Ingredient

 are items in Candy Crush Saga that need bringing down in ingredients level. There are two different ingredients: cherries and hazelnuts. Cherries first appear in level 11 and Hazelnuts first appear in level 12.

They fall randomly in the early part of the game, and from level 217 onwards they can come out from a candy cannon. These candies fall and can be switched like regular candies, however, they cannot be matched with any other candy and they can't even be matched with a colour bomb or any other special candy, nor will they be destroyed by any blockers or other elements. If there is a shuffle the ingredient will stay put.

Like all candies, ingredients can fall through a teleporter but cannot make it past a blocker. When an ingredient reaches a layer with the green arrow on, the ingredient is collected and the player gets 10,000 points. However, you must make a valid move to collect an ingredient. You cannot swap it with a non-matching candy at the exit without a Free Switch.

Trivia

 * Hazelnuts are often mistaken for apples, onions, or peach, or even coconuts.
 * While it's rare, cherries can be mistaken for lychees.
 * Candy cannons that drop ingredients will always have a hazelnut icon. This can be misleading as if cherries need to be brought down in the level as well, because cherries can come out of the dispensers.
 * On web version, they make some noise while coming out of dispensers. On mobile they keep silent.
 * While coming out of dispensers at predetermined turn, the ingredient is the second object on web version, but the first object on mobile version.
 * If one level has Candy Cannons and starting ingredients, the ingredients will mostly be placed under any Candy Cannons. Otherwise, the ingredients may start at top of any column.
 * This may explain the existance of useless cannons where all ingredients are given upon level start, like in level 602.
 * There are exceptions however. In level 661 the only cannon is blocked by a full column of icings, but a starting ingredient is in a column of either side.
 * As ingredients give 10,000 points when collected, in levels and, a player can get the target score 180,000 points just by collecting all the ingredients.
 * The only single actions that can give more points than an ingredient collection is cake bombs knocking bombs off the screen, a colour bomb detonation, or a candy frog smashing a pile of jellies and bombs.
 * A colour bomb + colour bomb combination affects ingredients, as if you create one, and there is icing surrounding the ingredient, either an icing layer will be destroyed or the icing is destroyed.
 * While special candies cannot destroy an ingredient, they do shatter the chocolate surrounding all ingredients within blast radius.
 * Ingredients can be found for the first time in marmalade in level 812.
 * Ingredients can be found for the first time in liquorice locks in level 849.
 * During a striped + wrapped combination, if an ingredient is within the center of giant candy:
 * On web version it will fall down whenever possible.
 * On mobile version it only falls after the giant candy disappears.