A member of the myrtle family, grown primarily in Jamaica. The berry is a sort of reddish-greenish-brown. Tastes like a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

Unripe mangoes are sun-dried and ground to a powder which is used to give a sour tang to many East Indian dishes including meats, vegetables and curried dishes. It is also called simply mango powder.

Anise leaves and seeds both have a distinctive, sweet licorice flavour. Can be used in stews, vegetable dishes and drinks.

Straight out of the Garden of Eden, there are so many different kinds of apple we can`t possibly name them all! But among our favourites are Gala, perfect for eating, Golden Delicious, which develops a lovely golden transluscence and makes the perfect tarte tatin. Granny Smith are more tart, but are great for savoury dishes or apple sauce to accompany a roast pork. Pink Lady is another well-known variety.

Small, orange fruit with large brown pip. Dried apricots and nectar are often used in cooking too. .

The middle of an artichoke, all outside leaves removed, You can buy artichoke hearts grilled, in oil. They?re perfect on pizza or in pasta, or can be added to a salad. They`re very resilient, but be careful when cooking from fresh,beacuse they blacken like a potato. Keep it in water with a touch of lemon juice if you`re busy doing something else.

Green bulbous vegetable. Boil and eat the flesh off the skin by dragging it off with your teeth, or slice to the middle and harvest the heart.

A flavouring obtained from a giant fennel-like plant that grows mainly in Iran and India. Used in many Indian dishes. Difficult to use, approach with caution.

Green pointy vegetable, best served griddled or barbequed with a sprinkling of sea salt.

A fruit, not a vegetable, always be careful to toss in a little bit of lemon juice where possible to avoid browning. Master Radish says: if you cook an avocado, in any way, you deserve to be forced into a pair of Christian Laboutin heels and made to run the London Marathon.?

We all know that there is no food more heavenly or divine as bacon. Salty or sweet, juicy or crispy,a there`s nothing bacon can`t do. But don`t be fooled into thinking bacon is just one creature. There are lots of different cuts of bacon, from streaky to lean, smoked to honeyed. Make sure you ask your butcher to explain.

Technical, scientific, scary name: sodium bicarbonate. A pantry essential?that can be used for baking and cleaning. It helps dough rise.

Did you know bananas may eventually become extinct? Yep. It`s true. Before that happens, put one on the BBQ, cook it until it`s all brown, then remove it, slit it down the middle and fill it with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Oh, then eat it and try not to choke as you`re groaning with pleasure.

Possibly one of the most wonderful herbs in existence, we at Suck My Radish have been known to eat it by the handful while we cook. Have you ever heard of continental basil? IT`s easier to grow if you`re basilurly challenged. Don`t use dried basil. It`s rubbish.

Bay leaves come off a small tree, which is very easy to maintain, but takes a VERY long time to grow. You can buy them dried at the supermarket and they`re quite effective in slow-cooking dishes like bolognaise.

Soak for ages and and ages (overnight) before using. And don`t cheat. It doesn`t?work. Boiling them doesn`t work. Injecting them doesn`t work. Just be prepared and soak the little bastards.

Broad, runner, green, snake, wax, the possibilities are endless and wonderful. No one likes to play favourites, but let`s face it, broad beans are the best. And for things like casseroles or stews, why not use the frozen variety? They`re really not that bad...

Did you know that while cow meat is kosher, rump isn`t??Wing-rib sirloin and standing rib roast are best for roasting. Sirloin, porterhouse, T-bone, filler or rump are great for grilling or frying. Blade steak is great for braising, shin beed for stewing, minced beef for bolognaise or lasagna. Also there is salt meat, for brisket silverside (Master Radish`s mum makes the best brisket in the universe) and top rib beef stripes are great for adding a bit of extra depth to stock - chicken or beef.

Beer bread is made with flour, beer, and sugar, but is quite dense without baking soda or yeast and sugar,?or you can use self-rising flour. Flavour depends on what beer is used.

This is a root vegetable, with a green sprouty leaf on top. They have a deep, romantic purple colour and when you peel them you look a bit like Lady Macbeth. There`s nothing quite like roasted beetroot. You can put it in a salad, serve it hot with a roast dinner or just eat them as a lovely wintry snack. Or boil it and go ruski with a hot or cold borscht, with a twist of feta to make you feel a little less like a babushka. But don`t you dare turn your nose up at boiled or vacuum packed varieties -they`re great for salads or sandwiches.

Bengal gram is used whole in lentil curries. The flour (besan) is used to prepare bhajias and may be used to flavour and thicken curries.

Here `s a secret: if you`re going to cook down berries, take yourself off to the supermarket and check out the freezer. If you`re enjoying them fresh or using them as garnish, avoid the temptation to sprinkle them with copious amounts of sugar - it`s really not necessary.

Flour made from Bengal gram or channa dal, sometimes called gram flour. Used to make batter for vegetables or fish, or as a thickening agent.

Who would have thought that the simple biscuit could get us all into so much trouble? In England and Australia, a biscuit is a sweet, unleavened product you dip in your tea. In the US, it`s more like damper or a scone.

Sold in bags at the Asian grocer, these are dried shiitake. Soak these before cooking with them. And beware - the flavour is intense. You don`t need heaps.

Black cumin is a rare variety, smaller and sweeter than regular cumin. Preferred in Northern India for meat dishes (kormas) and rice dishes (biryani).

Wonderful chinese vegetable and inexpensive. But don`t be fooled - there`s a big different between baby bok choi and its adult variatnt. Make sure you`re getting the right one. Daddy bok choi is tough a resilient, better for longer periods of cooking. Baby bok choi is more delicate.

Beef, chicken and vegetable stock powders are incredibly useful tools, when you don`t have the tools, time or inclination to make stock from scratch. If cooking rice, couscous or polenta, consider using stock instead of water to infuse aditional flavour.

Look at me. Don`t look away. Just listen to what I have to say for a second. The only problem with brains is that they look like brains, which reminds you, that in fact, you are eating brains. If you`re open to not being wasteful and eating all of an animal that has died to feed you, please keep an open mind. Brains, coated with breadcrumbs and pan fried, served wrapped in prosciutto are one of the dishes that make life worth eating.

Learn to make your own! They`re not difficult and they`re a wonderful comfort food and so impressive at your next dinner party! Perfect a basic recipe, then get your creative juices flowing with additions like feta, sun-dried tomato, olives and fresh herbs.

Another pantry essential. Most important for schnitzels. Or goujons. Make your own by using stale bread and whipping it up in a blender.

Brioche is sweet, eggy bread. Not only can you eat it on its own (butter heaped on top is almost compulsory), it makes great french toast, bread and butter pudding and also brioche breadcrumbs are great for making things like cheesecake. In parts of Sicily, Italy, they stuff them with gelato to make an icy hamburger.

A type of cornbread traditionally made in Portugal and Galicia, but differs from American cornbread in that it uses cornmeal and wheat or rye.

If you go to Nobu, Robert De Niro`s Japanese chain that has an outlet at Crown in Melbourne, you can get steamed broccoli, served with a Japanese sesame dipping sauce. When my dining partner ordered it, I snorted. But when I ate the perfectly steamed florets, I snorted again. This time in surprise! Broccoli can be your hidden trump card if you treat it with the love and respect it deserves.

Boil them or puree them, these little miniature cabbages won`t let you down. Puree with chestnut for a lovely Christmas dish (if you can find them in the heat of an Aussie yuletide!).

Almost like a cross between a prawn and a lobster, these throwbacks from a prehistoric age are succulently delicious. You can buy them cooked or raw and you can use the flesh in the same way as any other seafood meat. If you`re cooking it, you can grill, BBQ, bake, steam or boil.?

