All Ingredients

This Spanish dry-cured ham doesn't need to be cooked before eating. It's not smoked, and it's usually cut into very thin slices.

These have thin walls, so they don't need to be charred, steamed, and peeled before using. They are moderately hot. When dried, this is called a chile seco.

This is a paste made from toasted black (i.e., unhulled) sesame seeds. It's similar to sesame paste, but thicker and darker. Once you've opened it, store it in the refrigerator unless you plan to use it up within a week or so.

This comes from the same plant that gives us sesame seeds. Koreans use them to wrap packets of meat or as a fresh herb.

includes light sesame oil and stronger dark sesame oil. Sesame oil has a low smoke point and is relatively expensive, so it's not good for frying.

This is a paste made from ordinary white sesame seeds. It's used in the Middle East to make hummus, baba ghanouj, and sauces. The oil tends to rise to the top, so stir before using. Once you've opened it, store it in the refrigerator unless you plan to use it up within a week or so.

These nutritious seeds have a mild, nutty flavor. They're commonly used in baked goods, Asian stir-fries, and Middle-Eastern candies. European recipes for sesame seeds are usually referring to white sesame seeds, but Indian and Asian recipes sometimes intend for you to use the more pungent black sesame seeds. Substitutes: pumpkin seeds

This is a large, green, brine-cured olive.

These are too bitter to eat out of hand, but they make a wonderful orange marmalade and the sour juice is perfect for certain mixed drinks.

In recent years, over-fishing in the Caspian Sea has greatly depleted sturgeon populations. Please consider using caviar and roe from more abundant species until the Caspian Sea sturgeon populations can recover. Greenish-gray sevruga has the smallest eggs and strongest flavor of all the caviars. Because of this, it's cheaper than beluga or ossetra, but still quite good. If substituting an inferior caviar, consider perking it up with a splash of fresh lemon juice. For substitutions for caviar in general, click here.

You can buy lobes of this roe fresh in the springtime, or in cans during the rest of the year. Canned shad roe is good, but not quite as good as fresh.

Australians use the term shallots to describe green onions, but to Americans, shallots are shaped like small brown onions with papery brown skins. They have a more delicate, garlicky flavor than other cooking onions, and are a common ingredient in French sauces. Many people find them too hot to eat raw. They're available year-round.

These thick noodles are often used in stir-fries or soups.

Chinese rice wine varies in quality, so cookbooks often specify Shaoxing rice wine, which is quite good. The Chinese drink it from small porcelain cups, in the same way that the Japanese drink their sake. Shaoxing cooking wine may be salted.

When ripe, this has an orange background with green netting. It's very perishable, so don't wait more than two days after getting it home to eat it.

These can be either steel or ceramic rods.

These are heavy duty scissors used to cut through chicken bones and other difficult items.

Sheep's milk is higher in fat than cow's milk, so these cheeses are rich and creamy. Like goat cheeses, they're also a bit tangy. Examples include Pecorino Romano (pecora is the Italian word for sheep), Roquefort, Manchego, Idiazábal, and Manouri.

This fortified Spanish wine is typically served in small glasses before dinner, but many cooks also keep a bottle handy in the kitchen to perk up sauces, soups, and desserts. There are two categories of sherry: fino and oloroso. Fino sherry = Palma sherry is dry, fruity, and expensive. Examples of fino include the exquisite Manzanilla and the potent and nutty Amontillado. Oloroso sherry is more heavily fortified than fino. Examples include Amoroso and cream sherry, both of which are sweetened and especially popular in Britain. Once bottled, sherry doesn't age well, so you should plan to use it no more than a year or two after you buy it. Once opened, fino sherries should be consumed within a few days and stored in the refrigerator. Oloroso sherries can be stored a bit longer, say a week. Cooking sherry usually has added salt, and is shunned by more experienced cooks.

Sherry vinegar is Spain's answer to balsamic vinegar. It's assertive yet smooth, and great for deglazing pans and perking up sauces, especially those that will accompany hearty meats like duck, beef, or game. The most expensive sherry vinegars are aged for a long time in wood casks.

Shichimi togarashi is a mix of seven spices that's often sprinkled on soups and noodles.

Though shiitake mushrooms are now cultivated, they have the earthiness and flavor of wild mushrooms. They're large and meaty, and they work well in stir-fries, soups, and side dishes, or as a meat substitute. Dried shiitakes are excellent, and often preferable to fresh due to their more intense flavor. Soak them in water for about thirty minutes to reconstitute them, then use the water they soaked in to enhance your sauce.

Like matsutake mushrooms, these grow on trees. They're very tasty, with a peppery flavor. They're great in stir-fries.

These Japanese noodles are a form of konnyaku, a rubbery, gelatinous substance derived from devil's tongue yams. The noodles come in white or black versions; black is preferred for sukiyaki. Look for them in Japanese markets, either in cans or fresh in plastic bags in the refrigerated section. Drain and cook the noodles before using.

This Japanese chile is very sweet and mild with a grassy flavor. It's about two inches long.

The Japanese mostly use this pungent herb to flavor pickled plums. It comes in two colors: red and green.

This is sticky, though not as much as glutinous rice. It's a good choice if you're making sushi or rice pudding, and it also works pretty well in a risotto or paella. Brown short-grain rice isn't as sticky.

These rich cookies are loaded with butter.

These sweetened biscuits are traditionally split in half and topped with whipped cream and strawberries. You can buy them ready-made in stores, where they're often displayed near the strawberries, but they're easy to make from scratch. Don't confuse shortcake with shortbread, a rich butter cookie.

These cakes are made with butter or other solid fat, so they're richer and heavier than foam cakes. Examples include pound cakes and butter cakes.

Shortening can be made from either animal fat or vegetable oil. Crisco is a popular brand.

There are many different species of shrimp, but generally speaking, the larger the shrimp, the tastier. In the US and Britain, large shrimp are called prawns; in India, all shrimp are prawns. Bay shrimp are very small. You can buy shrimp raw (sometimes called green), or cooked. Don't buy cooked shrimp if you plan to serve it warm--they turns rubbery when reheated. Unopened canned shrimp can be stored for up to a year in a dry, cool place. Once opened, it will keep for up to two days if you wrap it well and refrigerate it

These Indonesian chips are made with tapioca and different flavorings. Before serving them, you're supposed to fry them in hot oil for a few seconds until they expand and become crunchy. Look for them in Asian markets.

Look for this in Southeast Asian markets.

This crumbly British cow's milk blue cheese is very similar to Stilton, but it's dyed a yellowish orange.

These are large with purple stripes. They have thin skins and a subtle flavor.

These are large, green, sour olives that are usually marinated with herbs. They sometimes pitted and stuffed with pimento, garlic, or jalapeño pepper.

This is a juicy, crisp and somewhat tart apple. It doesn't hold its shape well when cooked, but it's great for eating out of hand.

has silver, not gold, flakes in it