All Ingredients

Chinese markets carry fresh or dried pieces of this tree mushroom. You're supposed to soak or simmer the dried chips until they soften, and then rinse them carefully to remove any dirt. They're not very flavorful, but they have an interesting texture and are believed to have medicinal benefits.

Health foods sell a vegetarian version of this. To make your own: See the recipe for Worcestershire Sauce posted on RecipeSource.com.

This is liverwurst dotted with pistachios.

Asians pour this sauce over noodles and seafood. It's made from dried anchovies, shrimp, and chiles.

Derived from corn sugar, xanthan gum is used as a thickener, stabilizer, and emulsifier.

These fresh yellow peppers are long, curved, and very hot.

The yacon is a sweet root vegetable that can be eaten cooked or raw.

Butter made from yak milk. Traditionally added to tea in Tibet.

Yak cheese castes a little like cheddar cheese.

Americans use the word "yam" to refer to a sweet, moist, orange-fleshed variety of sweet potato. To everyone else in the world, a yam is what Americans call a tropical yam, a firm tuber with white flesh. Varieties of American "yams" (sweet potatoes) include the garnet yam (pictured at left) and the jewel yam.

Yam cakes are made by combining yams, dried prawns and rice flower. Then shaping it and steaming it.

This is a sticky yam that the Japanese peel and grate or julienne for salads. It's also fried or used to make soba noodles.

These beans usually aren't a yard long--half a yard is more typical. Asians like to cut them into smaller pieces and add them to their stir-fried dishes. You can also boil or steam them like green beans, though they're not as sweet and juicy. They don't store well, so use them within a few days of purchase.

Yau choy is more tender and delicately flavored than other Asian cabbages.

Yeast is a one-celled fungus that converts sugar and starch into carbon dioxide bubbles and alcohol. This has made it a useful ally in the production of bread, beer, and wine. There are many varieties of yeast. Bread is made with baker's yeast, which creates lots of bubbles that become trapped in the dough, making the bread rise so it's light and airy when baked. A small amount of alcohol is also produced, but this burns off as the bread bakes. Beer yeast and wine yeast are used to convert sugar into alcohol and, in the case of beer and champagne, bubbles. You should never eat raw active yeast, since it will continue to grow in your intestine and rob your body of valuable nutrients. But once deactivated through pasteurization, yeast is a good source of nutrients. Brewer's yeast and nutritional yeast, for example, are sold as nutritional supplements, and Australians are fond of yeast extracts--like Vegemite, Marmite, and Promite--which they spread like peanut butter on bread.

This is a nutritious, pungent, and salty paste that's popular in Australia, New Zealand, and Great Britain. It's often spread with butter on bread, or mixed with hot water to make a drink Popular brands include Vegemite®, Marmite®, which is sweeter and perhaps a bit more palatable to Americans, and Promite®, which is sweeter yet but hard to find.

A starter is a mixture of flour, water, and other ingredients that's been colonized by wild airborne yeast and friendly bacteria. These one-celled immigrants lend the starter--and the breads made with it--a special character. Sourdough starter, for example, contains a strain of yeast that's tolerant of the lactic and acetic acids produced by the lactobacilli. Those acids give sourdough bread its characteristic tang. The French use a soupy starter called a poolish to make their breads, while the Italians use a thicker one called a biga. Up until the late 19th century, all yeast breads were leavened with starters, and keeping a starter alive in its crock was a routine household chore. To keep your own starter alive, wait until it's established, then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To keep it healthy, bring it to room temperature once a week and remove all but about 25% of it (either make bread with it or discard it). Replace what you've taken with a mixture of equal parts warm water and flour, stir, then return it to the refrigerator. Properly maintained, a starter can last for decades, developing an ever more distinctive character as it ages. To use a starter to make bread, remove some of it (usually about 2 cups), and use it in place of other forms of yeast. Replace the amount you took with a mixture of equal parts flour and warm water. Discard your starter if it becomes orange or pink, or if it develops an unpleasant odor. It's easy to make starters from scratch, but even easier to borrow some from a friend. Since sourdough starters must be colonized by strains of yeast and lactobacilli that are particular to certain regions (like San Francisco), a homemade starter might not yield sour bread. Your best bet is to get a powdered sourdough starter mix from your supermarket or a mail order supplier.

These are Chinese chives that have been shielded from the sun in order to stifle the production of chlorophyll. Use them just like ordinary Chinese chives.

