There are some seasonings you buy for one specific recipe, and then there are the ones that end up living permanently beside the stove so you can always have it in arm’s reach.

Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper is very much the second kind. The blend keeps things simple with black pepper, lemon peel, sea salt, garlic, onion, and lemon oil, leaving the lemon and pepper flavours the space to do their thing. Bright citrus cuts through with a fresh, zesty hit, while cracked black pepper brings the savoury bite that keeps it from tasting like you straight-up sucked on a lemon.

And that's why this stuff has become such a Trader Joe's staple. It makes whatever you're already eating taste just a little more interesting. Shake it over grilled chicken, roasted vegetables, shrimp, pasta, popcorn, fries... basically anywhere you think, “This is good, but it could use something.”

It's the best kind of seasoning: the kind that makes you start looking around the kitchen for more things to put it on.

Available at Dank Mart, ships worldwide