Liquids Category

This category includes crème de menthe and peppermint schnapps.

This is a very sweet Japanese rice wine that's used to flavor rice and sauces. It's not usually consumed as a beverage. Aji mirin is salted, so adjust the recipe accordingly.

Sugar is made by extracting juice from sugar cane or sugar beets, boiling them, and then extracting the sugar crystals. Molasses is the thick, syrupy residue that's left behind in the vats. It has a sweet, distinctive flavor, and it's a traditional ingredient in such things as gingerbread, baked beans, rye bread, and shoofly pie. There are several different varieties: Unsulfured molasses is what you'll most often find in supermarkets. It's milder and sweeter than sulfured molasses. Sulfured molasses has sulfur dioxide added as a preservative. Light molasses = mild molasses = sweet molasses = Barbados molasses is taken from the first boiling. It's the sweetest and mildest, and is often used as a pancake syrup or a sweetener for beverages. Dark molasses = full molasses = full-flavored molasses is left behind after the juices are boiled a second time. It's less sweet but more flavorful than light molasses, and it's a good choice if a recipe simply calls for molasses. Sugar-beet molasses is very bitter and is mostly used as cattle feed or as a medium for growing yeast. When measuring molasses, grease the cup and utensils to keep molasses from sticking. If your molasses crystallizes while being stored, heat it gently to dissolve the crystals. After opening, you can store molasses in your cupboard.

This is a district in Brittany, France, that produces a crisp, light white wine that's especially good with seafood. Always serve it chilled. Don't confuse this with Muscatel or Muscat, which are both dessert wines.

This is a sweet and fruity dessert wine made from Muscat grapes. Don't confuse it with Muscadet, which is a dry white wine.

This American liqueur is an inexpensive Galliano wannabe.

Cool Whip and Dream Whip are popular brands. Some of these products may include casein.

This comes in aseptic containers. A fortified version is available that supplies many of the nutrients normally found in cow's milk. Shake well before using.

Orange bitters is made from sour orange peels. Popular brands include Angostura and Fee. A dash or two will perk up your martini, barbecue sauce, chocolate dessert, and seafood.

The best (and driest) is Grand Marnier, followed by Cointreau, curaçao, and--the sweetest of them all--triple sec.

This sweet almond-flavored syrup is used in many mixed drinks. Look for it in liquor stores. To make your own: See the Almond Syrup recipe on the ichef website.

This potent, anise-flavored Greek liqueur is usually mixed into water, turning it cloudy.

This is the natural liquid that is found inside of raw oysters.

These golden brown ales are somewhat bitter and fruity.

To make your own: melt palm sugar, then strain.

This cloudy white vinegar is popular in the Philippines. It's milder than wine or cider vinegars.

This is the inexpensive version of maple syrup that Americans love to pour on pancakes and waffles. It's usually based on corn syrup, and flavored either with artificial flavoring or real maple syrup. To make your own: See the recipe for Mock Maple Syrup on RecipeSource.

The name means "perfect love" in French, and this sweet purple liqueur is flavored with citrus and spices.

La Grande Passion is a well-regarded brand.

This is a licorice-flavored liqueur that the French like to serve with water. It's higher in alcohol than anis or anisette. Popular brands include Pernod and Ricard.

Brandy made from Williams pears (like Poire Williams and Williamine) are especially good. Some bottles have an entire pear in the bottle.

Like crème de menthe, this is flavored with peppermint.

This is a popular brand of pastis, or licorice-flavored liqueur. It tastes like a mouthful of Good 'N Plenty candies.

This is wine that's made from pears. It's usually somewhat sweet, and with a low alcohol content.

This is a grape variety which produces an excellent red wine that's very dark and often described as "peppery." Don't confuse Petite Syrah with Syrah, another red varietal wine.

This is a brand of bitters that's a bit hard to find outside of New Orleans. It's sweeter than Angostura bitters, and has more of an anise flavor.

This is the liqueur that the upper crust of British society drinks at polo matches. It's bittersweet and very potent. There used to be several varieties of Pimm's, based on gin, whiskey, rum, brandy, and vodka, but only the one based on gin, called Pimm's No. 1, is still being produced. Serve it with club soda and a bit of lemon juice and garnish with cucumber and celery.

This is used in Mexico, but hard to find in the United States. Grab a bottle if you can find it, for it's reputed to be quite good.

This is a good, but unexceptional, dry white wine that's good with seafood and poultry.

This is a dry white wine that goes especially well with seafood. Pinot Grigio is the Italian name, Pinot Gris the French.

This earthy red varietal wine goes best with beef, ham, poultry, salmon, or tuna. Unfortunately, making it is tricky business, so the quality varies tremendously. A good one will be expensive and sublime.