Ingredient: P-Q

This deep-red-colored spice is made from ground sweet red pepper pods. Its flavor can range from sweet and mild to smoky and hot. It’s a primary ingredient in Hungarian goulash and a classic garnish for deviled eggs.

This highly flavorful aged hard cheese (most often used grated) has been made the same way in Italy for more than 800 years.

This green-leafed, grassy-tasting herb is a mainstay in a cook’s arsenal, used both as a fresh, go-to garnish and as a subtle flavoring for sauces and soups.

A parsnip looks like a white carrot (and is, in fact, in the same family). Along with their sweet flavor, parsnips bring vitamin C, folate, and potassium to the table.

A staple of every pantry, dried pasta—a delectable combination of semolina flour, water, and salt—is a surefire kid-pleaser, a quintessential comfort food, and the basis of no end of delicious dishes. Fresh pasta, which contains eggs, is more tender than dried and cooks in about half the time.

What’s more luscious than a perfectly ripe peach, dripping with juice? One of summer’s most anticipated treats, the fuzzy-skinned stone fruits are great in pies and even better all alone.

An essential of childhood and cornerstone of the PB & J, this sandwich staple is packed with protein and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.

At their best, pears are sweet, soft, juicy, and delicately perfumed.

A serving of sweet green garden (or English) peas, which are really legumes, contains more protein than an egg—with less than a gram of fat and no cholesterol.

The English named the exceedingly juicy, sweet-tart pineapple for its resemblance to a pinecone. A favorite tropical fruit, it’s grown primarily in Hawaii.

High in vitamin C, plums are packed with disease-fighting antioxidants. They’re sweet and delicious—which is why highly desirable things are called “plum.”

Pigs are the source of many delicious cuts, including bacon. Since the animals are now bred to be lean, the meat is higher in protein and about 30 percent lower in calories, saturated fat, and cholesterol than the pork produced in the 1970s.

The most widely consumed of all vegetables, potatoes are a nutritious, low-calorie source of carbohydrates, potassium, and vitamin C, and their skins are high in fiber. Large potatoes tend to be the most earthy tasting, while smaller specimens are sweeter.