Ingredient guides

Short guides to single ingredients: what they contain, how to choose and store them, and ideas for the kitchen.

A to Z

• Acerola cherry – A small, very sour stone fruit from Central and South America with lots of vitamin C. Mostly sold as frozen purée, juice or powder. Use it cold.
• Almonds – Almonds are seeds of the almond tree and count as tree nuts (allergen). Bitter almonds release hydrogen cyanide: adults max. one a day, children none (BfR).
• Amla (Indian gooseberry) – Amla, or Indian gooseberry, is a pale green fruit from India with lots of vitamin C. Very sour and astringent; mostly sold as powder, juice or pickled.
• Apple cider vinegar – Apple cider vinegar is fermented apple juice with about 5 % acidity, milder and fruitier than many vinegars. Use it in dressings and pickles – never neat.
• Artichoke – Artichokes are the flower buds of a Mediterranean thistle. Eat the fleshy leaf bases and tender heart – steamed, fried or preserved in jars all year round.
• Avocado – Avocado is a creamy, fat-rich fruit from Central and South America. It's ripe when it gives slightly to gentle pressure; hard ones ripen at room temperature.
• Black sesame – Black sesame seeds are unhulled, dark seeds with a strong, nutty, slightly bitter taste. Toast them for rice and bowls, or grind them for pastes and baking.
• Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) – Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) is a South Asian marsh plant from Ayurveda, not a kitchen herb. Sold as a supplement; avoid it if you take thyroid medication.
• Broccoli – Broccoli is a brassica: you eat the florets and the peeled stalk. Steam or roast it, or add it to soup, pasta and curry. In season in Germany June to October.
• Chia seeds – Chia seeds come from Salvia hispanica, a Central American plant. In liquid they swell into a gel – ideal for chia pudding, overnight oats or as an egg swap.
• Cinnamon – Cinnamon is dried inner bark, sold as sticks or ground. Mild Ceylon or stronger, cheaper cassia? Cassia contains a lot of coumarin – for daily use, pick Ceylon.
• Cocoa butter – Cocoa butter is the pure fat of the cocoa bean: solid at room temperature, melting just below body heat. Use it for chocolate, glazes and vegan desserts.
• Coconut oil – Coconut oil is the fat from coconut flesh. Virgin oil tastes of coconut, refined is neutral – good for frying, baking and curries. It's 80–90 % saturated fat.
• Cranberries – Large, very tart North American berries – fresh in autumn, otherwise dried, frozen or as juice. Cook for sauces and bakes; dried ones are usually sweetened.
• Dandelion – A native wild plant: young leaves are pleasantly bitter in salads, pesto or wilted like spinach. Mildest in spring. Pick only in clean spots, away from roads.
• Dragon fruit (red pitaya) – Dragon fruit (pitaya) grows on a cactus and is almost always imported. Scoop out the mild flesh with its tiny black seeds, or add it to bowls and smoothies.
• Garlic – Garlic is one of the world's key seasonings, related to onions and leeks. Sharp when raw, mild and sweet when gently cooked, almost creamy when roasted.
• Greek yoghurt – Greek yoghurt is strained yoghurt: thicker, creamier and with more than twice the protein of natural yoghurt. Use it for breakfast, tzatziki, dips and desserts.
• Green asparagus – Grows above ground, so it stays green – spicier and nuttier than white. Peel the bottom third at most, then fry, grill or roast. German season: April–June.
• Green tea vs matcha – Green tea and matcha come from the same plant: one is brewed, the other is powdered leaf you drink whole. Brew green tea at 70–80 °C or it turns bitter fast.
• Kefir – Kefir is fermented milk made with grains of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts. Tangy and thinner than yoghurt: drink it plain or use it in smoothies and dips.
• Kimchi – Kimchi is Korean fermented veg, usually Chinese leaf or radish with chilli, garlic and ginger. Sour, hot and salty – often with fish sauce or shrimp.
• Linseed – Linseed is the seed of the flax plant. Stir it ground into muesli, yoghurt or dough, or use it as an egg replacer. Max. 15–20 g ground raw a day (BfR).
• Miso – A fermented Japanese paste of soya beans, salt and koji, often with rice or barley. 1 tsp adds lots of umami. Very salty; barley miso (mugi) contains gluten.
• Nutritional yeast – Dried, inactive yeast flakes with a nutty, cheesy taste for pasta, soups, dips, roast veg and popcorn. Whether there’s B12 in them depends on fortification.
• Pecans – Pecans are the buttery, mild nuts of the North American pecan tree, close relatives of the walnut. Eat them plain, toasted on salads and porridge or in pie.
• Pistachios – Green kernels of the pistachio tree from western Asia, California and Sicily. Snack on them, chop them over salads and desserts or make pesto. Go for unsalted.
• Pomegranate – Pomegranate hides ruby-red, juicy seeds under a leathery skin. They taste sweet-sour on salads, bowls, yoghurt and rice. In season from autumn to winter.
• Psyllium husk – Psyllium husk is the seed husk of Plantago ovata: almost pure fibre that swells a lot. It binds gluten-free dough and thickens porridge. Use plenty of liquid.
• Pulses – Pulses are the seeds of beans, lentils, chickpeas, peas and soya beans. Most aren’t safe to eat raw: soak dried ones and boil them well – steaming isn’t enough.
• Quinoa – Quinoa is a gluten-free pseudocereal from the Andes. Cook the small grains like rice – rinse them well first to wash off the bitter saponins.
• Rolled oats – Rolled oats are flattened whole oat grains – a wholegrain for porridge, muesli, overnight oats and baking. They contain beta-glucan, a type of fibre.
• Rosemary – Rosemary is a resinous, robust Mediterranean herb with firm needles. Great with roast potatoes, focaccia, beans and stews – cook whole sprigs, then remove them.
• Sauerkraut – Sauerkraut is lacto-fermented white cabbage. Eat it raw (unpasteurised, chilled) in salads, or warm with potatoes and pulses. 100 g has about 1.5 g salt.
• Shiitake – East Asian mushroom with a firm bite and deep umami. Cook fresh in a pan, wok or oven; dried in stocks and stews. Cook it through: raw, it can cause a rash.
• Stinging nettle – A native wild herb: use the young tips like spinach in soup, pesto, fillings or tea. Blanching or fine chopping disarms the stinging hairs. Pick March–June.
• Sweet potato – Sweet potato is the sweetish storage root of a bindweed – not a potato. Roast, boil, mash or bake it as wedges for curries, soups and bowls. Store at 12–15 °C.
• Tempeh – Tempeh is a firm block of cooked soya beans fermented with a mould culture, from Java. Nutty and savoury – marinate, then fry, bake or curry it. Contains soya.
• Walnuts – Walnuts taste rich, nutty and slightly bitter – try them in muesli, salads, bread or pesto. They contain plant omega-3 (ALA) and are a major allergen.
• Wild blueberries (bilberries) – Wild blueberries (bilberries) are small, dark berries coloured right through. Use them fresh or frozen in porridge or yoghurt. Season: July to September.
• Wild garlic – Garlicky wild herb, in season March to May. Use the leaves raw in pesto, butter or salad. Careful: poisonous lily of the valley and autumn crocus look similar.
• Yacon syrup – The thickened juice of the Andean yacon root. Mildly caramel-like, it sweetens porridge, yoghurt and dressings. Contains FOS – but it's still a sweetener.