Flavorings Category

See the Tandoori Rub posting on RecipeSource.com

See the recipe for Tapenade posted on About.com.

The French are especially fond of this aromatic, anise-like herb. They often use it to flavor delicately flavored foods like eggs, fish, cheese, and chicken, and it's an indispensable ingredient in sauce béarnaise and in the herb mixture the French call fines herbes. Use it sparingly--a little goes a long way. Frozen tarragon is an excellent substitute for fresh, but use the dried version only in a pinch.

This popular herb vinegar is used to make Béarnaise sauce and vinaigrettes. It's easy to make at home. Just put one or two sprigs of clean, fresh tarragon in a bottle of warm white wine vinegar, tightly seal the bottle, and let it stand for at least a few days.The sprigs will eventually become bitter, so remove or replace them after a few weeks. Make sure that the vinegar you use has an acidity level of at least 5% (this information is given on the label). Don't add too much tarragon to the bottle, or you may reduce the acidity of the vinegar so much that it loses its ability to preserve.

Thai basil has purple stems and flowers. It has a milder flavor than holy basil.

This herb is widely used in Mediterranean countries to flavor stews and meat sauces. It's often used in combination with other herbs, like rosemary, parsley, and oregano. Use dried thyme only in a pinch--fresh thyme is far more flavorful.

These leaves are purple on one side and green on the other. They have a pleasant, peppery flavor that tastes a bit like cinnamon. Vietnamese cooks often add them to soups at the last minute.

Ordinary Tokay table wine is mediocre, but some Tokay grapes are affected by Botrytis cinerea, a fungus that pokes holes in their skins and makes them shrivel on the vine. This concentrates the sweetness and makes for an exquisite dessert wine. Look for bottles labeled Tokay Aszú, the Hungarian name for botrytised Tokay wine.

To make your own: See the Tomato Juice Recipe posted on Recipesource.com.

Tomato past is made by reducing tomatoes to a thick paste and filtering out the skins and seeds.

Tomato purée is thicker than tomato sauce but thinner than tomato paste.

Tomato sauce is thinner than tomato paste and tomato puree. In Australia what Americans call catsup is often called tomato sauce.

Canned tomatoes include whole peeled, diced or crushed. They usually contain seeds. They may need to be strained to remove the seeds and extra water.

Tonka beans are the seeds of the Brazilian teak tree. They are black with a brown interior. Grated into desserts and stews in small amounts, they impart a complicated flavor mix of vanilla and almond. Tonka beans contain small amounts of coumarin, a chemical that can cause liver damage. It is now believed that in small amounts, it is not dangerous.

This Japanese condiment is used to make yakisoba. Bull Dog is a popular brand.

Treacle is the British version of molasses, and it's a close substitute. Varieties include golden syrup=light treacle, which resemble light molasses, and dark treacle = black treacle, which is more similar to dark molasses.

This is a secret ingredient of many chefs, who use it to impart the earthy taste and aroma of truffles to their dishes. There are two varieties: the mild white truffle oil and the more pungent black truffle oil. Both are delicious sprinkled on pasta, but the black truffle oil is better suited to meats and heavy sauces while the white is the best choice for fish dishes, cream sauces, and vinaigrettes. If you're cooking with it, add it at the very end to prevent the flavor from dissipating. Truffle oil is expensive, but a little goes a long way.

Tucapi is a yellow sauce extracted from manioc roots. It is used with rice and various meats like duck, fish and shrimp.

This is a salty bean paste used in Vietnamese cuisine.

Turmeric has a pungent flavor, but it's more widely known for it's brilliant yellow color. You can find fresh roots in Southeast Asian and Indian markets, but dried ground turmeric is far more commonly used. Be careful when handling fresh turmeric--it can stain your hands and clothes.

These are used in Indian and Southeast Asian dishes. There are no acceptable substitutes, just omit this from the recipe

Turmeric has a pleasant enough flavor, but it's prized more for the brilliant yellow color it imparts to whatever it's cooked with. It's a standard ingredient in curry powders, pickles, and prepared mustards. Be careful--turmeric can stain your clothes.

Look for these in African markets.

