foodsforlives

How to Clone Mineral Water

2012-01-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

Cloning popular brands of mineral water is now simpler then ever before with the updated version of the mineral water calculator!

When I blogged about DIY mineral water last year it was mainly a theoretical exercise since I didn’t have the required salts at hand. My experience was limited to adding some baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to water before carbonation. Luckily Paul Hinrichs tested the calculator! In the meantime I have purchased the required salts and with several kilograms in total I’m probably well stocked for the next decade! Based on the output from the calculator, I mixed the salts required to clone San Pellegrino, added water and carbonated the mixture. And the good news is that it works! The water tastes great and I’ve been enjoying cloned mineral waters every day now for the last couple of weeks.

Some changes have been made to the mineral water calculator (Excel file for download: mineral_water_calculator_v4.xlsx, 36 kB) since I last posted:

a simpler worksheet more suitable for printing has been added
more mineral waters have been added to the database, covering TDS (total dissolved solids) levels all the way up to more than 4000 mg/L
potassium bicarbonate, magnesium chloride and calcium nitrate are made optional and can be left out if desired (it’s still a little unclear to me to what extent these can be detected at the typical levels found in mineral waters)
one can now chose between using either hydroxides or carbonates of calcium and magnesium, depending on availability (it should be noted however that some waters high in bicarbonate require the use of the hydroxides)
A spoon full of mineral salts is required for the preparation of 1 liter of San Pellegrino mineral water.

Instructions for how to prepare the mixture of salts
Start by chosing the mineral water you want to clone from the drop down list. My advice would be not to start with the waters having very high levels of total dissolved solids (TDS) (except Kessel and Vichy Saint-Yorre since sodium bicarbonate dissolves easily). Aim for a TDS in the range 200-1500 mg/L (the list of all mineral waters in the rightmost worksheet is viewable and sortable). At the lower end you may not detect much mineral taste at all. At the higher end the mineral taste becomes quite pronounced. You can click the check boxes to include/exclude some salts. If known enter the composition of your tap water (your local water company should be able to give you these figures). I suggest that you weigh out the salts for 10 or even 100 liters, otherwise the amounts of salts will be in the low milligram or microgram range, requiring expensive lab scales. Mix the salts well. It may be god to start by mixing the salts present in the lowest concentrations first to ensure a homogeneous mixture.

How to make a cloned mineral water
Weigh out the approximate amount of salt (prepared as described above) needed for the amount of water that your carbonation vessel holds. At this point it’s doesn’t need to be very accurate, so if you have weighed it once you can simply need to remember which spoon you used and the size of the heap. Note that the different mineral salts vary greatly in density, so you should calibrate the heap used for each mineral salt mixture. Add the salt to the carbonation vessel and fill it up to the mark with water. The water will now turn opaque and whitish as the salts are suspended in the water (see picture above). Carbonate carefully and, depending on whether the water is high in carbonation and/or bicarbonate, try to hold the carbonation pressure for a couple of seconds extra before letting the pressure out. This allows a little more carbon dioxide to dissolve. Screw on the cap immediately to prevent the carbon dioxide from escaping. In some cases it may be necessary to repeat the carbonation step after some hours. Once the salts have dissolved (i.e. the water becomes clear) you can enjoy your very own home-made mineral water!
Several of the mineral salts have are not soluble in tap water, hence the opaque look to the left. After carbonation however they dissolve rapidly.

So far I’ve made up the salt mixtures for San Pellegrino (total dissolved solids, TDS: 1109 mg/L) and Gerolsteiner (TDS: 2488 mg/L). The first works like a charm, even when all salts are added simultaneously. This is possibly due to the high amount of sulfates which seem to dissolve more easily. Gerolsteiner is more tricky, partly due to the high TDS and the low amount of sulfate. I made it using carbonates instead of hydroxides, hoping that this would require addition of less carbon dioxide to neutralize the base. But after two days and 2-3 extra additions of carbon dioxide the salts had still not dissolved completely and this puzzles me. I certainly need to repeat this experiment. Darcy O’Neil states in Fix the pumps that the order of addition does matter. I’m not quite sure if that really is the case as most of the salts have a very low water solubility to start with, and the carbonic acid is the reason they dissolve. But maybe there is something I’m overlooking here? It could be that Gerolsteiner is easier to do with hydroxides, but Paul Hinrichs also had some trouble getting all the salts to dissolve for Gerolsteiner.

