Accompaniments Category

These Spanish black olives are soaked in sherry.

These are great for wrapping delicately flavored foods before grilling them.

Fish sauce is typically made from anchovies or other small fish fermented in salt. It is used to flavor many dishes. It is very common in Asian cooking. The romans called it Garum and it was a widely used flavoring in Roman times. Filipino fish sauce that isn't as highly regarded as the Vietnamese or Thai versions, and shottsuru, a Japanese fish sauce. Red Boat, a Vietnamese fish sauce, is thought to be very similar to garum.

These thin flour wraps from northern Mexico are used to make burritos, chimichangas, fajitas and other Mexican dishes. They're more pliable than corn tortillas, so they're a good choice if you need to roll or fold the tortillas before cooking them. Flour tortillas come in different sizes, including small, thick "fajita tortillas" to large, thin "burrito tortillas."

These are small, purple Italian olives are either dry-cured (making them black and wrinkled) or brine-cured (making them dark purple and smooth-skinned).

Gherkins are pickles made from smaller cucumbers, and tend to be crunchier than, say, dill pickles. They can be sweet or sour.

Look for this in Asian grocery stores.

red, green and yellow versions.

Gochujang is a spicy Korean fermented chili condiment. It is made by with chili powder, glutinous rice and soybeans. It is traditionally fermented in clay pots. Gochujang is often added to the Korean dish bibimbap.

Greeks stuff these with ground lamb and rice to make dolmades, but they're used elsewhere to make pickles and beds for food. They're hard to find fresh in markets, but you can often find them in cans or jars. Trim the stems and rinse off the brine before using. To make your own: Plunge grape leaves (that haven't been sprayed with harmful chemicals) for one minute in boiling, salted water (2 teaspoons pickling salt per quart), then drain.

A generic black Greek olive is large, dark purple and brine-cured. Popular varieties include Kalamata, Amphissa, and Royal.

Napfilion and Ionian olives are the most common types of green Greek olives.

Green olives are picked from the tree before they're completely ripened. The most common variety is the Manzanilla olive, which is often pitted and stuffed. Other green olives varieties include the Agrinion, Arauco, Arbequina, Atalanta, green Cerignola, cracked Provençal, Kura, Lucque, Nafplion, Picholine, Sevillano, and Sicilian.

Guacamole is an avocado based spread. It is commonly used as a dip or a spread on sandwiches and hamburgers. Spices are often added.

The Japanese use these round wrappers to make pork-stuffed dumplings similar to Chinese potstickers. Western cooks sometimes use them to make ravioli.

This is a hot North African paste that's used as a meat rub or (mixed with water or oil) as a condiment.

This is a sweet and garlicky bean sauce that's often used as a dipping sauce. Available in Asian markets and in many large supermarkets.

You can cheat and buy this in cans, but the tinny flavor will rat you out. To make your own: See the recipes for Hollandaise Sauce, Hollandaise Sauce--Microwave or Quickie Hollandaise Sauce posted on RecipeSource.com.

This is a juicy, meaty olive.

This pungent condiment goes well with meats and fish, and it’s a key ingredient in cocktail sauce. It’s best to buy horseradish in small amounts and store it in the refrigerator—it turns dark and loses much of its bite after a few months. Look for it in the deli case. Varieties: The most common is white horseradish, which is made with vinegar. Creamed horseradish = cream-style horseradish has a little mayonnaise and/or sour cream added; horseradish sauce has a lot. Red horseradish = beet horseradish is made with beet juice.

Three well-known brands are Tabasco sauce, Louisiana hot sauce, and the thicker Pickapeppa sauce.

This Hawaiian condiment is made with soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger juice, and other ingredients. It's used to flavor meats.

Hummus is a creamy butter made from chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and other spices. It is good as a spread on bread or crackers.

These don't have much flavor.

Jamaica is another name for the hibiscus flower. Tea made from Jamaica flowers is red, tart and is high in vitamin C. Substitutes: Red Zinger tea

This is an Indonesian peanut sauce.