Chulita's Famous Sofrito Delicious & Time-Saving

Our new favorite kitchen shortcut

The power of fresh spices and high-quality ingredients is boundless.

Now imagine they were combined in a jar, ready to add to any dish: Introducing sofrito from Chulita's Famous.

The brainchild of two college pals, Gloribell Taveras and Susana Columna, Chulita's Famous was born in 2011 after Columna hungered for an all-natural premade sofrito.

The potent combination of finely diced bell peppers and garlic infused with oregano, lemon, cilantro and vinegar was a fixture of Taveras' childhood meals. Tired of the interminable chopping required for the boldest sofritos, Columna and Taveras created two different sofrito offerings: a green version, which is faithful to the sofritos of Taveras' youth, and a spiced version flecked with cumin and paprika ($9 each).

These sofritos have none of the tinny qualities of most packaged versions. Bright with flavor, either variety of the sofrito is good spooned into a pan of poached eggs, added to a marinade for chicken or stirred it into ground meat for a spicy burger.

Put your time saved in the kitchen toward more ambitious projects, from perfecting soufflé to learning all five mother sauces.