All Ingredients

Bleached and unbleached versions of all-purpose flour can be used interchangeably, though bleached flour is whiter and has less vitamin E than unbleached.

Alligator meat is lean and mild and people say it tastes like a combination of pork, chicken, and rabbit. The best meat comes from the tail.

Allspice comes from a single tree, but it tastes like a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. You can buy it already ground, but for better flavor and a longer shelf life, buy the berries and grind them yourself.

Almonds have a crunchy texture and a rich, delicate flavor that's especially good in desserts, like candy, ice cream, tortes, and coffee cake. To intensify their flavor, toast them on a baking pan in a 325° degree oven, stirring occasionally, until they're golden (about 15 minutes for whole almonds). You can buy almonds shelled or unshelled, blanched, sliced, slivered, ground, or chopped.

Almond butter is grittier and more expensive than peanut butter, but it can substitute for peanut butter in many recipes.

This is made with almond oil and alcohol, and it's especially good in cookies and cakes. It's potent, so recipes usually call for no more than a teaspoon. Bitter almond extract is even stronger.

This sweet filling is used to make pastries and cakes.

Almond liqueur is excellent on ice cream or in coffee.

Specialty stores carry this, but you can get it for less at Middle Eastern markets.

Look for this in aseptic containers. Shake well before using!

Nut oils are best used in cold dishes; heat destroys their delicate flavor.

This is a paste made with finely ground blanched almonds, sugar, glycerin, and sometimes almond extract. Bakers use it to make cakes and cookies. Bitter almond paste is flavored with oil of bitter almonds, and is worth seeking out if you plan to make amaretti. Look for tubes or cans of it among the baking supplies at your supermarket.

Shelled almonds have a slightly bitter brown skin which can be removed by blanching them. To do this, drop shelled almonds into boiling water, remove the pan from the heat source and let it stand for two minutes, then drain the almonds and rub off the skins. Many cooks prefer to skip this step and buy their almonds already blanched.

This is one of several spreadable cheeses that combine cream cheese with various flavorings, like herbs, garlic, pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes. You can set them out with crackers for guests, but your gourmet friends probably won't indulge.

These tiny pasta shapes are usually served in a broth or very light soup.

This large Chilean olive is cured in a wine or wine vinegar solution, which gives it a beautiful dark purple color and tart flavor. Its flesh is very tender and slightly bitter.

This is an Italian-style salami.

Pickling recipes sometimes call for alum to give pickles extra crunch.

This is an excellent all-purpose wrapper, able to withstand both heat and cold. It's the best choice if you're wrapping foods for freezer storage, since it works better than plastic wrap at preventing moisture loss.

These tiny ancient seeds have been cultivated in the Americas for several millennia. They're rich in protein and calcium, and have a pleasant, peppery flavor. One variety of amaranth is grown for its leaves, which are called Chinese spinach.

These crisp, hard cookies are traditionally made with bitter almonds. Dessert recipes sometimes call for them to be crumbled or ground. Amaretti de Sarnonno are considered to be the best.

This is a brandy-based liqueur that's flavored with almonds and apricot pits. It complements chocolate, coffee, and fruit especially well.

This is similar to white rum, but has a stronger flavor. Most of it is made in Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Barbados, and the Virgin Islands. Bacardi, Ronrico, and DonQ are popular brands.

Crisp and juicy, this is a great apple for snacking.

This looks and tastes like a cantaloupe, but the flesh is a brighter orange.

This is made from sun-dried mangoes, and it's used as a souring agent or to tenderize meats. Indian or Middle Eastern grocery stores carry it.

This is a bitter French apéritif that's usually served with water and a sweetener, or sometimes mixed with beer.

If substituting an inferior caviar, consider perking it up with a splash of fresh lemon juice.

These are often sold in individually wrapped sandwich slices.

This is the familiar large, dark purple, pear-shaped variety. Choose small or medium-sized eggplants (these have fewer bitter seeds) with healthy-looking green stems that are firm to the touch, but not too hard. Avoid mushy ones. Store them in the refrigerator.

These tiny pasta shapes are usually served in a broth or very light soup.

These are dark purple Greek olives that are hard to find in the U.S. They're great for snacking.

These large, mild chiles are perfect for chiles rellenos. Mexican cooks also like to dice or purée them, and then add them to sauces, soups, and casseroles. They have a tough skin, but it peels off easily if you first char the chiles over a flame and then steam them in a paper bag for several minutes. Anaheims are available year-round, but they're best in the summer. You can occasionally find red Anaheims, which are riper and slightly hotter. When dried, this pepper is called a chile Colorado.

These heirloom beans are sweet, fast-cooking, and reputed to cause less flatulence than other bean varieties. They're great for making refried beans.

These mild, dried poblano peppers have a sweet, fruity flavor and are a staple in Mexican cuisine. They're brownish-black and wrinkled, and commonly used in adobos, moles, salsas, and various sauces.