All Ingredients

Most of us know malt vinegar as the condiment that's always put on the table wherever British fish and chips are served. It's made from malted barley, and has a pungent, lemony flavor. It's a good choice for pickling (assuming it contains at least 5% acetic acid), though it will darken light-colored fruits and vegetables. It's also the vinegar of choice for making chutneys. Since it's so assertive, it's not a good choice for vinaigrettes or delicate sauces. Varieties include brown malt vinegar and distilled malt vinegar, which is clear.

Maltagliati means "poorly cut" in Italian, and the name is used for various kinds of pasta scraps.

These are about the size of a large sweet potato. The flesh is salmon-colored, with a sweet, berry-like flavor. They're great for eating out of hand, or for making fruit salads or smoothies. Markets often sell them while they're still hard and underripe, so you need to set them on the counter for a few days until they yield when gently squeezed. Peel them and remove the seeds before serving.

Aged Manchego sheep's milk cheese is yellow and a terrific grating cheese. Don't confuse it with unaged Manchego cheese, which is almost white, semi-firm, and typically used as a melting cheese

Don't confuse this with aged Manchego cheese, which is firm and yellow, and typically used for grating. Younger Manchego sheep's milk cheese is sweet and nutty. It melts nicely and is often used in quesadillas.

These have a pleasant enough flavor, but their big asset is that they come out of their peels and segment easily, so you can eat them in your good clothes. Varieties include the popular tangerine, the seedy but juicy honey tangerine = Murcott, the satsuma orange, the sweet and tiny clementine orange, and the seedy and orange-flavored temple orange.

These very thin crèpes are used to make mu shu dishes. You can buy them in the frozen foods sections of Asian markets, but they're easy to make at home.

This cognac-based liquor is flavored with the peels of mandarin oranges. Mandarine Napoléon is a well-regarded brand.

This is similar to an almond-flavored biscotti, only smaller and softer. Look for it in Jewish markets.

This is a smaller somewhat sweeter variety of a grapefruit.

It's always a challenge to eat a mango. The pulp clings desperately to both peel and seed, and it can turn into a mushy mess by the time you free it. Despite this, the mango is one of the most popular fruits in the world. It's sweet and juicy, and it has a wonderful, distinctive flavor. Select richly colored, firm mangoes, then let them ripen at home for a few days. Frozen mangoes are good substitutes for fresh.

Some claim that this is the most delicious fruit on the planet, though it's hard to find in the United States. It's about the size of a tomato, and has a leathery, mottled skin.

Manicotti means "little sleeves" in Italian. These large, ridged tubes of Italian pasta are usually stuffed with ricotta cheese and spinach and then baked.

This Greek sheep's and goat's milk cheese is similar to feta, only creamier and less salty. This is made with sheep or goat’s milk.

A Turkish specialty, manti are small squares of pasta stuffed with a ground meat filling. They're often served with a garlic and yogurt sauce.

This habanero relative is often used in salsas. It has black seeds. These are hot.

These green olives are available in most supermarkets. They're often pitted and stuffed with pimento or garlic. They're often put into martinis.

This is made from maple syrup which has been dried and granulated. It's often sprinkled on cereal and toast.

Made from the sap of sugar maples, maple syrup is a traditional topping for pancakes, waffles, and French toast. It's also used to make candies, frostings, candied yams, meat glazes, and baked beans. Lighter syrups usually have a more delicate flavor. Refrigerate after opening. Don't confuse authentic maple syrup with the cheaper and more commonly used pancake syrup, which are based on corn syrup.

Marang is similar to jackfruit and durian. It has a strong but sweet taste. Marang is native to Borneo and Mindanao.

These sugar-soaked and dyed cherries come in two colors: red (almond flavored) or green (mint flavored). Cooks usually use them to garnish desserts and drinks.

This is an excellent semi-dry clear liqueur that's made with sour cherries. It's made from marasca cherries, which are native to Croatia. Unrest there has made good Maraschino liqueurs hard to find in recent years. Luxardo Maraschino and Stock Maraschino are well-respected brands.

This is a very sweet cherry-flavored syrup. Look for it in liquor stores.

Marc is a French brandy made from the leftovers of wine making.

In addition to regular margarine, supermarkets usually carry diet margarine = lite margarine (with about half the fat and more water and air), soft margarine, whipped margarine (containing up to 50% air). These diet margarines make wonderful spreads, but they shouldn't be substituted for regular margarine in baked goods. For more information, visit the Illinois Cooperative Extension Service's Lite Margarine--Substitution for Baking page.

This is used to salt the rims of Margarita glasses. To apply, fill a saucer with the salt, then moisten the rim of an empty glass with lime juice and dip it into the saucer.

Margherite means "daisies" in Italian, but this pasta shape looks more like shells, with ridges on the outside. A small soup pasta version is called margheritine.

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After Washington, D.C., mayor Marion Barry was arrested for possessing cocaine in 1989, marion berry jam enjoyed brief popularity as a novelty item.

Marjoram is sweeter and milder than its close relative, oregano. It's often used to season meats and fish, and works best when its added near the end of the cooking period. Fresh is best, but frozen or dried marjoram are acceptable substitutes. Don't confuse this with wild marjoram, which is better known as oregano.

This is a stinky washed-rind cow's milk cheese from France that smells worse than it tastes. You probably don't want to eat the pungent rind. Use within a few days after purchasing. For best flavor, serve at room temperature.

These large white beans are said to taste like bacon. They're great pureed in soups.

This popular Sicilian fortified wine is Italy's answer to sherry and Madeira. It's mostly used as a cooking wine and is a key ingredient in many Italian dishes, including zabaglione, tiramisu, and veal scaloppini. Marsalas are graded according to their sweetness and age. The sweetest Marsalas are called "dolce," followed by "demisecco," and then "secco," which are the driest. Ranked from youngest to oldest, the age grades are "fine," "superiore," "superiore riserva," "vergine," and "stravecchio."

See the Marshmallows recipe posted on Recipesource.com.

Kraft is a well-known brand.

When inverted, cakes made with this pan have a large depression in the middle that can hold fillings.

Marzipan is made from ground almonds and sugar, and it's used to make colorful and edible decorations and confections. Look for tubes or cans of it among the baking supplies in your supermarket.

This is a dough made from ground hominy that's widely used in Mexico to make tortillas and tamales. There are two kinds: The softer masa molida is used to make tortillas, while the coarser and thicker masa preparada is for tamales. Hispanic markets often sell ready-made masa in the refrigerated section, but you can easily make your own if you have masa flour.

This is flour made from hominy, and it's used to make corn tortillas and tamales. Look for it in large supermarkets or Hispanic markets. It's made with either yellow or white corn; harinilla is made with blue corn.

This is the catch-all Hindi term for a spice mixture. Popular masalas include garam masala, chat masala, and sambar masala.

Creamy mascarpone is a key ingredient in tiramisu, zabaglione, and cheesecakes. It's velvety soft, slightly acidic, and expensive. It's made from cow's milk. Although Italian in origin, the name is said to come from the Spanish mas que bueno, "better than good." It's usually sold in tubs. Use it soon after you purchase it since it's highly perishable.

When whole, this bean is greenish-brown, but recipes often call for the skinned and split masoor, which is called masoor dal.

These are skinned and split masoor lentils. They're salmon-colored, cook quickly, and turn golden and mushy when cooked.