A bread made by Australian Aborigines, it`s high in protein and carbohydrates.

Here`s a tip: buy a stick of butter and cut it into portions. Then freeze them so you never find yourself short.

Green cabbage is smooth and has tightly packed leaves, looks a bit like a soccer ball. Savoy cabbage is large and round, with wrinkly leaves. Red cabbage is a deep, purplish red and has a slightly peppery flavour. Chinese cabbage, or wombok, is elongated and has curly leaves with white veins. Get that image of horrible, brown, boiled cabbage OUT of your head - this is a fantastic healthy veggie. Coleslaw, cabbage rolls, stir fries, the list is endless. Boiling the veggie breaks down the sugars and makes it tender, but frying off green cabbage with some olive oil and ginger is the best side-dish ever. Look for crisp leaves, tightly packed with no discolouration.

While often people think calamari is only deep fried, they are wrong. Calamari essentially just means squid. We just know it most commonly served sliced into rings, battered and deep friend. For a more organic, less fishnchip type flavour, try just soaking in some milk, dusting in flour and frying in oil.

Large stuffable tubes. These are so exciting. They`re a canvas just waiting to be painted. OK. That might be taking it a bit far, but you know what we mean.

This is absolutely the most beautiful, delicate pasta, made up of very fine strands. It is Master Radish`s favourite. Also known as angel hair pasta, it is often served in a sauce in part made from squid ink.

This pasta finds the medium ground between vermicelli and angel hair and is another strand type pasta.

The bud of the caper bush (see capers). They look like a little green bulb on the end of a stem. They`re filled with edible soft seeds. You can either get them in the pickle/olive section of your supermarket or, preferably, in at your local deli. They`re absolutely delicious and can be served as finger food before a meal, in the same way as olives.

Pickled buds of the caper plant. Tiny little green balls, usually found in the olive section of the supermarket. Are famously teamed with smoked salmon or tuna. Very salty. Consider using the miniature version if you don`t want to overpower with saltiness.

Yellow, green, red and orange vareties, each with subtle differences. Can be added to a stir fry, stuffed, BBQd, grilled and stored in oil. A very flexible little veggie. And don`t take against it just because a particular member of the Suck My Radish team calls it crapsicum.

Cardamom pods contains about 20 tiny seeds. It has a pungent aroma and a warm, spicy-sweet flavor. Widely used in Scandinavian and East Indian and mid-Eastern cooking. The pod is quite bitter.

Bread flavoured with cardamom is popular in Finland & Sweden. It is usually baked as a loaf or in a Bundt cake pan, topped with chopped walnuts and vanilla icing.

Master Radish`s pug adores nothing more than sitting on his bed and chewing on a nice, fat, juicy organic carrot. But they`re good for more than pug food. Carrots can be pureed, roasted with honey and sesame or served raw with some nice tzatziki. But don`t walk past the dutch carrots...try roasing them with their tops. Awwww. So cute! Tip: carrots soak up salt. If you`ve over salted, let the carrots fix it for you!

From the dried bark of the cassia tree, it is similar to cinnamon, but with a more robust flavour. Also known as Chinese cinnamon.

Don?t you dare! WE SEE YOU! White sugar is NOT caster sugar. Caster sugar is finer and is absorbed more quickly. Step away from the white sugar. I repeat: take a step back.

Roast it with a bechamel over the top. Make a soup with some blue cheese. Serve it raw with a nice tzatziki. Hang on?

A long red chilli, related to the jalapeno, which is ground into a powder.

Related to celery, this sturdy root vegetable looks like a brown bulbous round, with green leaves on top. It has a celery-like flavour but is more robust.

Apart from being served with a nice, homemade tzatziki, celery can be very useful behind the scenes. It adds a depth of flavour and maturity to stock, vegetable or meat, that cannot be found elsewhere.

Made from the starch of green mung beans. Sold dried, they must be briefly soaked in hot water before using in most dishes, except when added to soups. Can also be deep-fried. Other names noodles include bean thread, Chinese vermicelli, glass noodles and harusame .

These are a family of wild mushrooms, usually dried. Soak before using. They`re best in casseroles, soups and stews. One of the most famous is the expensive Porcini variety.

This is the name of the plaited load of bread Jews eat on a Friday night as part of their Sabbath service and on some festivals. It ranges in style, but our favourite is the sweet eggy version, similar to a brioche, topped with cookie-type crumbs. YUMMY!

Similar to roti, this is a flat, unleavened, with no fermentation. It is eaten in India, Pakistan and neighbouring regions.

This is a type of wholemeal (whole-wheat) flour available from Indian stores and is used to make chapatis and other breads.

Frozen, fresh or sour, cherries smack of summer and have so very many uses. Cherry pie, cherry ripe slice, cherry martini. Sour cherry soup Hungarian style?

A delicately-flavoured parsley, this aromatic herb has curly, dark green leaves with a hint of anise flavour.

Brown outer skin, and lower in moisture, which makes them great for breads and pastries.

Canned, vacuum packed, glace, candied, pureed or fresh. Chestnuts can be a bit of a pain in the arse. If you buy them fresh, make sure you cut a slit in them before you bake them or they will explode. And do them in small batches, because you can only peel off the fluffy inside skin while they are still hot or warm. Also, French pureed "marrons" is lovely, but very, very sweet. Great on pancakes!

Dried or canned are your options with chickpeas. Soak overnight if utilising the dried variety. If using the canned variety rinse thoroughly - these are great tossed through some roasted veg, with some couscous or in a salad.

There are over 200 varieties of chiles, varying in length and in shape. Their heat quotient varies from mildly warm to fiery hot. A chile?s colour can be anywhere from green to yellow to red to black. As a general rule, the larger the chile the milder it is. Small chiles are much hotter because, proportionally, they contain more seeds and veins than larger specimens. Removing a chile?s seeds and veins is the only way to reduce its heat.

There are subtle differences between dried chilli flakes, chilli powder and similar products, but don`t be afraid to substitute where necessary.

Chop em. Fry em as a garnish. But really, what you should be doing is growin em. They`re dead easy to grow. They look like spiky grass. But that`s irrelevant.

Unsweetened chocolate gives you the control to decide how sweet you want a dessert to be. It also can be used in some savoury dishes, for instance with quail. But you can`t snack on it while you cook. So it`s a bit crap.

A bright red sausage hailing from Spain. Is becoming more and more common in Australia. You can buy it cooked, for salads etc or raw. If cooking, save the bright red oil that seeps out of it and use it for a dressing or sauce.

This spice has a taste of Christmas about it. I can be used in cakes, biscuits and is often teamed up with apple. It can also be used in savoury dishes, in small quantities.

Cloves are the dried, unopened flower buds of a type of evergreen found in the Indonesia. The pungent flavour goes well with baked ham, mulled wines etc.

Chocolate powder - just be aware that many gourmet varieties are unsweetened but others are heavily sweetened. Make sure you know what is required and what you`re armed with.

Herb. I`ve always had trouble growing this one. This is an essential ingredient for many Asian cuisines, including Vietnamese and Thai. A hint: when you only need the leaves, chop off the roots, freeze them for later and add them to stocks and broths for a strong coriander flavour.

The simplicity and joy of a barbequed corn on the cob cannot be overstated. Cut it off the cob and put it in a beautiful chicken and sweetcorn soup. The younger variety, baby corn, is a bit bleurgh. Add it to stir fry for a bit of crunch.

