All Ingredients

Elvers are juvenile eels. They are thin and about 2" long. Elvers are a delicacy especially in Spain and Asia. They are caught as they return to freshwater streams after being born in the mid-Atlantic.

This Swiss cow's milk cheese is riddled with holes and has a mild, nutty flavor. It's an excellent melting cheese, and a key ingredient in many fondues.

Hispanic cooks wrap these six-inch diameter rounds of dough around sweet or savory fillings, and then bake or fry them. Look for them among the frozen foods in Hispanic markets.

These Spanish black olives are soaked in sherry.

This is a Red Delicious-McIntosh cross that's great for baking or eating out of hand.

Emus are Australia's answer to the ostrich. Like ostriches, they're low in fat and taste like beef.

This crunchy new French variety blends sweet and bitter flavors.

This category includes Belgian endive, curly endive, frisee, and escarole.

This foot-long slicing cucumber is pricier and less flavorful than other varieties, but it has less conspicuous seeds, a thinner skin, and a plastic wrapper--instead of a wax coating--to improve shelf life. All of this saves preparation time, since there's no need to peel or seed the cucumber before slicing it. This is a good variety if you focused on looks--you can cut it into round, green trimmed slices.

When split and toasted, these muffins have an uncanny ability to trap and hold butter and jam. They're often served at breakfast as an alternative to toast.

Enoki mushrooms have a delicate fruity flavor. They're usually served raw.

This strongly-flavored herb is commonly used in Mexican bean dishes, partly because it's supposed to reduce flatulence. Fresh epazote has dark green leaves with serrated edges. If you can't find it, the dried version is an acceptable substitute.

This well-regarded French cow's milk cheese is a member of the washed-rind or "stinky" family of cheeses, but it's more subtle than Limburger, Livarot, or other siblings. It's a little runny when ripe. The rind is edible--taste it to see if you like it.

Escarole has sturdy leaves and a slightly bitter flavor. Young escarole leaves are tender enough to add to salads, otherwise escarole is best cooked as a side dish or used in soups.

This excellent Hawaiian fish tastes like a buttery halibut. Unfortunately, it contains a natural laxative and eating it can cause serious gastrointestinal distress. Because of this, several governments (though not the US) have either banned its importation or required that it be sold with warning labels. A workaround is to eat only small (four ounces or less) portions of the fish, or to bring a change of clothes if you're dining out.

This Danish cow's milk cheese is semi-soft and only slightly pungent. It's a great melting cheese and a popular ingredient in casseroles.

Plugra is a domestic brand. Since European-style butter has a lower moisture content, using it results in better pastries, icings, and sauces.

This is sold in cans, and comes either whole or nonfat. Don't confuse it with sweetened condensed milk, which has lots of sugar and is not a good substitute. While evaporated milk is sometimes called condensed milk, most recipes that call for condensed milk are referring to sweetened condensed milk. Evaporated milk is sold with varying amounts of butterfat, ranging from whole evaporated milk with about 8% to skim evaporated milk with about 0.5%. To reconstitute evaporated milk, combine it with an equal amount of water.

This soft, creamy French cow's milk cheese is rich and complex.

This isn't as moist as firm tofu, so it holds its shape better and absorb more flavors. Store tofu in the refrigerator, changing the water daily, and use it within a week. Freezing it will make it chewier and give it a meatier texture. Look for cakes of it in plastic tubs in the refrigerated sections of supermarkets and health food stores.

Extracts are concentrated flavoring agents. Some, like beef extract or wine essence, are made by reducing a liquid until it's a syrup. Others, like vanilla and peppermint extract, are made by dissolving a spice or flavoring oil in alcohol. Store extracts in a cool, dark place, and keep the lids screwed on tight. Properly stored, they'll keep for a long time, though the flavor will gradually lose potency.

his heirloom bean stays firm and richly colored after cooking, so it's great as a side dish or in salads.

This Italian stuffed pasta is usually filled with ricotta cheese and various vegetables.

This is a Caribbean cane syrup that's delicately flavored and slightly alcoholic. It's sometimes used in rum-based cocktails.

Farfalle is an Italian pasta, often made with eggs, that resembles bowties or butterflies. It's often served with chunky sauces or in pasta salads. A smaller version is called farfallini, while a larger version is called farfallone. Strichetti is farfalle made with an egg dough.

This Italian pasta is a small version of farfalle, or bow-tie pasta. Farfalline is usually served in a broth or very light soup.

Jewish cooks use the term farfel to refer to matzo or noodles that have been broken into small pieces.

Cream of Wheat is a popular brand.