Maggi is a yeast extract originally made in Switzerland; the Nestlé version manufactured for U.S. consumers is kind of like a bland soy sauce.

But the European version is totally different: yeasty, mushroomy, truffly, dense, meaty, salty, it’s the liquid incarnation of umami. We could not make our Polish-Lithuanian dishes without it.

We are fortunate enough to have stores nearby that carry imported groceries where we can re-stock, but there are online sources as well. Just be sure that you get the Swiss “Maggi-Würze,” not the American kind. If you spot Maggi bouillon cubes in the Hispanic food aisle of your supermarket, snap those up, too, because they’re terrific.