A bread made with cornmeal, popular in Mexico and South America. In the US it is

A thickening agent - can be used in savoury or sweet dishes. To use, dissolve a couple of teaspoons of the flour in water first (otherwise it can go very gluggy lumpy) and then add to a boiling dish and stir continuously until the liquid starts to thicken. You only need a small amount to make a big difference.

Cottage loaves balls of dough are squashed together, forming a cottage shaped loaf.

Buy these raw or cooked. If raw, you can boil, BBQ, roast, grill, steam or just about any other cooking method you can think of. Crab is a delicate flavour - don`t overpower it with creamy crap. Don`t discount the value of brown crabmeat, which is essentiallylike crab offal. Mix with with the white meat through some fresh pasta with chilli, garlic and some flat leaf parsley and you`ve got a classic, clean feast.

Another flexible addition for sweet or savoury dishes. Can be used in cheesecake or dips. Or just put in on a warm, toasted bagel. OMG. Yum.

?Stabilises egg whites, increasing their heat tolerance and volume,

Ginger cured with sugar. Absolutely gorgeous if you like the taste of ginger.

The long, large variety of cucumber. Tip: if you`re using cucumber in salad, cut it in half, lengthways, and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. It greatly reduces the water content. Also, don`t discount cooking a cucumber - cucumber and watercress soup is one of Master Radish`s favourites.

Used whole or ground to make a powder. It is recommended that cumin be fried or roasted before using to release its full flavour.

Widely grown as an ornamental tree, this fruit, which looks like a miniature orange, is great in marmalades, chutneys and brandied, but are too tart to eat fresh.

This fragrant herb looks like a small shiny bay leaf, with a strong fragrance. Choose fresh bright green leaves when possible, or frozen Dried leaves are almost useless.

A large Asian radish with a sweet fresh flavour and crisp white flesh. Use raw in salads or cooked in a stir-fry.

Aussie soda bread, mostly prepared by our swagmen and drovers. Wheat-flour based, traditionally baked in the coals of a campfire. If no campfire is available, don`t bother.

Dried or fresh, you can`t look at this ingredient without thinking of Tunisia or ancient Mesopotamia. These are an essential in Middle Eastern cuisine, but can be useful for making scones and loaves.

A fluffy little herb, most commonly associated with salmon. But this herb makes a boiled potato come alive - boil a potato, give yourself a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle some chopped dill over the top. It may not look like much, but trust me, it`s a meal.

Fried, battered, baked, stuffed, stewed, pureed, BBQd. Just don`t boil them. From baba ganoush to moussaka, this is an essential vegetable - don`t be afraid of their spongy purple appearance. Also, go to the Israeli/Kosher section of your supermarket and check out the pickled baby eggplants for something different to add to an antipasto plate.

Duck, quail and of course, chicken. Just make sure they`re freerange or you`ll go straight to hell. Deviled, poached, boiled, fried, scrambled. It`s all good. You all know what eggs are. But we just thought we might take this opportunity to ask you all: please don`t buy cage eggs. Suck My Radish is strongly against any form of cage produced eggs. Please buy free range so you know that your eggs have come from a happy, free roaming chook. Meanwhile, quail`s eggs are small and yellow with black speckles. They`re identical to a chicken`s egg, but they`re a bit sweeter. They add an air of the exotic and are often served with caviar.

Also known as needle mushrooms, these are very fine amd almost noodle-like. Look for a dry stem. They`re sold in bunches.

Bow tie or butterfly shaped pasta. Pronounced far-fal-lay, the name translates to `little ribbons`.

A vegetable, with a distinct liquorice flavour. If you`re looking for a slightly less aggressive flavour, try baby fennel, grated into a salad. These guys can also be boiled, baked or grilled. Until recently, fennel was the only food Master Radish wouldn`t eat. But slowly it is growing on her.

Sold in bunches, fenugreek has very small leaves and is used in salads or to flavour meat and vegetarian dishes. Discard the bitter stalks. Native to Asia and southern Europe.

Quite a common shape of pasta, this one is a ribbon, or flat strand, around 6.5 millimeters wide .

OH THE JOY OF THE FIG! Hold a ripe (reasonably soft) fig so the pointy bit is towards the floor. Then squeeze upwards so the whole thing splits open. Then turn each cheek inside out and suck away all the red seedy flesh. Alternatively, serve them with prosciutto or stuff them with honey, marscapone and pistacio and bake them. It doens`t matter how you serve a fig, raw or cooked, they`re just divine.

A mixture of very finely chopped herbs. The classic combination is chervil, chives, parsley and tarragon though marjoram, savory, burnet or watercress may be included.

Also known as Chinese five-spice, this includes cinnamon, cloves, fennel, szechuan peppers and ginger. Also an interesting addition to fruit desserts, including poached pears.

Mature mushroom, large open and flat. Try crumbling over some feta and lemon juice, with thyme, and grilling.

Flat, but spongey like a pizza dough, this bread is often used for fancy pants sangas. It is usually topped with olive oil and herbs.

Pasta shaped like an olive leaf, which is where it gets its name from.

Comes in a black and white variety, also called Wood Ear Fungus and extremely common in Chinese cuisine. Soak before using if dried, then cook quickly to retain the crunch.

Three-edged spiral pasta, usually in mixed colours, but is often sold with two edges as well.

Galangal screams Thailand. It`s got an almost unique flavour and aroma and no green curry is right without it. If difficult to find, you can get it frozen at Asian groceries. Looks a bit like ginger but has a smoother skin.

A blend of several strongly aromatic spices designed to add flavour and fragrance to many Indian dishes. It also often used as a garnish.

Lift the papery skin away and chop or slice before adding to your dinner. Slice and fry until golden brown to use as a garnish. Leave the papery skin on and bake with your potatoes after separating the cloves. Or bake a whole head. Boil and then spread on toast for a quick snack that will keep the vampires at bay. The opportunities are endless...

Usually comes in sheets and must be soaked before use. Don`t be scared of gelatin - it`s really not scary. Just follow the instructions.

If you`re a gemini, you might like this one - the name means twins. A single S-shaped strand of pasta twisted in a loose spiral.

An essential ingredient in many Asian cuisines or candied for fruitcake. If you`re sick, cut off a thick slice, put it in hot water and drink the infusion.

Gnocchi is a dumpling-style pasta that can be made with potato, semolina, flour, breadcrumbs or other ingredients. Very easy to make at home with a good recipe - no pasta machine required.

Japanese for ?sesame seed.? Shiro goma is unhulled white sesame seed, muki goma is hulled white seed and kuro goma is black sesame seed. Goma abura is sesame seed oil. All four products are available in Asian markets.

Slice it in half and stick a cherry in the middle. JUST KIDDING. Grapefruit is a sour, tart fruit that looks like a cross between a lemon and an orange. Keep it in mind for desserts and its juice for cocktails and sauces. Lovely.

We like grapes. They`re tasty. We`re not going to go into the different varieties, suffice to say we like them seedless, although that isn`t as natural. They come in red and green or really dark purple (muscatel). Dried they are sultanas or currents, but you can get dried muscatels too, often used in cheese platters. Grapes can also be used for savoury dishes, especially game and red ones are lovely stuffed with blue cheese and eaten for a snack.

Ginger bread men and so much more!! Very different flavour to fresh ginger and the two are not interchangeable. Used in baking, pickles and chutneys and also curries.

Buy it on the bone, glaze it and roast it or shaved or sliced from your local deli. Please see `bacon` for mystical and wonderous joys of that particular pork product.

