All Ingredients

What kid hasn't sneaked a bar of this out of the kitchen, only to discover that unadulterated chocolate is bitter and unpalatable. Some cooks prefer to use it over sweetened chocolate because it gives them better control of the sweetness and flavor of the product.

A seitan-based turkey.

These lentil-like beans have black skins covering creamy white interiors. Whole urad dal derive their strong, earthy flavor from the black skins and are often used in curries. Split urad dal retain the skins and also have a strong flavor. Skinned and split urad dal are creamy white and somewhat bland.

This is made from urad dal, a type of Indian lentil. The flour is used to make pappadums and breads.

These are black lentils (or urad dal) that have been split and skinned. They're much milder than unskinned.

These are black lentils (or urad dal) that have been split but not skinned. They're not as mild as white lentils, which have been split and skinned.

This is a dried ground chili pepper used in Turkey on meat dishes. It is medium spicy and has a smoky flavor.

This creamy Spanish cheese is a member of the washed rind (a.k.a. stinky) cheese family, but it's mild and subtle.

For many recipes using less of an ingredient, like sugar, is a good option.

To make your own: See the Mitch's V-6 Vegetable Juice Cocktail Recipe posted on Fabulousfoods.com.

This French cheese comes in wedges or squares.

This is a cheese-lover's cheese, with a complex nutty flavor. It's a good melting cheese that's often used to make fondues. Try heating it a bit and serving it with crusty French bread.

Vecherin Fribourgeois is a swiss cow's milk cheese often made from raw milk.

Wine, once exposed to air, turns vinegary. This stopper has a pump that removes much of the air from the bottle and allows you to keep opened bottles of wine a bit longer.

These are skinned and split lablab beans. They're available in Indian markets.

This Spanish blue cheese is pungent enough to be interesting without being overpowering. It is usually made with cow’s milk but can be made from mixture of cow, sheep and goat milk. It's a good snacking cheese for adventurous guests.

This is a relative of the Pinot Noir grape, and it makes a red wine that goes well with hearty meat-based dishes. Don't confuse it with Gamay or Gamay Beaujolais.

This liqueur is flavored with chocolate and mint.

Vanilla is used to flavor everything from baked goods to ice cream. Most recipes call for vanilla extract, but some argue that vanilla beans lend a more potent flavor. Select beans that are shiny, moist, and pliable--dried out beans aren't nearly as potent. If a recipe calls for just for the seeds, split the bean open and scrape the seeds out, and save the outer pod to flavor sugar or hot drinks.

This has two meanings. In Britain, vanilla essence is the same as America's imitation vanilla extract. Elsewhere, vanilla essence may mean a highly concentrated and pricey form of pure vanilla extract.

Vanilla extract is made from vanilla beans that have been steeped in alcohol. It's widely used throughout the world to flavor desserts, like baked goods, ice cream, beverages, and custards, but some chefs use it as a secret ingredient in savory dishes as well. Pure extracts made with vanilla from the Bourbon Islands, which include Madagascar, is especially well-regarded. Mexican vanilla extract is also excellent, and even more potent, but it's sometimes adulterated with a dangerous food additive that's banned by the FDA. Look for vanilla extract among the baking supplies in your supermarket.

This inexpensive substitute for pure vanilla extract is made with synthetic vanillin and other flavorings. Many brands are quite good, since chemists know how to produce an exact copy of natural vanillin, the dominant flavor in vanilla. The problem is that vanillin isn't the only flavor component in vanilla, so even the best imitation vanilla extracts aren't quite as full-flavored and complex as the real deal. Food gurus are always saying that cooks should never, ever use imitation vanilla extract, but at least one taste test has shown that many people prefer a high quality imitation vanilla extract to pure extract. Avoid imitation vanilla from Mexico--it may contain a toxic food additive.

This alcohol-free powder is made from vanilla beans that have been dried and pulverized. Unlike vanilla extract, it doesn't evaporate when heated, so it's well suited to making custards and other cooked desserts. It's also good for making dry mixes and for sprinkling onto drinks and dishes. Some brands have sweeteners added. Look for it in larger supermarkets and specialty shops.

These vanilla cookies can be eaten as they are, but cooks often pound them into crumbs and use them to make pie crusts.

These are often used to make pie crusts. To make them, place vanilla wafers in a heavy plastic bag, seal, then crush the wafers with a rolling pin.

Examples include spiced rum, Tuaca, Licor 43, and crème de vanille.

Indians use these ultra-thin sheets of gold leaf to decorate dishes. Look for it in Indian groceries and cake decorating stores.

These are egg noodles used in Jewish dishes like kugel.

This hard cow's milk cheese has a strong flavor and is popular in Sweden.

This includes the arm bone and some of the ribs. A steak cut from the arm roast is called a veal arm steak. The roast is often braised, roasted, or used a pot roast.

The veal arm steak looks a lot like a veal round steak cut from the back leg in that both cuts contain round bones, but the arm steak isn't as tender.

This cut includes the shoulder blade bone and a fair amount of connective tissue, so it's cheaper than other veal roasts. Once boned, it has a nice large opening that can be stuffed before roasting. A steak cut from a blade roast is called a veal blade steak.

This is cut from a veal blade roast.

The breast includes the lower end of the ribs, along with some fairly lean meat.

You can get this either with or without bones. A common way to serve this is to cut open a pocket between the ribs and the meat and stuff it before roasting.

This is a relatively tough cut of meat that the butcher tenderizes by turning it almost into hamburger.

These are very lean and thin boneless slices taken from different muscles in the leg. Better butchers cut them to order, since they dry out quickly in the display case, and then they sometimes pound them to make them even thinner. They're most commonly used to make scaloppini, schnitzels, and escalopes.

Veal heart is tender and delicate enough to be grilled or sautéed, though it becomes tough if overcooked. You can also cook it slowly using moist heat.

This chop is assembled from a veal loin chop and part of a veal kidney that's surrounded by fat. The tail of the loin chop is wrapped around the kidney to form a tight package. It makes a very tasty steak.

Veal kidneys are the most highly prized of all kidneys. Like lamb kidneys, they're tender enough to be cooked using dry heat, say by grilling or sautéing them. Don't overcook them, though, or they'll quickly become very tough. Before cooking them, peel off the outer membrane. Due to their mild flavor, they don't need to be soaked.

The choice meat in the leg is often sliced into thin cutlets to be used for veal scaloppini, schnitzels, and escalopes. You can also buy larger cuts for roasting or braising.

This is similar to a rump roast, only it has just one round leg bone. A steak cut from this roast is called a veal round steak.

This is the veal counterpart to a Porterhouse or T-bone steak. It's cut from a veal loin roast. Loin chops are usually braised or pan-fried.

The most buttery cuts of all come from the loin, but you'll pay dearly for them.

This is a magnificent roast, but it's very expensive. If you get it boned, rolled, and tied, it's called a rolled loin roast of veal.

This is cut from a rib roast, and comes either bone-in or boneless.