key ingredient
- essentialFundamentally necessary
- secretConcealed information
- crucialOf supreme importance
- recipeCooking preparation instructions
- missingNot present, whereabouts unknown
main · vital · core · component · element · chef · flavor · base · foundation · magic · active · primary · special · sauce · mixture · staple · fundamental · catalyst
importance/essentiality
key ingredientfiller
Substance closing gaps
afterthought · garnish · nonessential · embellishment · window dressing