Flavorings Category

This is the British version of America's blackstrap molasses. It's common in Britain, but hard to find in the United States. Look for it in specialty markets. Don't confuse this with golden syrup, which is sometimes called light treacle.

This has a strong, bitter flavor, and it's not very sweet. It's sometimes used to make chili. Look for it in health food stores.

"Blush" is displacing "rosé" as the name given to pink wines, though some people use the name rosé to describe darker pink wines. Whatever name you give them, they're usually made from red grapes that are only allowed to ferment a few days--too short a time for the grape skins to impart a deeper color to the wine. The result is a pink, fruity wine that's best served chilled and goes best with poultry, seafood, and spicy dishes. These wines are quite popular, but wine snobs think they're boring. Don't cook with these wines--they aren't flavorful enough.

These small leaves have a strong woodsy aroma. They're hard to find, but Hispanic markets sometimes carry dried leaves in cellophane bags.

Borage is best known for its attractive blue flowers, but Europeans sometimes use the leaves as an herb in salads and soups. Borage has a mild flavor that's been likened to that of cucumbers. The leaves are covered with prickly, throat-catching hairs, so it's best to either blanch them or chop them finely before serving them.

The Bordeaux region in France produces excellent red wines, especially in the districts of Médoc, Haut-Médoc, and St. Emilion. These wines are rich and complex, and usually made with a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot grapes. Bordeaux wines with the generic label "Bordeaux Wine" usually aren't as good as those with more specific appellations, like "St. Emilion Wine." Red Bordeaux wines go especially well with lamb and poultry.

The Bordeaux region in France is renown for its red wines, but it also produces excellent white wines, made with Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon grapes.

Brandy is often served as an after-dinner drink, or added to coffee. According to legend, it was first produced when an enterprising sea captain distilled wine in order to save space on his ship. He planned to reconstitute it with water when he arrived at his home port, but those who sampled the new concoction liked it just the way it was. Today, most brandy is distilled from white wine, though red wine and other fermented fruit juices are also used. It's then aged in oak barrels for several years. To learn about different varieties of brandy, click here.

People use this to impart the flavor of brandy without the alcohol. Though brandy extracts are made with alcohol, such a small amount is needed in any recipe that the end product is virtually non-alcoholic.

Pods of this spice are sold in Indian markets. Some recipes call for the entire pod to be used, others call for the ground seeds. Don't confuse this with the more common (green) cardamom, which comes in round green or tan pods.

These are smaller and hotter than the yellow mustard seeds that most western cooks are familiar with. Look for this in Indian markets.

Health buffs like this because it contains complex sugars, which are absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream. It's about half as sweet as ordinary table sugar. Some rice syrups include barley malt, and may pose a problem for people with gluten allergies.

Burgundy is a region in eastern France that produces excellent red wines, but the Burgundy wines produced in the United States are usually inexpensive jug wines made from different grape varieties.

Burgundy is a region in eastern France that produces excellent red and white wines. Some of the better wine-producing areas in Burgundy are Chablis and Pouilly-Fuissé, both of which produce exquisite white wines from Chardonnay grapes. Burgundy wines produced in the United States are usually inexpensive blends of different grape varieties.

This salt has extremely fine grains. It's used to salt butter.

Cabernet Franc grapes are related to Cabernet Sauvignon, but they make for a lighter, fruitier wine. The wine is often blended with others, but sometimes sold as a varietal wine.

Cabernet Sauvignon grapes make a hearty, complex red wine that's especially good with roasted meats and heavy stews. Domestic Cabernets are often excellent.

This sugarcane brandy is made in Brazil, where the name means "burning water." Velho Barreto is a well-regarded brand.

The more potent California bay leaf is highly prized due to the complexity of its flavor.

These are used to make decorative flower stems on cakes.

A French specialty, these are whole chestnuts that are candied in a sugar syrup. They're used to make various desserts.

Candied ginger is ginger that is stored in a sugary syrup, but the name is also sometimes used for crystallized ginger, which is ginger that's been cooked in syrup, then dried out and rolled in sugar. The two are often used interchangeably.