If you check out the labels on natural food products, you'll see agave syrup listed as an ingredient more and more often. Agave syrup - sometimes called agave nectar - is a natural sweetener that is marketed as a healthy alternative to processed sugars, as well as an alternative to honey, corn syrup and similar liquid sweeteners. The syrup is made from blue agave, a type of succulent, cactus-like plant that is also used in the production of tequila. The thick liquid comes in light and dark forms, the latter being unfiltered, and tastes similar to honey.

So what makes this syrup "healthier" than other sweeteners? It has a very low Glycemic Index (GI) value, so although it is noticeably sweeter than sugar, it doesn't cause the same type of "sugar rush" that other sweets do. Table sugar has a GI value of 68, on a scale from 1 to 100, while honey comes in at 55. Agave syrup has a value of around 15.

Agave syrup can be used in baked goods, with a reduction in the amount of liquid in the recipe to account for its presence. Starting with a recipe that already calls for honey and substituting it in is a good way to start, but as a general rule, you'll will need to spend some time playing around with your favorite recipes to get them to work, especially if you want to substitute it into a recipe that calls for crystallized sugars. The syrup will dissolve easily in liquids and is a good choice for sweetening iced tea or lemonade.

The competitors on Top Chef seem to endlessly complain when they have to work with an ingredient that they didn't make from scratch, repeating ad nauseum that they feel such things - namely, processed foods - are far beneath them. But using commercial ingredients isn't beneath all chefs, not even ones like Jean-Georges Vongerichten and David Bouley. Vongerichten serves his Two-Flavored Stir-Fried Shrimp in a sauce of Hellmann's Mayo and condensed milk. Bouley uses Heinz Ketchup in several sauces, including the one served with his Braised Hawaiian Yellowtail appetizer. Other secret ingredients in chefs' pantries include Gravy Master, Kraft Singles, canned creamed corn and Dr. Pepper.

How are high-end, starred chefs getting away with using ingredients that you could find at a convenience store? The answer is that they don't advertise it the same way that they highlight grass-fed beef and organic tomatoes on their menus.

A pluot is a relatively new fruit, developed in the late 20th century by Floyd Zaiger, a hybrid between a plum and an apricot that is touted by growers as having all of the good properties of both fruits, and none of the drawbacks. They have a very high sugar content, are smooth-skinned and do not have the tartness that is often associated with plum skins. Their flesh is a little bit firmer than that of plums, similar in firmness to the flesh of a ripe nectarine, so they hold up better to being eaten out-of-hand or sliced up than plums do.

While the name gets thrown around a lot, especially with the ever-increasing discussion of shopping at local farmers markets and avoiding conventionally grown, mass produced produce, many consumers still wonder what heirloom tomatoes really are.

While some feel that a set, defined time limit of 50 or 100 years must be included in the definition of an heirloom plant, the short definition of an heirloom tomato is that it is an open-pollinated tomato plant, meaning that it is naturally pollinated by exposure to birds, insects and animals. Hybrid plants, the commercially grown tomatoes, do not always produce reliable, viable seeds due to the fact that some (if not most) of the crosses used to generate the plants were done artificially.

The more traditional tomatoes, those that are often seen in supermarkets and the majority of restaurants, have been bred to enhance certain characteristics besides flavor. For example, many have been selected for disease resistance or for having a slightly thicker skin, which makes them hold up better during shipping. Most of these conventional tomatoes are close to spherical and very red in color. Their flavor is ordinary, with little "wow" factor.

I love to use vanilla when I bake. It mellows some flavors and brings others out, not to mention that it adds a wonderful flavor of its own. I have many kinds of vanilla, including extracts, beans, powders and sugars.

One of my favorite types of vanilla is vanilla bean paste, which is a mixture of vanilla beans with a little sugar, water and a thickening agent. It can be used interchangeably with vanilla extract, but it gives the look of having used a real vanilla bean and seems to add an even stronger flavor. It is perfect for custards, puddings, ice cream and even plain vanilla cakes, where you really get to showcase the little flecks of vanilla bean.