Master Radish has become famous for adding harrisa to every single dish, including some desserts. Harissa is a hot Tunisian chili sauce of dried red chilies, garlic, caraway, coriander, cumin, mint and oil. Also found in Algeria and Morocco. It is added to dishes but also used as a condiment.

Provence is a region in France. A Proven?al-style mix of herbs include rosemary, fennel, basil, thyme, and lavender flowers and other herbs.

There are so many different varieties of honey. And what you buy in the supermarket isn`t anything like what you can get at your local farmers market. The flowers the bees have access to colours the flavour of the honey, hence the different varieties. Also, try creamed honey, which actually doesn`t have any cream in it but looks creamy and has a caramel, butterscotch flavour.

Also called powdered sugar, this makes icing (durr), is a general ingredient in cakes and biscuits, but also makes a lovely garnish when you dust it over tarts, cakes etc.

When making fruit tarts, heat jam and use it as a glaze. Otherwise, just put it all over your pancakes and then nom nom nom as many as you can until you feel a bit nauseous.

These look a bit like a cross between a ginger root and a potato. They`re wonderful made into a soup with sour cream and some parsley, but are just as nice roasted like you would a potato - they caramelise a bit in the oven.

Juniper berries have a rather tart flavor which cuts back some of the powerful wild gaminess of venison. The distilled oil of these berries is what flavours gin. Can be used in marinades for wild boar, venison, and pork dishes.

Unlike ordinary citrus leaves, kaffir lime leaves have a pronounced flavour and fragrance that combines well with rich coconut milk and hot chili spices in Thai dishes. Very good with fish.

An extremely healthy, lean meat, but very rich - falls more into the game category.

The traditional Saudi Arabian and Gulf spice blend consisting of cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, nutmeg, coriander, loomi, red and black pepper.

A baby sheep that has not cut its adult teeth yet. Lamb is the quintissential taste of spring. Serving it roasted without mint jelly (NO! NOT SAUCE, JELLY!) should be punishable by starvation.

Don`t forget that lasagna IS pasta! These flat, rectangular sheets of pasta are layered with meat and bechamel sauces to make the universe`s best comfort dish. It still surprises us how many people don`t go for the fresh version though - it doesn`t change the way you make the dish, except for making it so much better.

Traditionally rolled out thin and flat, and then slapped against the walls of a tandoor oven. Can be eaten soft or dried out until its crispy.

These strange looking alien fish don`t have any scales, but have a fine, sandpaper-like skin, prominent, spiky first dorsal fin and very small mouths. Mild flavour, low oiliness and is moderately moist, with firm flesh. These are good option if you want to cook a whole fish. Good in fishcakes and relatively low-priced.

Leeks look a bit like a spring onion on steroids. The big problem with leeks is that they have many layers and because they grow directly in the ground, they must be copped and washed or unravelled, otherwise you`re risking a seriously gritty dinner. They can be baked, fried or braised in butter.

In the shops this looks like a long stick of grass, with a bulbous bottom. It has a strong lemon aroma, but with depth and body. Remove outside leaves if you`re adding to be eaten, rather than just to add flavour or it can be a bit chewy..

These are essential for any kitchen. They can be used to flavour, to balance sweetness, in preserving, for cleaning and the zest is just as valuable.

A staple in India and much of the Middle East, this small oval pulse comes in three main varieties: most common is European lentil, sold with the seed coat on, with a gray-brown exterior and cream coloured interior. The Egyptian or red lentil is smaller and rounder, an orange-red colour without the seed coat. Also there is the yellow lentil. All lentils are used after having been dried once ripened.

Another essential, limes can make just about anything come alive. Desserts, curries, baking, squeezed over fruit - it`s all good!

Medium-high priced, these fillets are quite thin, so don`t cook too aggressively. For BBQing, use cutlets and steaks. The flesh holds together well in soups and curries.

Meaning little tonight, these are flattened spaghetti and among the more common varieties of pasta.

In Iraq and Oman, ripe limes are boiled in salt water and sun-dried until their interior turns dark. The resulting spice is loomi.

This is the funny looking sliced vegetable that has a hole in the middle and about eight holes around that. Whole it looks a bit like a yam or sweet potato, but sliced it takes on an almost flower-like appearance. It is used in Asian cookery, especially Japanese.

As long as a little finger, usually striped, these little pasta dudes are the true incarnation of the evil American invention: Mac And Cheese. *shudder*

Looks like a squished small organge. Wonderful when winter sets in, but ridiculously boring by the end. Try not to hold it against them.

Chinese steamed bread or bun, made form made with milled wheat flour, water and leavening agent. I`ll never forget going to China, ordering mantou in the first restaurant I went to and when they said they were all out I actually got a bit upset and emotional. They felt so sorry for me that they gave me the staff meal. How embarrassment.

There`s nothing real about these. They`re the bright red, fake-looking cherries that sit in your cocktail or atop your ice cream sundae. They preserved in a brine solution usually containing sulfur dioxide or alcohol, then soaked in a suspension of food coloring, sugar syrup and other components. Maraschino cherries dyed red are typically almond-flavored, while cherries dyed green are sometimes peppermint-flavored.

A mediterranean herb used in Herbes de Provence, marjoram can be used dry or fresh and has sweet pine and citrus flavours. It

This is unleavened bread resembles a water cracker and is eaten by the Jewish community on Passover to commemorate their time in the desert. While that is its main significance, it is also used for a number of well-known Jewish dishes eaten all year around. It is ground up into matzo meal and used to make Matzo balls, for instance. While it looks harmless, Jews everywhere fear the eight days of the year when they cannot eat risen products and have to eat this stuff instead. It creates serious blockages.

The US version of mayo is thick and strong. If you want a lighter, calmer flavour, head to your local Asian grocery and try the Japanese variety. Also, one day, try making your own. It`s not easy, but it`s a wonderful skill to have.

Sweet bakery products popular in Japan, Taiwan, and China made from an enriched dough covered in a thin layer of crispy cookie dough.

Watermelon, canteloupe or honeydew or the most common kinds. Watermelon, the red one sillies!, can be used for all sorts of different uses, including sorbets, salads or juices, or just eaten naked in summer with the juice dripping down your chin. Canteloupe, the orange one, is less sweet and is probably most famous for being served in chunks and wrapped in prosciutto. Can also be served with blue cheese. Honeydew, the green one, is not as common and sweeter than the canteloupe

So easy to grow it`s practically a weed, mint has a wide variety of uses including cooking or salads. If you`ve got it in the garden, press it into the bottom of a glass, pour hot tea over the top and pile in a few spoons of sugar. That`s how the Moroccans do it!

A light sauce, made by adding whipped cream or egg whites to hollandaise sauce?

Mud crab is most often seen on the tables of Chinese restaurants. They can get absolutely huge! The shell is a dull dark blue-green to mottled brown when uncooked but turn orange like almost all other crustaceans. The flesh is translucent when raw and white to off-white when cooked and most of the flesh is in its clawss. Don`t discard the brown meat (internal organs). It is rich and velvety and is great with fresh pasta. It has a medium-strong, sweet flavour, low oiliness and is moist and flaky. The most humane, and easiest, method of killing any crustacean is to chill it in the freezer for about 45 minutes until it becomes insensible. Kill quickly by splitting in half or dropping into rapidly boiling water. These guys can be cooked almost any way, but don`t recook them. Eat the cooked flesh cold.

Widely used in both China and India, mung bean is most commonly used to grow bean sprouts. Dried mung beans are ground into flour, which is used to make noodles in China and a variety of dishes in India. Fresh mung beans are tasty and extremely healthy and a lovely addition to any salad.

