All Ingredients

Danish cow's milk blue is rich and creamy, but it's considered inferior to Roquefort, Gorgonzola, or Stilton.

This refers to sweetened chocolate other than milk or white chocolate. It includes bittersweet, semi-sweet, and sweet chocolates, all of which can be used interchangeably in most recipes.

This corn syrup has a mild molasses flavor, and it's a common ingredient in barbecue sauce, pecan pie.

Dark rum has a strong molasses flavor, and it's much heavier than white or amber rums. It's used to make Planter's Punch, but many people like to drink the expensive stuff neat. The best dark rum is made in Jamaica, but Martinique, Cuba, and Haiti are also important producers. Myers is a popular brand.

This is a very common Japanese soup stock, usually made with bonito flakes and kelp. Variations include katsuo dashi (made without kelp), konbu dashi (made without bonito flakes), niboshi dashi and iriko dashi (made with different kinds of fish; more flavorful than ordinary dashi), and koi dashi (made with vegetables). Dash-no-moto is an instant version.

sold as hon dashi or Dashi-No-Moto

These are rich in flavor, nutrients, and calories. Medjool dates are richer and meatier than the other Deglet Noor dates. Other varieties include Khalas, sukkary, barhi, medjool, ajwa and kimia. If you plan to chop them, look for cooking dates, date pieces, or pressed dates--they're a lot cheaper than the exquisite dessert dates that are intended to be eaten whole. Don't confuse dates with fresh dates, which are hard to find in supermarkets. To learn about different varieties of dates, click here.

Fresh dates are sometimes available at farmer's markets in the late summer. They're crunchy, and not as sweet as dried dates.

These aren't as flavorful as ordinary wine, but they're a good choice for people who want to drink wine without consuming alcohol. Sparkling wines are the most popular de-alcoholized wines, but other varieties are also available. Many brands contain small amounts of alcohol.

Frying tofu makes it a chewier and tastier. Both the Japanese and Chinese have their own ready-made versions of deep-fried tofu, and you can find them in cellophane bags and cans in Asian markets. You can also make deep-fried tofu yourself by frying thin slabs of firm tofu in hot oil.

These honey sweet translucent deglet noor dates are enjoyed in North Africa. They originated in Algeria.

This is one of the tastier winter squashes, with creamy pulp that tastes a bit like sweet potatoes. Choose squash that are heavy for their size.

This dark, heavy rum comes from Demerara River region in Guyana. It's often used to make Zombies.

This includes seven or eight ribs from the breast. These can be braised, but they're more often marinated and grilled.

Includes: Derby Sage cow's milk cheese (pictured), which is flavored with sage.

These are sweet wines that are served with (or instead of) dessert. Examples include fortified wines like port and sherry, and late harvest wines, which are made from grapes that have shriveled a bit, concentrating their sweetness. As a rule of thumb, a dessert wine should always be sweeter than the dessert it accompanies.

This is a dip or sandwich spread made with chopped ham, sour cream, and various seasonings.

These are similar to blackberries, only they're smaller.

This Indian flour is made from a blend of rice, urad dal, and chickpeas. It's used to make cakes that look like squares of cornbread, which Indians steam and garnish with grated coconut, tamarind sauces, and other seasonings.

These have a clove-like flavor. Some people may have an alergic reaction to dianthus.

These British crackers are similar to American graham crackers, only they're more crumbly and less sweet. They're often crushed into crumbs and used to make pie crusts.

Grey Poupon and French's are well-regarded brands. See the Dijon Mustard recipe posting on Recipesource.com.

You can find soft, feathery sprigs of dill leaves in markets throughout the year. Chopped dill is often paired with fish, cucumbers, potatoes, or it's added to dips, salad dressings, or cream sauces. Dill loses flavor when it's heated, so always add it to cooked dishes at the last minute. Avoid dried dill; it has very little flavor. And don't confuse dill leaves with dill seeds--though they come from the same plant, they're not good substitutes for one another.

Dill seed tastes like dill leaves, but it's much stronger. It's a common ingredient in pickles, dips, and potato salad.

These are small tubes of pasta, well suited for vegetable soups. It's also one of the shapes used to make Spaghetti-Os.

This is a small version of ditali, a tubular pasta shape. Tiny ditalini are usually served in a broth or vegetable soup, and is one of the shapes used to make Spaghetti-Os.

This commercially fished shark is enjoyed around the world.

These squat peaches have white flesh, and a very good flavor. Use them as you would ordinary peaches.

This isn't available in the United States.