- AllspicePimenta dioica, the dried unripe berry of an evergreen tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America. Not to be confused with Pimenta racemosa, the West Indian bay tree, whose leaf flavours bay rum and some Caribbean cooking.
- AlmondPrunus dulcis (synonym Prunus amygdalus); the bitter form is Prunus dulcis var. amara and the sweet form var. dulcis
- AnisePimpinella anisum, a single cultivated species with no culinary varieties worth separating; it is unrelated to star anise (Illicium verum), to liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), and only distantly related to fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), all of which taste of it
- AppleMalus domestica
- ApricotPrunus armeniaca
- AsparagusAsparagus officinalis
- AvocadoPersea americana
- BananaMusa spp.
- BarleyHordeum vulgare
- BasilOcimum basilicum / Ocimum tenuiflorum / Ocimum × africanum
- Bay LeafLaurus nobilis (bay laurel, the true or sweet bay of the Mediterranean); together with the unrelated 'bay leaves' of other cuisines: Cinnamomum tamala (Indian bay, tejpat), Syzygium polyanthum (Indonesian bay, daun salam), and Litsea glaucescens (Mexican bay)
- BeansPhaseolus vulgaris
- BeetrootBeta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris
- Bell PepperCapsicum annuum var. annuum, Grossum Group (the blocky sweet or bell pepper) and the elongated sweet groups (Italian corno, Hungarian TV paprika, Spanish piquillo, Balkan kapia); together with the non-pungent forms of Capsicum chinense (ají dulce, cachucha, ajicito) of the Caribbean and northern South America
- Black PepperPiper nigrum
- BlackberryRubus fruticosus agg. (the European bramble, a complex of hundreds of microspecies) · R. allegheniensis and R. argutus (North American upright blackberries) · R. ursinus (the Pacific dewberry, parent of the loganberry, boysenberry, and marionberry) · R. armeniacus (the Armenian or 'Himalayan' blackberry of commerce)
- BlueberryVaccinium angustifolium (lowbush wild blueberry, Maritime Canada) · Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry, New Jersey, domesticated 1916 CE) · Vaccinium myrtillus (European bilberry, Scandinavia and Northern Europe)
- BroccoliBrassica oleracea var. italica
- Brussels SproutBrassica oleracea var. gemmifera
- BuckwheatFagopyrum esculentum (common buckwheat); together with Fagopyrum tataricum (Tartary or bitter buckwheat), the cold- and altitude-hardy species of the high Himalaya and the southwest Chinese mountains
- CabbageBrassica oleracea
- CaperCapparis spinosa, the Mediterranean caper of the bud and the caperberry; and, separately, Capparis decidua, the ker of the Thar Desert, whose small red fruit is a staple of Rajasthani cooking and is not interchangeable with it
- CardamomElettaria cardamomum (green or true cardamom); Amomum subulatum (black or large cardamom, smoke-dried in the eastern Himalaya); Amomum tsao-ko (Chinese black cardamom, cao guo); Amomum compactum (round or Java cardamom)
- CarrotDaucus carota
- CashewAnacardium occidentale
- CassavaManihot esculenta Crantz, a woody shrub grown for its swollen storage roots and, across much of Africa, for its leaves as well. Its wild ancestor is Manihot esculenta subsp. flabellifolia, still growing along the southern rim of the Amazon basin. Three plants are routinely confused with it and none is a relation: Yucca, the ornamental of the asparagus family, which shares only a spelling; Maranta arundinacea, arrowroot; and Metroxylon sagu, the sago palm, whose starch is sold under names that are usually on cassava packets.
- CeleryApium graveolens
- CherryPrunus avium (sweet cherry); Prunus cerasus (sour or tart cherry); together with the East Asian flowering cherries (Prunus serrulata and its kin, the sakura), whose blossoms and leaves are used in Japanese cookery
- ChickpeaCicer arietinum
- Chilli PepperCapsicum spp.
- CinnamonCinnamomum spp.
- ClovesSyzygium aromaticum
- CocoaTheobroma cacao
- CoconutCocos nucifera
- CoffeeCoffea arabica / Coffea canephora
- Coriander/CilantroCoriandrum sativum
- CornZea mays
- CucumberCucumis sativus
- CuminCuminum cyminum
- CurrantRibes nigrum (the blackcurrant) · R. rubrum (the redcurrant, and the pale-fruited cultivars sold as whitecurrants) · R. spicatum and R. petraeum (the northern and montane parents of the garden redcurrant) · and, quite separately, Vitis vinifera 'Black Corinth' (the Zante or dried currant, a seedless grape)
- Curry LeafMurraya koenigii, a small understorey tree of the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka. Unrelated to the bay laurel, to Indian bay (Cinnamomum tamala), and to the Mediterranean curry plant (Helichrysum italicum), none of which is a substitute.