Cooking a huge pot of mussels and ploughing through them with a group of friends before mopping up the leftover juices with a chunks of baguette is a thoroughly fun and inexpensive way to spend an evening. Before cooking, remove the ?beards? (byssal threads) by pulling them sharply towards the pointy end of the shell. Lightly scrub shells to remove any sediment or barnacles. The simple rule with mussels is to remove them from the heat as soon as they`re open. If there are few that don`t open, throw them out. Mussels can be put in laksas, soups, on pizzas stll in their shells or steamed. But the best way to eat them is cooked in a pot, either in a provencale style sauce made of tomato, olives and herbs or in a cream-based white wine sauce with leaks.

This is another widely varying ingredient. It can be used in marinades, sauces, casseroles. Consider using grained varieties for your next vinaigrette.

Used in curries, casseroles, marinades and all sorts of wonderful things, this is a ground mustard seed powder.

Oven-baked flatbread originating in Central Asia and extremely popular in India. This bread is softer than chapatti or paratha. While most often served plain or with garlic, these guys can also be stuffed with anything from spinach and paneer or even chilli and chocolate.

If you hate the fuzz of a peach, these smooth skinned varieties (makes us sound racialist) are just for you! They can be white or yellow, and clingstone or freestone, so be sure you`re buying what you want.

These tiny black seeds have a nutty, slightly bitter, peppery flavour. Should be fried or dry roasted before use to enhance its flavour. Also called black onion seeds or kalongi.

Use with vegetables; sprinkled over egg dishes, milk puddings and custards; eggnogs and mulled drinks; or use as a flavoring in desserts.

To clean whole Octopus, lay it flat on a chopping board, slice either side of the eyes and discard them, then push beak (mouth) out from between the arms. Be careful - the beak can be sharp. Remove and discard the head contents (try not to break the ink sac ) and rinse the head or wipe clean with a clean cloth. Skin can be peeled off or it left on, it will turn a dark purple as it cooks. Cut head and legs into suitable pieces depending on size and cooking method. You can deep-fry, pan-fry, stir-fry, bake, braise, grill, barbecue, smoke or serve it raw (sashimi). It`s very low priced. Again, the trick to octopus is cooking fast over high heat or very slowly over low heat. To tenderise before quick cookingplace in a bowl and cover with boiling water, allow to stand for 30 seconds to 1 minute then drain and rinse under cold water. Cooked, marinated Octopus makes a good addition to salads and antipasto platters.

Also called Lady`s Fingers. Okra gets a bad rap, because people don`t treat it with respect. When Okra is overcooked, or stewed, it`s insides turn to a kind of gelatinous goo. It is a weensy bit gross. So heres the rule: less is more, don`t overcook it!

Don`t use olive oil for deep frying. And don`t be too willy nilly with it, either. And buy a good one, not a crap one, because it does make a difference. And do try infusing some of your own flavoured oils. Bossy entry, huh?

There are so many varieties of olives, and so many stuffings, from garlic to anchovy to pimiento. The main rule to follow, is try not to buy the jar variety - if you don`t have time to venture beyond your local supermarket, you can still head over to the deli counter, at the very least. Also, Master Radish`s favourite variety has become much more common now - bright green Sicilian olives that still have quite a lot of crunch and are less salty. Don`t be scared to ask to taste one at the deli counter - most providores will happily oblige.

A basic pantry staple, these are the `normal` variety and most commonly used. They`re a yellow/light tan colour.

These look like spring onions, except that they have a big, bulbous bum. Sort of like Master Radish!

These are vibrantly purple onions, very common and are often used raw as well as cooked.

Sold bottled, the essence distilled from orange-blossom petals and used principally to perfume desserts.

Navel oranges are easy to peel, great to eat and available from June to October. Valencias are available from October to March and more suited to juicing. Blood oranges have an orange peel with blotches and inside are a deep crimson colour. They can be used in a similar way to more standard varieties, but are wasted if you`re not going to see the wonderful colour, such as in a vinaigrette served in a clear container or perhaps in a cocktail. Love the dramz!

Ear shaped pasta, which is where they get their name, which translates to `little ears`.

Relatively easy to grow - and you should. Oregano is so flexible. Salads, meat, anything really. Fresh oregano in a greek salad gives the whole thing a totally new dimension. The dried version has quite a different flavour, which is no where near as potent.

A relatively cheap cut of meat that isn`t always easy to find. Great for stewing and soups with the bones adding lots of extra flavour.

Fluted, oyster shell shape, with a delicate flavour. They cook quickly and are available in white, beige, pink or yellow varieties.

Here at Suck My Radish, we try to be open minded. But if you plan to cook an oyster, thus totally removing its fresh, vibrant taste of the sea, please leave. And don`t come back. Well, OK, you don`t have to LEAVE, but we`re NOT impressed.

Panch phoron is a Bengal classic mixture of five spices; cumin, black cumin, mustard, fenugreek and fennel seeds.

A fluffy cake or bread, originating in Milan, Italy, and usually eaten at Christmas. It often comes in a brand spanking cute box with a handle because of its awkward shape, which goes quite high. Comes in many different varieties, often with sultanas, icing and candied fruit.

Thick flat ribbon pasta, most traditionally served with wild boar. In Tuscany I had a wonderful version with wild boar and grapes. This pasta is so popular it actually has festivals to celebrate its existence.

Another Indian flat bread, this is whole wheat flour mixed with ghee or cooking oil and then pan fried.

There are two main varieties of parsley - flat leaf and curly. Flat leaf is better than curly and the dried one is horrible. End of.

Parsnips are a white root vegetable, that are cone shaped and ridiculously pointy. Try boiling and pureeing into a soup and adding a dash of Thai green curry paste. Or roasting with your potatoes.

The two most common varieties of this fruit are purple and the panama. The purple variety is smaller with a wrinkly old man/baby`s balls type skin. The fruit is very tart. The panama is a lighter colour and the fruit is much sweeter. They are available all year round - choose fruit that feels heavy in your hand. Also, this fruit freezes extremely well. Just cut in half and spoon juice and edible seeds into ice blocks. When frozen remove from ice blocks and put in a tub.

This stone fruit has a fuzzy wuzzy skin. Some people love it. Some people hate it. I say: get over it. The flesh within makes it all worth it. As well as fresh, these are also great poached or baked. Cut in half, fill with marscapone and amaretti biscuit crumbs, drizzle over some honey and bake. *drool*

Extremely delicious on its own or combined with jam. But also useful for making satay sauces.

At the start of winter, everyone loves a pear. By the end of winter, everyone hates them. DON`T HATE THE HUMBLE PEAR! Just try to be a bit more creative. Poach them with wine, star anise and sugar. Or put them with some blue cheese and rocket for a great salad. Beurre bosc is the perfect cooking pear or eating and is firm and green with a red and gold blush. Josephine is a great eating fruit. Packham is perfect for cooking. Red anjou is great raw and in salads, Williams is sweet and good for desserts and winter nelis is great for poaching and baking.

Fresh peas embody summery goodness and shouldn`t be tampered with by overcooking. Buying them in the shell and sitting down to shell them yourself can be cathartic and soothing. If you`re planning to add them to a stew or a casserole, consider using the snap frozen peas, which can be a really great alternative at short notice.

Another favourite, this is medium length pasta tubes with ridges, cut diagonally at both ends.

Pumpkin seeds. Pepitas are sold salted, roasted and raw, and with or without hulls.