These are great all-purpose potatoes, known for their yellow flesh, creamy texture, and buttery flavor.

Though not as flavorful as golden chanterelles, these mushrooms work well in most chanterelle recipes.

These melons are small, about the size of medium papaya. They taste like cantaloupe, but with firmer flesh.

This golden yellow miso is made of rice and aged briefly. It's salty but mild and quite versatile. It's a good choice if you only want to store one tub of miso in your refrigerator.

Whole mustard seeds are most commonly used to make pickles or relish. Most cooks prefer their mustard either ground, called ground mustard = dry mustard = mustard powder, or ready-made as a condiment, called prepared mustard.

This is what most cooks reach for when a recipe simply calls for "onion." It's higher in sulfur than the white onion, so it has a more complex flavor. The sulfur, unfortunately, is also what makes you cry when you cut into it. Yellow onions turn a rich brown and become sweeter and milder when cooked. Many people find them too pungent to eat raw.

These have an earthier flavor than green peas. Scandinavians like to use them in soups, while the British use them in their pease pudding. It's best to buy them split, since split peas don't need to be soaked and cook fairly quickly.

This category includes yellow straight-neck squash and yellow crookneck squash. They're interchangeable with zucchini.

These are easily confused with milder banana peppers. Sample before using. They are moderately hot.

These are similar to black-eyed peas, only the "eyes" are yellow. They're popular in the South.

The Spanish name "yerba buena" ("good herb") is used to describe several varieties of mint, including Satureja douglasii, Satureja chamissonis, and Mentha spicata (spearmint).

This is milk that's cultured with bacteria to make it thick and tangy. Ready-made yogurts are made from whole milk (with up to 4% butterfat), lowfat milk (with up to 2% butterfat), and skim milk (with up to .5% butterfat). Health buffs prefer brands that contain active cultures, which help keep their intestines populated with friendly bacteria. Many brands are heat-treated to destroy these cultures and increase shelf life. Yogurt often comes with added flavorings and thickeners. Flavored yogurts are made with artificial sweeteners to reduce calories. Lactaid makes a lactose-reduced yogurt, but many people with lactose intolerance can tolerate ordinary yogurt, especially brands that contains active yogurt cultures. Larger markets also carry yogurt made from soy milk and goat's milk, but these don't work well in delicate desserts. Organic yogurts also are available.

This is a soft, tangy, and nutritious cream cheese substitute.

This fine-meshed strainer is used to drain off the whey from yogurt in order to make yogurt cheese

This is a lightly smoked, dry-cured British ham. It's saltier but milder in flavor than other European dry-cured hams.

These are especially good for baking.

This is closely related to the blackberry.

This is the sweet, protein-rich skin that forms on warm soymilk as it cools. Japanese and Chinese cooks like to add it to soups or use it as wrappers, and when it's deep-fat fried, it makes a fairly realistic "skin" for a mock holiday turkey. You can buy very thin fresh sheets of it (called nama yuba) in Kyoto, Japan, and thicker round sheets that look like fruit leather in some Chinese markets. Elsewhere, you'll have to get it dried or frozen. Dried yuba comes as sheets, rolls, knots, and many other forms. It needs to be reconstituted with water before you can use it, unless you're planning to add it to a soup.

This is the Middle Eastern and North African version of phyllo dough, with leaves that are slightly thicker and sometimes round. It's used to make savory pastries.

These are good all-purpose potatoes that have yellow flesh and a rich flavor. They're great for boiling, but they tend to fall apart if over-cooked.

See the recipe for Zaatar posted on RecipeCottage.com

These clusters of tiny grapes are often used as a garnish.

This is a hearty red varietal wine that's especially good with sausages and barbecued meats. Don't confuse it with white Zinfandel, a fruity blush wine that wine snobs abhor. California Zinfandels are often excellent.

These come either as long, hollow rods or as short tubes, called cut ziti. They're often baked in casseroles.

America's most popular summer squash, zucchini can be served raw, sautéed, baked, grilled, and even shredded and baked in a cake. Green zucchini is the most popular, but some grocers also carry a bright yellow variety. There's also a globe-shaped round zucchini that's easy to stuff.

Look for this in German markets. During the Christmas and New Year's holidays, Germans pour rum over the cones and ignite them to make feuerzangebowle, or fire tong punch.

This German blood sausage includes pieces of pickled tongue. It comes ready to eat, but it's often heated before serving.