We’re now into the holiday season, and at our house, that means “gravy and more gravy.” My husband can’t get enough of the stuff, and I make sure to provide loads and extra at our holiday meals.

So gravy. For most, this humble meal feature is often given short-shrift, not the attention it deserves. The fact is, making a smooth and subtle gravy is not as easy as some think it is. Who hasn’t tasted one that was too salty, too thin, too thick, or just kind of blah? Or who hasn’t tasted a gravy that was so strong in flavor that it overpowered what it covered? Successful gravy-making calls for practice, some intuitive skill, and maybe a little “help.”

Aunt Annie used to say “Show me a woman who knows her way around gravy and I’ll show you a REAL cook!” She was a master at the pan gravies. Only on very rare occasions did she turn to those questionable wimpy types made from grocery store packets (McCormick, French’s, Pioneer, etc). No, her gravies were those that our moms and grandmas used to make from the roasty little bits left at the bottom of the pan after cooking meat (known as FONA, by those in the culinary arts).

I asked her once how she got her gravies so brown. Mine tasted pretty good, but they didn’t have the deep, rich color hers always had. “Kitchen Bouquet® is responsible for this feat,” she said. I loved her lack of embarrassment in openly admitting she had a little “help.” I immediately bought and started messing with it. I could see exactly why she liked it.

Kitchen Bouquet® is a browning and seasoning sauce that’s found in the vinegar and oil section of most well-stocked grocery stores — typically on the bottom shelf (look closely or you’ll miss it). Caramel color (from burnt sugar and not food dye) is the primary ingredient, which gives it a super-saturated brown color and somewhat thick texture. It has a subtle savory flavor that tastes like concentrated vegetable stock. A small bottle of the stuff costs less than three dollars and lasts a very long time.

Add it to sauces and stews; brush or spray it onto roasts, steaks, pork chops, poultry, or even your homemade veggie burgers. Because it’s natural, the brown color it adds looks very real (and very yummy!). Kitchen Bouquet® gives everything it touches, an appetizing rich color. It’s a good cook’s best trick to giving stews a rich hue (that makes them look like they’ve cooked all day), and chicken breasts a wonderful caramelized sheen. And if you want your roast chicken to have a beautiful rotisserie look, just brush this amazing product over it before baking.

The thing to know about Kitchen Bouquet® is that a little goes a long way. Just a drop of the stuff can add a ton of color to a dish. There’s no strong flavor, either, so you can safely experiment until you get the hang of using it. The best way to master Kitchen Bouquet® cookery is to simply play around with it.

For instance, the next time you roast a chicken or turkey, brush a bit onto its skin before popping it into the oven. It’ll give you a rich, deep golden brown color that’s worthy of being photographed. And finish things off by adding a little to all the fona left behind in the pan, and then make your favorite chicken or turkey gravy.

I’ll conclude with our favorite family recipe for turkey gravy. We thank Aunt Annie and Kitchen Bouquet® for this taste treat!

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