Peppercorns come in three main varieties: black, white and green. Black peppercorns are picked when the berry is not quite ripe, then dried. It?s the strongest and hottest. White peppercorns have been allowed to ripen, after which the skin is removed and the berry is dried, resulting in a smaller, light-tan berry with a milder flavour. White pepper is usually used in light-coloured sauces or foods where black pepper would stand out. The green peppercorn is the soft, underripe berry that?s usually preserved in brine. It has a fresh flavour that?s less pungent than the black or white.

An essential in Italian cooking, pesto is basil, parmesan, pine nuts and oil whipped into a paste. Newer variants of this classic include sun-dried tomato pesto.

A pest they might be, but they`re damn tasty. A gamey bird, but not as rich or fatty as duck, this bird is used often BBQd (in places like Hong Kong) or in Morocco they put it in pastilla, a pastry dusted with icing sugar and cinammon.

A large, red, heart-shaped sweet that measures 3 to 4 inches long. It is sweet and more aromatic than that of the red capsicum. It makes up the familiar red stuffing found in green olives. Much of the pimiento crop is used for paprika.

This isn`t just for pina coladas and sweet and sour pork, people. Slice it and serve it with some very finely diced, mild, fresh chill and a cardamom sugar syrup.

Three shell-fish, Pipis, clams and vongole, can be easily confused. Pipis have a smooth shell and are reasonably priced. Look for brightly coloured, intact, lustrous shells, that are closed or close when tapped or gently squeezed. Often they can contain sand and grit. Ask if they have been purged, by being stored in aerated saltwater for at least 24 hours. If they haven`t, place them in a solution of cool water and sea salt (30g salt to each litre of water) for several hours, or overnight, in a cool part of the house (if you refrigerate them they?ll close up and won?t ?spit out? the sand). Before cooking, discard any shells that are open and don?t close when tapped or gently squeezed. Steam, poach, stir-fry, bake, grill, barbecue, smoke, raw (sashimi), pickle. The firm flesh works well in soups, curries and stir-fries. A classic Pipi dish is stir-fried with black bean sauce.

There are so many different varieties of this bread. Essentially it is a round, roasted bread, brown and wheat-based, folded over before cooking so it can be sliced in half and stuffed. Texture varies from being very flat to being soft and slightly leavened.

Big, round yellow-fleshed plums are best for eating, such as Bella Rosa, while Black amber, hunter and October purple plums are also good. Angelinas and sugar plums are better for cooking. Blood plums are good for everything!

This looks like a gigantic grapefruit and it tastes similar. The skin and pith are very very thick and it is a lot of hard work to get it all off to access the flesh. Because the little sacs of juice are so big, you can actually crumble them and then sprinkle them over a salad, or make it the main ingredient. There`s a wonderful Thai salad that uses pomelo flesh, fish sauce, glass noodles and chilli and is really tart and refreshing in the hot climate.

Larger, flat version of the swiss brown. Great for grilling or roasting.

Potato bread is bread where potato replaces a portion of the regular wheat flour. Bread version of gnocchi! Can be cooked by baking or on a hot griddle. Can be leavened or unleavened.

For mashing, use nicola, desiree, bintjes, King Edward or Russet Burbanks. For potato salad, pink fir, kipfler or patrone. For roasting King Edwards, desiree or delaware. For chips you can try sebago, russet burbanks and bintje. For boiling or steaming patrone or desiree. For pasta, like gnocchi, nicolas. For an allrounder, we like desirees.

Look for brightly coloured, firm, intact, lustrous shells, without any discolouration, particularly at joints. If cooking with prawns, buy green (raw) ones, because cooked ones just toughen up when recooked. Flesh is translucent when raw and white with pinkish bands when cooked. As always, veer on the side of undercooking.

One of Master Radish`s pantry essentials, the lemons are stuffed with rock salt, then left to pickle in more salt, lemon juice and water. Eventually when they are completely picked through, you remove the flesh and white pith and use the skin. It?can be cooked or used raw in small amounts.

Dried plums are called prunes. They`re great for keeping you regular (as is all dried fruit) and are also great for adding to compotes (just like nana used to make!) or even for some middle eastern cooking, like tagines. The main thing is to get lovely, juicy plump ones - they have a more ripe and whole flavour.

A dark brown, extremely heavy and dense bread from Germany, but also eaten by many eastern Europeans and American Jews. It is made?traditionally of coarsely ground rye, but is now often made with a combination of rye flour and whole rye berries. It is often served pre-sliced.

Pumpkin can be roasted, mashed, boiled or anything else you can think of. The two most common varieties are Butternut (which is like a cylinder with a big, bulbous bum) and Japanese, which are green with creamy coloured speckles. Then there are minikins, which are tiny little versios of the halloween looking variety. It`s quite fun to bake them whole and then then serve them that way too.

An Indian bread that puffs up like a balloon when it is fried in oil. Primarily eaten for breakfast or as a snack.

Quince paste is available in little patties and is usually found on a cheese plate. It has a lovely sweet flavour.

A yellow fruit that looks like a larger, more solid pear. These really need to be cooked and are lovely baked or in jams and preserves.

The?Moroccan spice blend that translates as ?head of the shop?. The mixture consists of at least 12 ingredients, but can have as many as 50! Spices in the mix may include: cumin, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, cayenne, allspice and cloves, to the rarer monk?s pepper, xylopia pods, grains of paradise and rose petals. Beware: depending on the occasion, the mixture may include hashish or aphrodisiacs like the Spanish fly beetle.

These guys have a bright red body and a price to match. Medium flavour, low oiliness and moist, medium-textured white, flaky flesh with few large bones. The skin is thick and best removed. The bones make excellent stock. If cooking whole, score at the thickest part of the flesh. Steam, poach, deep-fry, pan-fry, stir-fry, bake, braise, grill, barbecue. This is another favourite in Asian kitchens and suits Asian flavours such as ginger, soy and lemongrass.

Long sticks of vibrant red, sort of like?RADISH (suck my rhubarb didn`t sound as good), rhubarb must be approached with caution - it seems robust, but add heat and it collapses like my mum after more than one glass of wine. It`s wonderful for compotes and even mousses. It`s also very tart and needs quite a lot of sugar for sweetening. Just please don`t fall into the trap of thinking the only thing rhubarb is good for is crumble - there`s so much more to this tall-standing soldier.

Large and slightly curved tube of pasta, the name means line. If added to another pasta name it means lined.

A Spanish term referring to a handstrung rope of foods, usually chiles or heads of garlic.

Sold bottled, the essence distilled from rose petals and used principally to perfume desserts. Most famous is its use in Turkish Delight and Loukoumi.

Easy to grow, lamb is simply naked without it. This is one of the few dried herbs that can be useful in its dried form.

Similar to chapatti, this is a flat, unleavened, with no fermentation. It is eaten in India, Pakistan and neighbouring regions.

2-edged spiral, tightly wound pasta, although sometimes can be 3-edged.

Rye bread can be light or dark and is much denser than bread made from wheat flour, but is also higher in fibre and stores longer. It is made with various percentages of flour from rye grain.

The worlds most expensive spice and Spanish saffron ?Mancha First Quality? is considered the cream of the crop. Always buy saffron whole because most ground product has been cut with something like turmeric. There is no good reason to grind it before you use it.

This herb is really quite special. There`s something a bit posh about sage. It might be the name. `Sage`. Anyway, it`s lovely with lots of different flavours, but sets off mushrooms particularly wonderfully, pork and lamb. Gives vegetarian dishes a sense of maturity and depth.

Table salt is fine for boiling water, but if you don`t have a salt mill filled with wonderful sea salt, you really haven`t lived.

Cod can be preserved by salting, drying, or both. Salt cod is usually of the both variety. Usually sold whole, they need to be soaked before they can be used.

