All Ingredients

A typical sausage consists of ground meat that's combined with fat, flavorings, and preservatives, and then stuffed into a casing and twisted at intervals to make links. Pork is most commonly used, but butchers also use beef, lamb, veal, turkey, chicken, or game, and some also use fillers like oatmeal and rice to stretch the meat a bit. Casings vary too--in addition to intestines or artificial casings, butchers sometimes use stomachs, feet, skins, or they do away with casings altogether and sell the sausage in bulk. After assembling a sausage, a butcher can either sell it as fresh sausage, or else cure, dry, or precook it in some way.

Sauternes is a district in France that produces exquisite and expensive white dessert wines. The district includes the commune Barsac, which produces some of the best Sauternes. Sauternes are sweet and are delicious with blue cheese, pâté de foie gras, and light desserts, though they should never be served with chocolate. Don't confuse Sauternes with Sauterne, which is a cheap domestic imitation.

This light white wine is often described as having a "grassy" flavor. It's terrific with seafood, poultry, and other delicately flavored dishes.

This herb has a strong, peppery flavor, and it's often used in Mediterranean countries to flavor beans, mushrooms, vegetables, and meats. There are two varieties: winter savory and the milder summer savory. Winter savory is best suited to slowly cooked dishes like stews.

Savoy cabbage is like ordinary cabbage, but with a milder flavor. It can often be used in place of green cabbage, and your dish will probably be the better for it.

This hard Swiss cow's milk cheese resembles Parmesan.

This coral-colored roe is expensive and hard to find, but it has a wonderful, delicate flavor. The roe is usually both sold and served with the scallop that produced it.

This is like a pattypan squash, only it's greener and rounder.

This cow's milk cheese is similar to mozzarella or pasta filata, only smaller and firmer. It's often smoked.

These large beans are very flavorful, and they work well in salads or as a side dish. Young pods can be cooked and served like green beans

A German specialty, schinkenspeck is lean pork that's been dry-cured and aged. It's normally sliced paper-thin and served cold.

This German cold cut consists of ham suspended in a bologna-like emulsion. It's usually served cold on sandwiches.

This Austrian cow's milk cheese is a marvelous choice for people who like strong "stinky" cheeses. It's good with beer, but it would overpower most wines.

In the United States, schnapps are flavored liqueurs based on neutral spirits. The flavorings vary widely, and include peppermint schnapps, root beer schnapps, peach schnapps, and cinnamon schnapps. These flavored schnapps can be sweet or dry, but most are sweeter and lighter than a typical liqueur. In Germany and Scandinavia, schnapps refers to any spirit that's dry and potent, like kirsch and aquavit.

These crumbly quick breads are often served at teatime in Britain. They're usually split open and lathered with butter, jam, and/or clotted cream. Americans pronounce the name SKONE, but the British and Australians say SKAHN. They freeze well.

This extremely hot pepper is almost indistinguishable from the habanero, except that it's a bit smaller and has a fruitier flavor. It's popular in the Caribbean.

The king of whiskies, Scotch has a very distinctive, smoky flavor. Single-malt Scotch whisky is considered the best--it has a stronger, more complex flavor than blended Scotch, which is a mixture of malt whiskies and grain whiskies. Connoisseurs of single-malt Scotch consider Macallan to be one of the finest brands. Of the blended Scotch whiskies, the more highly-esteemed brands include Chivas Regal and Johnnie Walker Black Label. Use the cheaper blended Scotch for mixed drinks. Whiskey should be served at room temperature.

A Pennsylvania Dutch specialty, this is a mixture of sausage and cornmeal. It's often slowly fried and served with eggs and grits.

These sword-shaped leaves are about two feet long. Look for plastic bags of folded leaves among the frozen foods in Asian markets.

Sea grapes small stalks of green seaweed with grape like balls popular in Asia. They are usually eaten raw and taste like the sea. Sea grapes add a umami flavor to dishes.