I have had difficulty finding vanilla paste in nearby stores lately, but I came across a similar product: Sonoma Syrup Co.'s Vanilla Bean Crush. This is vanilla extract that has the vanilla seeds reserved and added back into the finished product. With a quick shake of the bottle before using, you get some of those tiny, lovely seeds into whatever you're making. It isn't quite as strong as vanilla paste, but it is much nicer than some generic vanillas that I have had recently. Unfortunately, it's not much easier to find than the vanilla paste, but since the bottle is quite large, it will probably last for some time.

The vanilla crush is $17 for 8-oz. and the vanilla paste is $12 for 4-oz. Both are worth every penny.

Chipotle chiles are not a unique chile, but are actually dried, smoked jalapeno chiles. They are dark brown and wrinkly, in sharp contrast to the glossy look of fresh chiles, but have a wonderfully rich flavor. Most of the heat of the jalapeno is retained when the chile is dried, so chipotles are fairly spicy, falling in the middle ranges of the heat scale. They have smoky overtones, but the real flavor of the chiles is complex and earthy. Instead of causing a sharp and immediate heat, the heat grows gradually as you eat it and takes time to fade away.

In truth, most kinds of chilies can be smoke-dried and sometimes they are all called "chipotle" no matter what they started out as, but the vast majority of the chipotle chiles on the market were originally jalapenos.

While once it seemed as though the only onion options were the generic sounding yellow, white and red, each variety of onion in the market is now labeled clearly - and there are a lot of them, in addition to those three standards. But what is the difference between them? The primary difference is sweetness, with some onions, known as sweet onions, lacking the sulfuric bite that most associate with an onion.

Sweet onions usually are available in summer and have a higher water content than so-called "storage onions", which contributes to their mild flavor. It also means that they have a somewhat shorter shelf life and are more delicate, prone to bruising, than their less-sweet counterparts. They can be used interchangeably with regular onions in cooking, since they will handle almost identically, but they will impart slightly different flavors to the finished dish. Many people prefer sweet onions in dishes that call for raw onions, such as salads, or for use on burgers and hot dogs.

A woman checking out at the grocery store commented to the clerk that she had mixed emotions about Rainier cherry season. On one hand, she adored the fruits, but she said that she couldn't stop eating them. The cherries are quite expensive and, even though she was a cherry lover, she was glad that the season for Rainiers lasted a brief period so that she could enjoy looking forward to them and enjoy eating them, while not breaking the bank.

Rainer cherries are one of the sweetest, most prized types of cherries there are. They are primarily grown in California and the Pacific Northwest and are distinct from other cherries in that they have a creamy, yellow flesh and a yellow and red exterior.  While they are still one of the most popular eating cherries, some consumers are put off by their coloring, prefering all cherries to be a bright, deep red. They're missing out.

Lemon verbena is growing in popularity, seemingly by the minute. A few years ago, it was almost unheard of to the home cook, then it rapidly spread from the pages of upscale menus to Gourmet to Cooking Light and to Better Homes and Gardens. It is a perennial herb, native to Chile and Peru, that has an unusually strong lemon scent and flavor to it. The lemon scent comes from an essential oil known as citral, which is also found in lemon, lemongrass and other plants.

Verbena is not a popular herb in traditional European cookery, though it was commonly planted for ornamental reasons in European gardens after it was introduced in the 18th century. The plant grows best in temperate climates, with plenty of water and sunshine. It will produce beautiful, small flowers in the late summer and fall. Its aroma is strong and can perfume a garden easily.

Apricots are a stone fruit that has been cultivated for the past 4000 years. The originated in China, near what is now the Russia border. The tree was brought to Europe by the Romans in approximately 70BC, but it gradually spread westward through Asia over the course of s few thousand years to countries like Turkey, where it became very popular. Apricots were brought to America by Spanish missionaries.

Classified as stone fruits, apricots have a large, hard seed in their center around which the flesh of the fruit grows. They appear to be very similar to peaches and nectarines, but are often a bit smaller, measuring 1 1/2-2 1/2-inches in diameter with a prominent suture running down one side. They range in color from yellow to orange, and some varieties even have a reddish cast to them.

Watermelons hardly constitute solid food, given that they are 92% water. Nevertheless, they are kept intact by their hard, green rind and so make one of the most refreshing, healthy summer treats you can imagine.

