Ingredient: U-V

This essential flavoring comes from the beanlike fruit of a tropical orchid. The vanilla flower blooms for just one day each year, when it produces the fruit.

Vinegar appropriately takes its name from the French term vin aigre, or “sour wine.” It’s made by adding bacteria to any type of alcohol—wine, hard cider, beer—which is then converted into acetic acid. It can be used in everything from salad dressings to sauces.