Sea moss is a type of frilly seaweed that grows in tidepools. Sea moss grows in a variety of colors and It can be eaten on its own or used as a thickener. It is often sold as a gel. Many people believe sea moss has medicinal qualities.

This salt comes from evaporated sea water, and contains minute amounts of magnesium, calcium, and other minerals. Since the government requires that salt sold for table use in the United States contain at least 97.5% pure salt, these minerals don't amount to much, though some pricey French sea salts have higher concentrations. While tossing a teaspoon of sea salt into a half gallon of marinara sauce isn't going to have an appreciable effect on its nutritional value, some gourmets say that they can taste the difference and that sea salt has a cleaner, saltier flavor compared to table salt. Don't use sea salt for canning or pickling--the trace minerals may discolor the food. It's also not the best choice for baking--the grains are too large.

comes dried or fresh

Red roe is more expensive than yellow, but the taste is similar.

Most of us unknowingly eat processed sea vegetables every day. Manufacturers use them as thickeners and stabilizers in such products as ice cream, instant pudding, whipped toppings, salad dressings, and even toothpaste. But unprocessed sea vegetables haven't caught on much outside of Asia. It's a shame, since they're dense with vitamins, minerals, and protein, yet low in calories. You can usually find plastic bags of dehydrated sea vegetables in health food stores, or in the Asian foods section of larger supermarkets. After rehydrating, chop them up and add them to salads, soups, stews, or stir-fries

These crisp, salty sprigs make terrific garnishes. They're sometimes available fresh in the summer. If not, look for a pickled version in specialty food shops. These grow along the English coast.

Accomplished Asian cooks who find this in your pantry are likely to purse their lips, just as Italian cooks would over a packet of spaghetti sauce mix. So keep it well hidden. It's lightly flavored with sugar and salt, and saves time when making sushi. You can also use it to dress salads, vegetables, and other dishes.

These are small pears with red and green skins. They're very sweet and juicy and they'd be absolutely perfect if only the skins weren't a bit too thick.

The category "seeds" includes not just the familiar sunflower and pumpkin seeds, but also legumes, nuts, and grains, as well as many spices.

This is a vegetarian meat substitute that's rich in protein, low in fat, and chewy enough to pass for steak or chicken. It's made by mixing gluten flour or wheat flour with water, kneading it, washing away the starch with water, and then cooking the rubbery gluten that remains in a flavored broth. The seitan can then be sliced or shaped however you like and then fried, steamed, baked, or added to stews. Look for packages or tubs of it in the refrigerated sections of Asian markets and health food stores. You can also buy it in the form of meat-flavored sausage, salami, and deli cuts. Store seitan in the refrigerator for up to ten days, or for up to six months in the freezer.

This is more commonly used in the South than in the North.

These "melon seeds" are a type of Italian pasta commonly served in broths.

These tiny pasta shapes are usually served in a broth or very light soup.

Most semi-firm cheeses are pressed during production to remove moisture. As they age, they become even firmer and more pungent and crumbly. Most of these cheeses are great for snacks and sandwiches, and many can be cooked without becoming rubbery or oily. Semi-firm cheese tend to have a longer shelf life than softer cheeses. Many can last about 1-2 months in the refrigerator if the package isn't opened, 3-4 weeks if opened, and 2 weeks if sliced.

semi-soft cheese Notes: These cheeses are great for snacking or desserts, and a few are heat-tolerant enough to be good cooking cheeses. Cheeses lose character when frozen, but many semi-soft cheeses can be frozen and thawed without losing too much flavor, though some become crumbly. For best results, first cut the cheese into small (1/2 pound) chunks, and wrap each chunk in an airtight package. Thaw in the refrigerator, and use the cheese soon after it's thawed.

Americans like this best for their cookies and brownies. It's available in bars, chunks, and chips. Mint-flavored semi-sweet chips are also available.

This is a grape variety that's sometimes developed into a dry white wine, sometimes into a excellent dessert wine.

Semolina is made mostly with durum wheat.

This is raw cow's milk Brazilian cheese.