Spinach
Spinach Pronounce it: spin-atch Used in almost every cuisine across the world, spinach is an enormously popular green vegetable. The leaves can be either flat or slightly ruffled, and are a bright green when young,…
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Stevia
Stevia Stevia is a South American wilderness herb with leaves that contain an ingredient of exceptional sweetness. Weight for weight, the sweetening compound in stevia is about 150 times sweeter than sugar but it has…
Sumac
Sumac Pronounce it: soo-mak This wine-coloured ground spice is one of the most useful but least known and most underappreciated. Made from dried berries, it has an appealing lemon-lime tartness that can be widely used. In…
Sweet potato
Sweet potato Pronounce it: sweet po-tate-toe Sweet potatoes have a creamy texture and a sweet-spicy flavour that makes them ideal for savoury dishes. There are two types, one with bright orange flesh, the other with…
Sweetcorn
Sweetcorn Pronounce it: sw-eet corn Also known as corn on the cob, sweetcorn is composed of rows of tightly packed golden yellow kernels, growing along a tough central core. When ripe, the kernels are sweet…
Swiss chard
Swiss chard Pronounce it: swiss shard Also known as plain chard, Swiss chard has large, fleshy, tender, deep green leaves and thick, crisp stalks. Although they’re unrelated, chard is similar to spinach, but with a stronger, more…
Syrah / Shiraz
Syrah / Shiraz Pronounce it: sirrah / shih-raz International celebrity The northern Rhone is the traditional home of Syrah, where it is renowned in the wines of Hermitage, Cote-Rotie and Cornas. In the Southern Rhone…
Saffron
Saffron Pronounce it: sah-fron The stigma of a type of crocus, saffron threads have a pungent and distinctive aroma and flavour – slightly bitter, a little musty, and with a suggestion of something floral. It’s…
Star anise
Star anise Pronounce it: star an-eese Star anise is one of the central spices in Chinese cooking. It has a strong anise flavour, with a liquorice-like aroma. The dominant flavour in Chinese five-spice powder, star…
Spirulina
Spirulina Pronounce it: spih-ruh-leenah Spirulina is a freshwater algae or seaweed that grows naturally in tropical and sub-tropical lakes. Historically used as a food by native South American people, it fell into disuse for many…