormous and robustly gamey. The list goes on. Larger hearts require some special preparation owing to their powerful muscularity, but the rewards are worth it. We must transcend the ick factor, embrace flavor, and stop wasting the most vital part of the animals we eat. We owe it to them and to ourselves.

Alright, that’s my list for now. I’m open to counterarguments, but you’ll have to include an alternative with any critiques!

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