Wasabi
The green rhizome grated at the last second — not the dyed horseradish in a tube, if you can help it.
Pantry · Page 10
The spices that moved the world
Page 10 of 11 — more of the working pantry.
Browse the pantry
Page 10
247 named jars, 11 short pages — so the first paint stays light.
Garlic
The clove that starts more ComidaTime pots than any other aromatic — smashed, sliced, or left whole in oil.
Onion
The first cut in almost every ComidaTime pot: sweet when slow, sharp when raw, the aromatic the books assume you already have.
Shallot
Onion's finer cousin — the French and Thai allium that melts into a sauce instead of shouting.
Scallion
Green onion: the fresh allium you slice at the end, or fry into a pancake.
Leek
The long allium of soups and tarts — wash the grit, keep the pale green.
Tomato paste
The spoon of cooked tomato that turns a thin pot into a sauce — 28 kitchens in the series keep a tin.
Vinegar
The unnamed sour the books reach for when lemon is not on the board.
Red wine vinegar
The salad and marinade acid of Europe and the Southern Cone.
White wine vinegar
A cleaner sour for a pickle or a beurre blanc.
Sherry vinegar
Jerez in a cruet — the Spanish splash that finishes a gazpacho or a pot of lentils.
Apple cider vinegar
The orchard sour of American and German home kitchens.
Balsamic vinegar
Modena's dark sweet-sour, a drop on fruit or a steak.
White vinegar
Sharp, cheap, and honest — the pickle and salsa vinegar.
Chinkiang vinegar
Chinese black vinegar: malty, dark, the sour of a dumpling plate.
Coconut vinegar
The Filipino sour of adobo when cane vinegar is not in the house.
Honey
The first sweetener: Ethiopian raw honey, Spanish orange-blossom, a glaze on chicken.
Dry white wine
A splash for a stew, a risotto, a fish pot — the cook's glass and the pot's glass.
Red wine
The braise wine: daube, estofado, and a Portuguese roast.
Coconut milk
The fat of a curry and a Brazilian moqueca when coconut is the coast.
Palm sugar
The caramel of Thai and Indonesian pots — not white sugar with a tan.
Worcestershire sauce
Anchovy, tamarind, and vinegar in a bottle the weeknight steak still wants.
Tomato sauce
Cooked tomato, already a sauce, when the recipe does not want you to start from fruit.
Peanut sauce
The satay dip: groundnut, chile, and a little sweet.