Some of the salts may be tricky to obtain, but the synonyms and links to Amazon below may be of some help:

CaSO4·0.5H2O = Plaster of Paris (check availability from Amazon)
MgSO4·7H2O = Epsom salt (check availability from Amazon)
CaCO3 = Chalk (check availability from Amazon)
NaHCO3 = Baking soda
NaCl = Table salt
Mg(OH)2 = Milk of magnesia (check availability from Amazon)
Ca(OH)2 = Slaked lime, pickling lime, CAL (check availability from Amazon)

Before you head of to Amazon or some other place to order salts I should probably add some words of warning: make sure that the source you find is suitable for consumption! Some technical qualities of mineral salts may not be intended for food use, for instance due to the presence of heavy metals or other contaminants.

Note that some of the salts are available with varying amounts of crystal water. If you use other salts than those specified (i.e. anhydrous salts or salts with more crystal water) the molecular weights in the spreadsheet need to be adjusted for this. I guess that if you are familiar with the concept of crystal water, you’ll easily figure out the correct molecular weight and how to update the calculator according to the specific salts you chose to use.

Screen shot of the simple version, best suited for printing (click screen shot to download mineral_water_calculator_v4.xlsx):
Mineral waters included in the database that comes with the calculator: Acqua Panna, Antipodes, Apollinaris, Aquarel Birken, Badoit, Borsec, Calistoga, Carola, Contrex, Dorna, Evian, Farris, Fiuggi, Gerolsteiner, Harghita, Hassia sprudel, Henniez, Kessel, Mountain Valley Spring, Neuselters, Perrier, Rosbacher Klassich, Salvus, San Benedetto, San Narciso, San Pellegrino, Selters, Tesanjski Dijamant, Ty Nant, Vichy Saint-Yorre, Vittel, Volvic, Voss, Waiwera. And you can easily add data for other mineral waters. The websites mineralwaters.org and finewaters.com have data for several hundred waters available. And if you have a bottle of your favourite mineral water at hand you only need to check the label to find the required input for the calculator.

How the Potato Changed the World

2011-12-24T08:55:00.000-08:00

Brought to Europe from the New World by Spanish explorers, the lowly potato gave rise to modern industrial agriculture

When potato plants bloom, they send up five-lobed flowers that spangle fields like fat purple stars. By some accounts, Marie Antoinette liked the blossoms so much that she put them in her hair. Her husband, Louis XVI, put one in his buttonhole, inspiring a brief vogue in which the French aristocracy swanned around with potato plants on their clothes. The flowers were part of an attempt to persuade French farmers to plant and French diners to eat this strange new species.

Today the potato is the fifth most important crop worldwide, after wheat, corn, rice and sugar cane. But in the 18th century the tuber was a startling novelty, frightening to some, bewildering to others—part of a global ecological convulsion set off by Christopher Columbus.

About 250 million years ago, the world consisted of a single giant landmass now known as Pangaea. Geological forces broke Pangaea apart, creating the continents and hemispheres familiar today. Over the eons, the separate corners of the earth developed wildly different suites of plants and animals. Columbus’ voyages reknit the seams of Pangaea, to borrow a phrase from Alfred W. Crosby, the historian who first described this process. In what Crosby called the Columbian Exchange, the world’s long-separate ecosystems abruptly collided and mixed in a biological bedlam that underlies much of the history we learn in school. The potato flower in Louis XVI’s buttonhole, a species that had crossed the Atlantic from Peru, was both an emblem of the Columbian Exchange and one of its most important aspects.

Compared with grains, tubers are inherently more productive. If the head of a wheat or rice plant grows too big, the plant will fall over, with fatal results. Growing underground, tubers are not limited by the rest of the plant. In 2008 a Lebanese farmer dug up a potato that weighed nearly 25 pounds. It was bigger than his head.