Watermelons have more lycopene (an antioxidant) than any other fruit or vegetable, with more than four times the amount per serving than a large tomato. They are free from fat, cholesterol and are very low in calories. Though there is sugar in the melons, it is naturally diluted by the high levels of water in the fruit. Watermelons also have high amounts of vitamins A, B6, C and potassium.

The first recorded watermelons were enjoyed in ancient Egypt, approximately 5,000 years ago. Through trade, watermelons made their way to China, where they became popular rapidly, before firmly establishing themselves in Europe around the thirteenth century. Today, there are 1,200 varieties of watermelon (not counting oddly shaped ones). Some of the most popular include picnic melons, which are oblong and quite large; seedless and miniature/individual, which are growing in popularity. By and large, the fruits are juicy and sweet. Most varieties, and certainly the most popular, have red flesh, though there are types that grow with different colored flesh, such as yellow. China is still the number one producer of watermelons in the world, followed by Turkey, Iran, the US and Egypt.

Recently, someone asked me if there was a difference between the "zest" of a citrus fruit and the "peel." In short, the answer is yes. The peel is the name for the whole skin of the fruit, which is comprised of two layers: the zest and the pith. The zest is the colored, outer surface of the fruit while the pith is the soft, white inner layer. The vast majority of recipes will call for the zest of a fruit only. The pith is actually bitter and gives an unpleasant aftertaste if eaten, but the zest contains the very flavorful oils/essence of the fruit.

Once you know what the zest is, the question is how to get it off. The layer is very thin compared to the fruit as a whole, but it can be cut off with a knife and then chopped into fine pieces. A more efficient way is to use either a zester (pictured) or a microplane, both of which are tools that slice off only the zest from a fruit. A zester produces long, thin strips that need to be finely chopped, while a microplane naturally creates a very fine chop that needs no further alteration before being added to a recipe.

Basil is an herb in the mint family. It is often regarded as the "king of herbs" due not only to the fact that its name comes from the Greek word for "king," but due to its versatility. It is thought to have originated in India before being brought to the Mediterranean regions of Europe, where it is a staple in regional cuisine. It is also hugely popular in Thai cooking. Dark green, large leafed plants, known as sweet basil or Italian basil, are among the most widely used, but there are many other types of basil as well. These other varieties can range in color from purple to varying shades of green

It tastes slightly sweet and slightly peppery, with a hint of clove flavor. It pairs well with most meats, eggs and vegetables. A meat stuffing might include basil, as well as stir-fried vegetables. It can also simply be crushed into olive oil for a lovely dip for bread. The plant is highly aromatic, so beyond cooked uses, it can be added to potpourris or to a dish of hot water (even to a bath) to create a soothing, slightly minty aroma.

Rhubarb is a stalk vegetable that is usually eaten as a fruit. In appearance, rhubarb very closely resembles celery and ranges in color from a light pinkish green to a deep, brilliant fuchsia. The plant is actually a member of the buckwheat family and only the stalks are edible, since the leaves contain a fairly high amount of oxalic acid, a compound which can be lethal (though you would have to eat quite a bit to reach that dose). In small amounts, oxalic acid inhibits calcium absorption and can detract from the nutritional value of foods.

The vegetables are native to Asia, but gained popularity, especially in England, during the 17th century and have been cultivated ever since. Nutritionally, rhubarb is very low in calories and is a reasonably good source of fiber and vitamins C and K. It has a high calcium content, but very little of it, if any, can be used by the body as the oxalic acid will counteract efforts to absorb it.

 

Tomatillos, despite their name, are not actually tomatoes, though they are members of the tomato family. They are members of the nightshade family and grow all over the western hemisphere, thriving in the southern United States and Mexico. The plant was originally domesticated by the Aztecs, well over 2,000 years ago, and was brought back to Europe by explorers and settlers, where it continues to flourish in Mediterranean climates.

Tomatillos are typically one to two inches in diameter and are green in color. They have a thin, papery shell on them, called the husk, that the fruit actually grows into as it matures. By the time the fruit is ripe, it may have split the husk open, though it is sometimes held in place by a slightly sticky coating. Peel back the husk before using a tomatillo and wash the fruit gently in soap and water to remove any unwanted residue. When selecting a tomatillo in the market, look for one that has a husk in good condition, rather than one that is shriveled. A fruit that is small, but heavy for its size is likely to be sweeter than a larger one.