All Ingredients

See the Japanese Rosy Pickled Ginger posting on RecipeSource.com.

To make your own: See the Homemade Capers recipe in the Internet Chef's Recipe Archive.

To make your own: See the Pickled Okra recipe on RecipeSource.com.

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Louisiana cooks like to add this to bean dishes. It's hard to find outside of Louisiana, but it's fairly easy to make from scratch.

To make your own: See the Pickled String Beans recipe posted on RecipeSource.com.

This is similar to table salt, but lacks the iodine and anti-caking additives that turn pickles dark and the pickling liquid cloudy. Pickles made with table salt would still be good to eat, but they wouldn't look as appetizing. Pickling salt is available in large bags or boxes in supermarkets, but it's hard to find in cities. In addition to pickling or canning with it, you can also use pickling salt just as you would ordinary table salt, though without the anti-caking agents it may get lumpy if exposed to moisture. To prevent lumps, put a few grains of rice in your salt shaker. To get rid of lumps, spread the salt on a cookie sheet and bake in an oven. Don't substitute reduced-sodium salt for pickling salt when making pickles.

This is cured like a ham, but cut from the hog's shoulder. It's not as tender and lean as a true ham, and it cooks much quicker. It's a good, inexpensive choice if you want chopped ham for soups and casseroles.

This excellent Spanish blue cheese comes wrapped in maple leaves. It's moist, crumbly, and pungent. It is a mixture of cow's, sheep's and goat's milk.

This pie dough is easy enough to make at home, or you can find it ready-made among the frozen foods of most supermarkets.

Pigeon meat is dark and very tender. Look for it in Asian or gourmet markets. Varieties include the squab, which is a young pigeon that's never flown, the wood pigeon, rock dove, and ring dove.

These are usually sold dried, but fresh, frozen, and canned peas also are available. They have a strong flavor, and they're popular in the South and in the Caribbean

Pil pil is a basque sauce made from skin-on salted cod, olive oil, garlic and chili peppers. After cooking, the fish is removed and the reminder emulsified into a sauce. The pil pil sauce is them poured over the cod or other seafood.

Pilchards belong to the same species as sardines, but they're caught in colder waters and are bigger.

This Italian pasta consists of very thin ribbons. It's usually served in a broth.

Look for cones of this in Mexican markets.

Pimentos are often sold roasted and peeled in cans or jars, or used to stuff green olives.

This is the liqueur that the upper crust of British society drinks at polo matches. It's bittersweet and very potent. There used to be several varieties of Pimm's, based on gin, whiskey, rum, brandy, and vodka, but only the one based on gin, called Pimm's No. 1, is still being produced. Serve it with club soda and a bit of lemon juice and garnish with cucumber and celery.

These expensive and delicate seeds are harvested from pine trees in different parts of the world. Italians like to grind them into pesto or sprinkle them on pasta dishes. There are two main varieties: the triangular Chinese pine nuts sold in Asian markets, and the slender Italian pine nuts, which are more expensive and subtly flavored. All pine nuts are high in fat, so store them in the refrigerator or freezer to keep them from getting rancid. Before you use them, toast pine nuts in a 325° oven, stirring occasionally, until they're slightly golden, about five minutes.

Pineapples are juicy, mildly acidic, and very versatile. They can be squeezed for juice, sliced on cakes, skewered and grilled, or eaten raw without adornment. Select only ripe pineapples that give a little when you squeeze them. Hard, unripe pineapples stop becoming sweeter once they're picked. A new variety, the golden pineapple, is sweeter, juicier, and richer in vitamin C than ordinary pineapples. A white pineapple also has been developed. Canned pineapple is an acceptable substitute for fresh in many recipes.

This is used in Mexico, but hard to find in the United States. Grab a bottle if you can find it, for it's reputed to be quite good.

Filipino cooks use these glutinous rice flakes to make desserts and drinks.

This is a cross between a Golden Delicious and a Lady William. It's sweet and crisp, and good in salads and pies.

Pink peppercorns aren't true peppercorns, but they have a very mild, peppery flavor.

This German sausage is made with beef and/or pork, onions, oat groats, and bacon. It's often served with potatoes.

These peel easily and their flavor is excellent. One of the best varieties.

This is a good, but unexceptional, dry white wine that's good with seafood and poultry.

This is a dry white wine that goes especially well with seafood. Pinot Grigio is the Italian name, Pinot Gris the French.

This earthy red varietal wine goes best with beef, ham, poultry, salmon, or tuna. Unfortunately, making it is tricky business, so the quality varies tremendously. A good one will be expensive and sublime.

The dried beans are beige with brown streaks, but they turn a uniform pinkish-brown when cooked. They're often used to make refried beans and chili.