Many researchers believe that the potato’s arrival in northern Europe spelled an end to famine there. (Corn, another American crop, played a similar but smaller role in southern Europe.) More than that, as the historian William H. McNeill has argued, the potato led to empire: “By feeding rapidly growing populations, [it] permitted a handful of European nations to assert dominion over most of the world between 1750 and 1950.” The potato, in other words, fueled the rise of the West.

Equally important, the European and North American adoption of the potato set the template for modern agriculture—the so-called agro-industrial complex. Not only did the Columbian Exchange carry the potato across the Atlantic, it also brought the world’s first intensive fertilizer: Peruvian guano. And when potatoes fell to the attack of another import, the Colorado potato beetle, panicked farmers turned to the first artificial pesticide: a form of arsenic. Competition to produce ever-more-potent arsenic blends launched the modern pesticide industry. In the 1940s and 1950s, improved crops, high-intensity fertilizers and chemical pesticides created the Green Revolution, the explosion of agricultural productivity that transformed farms from Illinois to Indonesia—and set off a political argument about the food supply that grows more intense by the day.

In 1853 an Alsatian sculptor named Andreas Friederich erected a statue of Sir Francis Drake in Offenburg, in southwest Germany. It portrayed the English explorer staring into the horizon in familiar visionary fashion. His right hand rested on the hilt of his sword. His left gripped a potato plant. “Sir Francis Drake,” the base proclaimed,

disseminator of the potato in Europe
in the Year of Our Lord 1586.
Millions of people
who cultivate the earth
bless his immortal memory.

The statue was pulled down by Nazis in early 1939, in the wave of anti-Semitic and anti-foreign measures that followed the violent frenzy known as Kristallnacht. Destroying the statue was a crime against art, not history: Drake almost certainly did not introduce the potato to Europe. And even if he had, most of the credit for the potato surely belongs to the Andean peoples who domesticated it.

Geographically, the Andes are an unlikely birthplace for a major staple crop. The longest mountain range on the planet, it forms an icy barrier on the Pacific Coast of South America 5,500 miles long and in many places more than 22,000 feet high. Active volcanoes scattered along its length are linked by geologic faults, which push against one another and trigger earthquakes, floods and landslides. Even when the land is seismically quiet, the Andean climate is active. Temperatures in the highlands can fluctuate from 75 degrees Fahrenheit to below freezing in a few hours—the air is too thin to hold the heat.

From this unpromising terrain sprang one of the world’s great cultural traditions. Even as Egyptians built the pyramids, Andeans were erecting their own monumental temples and ceremonial plazas. For millennia, contentious peoples jostled for power from Ecuador to northern Chile. Most famous today are the Inca, who seized much of the Andes in a violent flash, built great highways and cities splendid with gold, then fell to Spanish disease and Spanish soldiers. The mountain cultures differed strikingly from one another, but all were nourished by tuber and root crops, the potato most important.

Wild potatoes are laced with solanine and tomatine, toxic compounds believed to defend the plants against attacks from dangerous organisms like fungi, bacteria and human beings. Cooking often breaks down such chemical defenses, but solanine and tomatine are unaffected by heat. In the mountains, guanaco and vicuña (wild relatives of the llama) lick clay before eating poisonous plants. The toxins stick—more technically, “adsorb”—to the fine clay particles in the animals’ stomachs, passing through the digestive system without affecting it. Mimicking this process, mountain peoples apparently learned to dunk wild potatoes in a “gravy” made of clay and water. Eventually they bred less-toxic potatoes, though some of the old, poisonous varieties remain, favored for their resistance to frost. Clay dust is still sold in Peruvian and Bolivian markets to accompany them.

Edible clay by no means exhausted the region’s culinary creativity. To be sure, Andean Indians ate potatoes boiled, baked and mashed, as Europeans do now. But potatoes were also boiled, peeled, chopped and dried to make papas secas; fermented in stagnant water to create sticky, odoriferous toqosh; and ground to pulp, soaked in a jug and filtered to produce almidón de papa (potato starch). Most ubiquitous was chuño, which is made by spreading potatoes outside to freeze on cold nights, then thawing them in the morning sun. Repeated freeze-thaw cycles transform the spuds into soft, juicy blobs. Farmers squeeze out the water to produce chuño: stiff, styrofoam-like nodules much smaller and lighter than the original tubers. Cooked into a spicy Andean stew, they resemble gnocchi, the potato-flour dumplings in central Italy. Chuño can be kept for years without refrigeration—insurance against bad harvests. It was the food that sustained Inca armies.