- DatePhoenix dactylifera, the fruit of a dioecious desert palm. Three relatives matter, and none of them is a substitute: Phoenix theophrasti, the Cretan palm whose genes sit inside every North African date; Phoenix sylvestris, the Indian wild date, tapped for its sap rather than picked for its fruit; and Phoenix canariensis, the ornamental of a thousand seafront promenades, whose fruit is not worth eating.
- DillAnethum graveolens, the dill of Europe and West Asia; and its South Asian cultivated race Anethum sowa, Indian dill, ranked by the more cautious authorities as A. graveolens subsp. sowa, which is coarser, markedly higher in dillapiole, and is a different herb on the plate
- Eggplant / AubergineSolanum melongena
- FenugreekTrigonella foenum-graecum (common fenugreek: the seed, the fresh leaf or methi, and the dried leaf or kasuri methi) · Trigonella caerulea (blue fenugreek, the utskho suneli of Georgia and the flavouring of Swiss Schabziger)
- FigFicus carica (common fig); Ficus sycomorus (sycamore fig, Africa)
- GarlicAllium sativum
- GingerZingiber officinale
- GrapefruitCitrus × paradisi, a hybrid of the pomelo Citrus maxima and the sweet orange Citrus × sinensis; the parent pomelo has an entry of its own
- GrapesVitis vinifera
- GuavaPsidium guajava (common or apple guava); with the related strawberry guava (Psidium cattleyanum) and the pineapple guava or feijoa (Acca sellowiana), distinct fruits of the same myrtle family
- HazelnutCorylus avellana (common hazel, the European hazelnut and cobnut) · Corylus maxima (the filbert) · Corylus colurna (Turkish tree hazel) · Corylus americana and C. cornuta (American and beaked hazelnuts) · Corylus heterophylla (Asian or Siberian hazel)
- KaleBrassica oleracea in its leafy, non-heading forms (var. acephala and var. sabellica, curly kale; var. palmifolia, the Tuscan cavolo nero; var. viridis, collard greens; var. alboglabra, Chinese kale or kai-lan); together with the separate species Brassica napus (Russian and Siberian kale) and Brassica carinata (Ethiopian kale)
- LeekAllium ampeloprasum, a species genuinely distinct from the onion, in the cultivated form usually written as A. ampeloprasum var. porrum or the Porrum Group. The same species also produces the Egyptian kurrat (var. kurrat), elephant garlic (var. ampeloprasum), and the true pearl onion (var. sectivum).
- LemonCitrus limon
- LentilsLens culinaris
- LettuceLactuca sativa (cultivated lettuce), domesticated from Lactuca serriola (wild or prickly lettuce); cultivated chiefly as romaine or cos (var. longifolia), butterhead and crisphead (var. capitata), looseleaf (var. crispa), and the Chinese stem lettuce or celtuce (var. angustana)
- LimeCitrus × aurantiifolia (the key, West Indian, or Mexican lime) · C. × latifolia (the Persian, Tahiti, or Bearss lime, the seedless lime of world commerce) · C. hystrix (the makrut lime, grown for its leaf and rind) · C. australasica (the Australian finger lime) · C. × microcarpa (the calamansi or Philippine lime) · C. limetta (the sweet lime or mosambi)
- MangoMangifera indica
- MilletA group name for several small-seeded cereal grasses: Pennisetum glaucum (pearl millet); Setaria italica (foxtail millet); Panicum miliaceum (broomcorn or proso millet); Eleusine coracana (finger millet, ragi); together with the West African fonio (Digitaria exilis) and a range of minor millets
- MintMentha spp.
- Mung BeanVigna radiata (the mung bean, green gram, or moong), domesticated from the wild V. radiata var. sublobata; not to be confused with its close Indian relative V. mungo (black gram or urad), nor with V. angularis (adzuki)
- Musk MelonCucumis melo
- MustardThree species in substantial use, and they are not interchangeable: Sinapis alba, white or yellow mustard, mild; Brassica juncea, brown or Indian mustard, hot, and the commercial workhorse; and Brassica nigra, black mustard, the fiercest of the three and now largely confined to South Indian cooking because it shatters before a machine can harvest it
- Nutmeg/MaceMyristica fragrans
- OatAvena sativa (common oat) · Avena byzantina (red or Mediterranean oat) · Avena nuda (naked or hulless oat, the youmai of northern China) · derived from the wild Avena sterilis and Avena fatua
- OkraAbelmoschus esculentus
- OliveOlea europaea
- OnionAllium cepa
- OrangeCitrus × sinensis
- OreganoOriganum vulgare · Lippia graveolens
- ParsleyPetroselinum crispum
- Passion FruitPassiflora edulis f. edulis (purple passion fruit) · P. edulis f. flavicarpa (yellow passion fruit, maracujá amarelo) · P. ligularis (granadilla) · P. tarminiana and P. mollissima (curuba, tumbo, banana passionfruit) · P. quadrangularis (giant granadilla, badea) · P. incarnata (maypop)
- PeaPisum sativum
- PeachPrunus persica
- PeanutArachis hypogaea
- PearPyrus communis (European) / Pyrus pyrifolia (Asian)
- PecanCarya illinoinensis
- PineappleAnanas comosus
- PistachioPistacia vera (culinary pistachio); Pistacia terebinthus (terebinth, gathered wild in the Levant and Mediterranean); Pistacia lentiscus (mastic tree, Chios)
- PlumPrunus domestica (European plum); Prunus salicina (Japanese plum); Prunus mume (ume, Chinese plum); Prunus cerasifera (cherry plum)
- PomegranatePunica granatum; the dwarf ornamental is var. nana, and the wild Socotran relative is the separate species Punica protopunica
- PomeloCitrus maxima (Burm.) Merr., also published as C. grandis; one of the small group of ancestral citrus species from which nearly all cultivated citrus derives
- PotatoSolanum tuberosum
- Pumpkin & SquashCucurbita spp.
