This small-batch vanilla extract from Kansas-based Vain Vanilla is prepared completely by hand using only the best ingredients. The Original Baker's Blend is made with top-shelf rum that emphasizes vanilla's sweet characteristics and adds its own cane-sugar dimension. We especially love that Vain Vanilla leaves its vanilla pods in the bottle, which has two benefits. First, over time the extract will continue to deepen in color and become more complex as the pods release more flavor compounds. Second, when you're done with the vanilla extract, you can still slice open the pods and use the beans themselves in your desserts.

Produced from hand-picked apples, not the low-grade and windfall apples most companies use, and aged in oak barrels for two years before bottling, Little Apple Treats cider is bright and sharp, with a bold apple flavor and subtle caramel tones contributed by the barrel aging. This is the best American apple cider vinegar we’ve tasted, every bit on par with the fancy, expensive French stuff from Normandy.

The Italian condiment saba dates back to the ancient Romans, who first started cooking fruit juice down to a syrup, in order to remove its water content and preserve their harvest. We at Milk Street are obsessed with the Organic Apple Saba from La Vecchia Dispensa for its especially complex taste, with a rich quality reminiscent of dried fruit—think raisins or plums—and a semi-tart, bright finish that is pure apple. The deep sweetness of La Vecchia Dispensa's Organic Apple Saba can serve as a great complementary flavor in savory recipes, similar to balsamic.

Saba is simply grape 'must' (juice) cooked down and aged to molasses-rich, raisin-like sweetness and a thick, syrupy texture. In this case, those grapes are Trebbiano, the same used for balsamic vinegar. A drizzle can balance bitter braised greens, intensify the sweetness of roasted meats and balance the acidity of dressing and vinaigrettes. On the sweet side, try drizzling over ice cream, fruit or oatmeal. A little goes a long way.

Conventional brown sugar is simply white, refined sugar moistened with molasses. On the other hand, raw muscovado sugar has a rich, earthy and almost smoky flavor, as well as a high molasses content. India Tree’s moist-textured variety, processed in Mauritius, can be substituted for dark brown sugar in any recipe (we tested this) or used to add extra flavor to coffee, tea or cocktails (perfect in an Old Fashioned).

Vinagres de Yema’s Cepa Vieja falls somewhere between a balsamic and a red wine vinegar, with a sweet flavor and lingering hint of raisiny must that is typical of aged sherries. Aged in 100-year-old oak barrels, the final product has the complexity of every previous batch, as well as smoky notes from the oak itself. The company—founded by renowned winemaker Fernando T. De Terry y Galarza in Spain’s Andalucia—produces its vinegar via the solera method, the same process used to blend sherries of different ages. With the flavor profile of sherry vinegar that has been aged for 25 years, Cepa Vieja is the oldest vintage available from the company. Try it combined with sweet-tart grapes in our Roasted Chicken Breasts with Grapes and Sherry Vinegar.

We are obsessed with the bold flavor of Art of Pecan's Pure Pecan Oil, which retains all of its nutty aroma and tastes like fresh pecans in liquid form: buttery and sweet up front, with a subtle pleasant bitterness toward the finish to balance the richness of the oil. this limited-production product is made from native Texas pecans that have a more intense flavor and natural sweetness than other varieties. Light-bodied with a clean—not cloying—finish, this oil is ideal as a finishing touch on all kinds of dishes. While Pure Pecan Oil has a higher smoke point than peanut and soybean oil for cooking, we recommend you use it raw to fully appreciate its flavor.

This single-origin Ground Cinnamon Verum from the Zanzibar islands is Ceylon cinnamon, also known as true cinnamon for its superior quality, delicate flavor and health benefits. We love how the aroma is noticeably sweeter and more floral than conventional cassia cinnamon—this product is also fresher than other brands we've tasted, so you can fully appreciate its unique characteristics.