Even today, some Andean villagers celebrate the potato harvest much as their ancestors did in centuries past. Immediately after pulling potatoes from the ground, families in the fields pile soil into earthen, igloo-shaped ovens 18 inches tall. Into the ovens go the stalks, as well as straw, brush, scraps of wood and cow dung. When the ovens turn white with heat, cooks place fresh potatoes on the ashes for baking. Steam curls up from hot food into the clear, cold air. People dip their potatoes in coarse salt and edible clay. Night winds carry the smell of roasting potatoes for what seems like miles.

The potato Andeans roasted before contact with Europeans was not the modern spud; they cultivated different varieties at different altitudes. Most people in a village planted a few basic types, but most everyone also planted others to have a variety of tastes. (Andean farmers today produce modern, Idaho-style breeds for the market, but describe them as bland—for yahoos in cities.) The result was chaotic diversity. Potatoes in one village at one altitude could look wildly unlike those a few miles away in another village at another altitude.

In 1995, a Peruvian-American research team found that families in one mountain valley in central Peru grew an average of 10.6 traditional varieties—landraces, as they are called, each with its own name. In adjacent villages Karl Zimmerer, an environmental scientist now at Pennsylvania State University, visited fields with up to 20 landraces. The International Potato Center in Peru has preserved almost 5,000 varieties. The range of potatoes in a single Andean field, Zimmerer observed, “exceeds the diversity of nine-tenths of the potato crop of the entire United States.” As a result, the Andean potato is less a single identifiable species than a bubbling stew of related genetic entities. Sorting it out has given taxonomists headaches for decades.

The first Spaniards in the region—the band led by Francisco Pizarro, who landed in 1532—noticed Indians eating these strange, round objects and emulated them, often reluctantly. News of the new food spread rapidly. Within three decades, Spanish farmers as far away as the Canary Islands were exporting potatoes to France and the Netherlands (which were then part of the Spanish empire). The first scientific description of the potato appeared in 1596, when the Swiss naturalist Gaspard Bauhin awarded it the name Solanum tuberosum esculentum (later simplified to Solanum tuberosum).

Unlike any previous European crop, potatoes are grown not from seed but from little chunks of tuber—the misnamed “seed potatoes.” Continental farmers regarded this alien food with fascinated suspicion; some believed it an aphrodisiac, others a cause of fever or leprosy. The philosopher-critic Denis Diderot took a middle stance in his Encyclopedia (1751-65), Europe’s first general compendium of Enlightenment thought. “No matter how you prepare it, the root is tasteless and starchy,” he wrote. “It cannot be regarded as an enjoyable food, but it provides abundant, reasonably healthy food for men who want nothing but sustenance.” Diderot viewed the potato as “windy.” (It caused gas.) Still, he gave it the thumbs up. “What is windiness,” he asked, “to the strong bodies of peasants and laborers?”

With such halfhearted endorsements, the potato spread slowly. When Prussia was hit by famine in 1744, King Frederick the Great, a potato enthusiast, had to order the peasantry to eat the tubers. In England, 18th-century farmers denounced S. tuberosum as an advance scout for hated Roman Catholicism. “No Potatoes, No Popery!” was an election slogan in 1765. France was especially slow to adopt the spud. Into the fray stepped Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, the potato’s Johnny Appleseed.

Trained as a pharmacist, Parmentier served in the army during the Seven Years’ War and was captured by the Prussians—five times. During his multiple prison stints he ate little but potatoes, a diet that kept him in good health. His surprise at this outcome led Parmentier to become a pioneering nutritional chemist after the war ended, in 1763; he devoted the rest of his life to promulgating S. tuberosum.

Parmentier’s timing was good. After Louis XVI was crowned in 1775, he lifted price controls on grain. Bread prices shot up, sparking what became known as the Flour War: more than 300 civil disturbances in 82 towns. Parmentier tirelessly proclaimed that France would stop fighting over bread if only her citizens would eat potatoes. Meanwhile, he set up one publicity stunt after another: presenting an all-potato dinner to high-society guests (the story goes that Thomas Jefferson, one of the guests, was so delighted he introduced French fries to America); supposedly persuading the king and queen to wear potato blossoms; and planting 40 acres of potatoes at the edge of Paris, knowing that famished commoners would steal them.