- QuinoaChenopodium quinoa
- RadishRaphanus sativus
- RaspberryRubus idaeus (European red raspberry) · R. idaeus subsp. strigosus (American red raspberry) · R. occidentalis (North American black raspberry) · R. coreanus (Korean black raspberry, bokbunja)
- RhubarbRheum rhabarbarum
- RiceOryza sativa, Asian rice, in the two great subspecies that cook and eat as different grains, O. sativa subsp. japonica and O. sativa subsp. indica; and, domesticated entirely separately in the inland delta of the Niger, Oryza glaberrima, African rice. The wild ancestors are O. rufipogon in Asia and O. barthii in West Africa.
- RocketEruca vesicaria subsp. sativa, the salad or garden rocket, still frequently published as Eruca sativa; the wild rocket of the modern market is not a variety of it but a separate genus, Diplotaxis tenuifolia
- RoseRosa × damascena (the damask rose of rose water and attar) · R. gallica var. officinalis (the apothecary's rose) · R. rugosa (the East Asian rose, the Chinese meigui) · R. canina, R. rubiginosa, and their kin (the hip-bearing wild roses) · R. × centifolia (the cabbage rose of Grasse and the Dades)
- RosemarySalvia rosmarinus (syn. Rosmarinus officinalis)
- SaffronCrocus sativus
- SageSalvia officinalis · Salvia fruticosa · Salvia hispanica
- SesameSesamum indicum (syn. Sesamum orientale); wild progenitor Sesamum mulayanum
- ShallotAllium cepa Aggregatum Group, the same species as the bulb onion, grown as a dividing cluster rather than a single bulb; and, separately, Allium oschaninii, the Central Asian mountain species behind the French échalote grise. The older name A. ascalonicum is no longer accepted for the cultivated shallot.
- SorghumSorghum bicolor (L.) Moench
- SoyGlycine max
- SpinachSpinacia oleracea
- Spring OnionAllium fistulosum, the Welsh or Japanese bunching onion, which forms no bulb and is the spring onion of East Asia; and, separately, Allium cepa harvested immature, which is the spring onion of Europe and the Americas. The wild ancestor of A. fistulosum is Allium altaicum of the Altai and southern Siberia; the crop has never been found growing wild.
- Star AniseIllicium verum, the only edible species; Illicium anisatum, Japanese star anise, is a neurotoxic look-alike and is never food
- StrawberryFragaria vesca (wild Eurasian) · F. virginiana (wild North American) · F. chiloensis (wild Chilean) · F. × ananassa (garden hybrid, 1750)
- Sugar CaneSaccharum officinarum (the noble cane of New Guinea) · S. barberi (the thin north Indian canes) · S. sinense (the Chinese canes) · with S. spontaneum and S. robustum as the wild ancestors from which all of them, and every modern commercial hybrid, descend
- Sweet PotatoIpomoea batatas
- TamarindTamarindus indica L. (the sole species of its genus); grown in two broad culinary forms, the common sour tamarind and the low-acid sweet tamarind (Thai makham wan)
- TarragonArtemisia dracunculus (tarragon), in its two cultivated forms, the sterile French tarragon (var. sativa) and the hardy, seed-grown Russian tarragon; together with the unrelated Tagetes lucida (Mexican tarragon, pericón, or yauhtli), a marigold used as a tarragon substitute in the New World
- TeaCamellia sinensis
- ThymeThymus vulgaris · Origanum syriacum · Zataria multiflora
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicum
- TurmericCurcuma longa
- TurnipBrassica rapa subsp. rapa (the European turnip); together with the East Asian turnips of Brassica rapa (the Japanese kabu, including the large Shogoin) and the leafy turnip-greens grown from the same species (cime di rapa or broccoli rabe, the Iberian grelos and nabiças); to be distinguished from the swede or rutabaga, Brassica napus, the larger yellow root widely called 'turnip' in Britain
- VanillaVanilla planifolia
- WalnutJuglans regia (Persian walnut); Juglans nigra (Black walnut)
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatus
- WheatTriticum spp.
- ZucchiniCucurbita pepo var. cylindrica