All Ingredients

Delicious strong cow's milk Cheese.

This spicy pork sausage is used in jambalaya and other Creole and Cajun dishes. It's available either in links or patties, but it's hard to find outside of Louisiana.

This mild-flavored squash looks like a wrinkled, pale green pear. It needs to be cooked before serving, and for a longer time than other summer squash. You should peel a chayote before cooking it, but don't take the seed out--it's edible and tasty. Cooked chayotes make good low-fat substitutes for avocados.

The curds of many English cow's milk cheeses are "cheddared" or cut them into slabs and stacked to allow whey to drain off. Some cheddars have more lactose in them, making them "sharp" or acidic. Less sharp cheddars are often labeled "mild" or "medium." England supplies many fine Cheddars, as does Vermont and Tillamook, Oregon.

This braising sauce is made from soybeans, garlic, and ginger. Look for it in the condiments section of Asian markets

Cheese is made from the pressed curds of milk from cows, goats, sheep, or buffalo. It can be eaten out of hand, or melted or grated. To learn about selecting and storing cheese, and about its different varieties, click here.

Many vegetarians eat cheeses made with milk, though many insist on vegetarian cheeses made without animal rennet. Cheese substitutes, on the other hand, are designed either for people who, because of moral scruples or dietary restrictions, don't wish to consume anything made with milk, or for cost-cutters who want to scrimp on real cheese. There are many brands of cheese substitutes on the market today, and most are made with soybeans, rice, almonds and/or hemp seed. Most are made to taste something like popular milk-based cheeses like Cheddar, Mozzarella, Gouda, American, Provolone, and Jack. Cheese substitutes are blander and more rubbery than real cheeses, but many brands melt fairly well in cooked dishes, especially if grated first. Fake mozzarella comes closest in flavor and texture to the real deal. Fake cheese often contains casein or caseinates, which are derived from milk. These kinds of cheeses won't pass muster with many vegans, but they're a good choice for people trying to restrict their consumption of cholesterol and lactose. Strict vegans should seek out cheeses labeled "vegan" or "dairy-free." Unfortunately, casein is what makes cheese (real and fake alike) more elastic, so non-dairy cheeses won't pull and stretch properly when melted.

Includes fine cheesecloth

Look for this in Middle Eastern markets.

This is a grape variety that's often blended with others to make inexpensive white jug wines and domestic Chablis. It's relatively inexpensive and goes well with salads, seafood, poultry, ham, and spicy foods.

Look for this in the produce section of Hispanic markets.

This is a chocolate and cherry flavored liqueur. It's often mixed with milk.

This South American tropical fruit is shaped like a pine cone and has a gray-green, scaly skin. The soft white pulp inside has large black (inedible) seeds and tastes like a creamy blend of tropical flavors. Hard cherimoyas should be stored at room temperature until they give a little when squeezed, then they should be refrigerated until they're ready to serve.

There are three main categories of cherries: sweet cherries, which are for eating out of hand, sour cherries, which are best suited for making pies, preserves, and sauces, and tart chokecherries.

There are many varieties of cherry liqueurs, including the chocolate-flavored Chéri Suisse, Cherry Heering = Peter Heering, crème de cerise, Cherry Rocher, Kirschenliqueur, Cherry Grand Marnier = Cherry Marnier, and Maraschino liqueur.

Along with pepperoncini, this is a good pickling pepper. They are moderately hot, and range in color from orange to bright red.

These are less than an inch in diameter, perfect for adding to salads or crudité platters, or grilling on skewers. There are both red and yellow varieties.

This feathery green herb tastes like a subtle blend of parsley and anise. It's far more plentiful in Europe than in America. Avoid the dried version--it has very little flavor.

Said to be England's oldest cow's milk cheese, is a good cooking cheese. Blue Cheshire is a blue-veined version.

These sweet, starchy, low-fat nuts are quite common in southern Europe, where people eat them hot from the roaster, or add them to soups, stuffing, and desserts. They appear fresh in the fall and winter, but you can find them dried, vacuum-packed, or canned throughout the year. Before you can eat them, fresh chestnuts need to be boiled or roasted, and then shelled and peeled. To roast them, cut an X into each shell (to allow steam to escape) and bake them in a 400° oven for about twenty minutes. While they're still warm, peel off both the shell and the furry skin surrounding each nut. Alternatively, boil the chestnuts for about 15 minutes, then remove them from the water with a slotted spoon. Peel off the shells and put the nuts back in the boiling water for another minute, then remove them again and peel off the skins. Select fresh chestnuts that are shiny and heavy for their size. Store them in the refrigerator and use them within a week or so. Don't confuse chestnuts with water chestnuts, which are completely different.

This is made with puréed chestnuts, brown sugar, and vanilla. It's used as an ingredient in several desserts, including Mont Blanc. Refrigerate after opening.

Italian use chestnut flour to make rich desserts, and sometimes breads and pasta. It also makes terrific pancakes. Don't confuse it with water chestnut flour, which is used in Asian cuisine.

Europeans use this to make everything from soups to stuffings to desserts. You can buy it either sweetened or unsweetened. If you're not sure which one your recipe is calling for, get unsweetened purée and add sugar later if needed.

Don't confuse this aged goat cheese with the far more common chevre frais (fresh chevre). Use within a few days after purchasing. For best flavor, serve at room temperature.

These are small edible seed that originated in Mexico.

These resemble alfalfa sprouts, and can be harvested right off that ceramic chia pet you got as a gift.

A lot of cheap domestic red wines go by this name, but the real thing comes from Tuscany and has a seal of authenticity on the neck. Italian Chianti is a hearty wine that's great with Italian food

Chicken is a relatively lean and inexpensive meat, so it's a culinary workhorse. Broiler-fryers = fryers = broilers are between 2 1/2 and 5 pounds, and can be broiled, roasted, or fried. They're not good for stewing. Stewing chickens are tougher and best used, as their name suggests, in stews and soups. Capons are castrated male chickens that are large (between 5 and 10 pounds) and tender, and have relatively more white meat. They're great for roasting.

One chicken bouillon cube weighs 0.14 ounce and with water makes one cup of broth.

Like calf's liver, these are highly prized for their exquisite flavor.

This got its name because it has the texture of cooked chicken. You can sauté it or, if you want to make mock chicken, simmer it in chicken stock.

This nutty-flavored pea is a staple of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine, where it's used to make everything from hummus to minestrone soup. Many cooks buy them canned, since the dried peas are hard and take a long time to soak and cook. Substitutes: great northern beans (for hummus).

Look for this in Indian markets or health food stores.

When dried, a chilaca pepper is called a pasilla chile. They are mild.

This hard-to-find and moderately hot Mexican chili is used in soups, stews, tamales, and mole sauces. It imparts a yellowish color to dishes.

Unlike many chilies, these remain bright red even after drying, so they're a favorite for making chili wreaths. They're very hot and somewhat acidic. Don't confuse the dried version with the fresh or powdered versions, which go by the same name.

This herb isn't nearly as hot as the chile that comes from the same plant. It's sometimes used as a cooking green in Southeast Asia.

This is a blend of hot chile peppers, garlic, oil, and salt that's commonly used in Asian cuisine. Includes: Chinese chile (or chili) paste = Szechuan chile (or chili) paste = Sichuan chile (or chili) paste = chile paste with garlic, Korean chile paste, and Vietnamese chile paste = tuong ot toi Vietnam = prik kaeng, which is hotter than the Chinese chile paste. See also separate entries for these other chile pastes: nam prik pao, chile bean paste, sambal oelek, and sambal bajak.

This is a mild green sauce often used to stew pork