In exalting the potato, Parmentier unwittingly changed it. All of Europe’s potatoes descended from a few tubers sent across the ocean by curious Spaniards. When farmers plant pieces of tuber, rather than seeds, the resultant sprouts are clones. By urging potato cultivation on a massive scale, Parmentier was unknowingly promoting the notion of planting huge areas with clones—a true monoculture.

The effects of this transformation were so striking that any general history of Europe without an entry in its index for S. tuberosum should be ignored. Hunger was a familiar presence in 17th- and 18th-century Europe. Cities were provisioned reasonably well in most years, their granaries carefully monitored, but country people teetered on a precipice. France, the historian Fernand Braudel once calculated, had 40 nationwide famines between 1500 and 1800, more than one per decade. This appalling figure is an underestimate, he wrote, “because it omits the hundreds and hundreds of local famines.” France was not exceptional; England had 17 national and big regional famines between 1523 and 1623. The continent simply could not reliably feed itself.

The potato changed all that. Every year, many farmers left fallow as much as half of their grain land, to rest the soil and fight weeds (which were plowed under in summer). Now smallholders could grow potatoes on the fallow land, controlling weeds by hoeing. Because potatoes were so productive, the effective result, in terms of calories, was to double Europe’s food supply.

“For the first time in the history of western Europe, a definitive solution had been found to the food problem,” the Belgian historian Christian Vandenbroeke concluded in the 1970s. By the end of the 18th century, potatoes had become in much of Europe what they were in the Andes—a staple. Roughly 40 percent of the Irish ate no solid food other than potatoes; the figure was between 10 percent and 30 percent in the Netherlands, Belgium, Prussia and perhaps Poland. Routine famine almost disappeared in potato country, a 2,000-mile band that stretched from Ireland in the west to Russia’s Ural Mountains in the east. At long last, the continent could produce its own dinner.

It was said that the Chincha Islands gave off a stench so intense they were difficult to approach. The Chinchas are a clutch of three dry, granitic islands 13 miles off the southern coast of Peru. Almost nothing grows on them. Their sole distinction is a population of seabirds, especially the Peruvian booby, the Peruvian pelican and the Peruvian cormorant. Attracted by the vast schools of fish along the coast, the birds have nested on the Chincha Islands for millennia. Over time they covered the islands with a layer of guano up to 150 feet thick.

Guano, the dried remains of birds’ semisolid urine, makes excellent fertilizer—a mechanism for giving plants nitrogen, which they need to make chlorophyll, the green molecule that absorbs the sun’s energy for photosynthesis. Although most of the atmosphere consists of nitrogen, the gas is made from two nitrogen atoms bonded so tightly to each other that plants cannot split them apart for use. As a result, plants seek usable nitrogen-containing compounds like ammonia and nitrates from the soil. Alas, soil bacteria constantly digest these substances, so they are always in lesser supply than farmers would like.

In 1840, the organic chemist Justus von Liebig published a pioneering treatise that explained how plants depend on nitrogen. Along the way, he extolled guano as an excellent source of it. Sophisticated farmers, many of them big landowners, raced to buy the stuff. Their yields doubled, even tripled. Fertility in a bag! Prosperity that could be bought in a store!

Guano mania took hold. In 40 years, Peru exported about 13 million tons of it, the great majority dug under ghastly working conditions by slaves from China. Journalists decried the exploitation, but the public’s outrage instead was largely focused on Peru’s guano monopoly. The British Farmer’s Magazine laid out the problem in 1854: “We do not get anything like the quantity we require; we want a great deal more; but at the same time, we want it at a lower price.” If Peru insisted on getting a lot of money for a valuable product, the only solution was invasion. Seize the guano islands! Spurred by public fury, the U.S. Congress passed the Guano Islands Act in 1856, authorizing Americans to seize any guano deposits they discovered. Over the next half-century, U.S. merchants claimed 94 islands, cays, coral heads and atolls.