This Japanese vinegar is quite salty, and it has a distinctive, slightly fruity flavor. It's typically used in dips and salad dressings.

What kid hasn't sneaked a bar of this out of the kitchen, only to discover that unadulterated chocolate is bitter and unpalatable. Some cooks prefer to use it over sweetened chocolate because it gives them better control of the sweetness and flavor of the product.

This is a dried ground chili pepper used in Turkey on meat dishes. It is medium spicy and has a smoky flavor.

To make your own: See the Mitch's V-6 Vegetable Juice Cocktail Recipe posted on Fabulousfoods.com.

Vanilla is used to flavor everything from baked goods to ice cream. Most recipes call for vanilla extract, but some argue that vanilla beans lend a more potent flavor. Select beans that are shiny, moist, and pliable--dried out beans aren't nearly as potent. If a recipe calls for just for the seeds, split the bean open and scrape the seeds out, and save the outer pod to flavor sugar or hot drinks.

This has two meanings. In Britain, vanilla essence is the same as America's imitation vanilla extract. Elsewhere, vanilla essence may mean a highly concentrated and pricey form of pure vanilla extract.

Vanilla extract is made from vanilla beans that have been steeped in alcohol. It's widely used throughout the world to flavor desserts, like baked goods, ice cream, beverages, and custards, but some chefs use it as a secret ingredient in savory dishes as well. Pure extracts made with vanilla from the Bourbon Islands, which include Madagascar, is especially well-regarded. Mexican vanilla extract is also excellent, and even more potent, but it's sometimes adulterated with a dangerous food additive that's banned by the FDA. Look for vanilla extract among the baking supplies in your supermarket.

This inexpensive substitute for pure vanilla extract is made with synthetic vanillin and other flavorings. Many brands are quite good, since chemists know how to produce an exact copy of natural vanillin, the dominant flavor in vanilla. The problem is that vanillin isn't the only flavor component in vanilla, so even the best imitation vanilla extracts aren't quite as full-flavored and complex as the real deal. Food gurus are always saying that cooks should never, ever use imitation vanilla extract, but at least one taste test has shown that many people prefer a high quality imitation vanilla extract to pure extract. Avoid imitation vanilla from Mexico--it may contain a toxic food additive.

This alcohol-free powder is made from vanilla beans that have been dried and pulverized. Unlike vanilla extract, it doesn't evaporate when heated, so it's well suited to making custards and other cooked desserts. It's also good for making dry mixes and for sprinkling onto drinks and dishes. Some brands have sweeteners added. Look for it in larger supermarkets and specialty shops.

Indians use these ultra-thin sheets of gold leaf to decorate dishes. Look for it in Indian groceries and cake decorating stores.

A medieval ingredient that's making a comeback, verjus is a sour juice made from unripened red or white grapes. Vinegars in salad dressings sometimes create off-tastes in the wines that accompany a meal. Verjus doesn't, so it's a good substitute for vinegar if you're planning to serve an expensive wine with dinner. Some people also mix it with sparkling water and ice to make a sophisticated non-alcoholic drink.After the bottle is opened, store verjus in the refrigerator, where it will keep for about a month. If you can't use it that fast, pour it into ice cube trays, freeze, then store the cubes in a plastic bag in the freezer. Though becoming more popular, verjus is still hard to find. Look for it in gourmet specialty shops.

This is a fortified wine that's heavily flavored with sugar, herbs, roots, flowers, and spices. It's sometimes served as an apéritif, but it's better known as a key ingredient in many cocktails, including martinis and Manhattans. It's also used to perk up sauces, especially those that accompany seafood. There are two main types: dry vermouth and sweet vermouth. Noilly Prat and Martini & Rossi are well-respected brands.

The leaves are used to provide a lemony flavor to Vietnamese dishes.

This assertive white wine from California exudes a complex perfume of flowers and fruit. It's expensive and hard to find, but it's delicious with seafood and poultry.

To make your own: See the recipe for Violet Syrup on RecipeSource.

This is a slightly sweet French white wine made with Chenin blanc grapes.

Look for this in the Asian foods section of your supermarket.