Which food things make a difference, which don't?

[AnthonyV]

i'm not extremely familiar with each of these so i'll comment on what i know:

Fresh herbs v. dried herbs noticeable difference, but only huge in select cases. basil comes to mind specifically, obv never use powdered garlic. in sweets, real cinnamon is big upgrade

Ground pepper from peppercorns/grinder v. ground pepper from shaker a difference, but in many common scenarios not worth the trouble. i definitely would never put shaker pepper on a salad, but i think it makes no difference in a soup, for instance.

Sea salt v. regular salt matter of taste imo

Specialty (virgin/extra virgin) olive oil v. grocery store (virgin/extra virgin) olive oil worth the extra expense. high quality extra virgin olive oil makes a huge difference when it's a critical element of a dish, such as an oil/garlic pasta sauce or when you're using it in a marinade. when you're just using it as "cooking" oil, don't bother.

Specialty balsamic vinger v. generic balsamic vineger this is BY FAR the biggest difference on this list. it's just so mind-bogglingly better when it's aged or specialty. not even in the same ballpark. this is a cost matter though, as specialty balsamic can be exceptionally expensive. that being said, if you're looking to impress, make some bruschetta with 25 year old balsamic or do a legit balsamic reduction with lamb. whoa.

Farm/Farmer's market fruit/veg v. grocery store freshness here is typically the issue. whenever i hang out with my hippy friends i try to hit up a farmers market, but honestly i'm not losing sleep over this one.

Premium fresh pasta v. premium dried pasta the difference here is most pronounced in flavored pastas (which generally i'm not a huge fan of), say wheat pasta for instance

Butcher meat v. grocery store huge, just huge. absolutely enormous difference, particularly in just being able to get precisely what you're looking for, but also from the standpoint of getting leaner cuts and more flavorful meats.

Free range poultry v. regular meh not a huge difference from what i've found, but the big difference here is EGGS. man, free range non-pasteurized eggs are just so much better, from a taste and presentation standpoint (i.e. the yolks are incredibly bright yellow)