From today’s perspective, the outrage—threats of legal action, whispers of war, editorials on the Guano Question—is hard to understand. But agriculture was then “the central economic activity of every nation,” as the environmental historian Shawn William Miller has pointed out. “A nation’s fertility, which was set by the soil’s natural bounds, inevitably shaped national economic success.” In just a few years, agriculture in Europe and the United States had become as dependent on high-intensity fertilizer as transportation is today on petroleum—a dependency it has not shaken since.

Guano set the template for modern agriculture. Ever since von Liebig, farmers have treated the land as a medium into which they dump bags of chemical nutrients brought in from far away so they can harvest high volumes for shipment to distant markets. To maximize crop yields, farmers plant ever-larger fields with a single crop—industrial monoculture, as it is called.

Before the potato (and corn), before intensive fertilization, European living standards were roughly equivalent to those in Cameroon and Bangladesh today. On average, European peasants ate less per day than hunting-and-gathering societies in Africa or the Amazon. Industrial monoculture allowed billions of people—in Europe first, and then in much of the rest of the world—to escape poverty. The revolution begun by potatoes, corn and guano has allowed living standards to double or triple worldwide even as human numbers climbed from fewer than one billion in 1700 to some seven billion today.

The name Phytophthora infestans means, more or less, “vexing plant destroyer.” P. infestans is an oomycete, one of 700 or so species sometimes known as water molds. It sends out tiny bags of 6 to 12 spores that are carried on the wind, usually for no more than 20 feet, occasionally for half a mile or more. When the bag lands on a susceptible plant, it breaks open, releasing what are technically known as zoospores. If the day is warm and wet enough, the zoospores germinate, sending threadlike filaments into the leaf. The first obvious symptoms—purple-black or purple-brown spots on the leaves—are visible in about five days. By then it is often too late for the plant to survive.

P. infestans preys on species in the nightshade family, especially potatoes and tomatoes. Scientists believe that it originated in Peru. Large-scale traffic between Peru and northern Europe began with the guano rush. Proof will never be found, but it is widely believed that the guano ships carried P. infestans. Probably taken to Antwerp, P. infestans first broke out in early summer 1845, in the West Flanders town of Kortrijk, six miles from the French border.

The blight hopscotched to Paris by that August. Weeks later, it was destroying potatoes in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and England. Governments panicked. It was reported in Ireland on September 13, 1845. Cormac O Grada, an economist and blight historian at University College, Dublin, has estimated that Irish farmers planted about 2.1 million acres of potatoes that year. In two months P. infestans wiped out the equivalent of one-half to three-quarters of a million acres. The next year was worse, as was the year after that. The attack did not wind down until 1852. A million or more Irish people died—one of the deadliest famines in history, in the percentage of population lost. A similar famine in the United States today would kill almost 40 million people.

Within a decade, two million more had fled Ireland, almost three-quarters of them to the United States. Many more would follow. As late as the 1960s, Ireland’s population was half what it had been in 1840. Today the nation has the melancholy distinction of being the only country in Europe, and perhaps the world, to have fewer people within the same boundaries than it did more than 150 years ago.

Despite its ghastly outcome, P. infestans may be less important in the long run than another imported species: Leptinotarsa decemlineata, the Colorado potato beetle. Its name notwithstanding, this orange-and-black creature is not from Colorado. Nor did it have much interest in potatoes in its original habitat, in south-central Mexico; its diet centered on buffalo bur, a weedy, spiny, knee-high potato relative. Biologists believe that buffalo bur was confined to Mexico until Spaniards, agents of the Columbian Exchange, carried horses and cows to the Americas. Quickly realizing the usefulness of these animals, Indians stole as many as they could, sending them north for their families to ride and eat. Buffalo bur apparently came along, tangled in horse manes, cow tails and native saddlebags. The beetle followed. In the early 1860s it encountered the cultivated potato around the Missouri River and liked what it tasted.

For millennia the potato beetle had made do with the buffalo bur scattered through the Mexican hills. By comparison, an Iowa farm, its fields solid with potatoes, was an ocean of breakfast. Because growers planted just a few varieties of a single species, pests like the beetle and the blight had a narrower range of natural defenses to overcome. If they could adapt to potatoes in one place, they could jump from one identical food pool to the next—a task made easier than ever thanks to inventions like railroads, steamships and refrigeration. Beetles spread in such numbers that by the time they reached the Atlantic Coast, their glittering orange bodies carpeted beaches and made railway tracks so slippery as to be impassable.

