All Ingredients

Markets stock a variety of cultivated mushrooms, but many people prefer wild mushrooms, which are often more flavorful. Be careful when picking wild mushrooms (some species are poisonous) and always cook them thoroughly, both to release their flavors and to convert their proteins into a more usable form. To prepare fresh mushrooms, first trim off the bottoms of the stems, then wipe them off. Don't rinse or soak them, for they'll absorb water and turn mushy when you cook them. Dried mushrooms are often excellent substitutes for fresh, though some species don't dry well. You can reconstitute dried mushrooms by soaking or simmering them. Don't throw out the soaking liquid--it can add more flavor to your sauce than the mushrooms themselves. You can also pulverize dried mushrooms with a food processor or blender, then use the mushroom powder to flavor sauces and stews. To learn about various varieties of mushrooms, click here.

Storage: Unopened canned mussels 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 are more popular in the South than in the rest of the country. There are red and green varieties, and both have a peppery bite. If the greens are too pungent for your taste, you can tame them by blanching them in salted water.

Mustard oil may be hard to find in the US. Indian markets would be your best bet.

Mustard seeds have a hot, pungent flavor. Yellow mustard seeds are the ones you'll most likely find in American and European kitchens. They're often ground and made into prepared mustard or added to stews and sauces to give them some zip. Indian cooks usually prefer the smaller and more pungent brown mustard seeds or black mustard seeds. When recipes call simply for mustard, they may be referring to prepared mustard, the condiment we like to put on hot dogs. When crushed, mustard seeds are very pungent, but Indian cooks fry them in oil, which makes them sweet and mild.

Includes: Chinese mustard, Creole mustard, and Dijon mustard.

This is a very juicy, crisp, all-purpose apple.

After lambs are a year old, their meat is sold as mutton. Mutton is cheaper than lamb, but it's tougher, fattier, and less delicately flavored. It's more popular in Europe than in the United States.

This a sweet whey cheese that is made with cow's milk and often some goat's milk.

This Indian flatbread is made with wheat flour. It's usually served hot.

These are green, brine-cured Greek olives. They're somewhat salty.

This is a general Thai term for dipping sauces.

This paste is made from chilies, onions, sugar, shrimp paste, fish sauce, and sometimes tamarind. It's sold in jars, and comes in different strengths, ranging from hot to mild.

Nameko mushrooms are hard to find fresh, but Asian markets sometimes stock cans or plastic bags of it. They have a gelatinous texture and the Japanese like to add them to miso soup.

Like bok choy, napa cabbage is a common ingredient in Asian stir-fries. It can also be used as a milder and more delicate alternative to green cabbage in slaws and other recipes

Made with fermented soybeans, natto is pungent, sticky, and highly nutritious. The Japanese like to serve it on rice or put it in sushi or miso soups. It's available in Japanese markets or health food stores either frozen, freeze-dried, or fresh in straw bundles.

These small white beans are commonly used to make baked beans, but they're also good in soups, salads, and chili. They're relatively difficult to digest.

Nectarines resemble peaches, but they're sweeter and more nutritious. They're best if they're allowed to ripen on the tree. Unfortunately, tree-ripened nectarines bruise easily, so most growers scrimp on flavor and pick and market them while they're still slightly underripe. After buying nectarines, you're supposed to let them ripen for a couple of days at room temperature before eating them. This makes them softer and juicier, but not sweeter. Avoid buying nectarines that are too hard or that have green spots--a sign they were picked way too soon--or those that are bruised. The superior freestone varieties arrive in June and July; the cling varieties that come later aren't as good.

This American liqueur is an inexpensive Galliano wannabe.

An artifical sweetner. A popular brand is Newtame.

Nettles have long been used in Europe as a substitute for spinach or kale, but they're tricky to use. The tips contain formic acid, a nasty irritant that can give you a serious rash on the outside and cause even more damage on the inside. You can remove the formic acid by cooking and/or soaking the nettles, but don't try this unless you know what you're doing. If you're harvesting your own nettle leaves, select young ones.

Neufchâtel is very similar in taste and appearance to cream cheese, but it's made from cow's milk instead of cream so it contains less fat and more moisture. Cheesecakes made with it cook more quickly and are more prone to cracking. Use it within a few days after purchasing, and throw it out if mold appears. For best results, serve chilled.

These large chilies are similar in size to Anaheims, but they're hotter. New Mexico green chilies peak in the late summer, while the hotter New Mexico red chilies appear in the fall. These are moderately hot.

These chilies have an earthy flavor and resemble the California chili, except they're hotter and more flavorful. They are moderately hot.

The term "new potatoes" is sometimes used to describe all small waxy potatoes, but technically it refers just to immature potatoes harvested in the spring and early summer. You can tell if a potato is truly new by its skin; immature potatoes have flimsy, parchment-like skins that you can peel off with your fingers. New potatoes are prized for their high moisture content and creamy texture, and because they can be cooked whole. They're especially good steamed or roasted. They're more perishable than other potatoes, so use them within a few days after buying them.

A key ingredient in Salade Niçoise, these small purplish-black olives have a distinctive sour flavor. They're great in tapenades.

This has a subtle flavor that's often used to enhance vegetable dishes. To bring out the flavor, it helps to toast the seeds briefly before using them.

This is made with dried corn that's been simmered in a solution of lime and water. This loosens the hulls from the corn kernels and makes the kernels softer and more nutritious. Mexican cooks grind nixtamal into masa, which they use to make tortillas.

This Norwegian cow's milk cheese is seasoned with caraway seeds, cumin, and cloves.

Cool Whip and Dream Whip are popular brands. Some of these products may include casein.

This is a variety of table salt. Some recipes call for non-iodized salt, since iodine can impart a bitter taste and adversely react with certain foods. For example, iodine darkens pickles and inhibits the bacterial fermentation needed to make sauerkraut.

These small colored balls are used to decorate cakes and cookies.

The canned version is acceptable substitute for fresh, but it has an inferior texture.