All Ingredients

Spelt has been around for thousands of years, but it's recently enjoying a resurgence in popularity. It's believed to be a relative of wheat, and it tastes like a mild version of it. Though it contains gluten, it's tolerated by many people who are allergic to gluten.

Spelt has a nutty flavor, similar to that of wheat. Though it contains gluten, it's often tolerated by people with wheat allergies.

Like rolled oats, spelt flakes are commonly cooked to make a hot breakfast cereal.

Spelt flour contains gluten, but it's tolerated by many people with gluten allergies. If making bread with spelt flour, don't knead it for as long as you would a wheat bread--its gluten isn't as durable as that in wheat. Freeze any spelt flour that you're not planning to use right away.

Spelt contains gluten, but it's tolerated by many people with gluten allergies.

This category includes spiced rum, Goldschläger and kümmel.

This is white or dark rum that's been sweetened and flavored with vanilla and spices.

Spinach is packed with nutrients, and it's quite versatile. You can toss it raw into salads, or cook it briefly to make a side dish or soup. Of the two main varieties, smooth leaf spinach = flat leaf spinach = salad spinach is more delicate and better suited to salads than curly leaf spinach. Look for spinach with small, narrow stems--they're younger and more tender. And always use fresh spinach if you can; it's much more palatable than frozen or canned spinach.

In the United States, you're more likely to find these in an aquarium that in a supermarket, but Southeast Asians consider them a delicacy.

These are spring-shaped lengths of Italian pasta. They're good with chunky sauces, or in pasta salads. A larger version is called spirali.

An off center lid can reduce splatter.

Like sponges, these cakes have lots of air pockets, which are made by beating egg whites and folding them into the batter. Angel food cakes are similar, but they're made without egg yolks, while sponge cakes are made with whites and yolks. A sponge cake will keep its shape better if you cut it with a serrated knife.

These tiny fish are similar to anchovies and sardines, and often sold in cans. You're supposed to eat the whole thing, including the head and tail.

Some people use the name spring onion as a synonym for green onion, while others use it to refer to a green onion with a partially formed bulb.

This is a mix of different young salad greens. Commercial mixes usually include arugula, mizuna, tat soi, frisee, oakleaf, red chard, radicchio, mustard greens, and radicchio.

These pans are great for baking delicate desserts that are prone to falling apart when removed from the pan. The rim loosens from the bottom when the clamp is opened. This pan has two bottoms, so that it can serve as both a tube pan (pictured) and a layer cake pan.

These are small candies that are sprinkled on cakes and cookies.

This is unrefined barley, used for making barley sprouts. Don't try to cook with it--it's got a very thick hull.

Sprouts spring from newly germinated peas and beans. They won't add much in the way of nutrients--or calories--to your diet, but they're tasty and inexpensive. There are many varieties, ranging from mild and crunchy mung bean sprouts to spicy and delicate radish sprouts. Raw sprouts are great in salads and sandwiches, and the sturdier varieties can also be stir-fried briefly.

This is Italian sparkling wine. Asti spumante is a well-known sparkling wine produced in Asti, Italy.

This is honey that's blended with pieces of the comb so that it spreads more easily. It's more popular in Europe than in America

These make exquisite garnishes, but they can also be stuffed with fillings and fried, or else sautéed very briefly and put into omelettes or quesadillas. The best source of the blossoms is a garden, but non-gardeners can sometimes find them in farmers' markets or specialty markets. They don't store well, so try to use the blossoms soon after you get them.

The seeds of various squashes, like pumpkin and acorn squash, make terrific snacks. To prepare, wash the seeds, then blot them dry, and mix them with salt and butter. Spread the seeds on a baking tray and bake them in a preheated 325° oven for about 15 minutes.

This is a hot sauce used as a condiment by Thais and Vietnamese.

Warning: aluminum, copper, and iron cookware can react with acids in foods and alter their flavor and color.

Asian cooks use star anise to give a licorice flavor to savory dishes, particularly those with pork and poultry. It's available whole or ground. Use it sparingly--a little goes a long way.

These are similar to star fruit, only with purple skins.

Star fruit have a clean, crisp texture, and they make terrific star-shaped garnishes when sliced. They're also easy to use, since they don't need to be peeled or seeded, and they're slow to discolor. Some varieties are sweet, some are sour. Try to avoid ones that have brown spots or streaks.

Notes: These silky powders are used to thicken sauces, gravies, pie fillings, and puddings. They're popular because they thicken without adding fat or much flavor. To avoid lumps, mix the starch with an equal amount of cold liquid until it forms a paste, then whisk it into the liquid you're trying to thicken. Once the thickener is added, cook it briefly to remove the starchy flavor. Don't overcook--liquids thickened with some starches will thin again if cooked too long or at too high a temperature. Cornstarch, arrowroot, and tapioca are the most popular starch thickeners. They have different strengths and weaknesses, so it's a good idea to stock all three in your pantry. Starch thickeners give food a transparent, glistening sheen, which looks nice in a pie filling, but a bit artificial in a gravy or sauce. If you want high gloss, choose tapioca or arrowroot. If you want low gloss, choose cornstarch. Cornstarch is the best choice for thickening dairy-based sauces. Arrowroot becomes slimy when mixed with milk products. Choose arrowroot if you're thickening an acidic liquid. Cornstarch loses potency when mixed with acids. Sauces made with cornstarch turn spongy when they're frozen. If you plan to freeze a dish, use tapioca starch or arrowroot as a thickener. Starch thickeners don't add much flavor to a dish, although they can impart a starchy flavor if they're undercooked. If you worried that your thickener will mask delicate flavors in your dish, choose arrowroot. It's the most neutral tasting of the starch thickeners. Tapioca starch thickens quickly, and at a relatively low temperature. It's a good choice if you want to correct a sauce just before serving it.

These are breads that are made with a starter instead of fresh yeast. A starter is a mixture of flour, water, and baker's yeast that been set out so that it can be colonized by airborne yeast and friendly bacteria. Starters lend a special character to the bread--sourdough bread, for example, needs to be made with a starter to acquire a sour flavor.

This fits inside pots of different sizes, and the petals open to accommodate vegetables, seafood, or whatever else you want to steam.

These are groats that have been chopped into small pieces. They're chewier than rolled oats, and grain aficionados often prefer them for hot oatmeal cereals and muesli

These small star shapes are a type of Italian soup pasta. A smaller version is called stellini.

These pasta shapes look like tiny stars. They cook quickly and are best used in soups.

This heirloom bean is sometimes used to make Boston baked beans.

This has been touted has a healthful alternative to non-nutritive artificial sweeteners. It's quite sweet, but has a bitter aftertaste. Look for it in health food stores.

These cubes of meat are tough enough to require slow cooking in a liquid. Don't use them for kabobs--they're too tough for the grill.

This is perhaps the most highly regarded of all the cow's milk blue cheeses. Made in England, it's firmer and milder than Roquefort or Gorgonzola. It's excellent with pears. Don't eat the rind.