All Ingredients

With much of the moisture pressed out of it, this kind of tofu holds it shape and absorbs marinades better than firm tofu. It's the best choice for grilling.

This pot seals and allows for cooking at temperatures greater than the boiling point. It allows for faster cooking.

Pretzels are ropes of dough that are usually shaped into knots, sprinkled with coarse salt, and browned in an oven. They can be soft and breadlike or hard and crunchy. Soft pretzels, also called bread pretzels, are often served with mustard, while crunchy pretzels are eaten just the way they are.

These opaque salt crystals are used to coat pretzels

The pulp of these cactus fruits is a brilliant red or, occasionally, a yellowish green, and it tastes a bit like watered-down watermelon. Cooks exploit the color by adding slices of the pulp to fruit salads, or by puréeing it and straining out the seeds. They're quite popular in Hispanic countries and around the Mediterranean.

These farmed-raised mussels are sweet and beardless.

These products combine cheese with gums and stabilizers that improve shelf life but compromise flavor and texture.

Prosciutto hails from Italy and is reknown for its delicate, salty flavor. It's usually cut into paper thin slices and served raw. Especially well regarded is Parma ham, which comes from Parma in Italy. Select a prosciutto that's shiny and deeply colored.

Postokvasha is a thick sour milk popular in Russia. It is similar to yogurt or kefir.

This Italian cow's milk cheese is like mozzarella, only firmer and more flavorful. It's often used in sandwiches and on on pizza. Provolone dolce is aged for up to three months. Provolone Valpadana is aged longer, and has a sharper flavor.

In a marketing makeover, producers are starting to call these dried plums instead of prunes. Whatever you call them, they're sweet and just loaded with dietary fiber, iron, and other nutrients. You can eat them whole, chop them into sauces and stews, or make a compote out of them.

This is a good source of soluble fiber, and is often used as a laxative. Make sure you drink lots of water along with it.

This is dough topped with chilled butter that's rolled out and folded again and again until there are hundreds of layers of butter and dough. The dough expands and the layers separate when it's baked, creating a marvelously rich and flaky pastry. Puff pastry is used to make croissants, Napoleons, Beef Wellington, pie crusts, and many other sweet and savory pastries. You can make puff pastry yourself, but it's hard to improve on the ready-made stuff sold in the frozen foods section of many supermarkets. Let frozen puff pastry defrost for about 30 minutes before you roll it out, but don't let it get too warm or it will become sticky.

Look for this in Indian markets. Substitutes: Rice Krispies

This simple, crusty bread hails from Puglia, Italy, and is great for making sandwiches or dipping into olive oil. Some producers flavor it with olives or cheese.

These tiny pasta shapes are usually served in a broth or very light soup.

Like tequila, this is made from the sap of the agave plant. It's popular in Mexico, though it's a bit harsher and heavier than tequila.

This heavy and slightly sour bread is made with molasses and a blend of rye and wheat flours. It's often cut into thin slices and used for appetizers.

This flour is made from the whole rye grain, including the bran.

Use the small sugar pumpkin = pie pumpkin for pies; the larger jack o'lantern pumpkin is too watery. Canned pumpkin purée is convenient and a good substitute for fresh.

Pumpkin leaves can be served fresh or in soups and stews.

Pumpkin seeds are terrific snacks. Unlike sunflower seeds, they're usually eaten whole, though hulled pumpkin seeds, called pepitas, are commonly used in Mexican dishes. To roast fresh pumpkin seeds, wash them and blot them dry, then toss them with salt and melted butter or margarine and bake on a cookie sheet in a 325° oven for about 15 minutes. To dry fresh seeds, wash and blot them dry as before, but bake them in a warm (150°) oven for 1 to 2 hours.

This is a bitter form of red vermouth. It's often mixed with soda.

A specialty of El Salvador, these are tortillas stuffed with cheese and other flavorings.

Peruvians use this to make beautiful purple drinks and puddings

These purple-fleshed potatoes have a medium starch content, so they're good all-purpose potatoes. They lend an interesting color to mashed potatoes or potato salads, but they're not as flavorful as other varieties. They tend to get mushy if they're over-cooked.

Hispanic cooks especially like these crunchy, mild tasting greens. You can use purslane raw in salads, or cook them as a side dish. Look for purslane in Hispanic markets.

This is similar to the guajillo chile, only smaller and more potent. It has a fruity flavor that's good in salsas and stews. They are fairly hot.

These small, flat pasta rectangles are normally served in broths.

Quails have dark meat that's quite tasty. They're very lean, so bard them before roasting or marinate them before grilling. Allow two quail per person.