Desperate farmers tried everything they could to rid themselves of the invaders. Eventually one man apparently threw some leftover green paint on his infested plants. It worked. The emerald pigment in the paint was Paris green, made largely from arsenic and copper. Developed in the late 18th century, it was common in paints, fabrics and wallpaper. Farmers diluted it with flour and dusted it on their potatoes or mixed it with water and sprayed.

To potato farmers, Paris green was a godsend. To chemists, it was something that could be tinkered with. If arsenic killed potato beetles, why not try it on other pests? If Paris green worked, why not try other chemicals for other agricultural problems? In the mid-1880s a French researcher discovered that spraying a solution of copper sulfate and lime would kill P. infestans. Spraying potatoes with Paris green, then copper sulfate would take care of both the beetle and the blight. The modern pesticide industry had begun.

As early as 1912 beetles began showing signs of immunity to Paris green. Farmers didn’t notice, though, because the pesticide industry kept coming up with new arsenic compounds that kept killing potato beetles. By the 1940s growers on Long Island found they had to use ever-greater quantities of the newest variant, calcium arsenate. After World War II an entirely new type of pesticide came into wide use: DDT. Farmers bought DDT and exulted as insects vanished from their fields. The celebration lasted about seven years. The beetle adapted. Potato growers demanded new chemicals. The industry provided dieldrin. It lasted about three years. By the mid-1980s, a new pesticide in the eastern United States was good for about a single planting.

In what critics call the “toxic treadmill,” potato farmers now treat their crops a dozen or more times a season with an ever-changing cavalcade of deadly substances. Nonetheless, the pests keep coming back. Researchers were dismayed in the 1980s to discover that new types of P. infestans had found their way to Europe and America. They were more virulent—and more resistant to metalaxyl, the chief current anti-blight treatment. No good substitute has yet appeared.

In 2009, potato blight wiped out most of the tomatoes and potatoes on the East Coast of the United States. Driven by an unusually wet summer, it turned gardens into slime. It destroyed the few tomatoes in my New England garden that hadn’t been drowned by rain. Accurately or not, one of my farming neighbors blamed the attack on the Columbian Exchange. More specifically, he said blight had arrived on tomato seedlings sold in big-box stores. “Those tomatoes,” he said direly, “come from China.”

Adapted with permission from 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, by Charles C. Mann. Copyright © 2011 Charles C. Mann.

Coffee

2011-12-23T08:03:00.000-08:00

How can I keep drinking coffee and prevent my teeth from getting stained? Tooth stains from coffee are caused by numerous polyphenols found in coffee which adhere to the outside of your teeth. Ironically, polyphenols due confer protection to your teeth from acids and make give coffee the complex flavors many people enjoy, so you need to find a balance you are comfortable with.

Here is a list ways you can limit the staining effects of the coffee you drink:

Drink your coffee with high fat animal milk (and no it isn't because milk is white). Animal milk proteins bind polyphenols (at least until the coffee reaches your stomach) and bind better the higher the fat content of the milk. Soy milk, etc. will not reduce staining.
Drink coffee made from 100% Arabica Beans that were dry processed (Robusta beans have more polyphenols....and more caffeine).
Select a brewing method that extracts less polyphenols. This also means less caffeine unfortunately. This is a longer discussion point so here is a link to the details: http://www.freysmiles.com/blog/v...
Decrease contact of the coffee with your teeth (already covered by Danish Qadri). You can do this by drinking it very quickly (much easier with espresso), or by drinking with a straw aimed at the back of your tongue (not super comfy). Rinsing also

Aside from reducing the staining impact from the coffee itself, you can (and will still have to) treat the effects of the coffee.

