All Ingredients

These would be excellent berries were it not for their rather large seeds. They're still great for eating out of hand, but cooks often strain out the seeds when making pies and preserves. Select berries that are free of mold, and as black as possible. They arrive in markets in the summer.

Kroatzbeere and Marie Brizard are well-regarded brands.

This category includes hogfish and cunner, which are very similar to blackfish.

This has a strong, bitter flavor, and it's not very sweet. It's sometimes used to make chili. Look for it in health food stores.

Blended whiskies are mixtures of different kinds of straight whiskies and neutral spirits. After they're blended, they're allowed to age together for awhile so that the flavors can marry. Whiskey should be served at room temperature.

A moist, crumbly, and somewhat salty cow's milk blue cheese from France. It's milder and cheaper than Roquefort, and it works well in salad dressings or as a snacking cheese.

This blue cheese from France is made with cow's milk, and is buttery and mild. It's a safe but unexciting cheese to serve company. An American version called Bresse bleu is milder still.

This French blue cheese is made with goat's milk. It's shaped as a pyramid, and has a distinctive country (or barnyard, some would say) flavor.

The French have been producing this excellent but hard-to-find blue cheese since the 13th century. Made with cow's milk, it's pungent without being overpowering.

This is mild French cow's milk blue cheese.

These are prized more for their beauty than their flavor, which is pleasant but somewhat mild. Dried blewits are even less flavorful than fresh.

This is a spicy German pork sausage that's usually served in sandwiches. It comes ready-to-eat.

Asian markets carry this. Europeans use it to make blood pudding, while Filipinos use it to make dinuguan, a stew.

These red-fleshed oranges are more popular in Europe than in the United States. Look for them in the winter and spring.

These eggplant-colored sausages are made of pig's blood mixed with fat, a filler like bread crumbs, and other flavorings that vary from region to region. They're usually sold precooked, but most people heat them before serving. Regional varieties include Germany's blutwurst, Louisiana's boudin rouge, and Spanish morcilla.

This is blue cornmeal that's been roasted. It's cooked and served for breakfast much like oatmeal.

This is a rich, moist, and creamy cow's milk blue cheese. It's fairly mild and a good choice for unadventurous guests.

Click here to learn how to select, use, and store blue cheese, and to see a list of its different varieties.

These are found on the Atlantic coast. They're small, but otherwise similar to Dungeness crabs. When they molt, they're called soft-shelled crabs, a wonderful delicacy that can be eaten shell and all

Blueberries are small and sturdy, so they're perfect for tossing into cakes, muffins, cereal bowls, and fruit salads. Like other berries, they also make good preserves and tarts. Select firm, dark berries that have a whitish bloom on them. Keep them refrigerated and wash them just before you eat them. You can find fresh blueberries in the summer, but frozen blueberries are available year-round and work well in many recipes. Frozen berries get a little mushy after they're defrosted, but they'll work well in many recipes. Canned blueberries also work in pies and baked goods, but drain off the liquid and rinse them first.

This is the favorite for sushi. It is the most expensive.

"Blush" is displacing "rosé" as the name given to pink wines, though some people use the name rosé to describe darker pink wines. Whatever name you give them, they're usually made from red grapes that are only allowed to ferment a few days--too short a time for the grape skins to impart a deeper color to the wine. The result is a pink, fruity wine that's best served chilled and goes best with poultry, seafood, and spicy dishes. These wines are quite popular, but wine snobs think they're boring. Don't cook with these wines--they aren't flavorful enough.

This is a spicy and salty German blood sausage made from pork, beef, and beef blood. Germans like to snack on it, or mix it with sauerkraut. It comes already cooked, but it's usually heated before being served.

Boar meat is similar to pork, only leaner, redder, and stronger-tasting. Make sure you cook it thoroughly--it's possible to contract trichinosis from undercooked boar meat.

This is a sweet, strong-tasting lager beer that's heavy on the malt and light on the hops. It's not as bitter as most beers.

This is a mild German sausage made with veal, pork, milk, and eggs, and seasoned with chives and parsley. You need to cook it before serving. Use it soon after you buy it--it's very perishable.

This is a spicy South African farmer's sausage, made with beef, pork, and pork fat, and seasoned with coriander. You need to cook it before serving.

These are small versions of yellow, white, or red onions. They're up to two inches in diameter, and usually cooked whole.

Potatoes in this category hold their shape after cooking, so they're great for making potato salads and scalloped potatoes. They're not good for mashing, baking, or making fries. Types of boiling potatoes are new potatoes, fingerling potatoes, round white potatoes, and round red potatoes.

Bok choy has crunchy stems and crinkled, spinach-like leaves. It's usually stir-fried with other ingredients, but it can also be steamed or sautéed and served as a side dish. Small heads of bok choy are called baby bok choy (left), and they're more tender than the larger variety. Of the baby bok choys, bok choy sum = Canton bok choy has small yellow flowers (sum is the Chinese word for flower), while Shanghai bok choy is a uniform light green, doesn't have flowers, and isn't as sweet.

These small leaves have a strong woodsy aroma. They're hard to find, but Hispanic markets sometimes carry dried leaves in cellophane bags.

These are crusty Mexican sandwich rolls.

This is a Brazilian corn cake.

This soft, mild sausage is a sandwich staple. It's made from beef and/or pork and usually smoked. It's usually sold sliced and ready-to-eat.

Bomba is a type of rice prized for its starchy center, which can absorb three times its volume of cooking liquid. It is often used in paella. It retains distinct short grains after cooking.

This is a ten inch fish is native to coastal India. It is eaten fresh or salted and dried. It can have a very powerful smell.

Boniatos aren't as sweet and moist as other sweet potatoes, but many people prefer their fluffier consistency and more delicate flavor. Store them at room temperature and use them soon after your purchase them, since they tend to spoil quickly.

Bonito are related to mackerel, and the Japanese dry them and use them in soups. They're often shaved into thin flakes called bonito flakes or hanakatsuo.

This includes kezuribushi = kezuri-bushi, a version with smaller flakes.

Borage is best known for its attractive blue flowers, but Europeans sometimes use the leaves as an herb in salads and soups. Borage has a mild flavor that's been likened to that of cucumbers. The leaves are covered with prickly, throat-catching hairs, so it's best to either blanch them or chop them finely before serving them.

The Bordeaux region in France produces excellent red wines, especially in the districts of Médoc, Haut-Médoc, and St. Emilion. These wines are rich and complex, and usually made with a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot grapes. Bordeaux wines with the generic label "Bordeaux Wine" usually aren't as good as those with more specific appellations, like "St. Emilion Wine." Red Bordeaux wines go especially well with lamb and poultry.

The Bordeaux region in France is renown for its red wines, but it also produces excellent white wines, made with Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon grapes.