54
votes
Accepted
What is this green, bulbous, leafy vegetable?
As was mentioned, this is a kohlrabi. I felt more explanation should be given based on the fascinating nature of this plant.
Kohlrabi is one of the handful of cultivars of brassica oleracea. Others ...
- 1,047
51
votes
Accepted
What kind of pickle was this?
It sounds like you may be describing a caper berry. Most folks are familiar with capers, which are the pickled or salted flower bud from the caper plant. However, if the buds are left to mature into ...
- 8,987
50
votes
Accepted
What are these spaghetti-like strings in the rice I got from a Turkish shop?
It's toasted vermicelli.
This dish is called şehriyeli pilav in Turkey, riz bi sh’arieh in Lebanon and Syria, shehrehi yeghintz in Armenia, and reshteh polo in Iran.
The basic idea is that you brown ...
- 2,480
47
votes
Accepted
What is this plant I saw for sale at a Romanian farmer's market?
That actually are tips of trees, probably spruce1. It’s this year’s new growth and a very seasonal product. The tips are harvested when the are (about) fully grown, but still light green and soft.
I ...
- 57.7k
41
votes
Israeli soda type drink
What you're describing sounds like jallab. From Will Travel For Food:
Jallab is a very popular drink in the Middle East. It’s made by diluting the syrup made of grape molasses, dates and rose water ...
- 18.3k
40
votes
What is this waxed root vegetable?
It looks like it could be yuca/cassava, based on the appearance alone. (Note: this is not the same as or related to yucca.) The picture on Wikipedia even shows a waxed version.
https://en.wikipedia....
- 539
37
votes
Accepted
What kind of vegetable has pink and white concentric rings?
That is a chioggia beet, I believe, but watermelon radish is also colored similarly.
- 72.6k
34
votes
What is this plant I saw for sale at a Romanian farmer's market?
I'm French, and I happen to know someone that uses this kind of spruce tips to make alcohol.
It's well-known in the Alps region of France. People tend to use these things to make "sapinette" ...
- 441
34
votes
What can I call this Swiss Chard side dish exactly in a menu?
In the U.S., we would call usually these greens and not herbs. So why not use "sauteed field greens" or "sauteed wild greens"?
You should use a word like sautéed to indicate that ...
- 440
31
votes
Accepted
What is this seed pod?
Looks like cardamom to me, regularly used in Indian and other South Asian cuisine and often left as whole seed pods in dishes for unsuspecting diners to accidentally chew on.
- 2,119
26
votes
Accepted
What is this core inside a coconut seed?
The coconut seed -(what is given in question) is actually known as the coconut "apple". It is a sweet, spongy mass (cotyledon) that dissolves and absorbs the endosperm.
This happens when the ...
- 585
25
votes
Israeli soda type drink
That's most likely Jallab though not a quintessential Israeli drink it is part of the middle eastern cuisine.
Jallab (Arabic: جلاب / ALA-LC: jallāb) is a type of fruit syrup popular in the Middle ...
- 643
24
votes
Accepted
Can you help me identify this garnish?
The picture isn't from the best angle for identification, though it's very pretty, but it looks to be a pea shoot (picture).
These are common garnishes for savoury dishes, but much less common for ...
- 43k
24
votes
Accepted
What kind of yeast is this?
In addition to the accepted answer:
This is called Fresh Yeast in English. There are two other types of
yeast commonly available in the English speaking world, called
instant (bread machine) yeast and ...
- 13.2k
24
votes
What is this veggie sold as "leek sprout" in an Asian market?
Yellow Chinese chives. These are the same as Chinese garlic chives, but they've been "bleached" by covering them; this results in a milder, sweeter flavor.
They're generally minced and put ...
- 58.4k
22
votes
What is this vial for in this package of grass jelly?
Ok, did a little more hunting and found this link which says:
Some packages contain a sugar packet and a small tube of banana essence. The banana essence can be a bit strong, but if you enjoy it, add ...
- 677
21
votes
Accepted
Georgian dessert based on walnuts
It was most likely a simple preserve.
Unripe walnuts are commonly eaten in Eastern Europe, and preserve is one of the widespread preparations. (Maybe even the only widespread one besides liqueur - ...
- 135k
20
votes
Accepted
Could I possibly tell imitation lobster from real lobster?
If it is high quality imitation lobster and you are not amongst the highest skilled tasters (few of us are), you won't be able to tell the difference by yourself.
Imitation seafood is made from ...
- 2,782
20
votes
20
votes
Accepted
Identifying a type of Pizza Topping
I can understand your confusion, but this is assuredly not a dessert pizza. The white circles of sauce, while they look like icing in appearance, are actually Ranch Dressing.
For comparison, here is a ...
- 1,224
20
votes
What can I call this Swiss Chard side dish exactly in a menu?
If the menu actually provides descriptions of dishes, then I would just use the Italian name and describe it in English. This is very normal at least in the US for dishes from international cuisine, ...
- 1,687
18
votes
Accepted
What are Omaha Steaks "Potatoes Au Gratin" actually?
These are very similar to potato croquettes, for which there are tons of recipes. Those are usually made with mashed potatoes instead of shredded, but otherwise pretty much the same deal. You can find ...
- 58.1k
16
votes
What is this "Egyptian Coffee"?
This is actually the Turkish method for making coffee, or a variant of it. Coffee grounds, cold water and sugar are brought just to a boil several times before being poured into small cups. For this ...
- 43.5k
16
votes
15
votes
Accepted
What are "Honey Bubbles" and how are they made?
You can do this with an air pump, egg white powder and xanthan gum :)
http://www.molecularrecipes.com/culinary-foams-class/bubbles-air-pump/
The “bubbles with air pump” technique consists of ...
- 2,710
15
votes
Accepted
Identifying bulgur from cracked wheat
Cook some of each.
The one that's done in 20 mins or so is bulgur. [I tend towards 1:1.6 bulgur:water, 15 mins simmer, 15 mins rest.]
The one that eventually needs more water adding & takes at ...
- 28.8k
15
votes
What is this core inside a coconut seed?
That is a sprouted coconut. According to Wikipedia, it is a part of a coconut embryo that forms inside a sprouting mature coconut, and is not commercially produced.
- 2,248
15
votes
What is this slimy Asian leafy green?
Although it's hard to say without seeing the stalks, your description of the flavor and texture is consistent with Malabar Spinach, also called Wood Ear. It's used in a variety of Asian and African ...
- 74.1k
14
votes
Accepted
Can anyone identify this chocolate?
This Chocolate is Van-Leer semi sweet. It was an old American chocolate manufacturer that was recently purchased by Callebaut. It does have a distinct slab style. This is available in the bulk section ...
- 906
14
votes
Accepted
What is the bright red ingredient in Japanese chicken curry katsu?
This appears to be a Japanese pickle mixture, made with daikon radish amount other things, called Fukujinzuke (福神漬)
Fukujinzuke is a mixture of Japanese radish (daikon), lotus root, cucumber and ...
- 19k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible