A traditional Middle Eastern aubergine/ brinjal purée, made with garlic and tahini.

Baking powder contains bicarbonate of soda and tartaric acid with a dried starch or flour to absorb any moisture during storage. It has a limited shelf life. To make your own: combine 15ml/1tbsp bicarbonate of soda with 30ml/2tbsp cream of tartar. Measure carefully as too much or too little can upset a recipe's balance.

A dark brown vinegar from Modena, Italy. This exquisite vinegar, is made from white Trebbiano grape juice, gets its dark color and has a pungent sweetness The best quality product can be over 100 years old but is more commonly sold at 3 to 4 years of age.

The sprouting shoots of edible bamboo plants, which are available canned or fresh at most Asian supermarkets.

British slang for sausage.

A tasty sauce usually made from onions, garlic, sugar, tomatoes, mustard and vinegar.

Basil is named from the Greek word basilikon which means 'kingly, and has an almost mystical reputation in some cultures. Most of us know sweet green basil, but other common varieties include purple basil and 'minimm' or Greek basil, which has tiny green leaves. All three have a rich, peppery flavour; although other varieties such as lemon-, anise- and cinnamon-scented basils are also popular.

Basmati is an Indian rice with very small but long grains, its perfumy, with a nutlike flavour. It should be rinsed before cooking.

A white sea fish with three varieties - silver, sea and striped - sold as steaks and fillets.

Stiff, dark green, oblong leaves; pungent aroma. An evergreen shrub, cultivated for ornament and for its aromatic leaves. Bay leaves are one of the most commonly used culinary herbs: a leaf is always incorporated in a bouquet garni and is good for casseroles, stews and pickling. Bay doesn't lose anything through being dried.

A Chinese sauce made from fermented soybeans.

There are many varieties of bean; they can be divided into two main groups: those with edible pods (green beans), including the French bean and the runner bean, and those of which only the seeds are eaten, such as haricot beans.

This classic French white sauce is made by stirring milk into a flour-butter base known as a roux.

A general term for very small or tiny chillies that are extremely pungent and spicy. Sometimes used to describe Thai chillies.

An Italian twice-baked biscuit. The biscotti mixture is poured into a loaf tin and baked, once cooled the cake is sliced and the slices are baked again.

It is made from shrimp, sardines and other small salted fish that have been allowed to ferment in the sun until very pungent and odorous.

Made by browning butter in a pan and adding lemon juice and parsley.

They are plump, dark purple Italian olives with a tender texture and slightly sour taste.

It's sold whole, ground or powdered.

The pepper plant is a climbing vine, native to India, Java and the Sunda Islands. The fruits ripen from green to red and finally to brown.

Black pudding originated in the UK. It is a sausage made from cereals, spices and pig?s blood.

Regarded as the highest grade tuna.

Also known as pak choi, this leafy-green Chinese vegetable is part of the cabbage family.

Borlotti beans, also sometimes used in stead of the American Cranberry beans (or shell beans or shell-out in the US), are used in many excellent Italian and Portuguese dishes. This bean has a pink background with tan markings and is often paired in salads with bitter greens such as radicchio. Once cooked, the speckled markings disappear and they become soft and creamy in texture.

A small bunch of herbs, classically bay leaves, parsley stalks and thyme, wrapped in a leek leaf or piece of celery and tied with string.

A large nut with a very hard shell, cultivated in Brazil and Paraguay. The white kernel is very nutritious.

Cut of beef from the belly.

A type of grain widely used in eastern European cooking.

Traditionally, Buttermilk is the liquid that is left over when milk is churned to butter. These days, the product is made commercially by adding a culture to skim milk to give a slightly acid- flavoured beverage.