A mildly hot Japanese seasoning made from the dried and powdered berries of the prickly ash tree. It?s from the same berry that the Chinese call szechuan pepper.

An Indonesian favorite consisting of small marinated cubes of meat threaded on skewers and grilled or broiled. Usually served with a spicy peanut sauce.

A kind of pickled cabbage that finds its origins in Eastern Europe. You can serve this as a side dish with a nice Kransky sausage or you can rinse it off an put it in soup. It comes in sachets or cans. Please make sure that if salty isn`t your thing you rinse it before you add it to any other dishes.

From merguez to mortadella, mettwurst to merano, there are so many different varieties of sausage. The best advice we can give is don`t scrimp on sausages - they`re horrible fatty little bags of yuk if you don`t go for the more upmarket product. And ask your butcher for their specialty sausage or ask them to suggest a specific sausage for your purposes, eg casserole, BBQ etc.

Scallops are one of the true jewels of the sea and if you can find them in their shell, they make a very impressive entree., but be warned, theyh don;t come cheap. Steam, poach, deep-fry, pan-fry, stir-fry, bake, grill, barbecue, raw (sashimi). They cook extremely quickly - if cooking on a hot griddle, for instance, they only need a minute or so per side. But be warned - it is always better to undercook, rather than overcook, them, leaving the centre still translucent. Scallops can go from heaven to hell in the space of a few minutes. Undercooked they are delicate and previous, overcooked they are shrivelled joyless prunes.

This small (1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter), irregularly shaped chile ranges in color from yellow to orange to red. The Scotch bonnet is one of the hottest of the chiles and is closely related to the equally fiery habenero.

Chile hotness is rated in Scoville units. It is the measurement of capsaicin level (the oil that makes chilies hot).

A lighter flavour than onions, they add a delicious flavour. Add sugar and orange juice and caramelise for a great garnish on your next steak.

Japanese variety. They usually come in a bunch, stems meeting at the bottom.

A very hearty green vegetable - like a tough spinach. Best cooked, not raw and because of its heartiness can be stuffed in rolls.

Look for a pinkish skin with blue spots and a distinctive shape with a prominent forehead hump if you`re looking to snap up a snapper. Medium to high priced, this has a mild, delicate, sweet flavour, low oiliness and moist, medium-textured flesh. The edible skin can be left on. Snapper is remarkably flexible and can steamed, poached, deep-fried, pan-fried, stir-fried, baked, braised, grilled, barbecued, smoked, raw (sashimi), pickle. A good plate-sized fish cooked whole.

Sourdough is a dough containing a lactobacillus culture, usually in symbiotic combination with yeasts. It is made using a?starter dough which houses the culture, and mixing it with flour and water. According to Google: "It is not uncommon for a baker`s starter dough to have years of history, from many hundreds of previous batches". EW! No, it`s fine, really .

Comes in light and dark varieties. Make sure you`re using the right one and veer on the side of light soy if in doubt. And don`t relegate soy to the Asian category. They can be useful in cooking potatoes. Master Radish uses them in her chicken rissoles!

These guys are named for their bizarre spanner-shapen claws. Also, they have bright orange shells, even uncooked. They look like something from the land before time. Anyhoo, they have a sweet flavour, low oiliness and are soft and moist unless overcooked. They`re best steamed, poached or boiled and are often seen on restaurant menus as a stuffing in ravioli.

One of the oldest of culinary herbs, spearmint is used in a variety of Mediterranean dishes. It is the variety used in mint tea.

You`ll be strong to the finish if you eat your spinach. If you`re using it fresh, less cooking is more. Don`t kill it by overcooking. Braise lightly, squeeze over some lemon juice, crack some pepper and add a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of parmesan But don`t overlook frozen spinach - useful for soups and Indian dishes like saag paneer. Also can be creamed and served with 835 cloves of garlic in the Eastern European style.

Also called scallions in the US, these are used in salads in western cooking but extensively in Asian cooking, both raw and cooked. Chopped they are also a very useful garnish.

These low-priced guys should have a bright skin, with a light brown to purple mottled appearance, intact head, arms and tentacles. Cleaned tubes should be white without any brown. To clean whole Squid: grasp the arms and pull firmly to separate head from tube (try not to break the ink sac), cut below the eyes and discard head and guts, push beak (mouth) out from between the arms. Remove quill, peel skin off by grasping side fins and peeling around the tube. Side fins can be peeled and used; arms and tentacles can also be washed and used. If cutting the tube into rings, wash inside well to remove any remaining gut, otherwise, cut tube open along the obvious seam, lay out flat and wipe the inside clean with a clean cloth. Slice into strips, or score in a criss cross. You can steam, poach, deep-fry, pan-fry, stir-fry, bake, braise, grill, barbecue or serve raw (sashimi). To be tender, Squid must be cooked very quickly over high heat or very slowly over low heat. Whole tubes can be stuffed and baked, strips or rings can be dusted in seasoned flour and deep-fried or marinated and char-grilled or stir-fried.

This dried, star-shaped fruit grows on small evergreen trees in China and Vietnam. A dark brown pod that contains a pea-sized seed in each of its eight segments. Its smokey, licorice flavour makes it a distinctive ingredient in Chinese braised dishes and Malaysian curries. Or, use it as a garnish.

This tart red-purple spice is ground from the berries of the Middle Eastern sumac shrub. Sumac is very popular in Turkey and Iran, where it is sprinkled liberally over rice. It is often mixed with freshly cut onions and eaten as an appetizer.

Clams have a rough cream, greyish white, pale yellow or light brown shell with sculptured concentric ridges, often with darker patterning and pink, orange or blue tinges near the hinge. They are usally sold live and are relatively low-priced. Look for brightly coloured, intact, lustrous shells, that are closed or close when tapped or gently squeezed. For purging instructions, see Pipis. Steam, poach, stir-fry, bake, grill, barbecue, smoke, raw (sashimi), pickle. The firm flesh works well in soups, curries and stir-fries. If the shells don`t open, discard them.

Also known as rutabaga or yellow turnip, this is a root vegetable that originated as a cross between the cabbage and the turnip. Its leaves can also be eaten as a leaf vegetable. These guys can be roasted, mashed or use to make soup/stock.

A kind of tuber (potato), these are bright orange and can be used in a similar way to the other members of their family. They`re much sweeter and less floury. Adding some sweet potato to mash gives it a more intense flavour and adds colour.

Small, brown variety, with a nutty deep flavour. Firm in texture and good for mediterranean cooking.

Though not related to the peppercorn family, Szechuan berries resemble black peppercorns. From the Szechuan province of China, this mildly hot spice comes from the prickly ash tree. Szechuan pepper has a distinctive flavor and fragrance, slightly reminiscent of camphor. Szechuan pepper is also known as fagara, sansho and Sichuan pepper. Dry roast before using.

A braised or stewed meat dish from North Africa, most famous in Morocco. Also, the traditional clay pot with its cone-shaped cover in which it is simmered.

Ribbon pasta, thinner than fettuccine, name comes from `tagliare`, to cut.

Tahini is a thick paste made of ground sesame seed It?s used in Middle Eastern cooking to flavouring base in various dishes such as hummus. It has a bitter aftertaste.

The pulp of tamarind pods is dried and frequently concentrated. It is used to add a fruity sourness to many East Indian and Middle Eastern dishes. Tamarind pulp can be stored for yonks and should be soaked in warm water for about 5 minutes, then squeezed through a sieve. It`s used ot make Worcestershire sauce.

