There are certain brands for which I can accept no substitute. Heinz Ketchup is the first that comes to mind. There’s no other ketchup that tastes as good on a hamburger or fries. I feel the same about Best Foods Mayonnaise. The latest addition to my “no substitutes list” is Roland Classic Coconut Milk.

Although produced in Thailand, it is different from all the other Thai brands I’ve tried. The average Thai cook may not even consider it a proper coconut milk for cooking. I like it because at room temperature, it is quite viscous—about the consistency of moderately whipped cream. It maintains its texture because there is guar gum and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose added to stabilize the milk. There’s also polysorbate 60 added as an emulsifier and sodium metabisulfite added as a preserver. Yum. Even a week after opening the can, the coconut milk remains thoroughly emulsified.

Then there are ingredients that I’ve never used before so there is no brand preference. This was the case with kuro neri goma, black sesame paste. I was aware of various pastes made from white sesame seeds, tahini for example. Using black sesame seeds was new to me. The occasion was finding a recipe Clotilde Dusoulier’s website, Chocolate and Zucchini for a black sesame seed panna cotta. As is usual for me, I looked at this dessert recipe and saw a mignardise awaiting.

My version of Clotilde’s recipe produces six to eight mignardise portions, depending on your serving dishes.