All Ingredients

These don't have much flavor.

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. For substitutions for caviar in general, click here.

This is a bitter, full-bodied ale that's relatively high in alcohol. It can be identified by the letters IPA on the label. Don't confuse this with American pale ale, which is much tamer.

Dried leaves are very good substitutes for fresh. Don't confuse these with Indonesian bay leaves.

This is fairly bitter. Choose melons that are bright green. They turn tough and yellow as they age. You can eat the peels and seeds, or scrape out the seeds to reduce the bitterness.

A specialty of Native Americans in the Southwest, this flatbread is deep-fried just before serving.

Indonesians like to use bean threads (which they call su un), and rice vermicelli. They also use egg and wheat-flour noodles to make bami goreng, a fried noodle dish.

Ethiopians use this slightly sour flat bread as both a plate and spoon when eating their traditional stews. The injera becomes saturated with juices, and is eaten at the end of the meal.

This is a modified cornstarch that professional bakers sometimes use to thicken pie fillings. It has several advantages over ordinary cornstarch. Instant ClearJel® thickens without cooking, works well with acidic ingredients, tolerates high temperatures, is freezer-stable, and doesn't cause pie fillings to weep" during storage. Don't use Instant ClearJel® for canning--it tends to break down.

You can mix this granular all-purpose flour into liquids without getting many lumps, so it's perfect for making gravies and batters. It's also good for breading fish. Wondra flour and Shake & Blend are popular brands.

These are very thin, precooked oats that need only be mixed with a hot liquid. They usually have flavorings and salt added. They're convenient, but not as chewy and flavorful as slower-cooking oats.

This appliance functions principally as a pressure cooker but can also be used as, slow cooker, rice cooker and more.

This is white rice that's been precooked and dehydrated so that it cooks quickly. It's relatively expensive, though, and you sacrifice both flavor and texture. White instant rice cooks in about five minutes, brown in about ten. Minute Rice is a well-known brand.

These small, starchy granules are used to make tapioca pudding and to thicken pie fillings. The grains don't dissolve completely when cooked, so puddings and pies thickened with them end up studded with tiny gelatinous balls. If you don't mind the balls, you can also use instant tapioca to thicken soups, gravies, and stews. If the balls are a problem, just pulverize the instant tapioca in a coffee grinder or blender, or buy tapioca starch, which is already finely ground. Instant tapioca tolerates prolonged cooking and freezing, and gives the fillings an attractive glossy sheen. To use it in a pie filling, mix it with the other ingredients, then let it sit for at least five minutes so that the tapioca can absorb some of the liquid. Don't confuse instant tapioca with regular tapioca, which has larger beads, or with the even larger tapioca pearls sold in Asian markets. Minute® tapioca is a well-known brand.

This very active strain of yeast allows you to make bread with only one rise. The trade-off is that some flavor is sacrificed, though this doesn't matter much if the bread is sweetened or heavily flavored with other ingredients. Unlike ordinary active dry yeast, instant yeast doesn't need to be dissolved in liquid first--you just add it to the dry ingredients. Look for it in the dairy case--it's usually sold in strips of three packages or in 4-ounce jars. Before buying it, check the expiration date to make sure it's fresh. Dry yeast can be stored at room temperature until the expiration date stamped on the jar, but it lasts even longer in the refrigerator.

This is used by commercial bakers to keep baked goods moist or by candy makers to make more finely grained candies. Look for it in candy making supply shops.

This is a variety of table salt. Iodized salt, which contains the flavorless additive potassium iodide to prevent goiter (an enlargement of the thyroid gland)

This is a lot leaner than American bacon. Note that Canadian bacon also is sometimes called back bacon.

This is made with Irish whiskey flavored with chocolate and cream. Bailey's Irish Cream is a well-known brand.

This liqueur is based on Irish whiskey, and is flavored with herbs and honey.

Irish whiskey resembles Scotch, only without the smoky flavor. Jameson 1780 and Black Bush are highly regarded brands. Whiskey should be served at room temperature.

This gelatin comes from the air bladders of sturgeon and other fish. It's sometimes used to clarify wine.

Like French bread, Italian bread has a dark, hard crust and a slightly chewy interior.

These are smaller than American eggplants, but they're otherwise very similar.

These green or yellow beans are like ordinary green beans, but they're flatter. Select small, brightly colored beans that snap when you break them in half.

This is the best parsley to use for cooking--it has more flavor than the more common curly parsley. Avoid dried parsley; it has very little flavor.

This is a pork sausage that's often added to pasta sauces. Varieties include sweet Italian sausage = mild Italian sausage, which is flavored with garlic and fennel seed, and hot Italian sausage, which also has a shake or two of crushed chile peppers. It's sold either as links or in bulk. Cook thoroughly before serving.

This is a Basque version of Chartreuse. Like its prototype, it comes in a green and a milder yellow version

These resemble large, dark purple grapes, and they're very popular in Brazil. You can eat them like grapes, though you'll have to contend with thick, tart skins. You can also make delicious jams, jellies, and wines from them.

Jabuticaba fruit is grape like about 1 to 2 inches in diameter. Under the thick skin is the sweet pink or white flesh.

This California semi-soft cow's milk cheese resembles Muenster. It has a mild, nondescript flavor, but it's good cheese to slice into sandwiches or melt into casseroles. It also goes by California jack, Monterey jack, Sonoma jack, and Mexican jack, depending on where it was produced. Efforts to boost the flavor have produced Pepper Jack = Jalapeno Jack. Don't confuse this with aged jack, which is a grating cheese.

This is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world--it weighs up to 100 pounds. It's hard to find fresh in the United States, but Asian markets sometimes stock canned jackfruit. The yellowish pulp tastes a bit like banana. The seeds can be boiled and eaten. Watch out for the sap--it can stain your clothes.

Jackfruits are immense and some contain hundreds of nutritious seeds, which resemble chestnuts. Before eating the seeds, boil them for about five minutes, then roast them.

This is a good choice for soups.

This is a coarse, mild German cold cut that's often served on sandwiches with mustard. It's made of pork, beef, and sometimes garlic.

This is a potent, bittersweet herbal liqueur. You can sometimes see Jägermeister bumper stickers on cars, often the kind that also sport surf shop decals.

This is a tan, unrefined sugar that is common in India. It's made from the sap of palm trees or sugar cane and is much more flavorful than granulated sugar. It's often sold in solid cakes, but it should crumble when you squeeze it. Look for it in Indian markets.

These popular chilis have a good amount of heat and rich flavor. Green jalapenos are best in the late summer, while red jalapenos appear in the fall. Canned jalapenos aren't as fiery as fresh. When dried and smoked, this pepper is called a chipotle.

Jamaica is another name for the hibiscus flower. Tea made from Jamaica flowers is red, tart and is high in vitamin C. Substitutes: Red Zinger tea

Jambu is a low growing herb. The leaves are commonly eaten as a vegetable in Brazil. Jambu has a strong but pleasant taste that enhances salads and stews. It has a mild anesthetic affect that can cause numbness in the mouth.

These small red chilis are hot, and similar to the chile de arbol. Before using them, soak them in warm water for a few minutes.

These are just like English cucumbers, only with bumps. Like English cucumbers, they don't have to be peeled or seeded.

Like other Asian eggplants, Japanese eggplants have thin skins, and a sweet, delicate flavor.