Tandoori spices are made into a paste which is rubbed directly onto the surface of meats and the powder is often used as a marinade. It gives foods the traditional red-orange colour of Indian tandoor cooking.

This citrus is a variety of mandarin, smaller than oranges and easier to peel, if there are little kids needing healthy snacks. They`re less sour, or tart, than oranges.

Tarragon is common in French cooking and goes well with chicken, fish and egg dishes. It is a perennial.

Another perennial, this is a commonly used herb in lots of different styles of dishes, but goes well with lamb and tomato dishes. A variant is lemon thyme, which has a slightly citrusy flavour and is wonderful with fish.

Hot sauce - comes in green and red varieties. While these sauces are very spicy, if used in very small doses (just a drop or two) can add flavour without the spicy kick. Try it in scrambled eggs!

Soybean curd is made from curdled soy milk. The curds are drained and pressed similar to the way cheese is made. The firmness of the tofu cake depends on how much whey has been pressed out. Tofu?s texture is smooth and creamy, yet firm enough to slice.

A small, hot, red Japanese chili available fresh and dried. Also known as ichimi.

This is NOT tomato sauce. No. No it isn`t. It is a concentrate. Always have some in the fridge to add to just about anything, but when you buy it be careful - there are so many different varieties it`s easy to get caught out buying a spiced or herby one that tastes of fake spices or herbs. Ew.

So many varieties! So little time! Cherry, Roma, vine ripened, Russian, green?there are so many to choose from. Make sure you consider all your options and don`t rush into commitment unless you`re sure or the whole thing could end in tears.

Chopped? Whole? Herbs added? Salt reduced? Think carefully before you buy 25 cans of tomatoes for your pantry. You want something that is going to be very flexible in a wide range of dishes.

An absolutely beautiful, tender piece of meat, stewed, often with a tomato-based sauce. Also, from continental style delis, keep an eye out for smoked tongue or smoked veal tongue, and eat it with some purple horseradish. It could be the best snack ever.

A round flatbread made from corn or wheat, first discovered by Spanish explorers being made by the Aztecs. It is cooked on a skillet, unless you have a hot rock handy.

Not to everyone`s taste, this is often stewed and is most famously done in a Chinese or French style. Don`t overcook or you`ll end up with rubber.

The feet and ankles of a pig. Must be cooked for a long time to soften and contains a lot of gelatin, so stocks made with this cut may turn to a stronger jelly than usual when cool.

Turmeric, is an underground root. Ground turmeric is used to flavour and colour curries: it?s a bright neon yellow. Just don`t overdo it - this is a powerful tool.

Sirena is by far the best tuna on supermarket shelves in Australia right now. Springwater is the most healthy and clean version, but oil makes the fish less dry. Add to pasta, salads, bakes. Don`t sneer - tuna makes a meal out of almost nothing.

A white bulbous root vegetable often used in soups and the green leaves are edible too.

WARNING WARNING: Do not fall into the trap of buying vanilla flavouring. Make sure what you are buying is vanilla essence. The difference is that one is chemicals and one is distilled from a real vanilla pod. However, vanilla pods are preferable over both, where applicable. They look like a dead twig, a sort of brown, dried out stem. If you slice it lengthways, you can scrape out the seeds to use on their own, for instance in ice cream. Also, you can put a stem into a jar of sugar and the vanilla infuses the sugar - great for sprinkling, for instance on strawberries.

The meat from a young cow, it is very pale. A lot of people have ethical problems eating veal. And a lot of us don?t.

This is a much lighter oil than olive varieties and is good for deep frying. A basic pantry staple.

Thicker than capellini, thinner than fedelini, the name means little worms.

Vinegar comes in all flavours, shades and prices: malt, red and white wine, apple cider, raspberry, balsamic, rice, coconut, to name just a few. And to make matters even more complicated, sigh, you can infuse vinegar the same way as oils, with herbs or other fancypant additions. THe best advice in choosing a vinegar is to taste it.

Wine vinegar is most commonly used in Mediterranean and Central European cooking. They range in flavour and quality, but it is a very useful thing to have in the pantry. Can be used in all sorts of different things, from salad dressing to cleaning your coffee pots. It also has a lower acidity than cider vinegars.

Vongoles are low to medium-priced. Remove from heat as soon as cooked. They`re cooked when they open, but if there are some that haven`t opened, throw them out. They can be steam, poach, stir-fry, bake, grill, barbecue, smoke, raw (sashimi), pickle. The firm flesh works well in soups, curries and stir-fries, but they are most famously served with pasta.

Really only useful for bread and butter pudding or fairy bread, this is made with flour from which the bran and often the germ (basically all the good, healthy stuff) have been removed. PLUS, the flour is often bleached using potassium bromate or chlorine dioxide gas. Let`s never speak of it again.

Good chefs will tell you that when you`re cooking you shouldn`t just use the cheapest plonk around. They might be right. But generally I keep a cask of red and a cask of white (I wouldn`t say plonk, but I wouldn`t say impressive vintage either) for cooking. It means you can use a cup and not waste the rest of the bottle if you don`t feel like having a swig.

A slightly bitter addition to any salad. Also, you can use the leaves to serve appetisers or finger food on - the colour is quite vibrant. You can also get baby witlof for a less aggressive flavour

The most famous brand of this fermented liquid condiment is made by Lea & Perrins, now owned by Heinz. It`s great when added to meat dishes like hamburgers, lasagna or some casseroles. It`s also used in some cocktails. Its ingredients include vinegar, molasses, corn syrup, anchovies, water, onions, salt, garlic, tamarind concentrate, cloves, natural flavorings and chili pepper extract. Not suitable for vegetarians.

Yabbies, a crustacean similar to a bug, are sold whole, live or cooked and chilled or frozen and are medium-priced. Look for brightly coloured, firm, intact, lustrous shells, without any discolouration, particularly at joints, and a pleasant fresh sea smell. If possible buy live, avoid raw, dead chilled Yabbies as it?s hard to tell how long they?ve been dead. Sweet, delicate flavour, low oiliness and moist, firm flesh, which is translucent when raw and white with orange tinges when cooked. These are best steamed, poached, deep-fried, pan-fried, stir-fried, baked, grilled or barbecued - they can take a bit of punishment because the firm flesh holds together well. Undercook, rather than overcook. The head and shell can be used to flavour stocks, soups and sauces.

A starchy tuber that looks like a sweet potato, but has much lighter coloured flesh. Is used extensively in Africa and Asia, as well as in the US (a la candied yams).?

Yeast frightens me a bit. I think it`s the fact that it`s ALIVE and you`re cooking with something that is ALIVE that ails me. I`m not sure why that`s even more so than when I`m cooking with meat (which was at some point alive) or vegetables (which were also alive but less so beacuse unable to converse with each other or me), but it frightens me. I think it`s also because such a small quantity is required for very powerful results. I`m becoming less frightened of yeast and I think you should all follow my lead and just calm the hell down. Follow instructions closely and it will all work out OK. Yeast is used in bread, beer and other alcohol making.

Plain yoghurt is an absolute must in any fridge. I can be added to soups, served with curries, blended into smoothies or even just eaten with a dollop of honey. It is also thought to smooth out some intestinal upsets.

In Jordan, a spice mixture called zatar is a popular condiment and used to season fried and barbecued meats. It combines the nutty taste of sesame with sumac and dried thyme. Similar mixtures are reported from Syria and Israel. Zatar is often mixed with olive oil and spread on pita bread.

A green vegetable that looks a bit like a cucumber. The flowers on the plant are also used, usually stuffed with cheese and then battered and deep fried.