Agar agar. A gelatine-like product which is extracted from a brownish-white seaweed with thorny projections called tengusa. It is a useful vegetarian alternative to gelatine. It is dried in the sun and then boiled creating a viscous substance which is sold after processing into thin, transparent, white sheets. When dissolved in water it cools to a jelly. It has a great capacity for absorbing liquid. It is available in other forms, of which the most common are bar and powder. Agar-agar sets quickly and does not melt at room temperature. It is used by the Japanese in soups and confections, by the Chinese in yokan and the food industry in everything. It is represented by E406.
The Ceylon or Thai olive is a dull green fruit about the size of an olive. They are used in pickles. Called "Thai olives" when sold in Asian shops.
Basella. One of the amaranths. This is a tropical climbing plant which can grow up to 2 meters (6 ft) in height. Basella rubra provides succulent red leaves which are harvested as the plant grows and cooked in the same way as spinach or in oil with spices.
A soft goat's milk cheese from East Sussex with strong smell and flavour. This was a Bronze Medal winner at the 1997 British Cheese Awards. It is cone shaped and small.
A tasty 2.5 cm (1") indeterminate, heirloom cherry tomato with a huge yield of red fruits borne in mid season in clusters of half a dozen. Named after Alan Chadwick.
