Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (Carum carvi), is a biennial plant ... For example, it is used in goulash, sauerkraut, and caraway seed cake. The roots may be cooked as a vegetable like parsnips or carrots

Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants as energy storage. It is the most common carbohydrate in human diets and is contained in large amounts in staple foods like potatoes, wheat, maize (corn), rice, and cassava. Pure starch is a white, tasteless and odorless powder that is insoluble in cold water or alcohol. It consists of two types of molecules: the linear and helical amylose and the branched amylopectin. Depending on the plant, starch generally contains 20 to 25% amylose and 75 to 80% amylopectin by weight.[4] Glycogen, the glucose store of animals, is a more highly branched version of amylopectin. In industry, starch is converted into sugars, for example by malting, and fermented to produce ethanol in the manufacture of beer, whisky and biofuel. It is processed to produce many of the sugars used in processed foods. Mixing most starches in warm water produces a paste, such as wheatpaste, which can be used as a thickening, stiffening or gluing agent. The biggest industrial non-food use of starch is as an adhesive in the papermaking process. Starch can be applied to parts of some garments before ironing, to stiffen them.

Eggplant (Solanum melongena) or aubergine is a species of nightshade grown for its edible fruit. Eggplant is the common name in North America, Australia and New Zealand; in British English, it is aubergine, and in South Asia and South Africa, brinjal. The fruit is widely used in cooking. As a member of the genus Solanum, it is related to the tomato and the potato. It was originally domesticated from the wild nightshade species, the thorn or bitter apple, S. incanum, probably with two independent domestications, one in South Asia and one in East Asia.

Douchi (Chinese: 豆豉; pinyin: dòuchǐ), or tochi is a type of fermented and salted black soybean. In English, it is known as fermented black soybeans, Chinese fermented black beans (Chinese: 黑豆豆豉; pinyin: hēidòu dòuchǐ), salted black beans, salty black beans, or just black beans. They are a flavoring most popular in the cuisine of China, where they are most widely used for making black bean sauce dishes.[1][page needed] Douchi is made by fermenting and salting black soybeans. The black type soybean is most commonly used and the process turns the beans soft, and mostly semi-dry (if the beans are allowed to dry). Regular soybeans (white soybeans) are also used, but this does not produce "salted black beans"; instead, these beans become brown. The smell is sharp, pungent, and spicy; the taste is salty, somewhat bitter and sweet.[citation needed] The product made with white soybeans is called mianchi. The process and product are similar to ogiri and iru, both being African fermented bean products[citation needed]. Douchi, "Chinese salted black beans", and "black soybeans" should not be confused with the black turtle bean, a variety of common bean that is commonly used in the cuisines of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

Cocoa powder is made from roasted and fermented cacao beans that are ground into a powder after most of the fat (cocoa butter) has been extracted. The process involves roasting the beans, separating the shells from the inner nibs, and then pressing the nibs to remove the fatty cocoa butter, leaving a solid "cake" that is then pulverized into powder. Roasting: The cacao beans are roasted to develop their flavor. Winnowing: The roasted beans are cracked and the outer shells are removed, leaving the inner nibs. Grinding and pressing: The nibs are ground into a paste called "chocolate liquor," which contains both solids and cocoa butter. A hydraulic press is used to squeeze out most of the cocoa butter, resulting in a "cocoa cake". Powdering: The remaining cocoa cake is then pulverized into a fine powder to create cocoa powder. There are two main types of cocoa powder: Natural cocoa powder: This is the result of the process described above and has a more acidic and bitter taste. Dutch-processed cocoa powder: This has been treated with an alkaline solution to neutralize its acidity, resulting in a darker color and milder flavor.

The avocado, a tree with probable origin in South Central Mexico, is classified as a member of the flowering plant family Lauraceae. The fruit of the plant, also called an avocado (or avocado pear or alligator pear), is botanically a large berry containing a single large seed. Avocados are commercially valuable and are cultivated in tropical and Mediterranean climates throughout the world. They have a green-skinned, fleshy body that may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical. Commercially, they ripen after harvesting. Avocado trees are partially self-pollinating, and are often propagated through grafting to maintain predictable fruit quality and quantity. In 2017, Mexico produced 34% of the world supply of avocados.

Vinegar is a liquid consisting of about 5–20% acetic acid (CH3COOH), water, and other trace chemicals, which may include flavorings. The acetic acid is produced by the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. Vinegar is now mainly used as a cooking ingredient, or in pickling. As the most easily manufactured mild acid, it has historically had a great variety of industrial, medical, and domestic uses, some of which (such as its use as a general household cleaner) are still commonly practiced today. Commercial vinegar is produced either by a fast or a slow fermentation process. In general, slow methods are used in traditional vinegars where fermentation proceeds slowly over the course of a few months or up to a year. The longer fermentation period allows for the accumulation of a non-toxic slime composed of acetic acid bacteria. Fast methods add mother of vinegar (bacterial culture) to the source liquid before adding air to oxygenate and promote the fastest fermentation. In fast production processes, vinegar may be produced between 20 hours to three days.

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. When fresh and fully mature, it is about 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter and dark red, and contains a single seed, like all drupes. Peppercorns and the ground pepper derived from them may be described simply as pepper, or more precisely as black pepper (cooked and dried unripe fruit), green pepper (dried unripe fruit), or white pepper (ripe fruit seeds). Black pepper is native to present-day Kerala in Southwestern India, and is extensively cultivated there and elsewhere in tropical regions. Vietnam is the world's largest producer and exporter of pepper, producing 34% of the world's crop, as of 2013.