THE food cognoscenti like to know the source of their vegetables, fish and meat. Is that lettuce organic? Did that chicken range freely and merrily during its short life?

But consider dishes whose sources are harder to find, that are not farmed or fished but made from scratch, and not in gigantic factories owned by Dole or General Foods. Think of the Chinese roasted ducks at the East Ocean Palace in Forest Hills, Queens; kimchi at the Korilla BBQ food truck; the lightly layered tortillas at Dos Toros Taqueria in Manhattan; and pão de queijo, puffs of Brazilian cheese bread, at Casa in Greenwich Village.

None of these specialties are made on the premises. Despite their authentic flavors and signature place on menus, they are turned out — by machine, hand or both — in commercial kitchens in Queens and New Jersey that are large but little known.

Restaurants outsource these foods because they are labor-intensive or require special equipment or skills, and because they are so popular they must be produced in bulk, like the pão de queijo.