Culinary Preparation

The seeds give annatto, a red-orange food coloring.

In Benin, the young leaves may be parboiled and eaten like other African leafy vegetables.

Alfalfa sprouts and seeds are eaten, but they have caused outbreaks of food poisoning.

About 17 of the roughly 70 amaranth species are eaten as food.

In China, North Korea and Japan, the young leaves are eaten as a vegetable, fresh or dried, in soups or with sauce.

Basil seeds (sabja) are traditionally soaked in water and eaten as a refreshing food.

The fruit is made into juice, which has been tested in a trial in China.

Beetroot is usually taken as juice, which is high in nitrate.

The fruit pulp is eaten in juice, puddings and murabba, a sweet preserve.

The unripe fruits are eaten as a vegetable in many tropical and subtropical countries.

Black garlic is thought to have been eaten in Korea, Japan and Thailand since ancient times.

The seeds are used as a spice in cooking.

Black walnut is prized for its edible nut.

The flowers have been used as a food dye and vegetable in Southeast Asia.

Cardamom is used as a spice to flavor food.

Balloon vine is a well-known leafy green vegetable in India.

Cayenne is a common kitchen spice, and herbalists add it to drinks such as lemon water.

Chia seeds and chia products are eaten as a food, and their use has grown in recent years.

Chickweed is eaten as part of the diet.

The leaves are used as a vegetable and in salads.

Cinnamon is a common kitchen spice. Herbalists prefer Ceylon cinnamon for regular use, because cassia cinnamon contains much more coumarin, which can harm the liver at high doses over time.

Trials used flavanol-rich chocolate and cocoa drinks and powders, from about 1 to 105 grams of cocoa product a day.

The roasted beans are brewed into a drink.

The red fruit has been used both as a food and as a medicinal herb in traditional Chinese medicine.

The sour red berries are cooked into jams, cordials and pies, and in Turkey the fermented juice (gilaburu) is a traditional drink.

It's eaten as a food as well as used as a traditional Chinese medicine.

The red berries are eaten.

Duckweed has historically been eaten in southwest Asia.

The seeds are used as a spice and as a maple-like flavoring in foods and drinks.

Garlic is added to food when cooking.

Fresh or dried ginger is added to food and drinks. Dried ginger is much stronger than fresh.

The fresh leaves are traditionally eaten in salads in Sri Lanka and parts of Southeast Asia.

Pigeon peas are an important source of protein, eaten in dhal and as a green vegetable.

It's also used in foods such as bread and noodles.

The sour young leaves are eaten as a vegetable.

Honeysuckle is eaten as a health food.

Horseradish has a long tradition as a condiment and in preserving food in many parts of the world.

Carrageenan, the gel taken from red seaweeds such as Irish moss, is used as a food additive.

It's eaten as a vegetable in Cameroon.

Dried fronds used in Japanese cooking.

It's widely eaten as a vegetable.

Lion's mane (yamabushitake) is an edible mushroom.

Mexican oregano is sold as a culinary herb.

Maca is eaten as a vegetable.

Mauby is a traditional tropical drink made from the bark.

Salty leaves eaten in salads and as a seasoning.

It's cooked into porridge.

Oregano has long been used as a cooking spice.

The flowers are used to give a strong, lasting fragrance to desserts, pastries, tea and wine.

Plum flowers are eaten as an edible flower in Yunnan, China.

Pomegranate is drunk as juice, which many studies have used.

The buds were sometimes eaten, and the petals were used as a food dye.

The young leaves have been cooked as a vegetable since at least the Song Dynasty, and it's made into porridge.

Purslane is eaten raw in salads, cooked as a green, or in soups, in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Asian and African cooking.

The young taproot is eaten cooked, and the flower heads are fried.

The fresh or dried flowers are edible and slightly sweet.

Saffron is a costly spice made from the dried red threads (stigmas) of the flower.

It's eaten as a food worldwide, as juice, wine, ferments and yogurt.

Sesame is eaten as whole seeds, as a powder and in bars.

Chinese hawthorn is an edible fruit that's also used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Its stems are a well-known edible and medicinal plant in Southeast Asia.

It's eaten as both food and medicine.

The fruit is widely eaten in sweets, ice cream and juices.

Common soy foods include tofu, miso, tempeh, edamame and soy milk.

Star anise has long been a cooking spice in China.

In Jamaica, the berries are cooked in traditional dishes, usually served with cod and rice.

Tarragon is a spice in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

In studies, it was taken as tart cherry juice or concentrate.

It has been eaten in Asian countries for centuries.

The powdered root is added to foods, teas and golden milk.

Seeds roasted and ground into a flavoring or flour.

The seeds are eaten as snacks in Mexico.

The young leaves are eaten in salads and soups, or cooked as a green.