Use a Sonicare toothbrush. Studies have shown that using a Sonicare will reduce stain formation on teeth. Plaque has a tendency to imbibe stains and keeping your teeth clean will slow stain formation. I wouldn't brush immediately after drinking coffee because your teeth may still be "soft" from the acidity in the coffee, as long as you thoroughly clean your teeth 1 to 2 times a day this will take care of the plaque. Also do not use whitening toothpastes (see the post What is the best toothpaste?)
Whiten your teeth occasionally. This is best done through your dentist since they can provide you with bleaching agents (either trays or in office treatments) that provide the best color stability (your teeth will be whiter longer), and also can administer additional treatment to whiten teeth safely. I need to stress that you definitely should not whiten too much, it strips your teeth of its natural protective protein coating. Take at least a couple months off in between whitening cycles for maximal tooth health.

What is the finest coffee bean in the world? The finest coffee bean is undoubtedly sourced from the Arabica species. Also since Colombian Arabica beans are traded in a class of their own and attract a higher price than any other coffee bean class on world markets, I guess Columbian Arabica beans are considered by the market as the finest. However, there are gems to be found throughout the world with some just confined to specific estates. The following are generally considered the finest coffees in their country and quite possibly, the world:

Ankola: One of the world's best and most famous Arabica coffees grown around the northern port of Padang in west-central Sumatra. It is noted for its deep richness, full body and long finish together with just enough interesting acidity. Ankola coffee beans are often associated with the market name Mandheling. They are both grown at altitudes of 2,500 to 5,000 feet and are dry processed but the dried husk are removed with a hot water process which many believe contributes to its unique flavour characteristics.
Antigua: Is the market name for one of the best and most distinctively flavored coffees of the world. It is grown in the valley surrounding Antigua, which is the old capital of Guatemala.
Arona: One of Papua New Guinea’s most famous brand of Arabica coffee beans. It is grown in the Arona Valley in the Eastern Highlands Province. It is noted for its full body and its deep almost smoky like taste.
Barahona: Is the market name for a high grown coffee in the southwest of the Dominican Republic. Named after the city and province that bears the same name. It is considered by many to be the best coffee of the Dominican Republic and is identified by its increased acidity yet heavier-bodied cup.
Bogota: This as a brand of coffee beans grown in the eastern mountainous (cordillera) region of Colombia. Considered by some to be one of Colombia's finest coffees and it is definitely one of its most famous. It takes its name from the capital Bogota from which it is marketed.
Bourbon Santos: Also marketed under the name of just ‘Santos’. It refers to a category of high-quality coffees from Brazil that are usually shipped through the port of Santos and that are grown in the state of São Paulo or the southern part of the State of Minas Gerais. The term properly describes the finest grade of Brazilian coffee produced from the Bourbon cultivar of Arabica. This cultivar tends to produce a softer, fruitier, smoother flavor with a medium body and more acidity than other varieties grown in Brazil.
Bugishu: Is the market name for an Arabica coffee grown from the slopes of Mt. Elgon in Uganda near Kenya. It is considered by some to be the best coffee Uganda has to offer in contrast to the Robusta coffee which makes up most of Uganda’s coffee bean production.
Celebes Toraja: Is a market name for one of the world’s finest coffees from Celebes (now known as Sulawesi) in Indonesia.
Coban: Is a market name for a respected high-grown coffee from north-central Guatemala. Noted as one of world’s best and most distinctively flavored coffees.
Grand Lares: Along with Yauco Selecto it is one of the world’s great coffee beans supplied by Puerto Rico. Grown in the south central part of the country it is noted for its balanced body, bright acidity and fruity aroma.
Harar/Harrar: A Ethiopian Arabica bean that is grown at 4,800-7,500 feet in the northern part of state. The state produces two distinct varieties, the Longberry Harar which is considered to be the more desirable taste to the second shortberry variety. It is garden grown and cultivated from the species obtained from the south-west of the state. They are considered to be one of the world’s most prized coffees because they possess a complex medium to light acidity with full body and a unique winey/fruit wild-blueberry-like aroma. The beans are dry processed and have a slightly yellowish-green coloring.
Jamaican Blue Mountain: Is a single-origin coffee grown above 3,000 feet in the Blue Mountain District of Jamaica. It is noted for its exceptionally rich, complex and bouillon-like flavour. This balanced, classic coffee contains a rich flavor, full body and a smooth yet vibrant acidity. This exceptional taste quality coupled with its short supply, has made it one of the world's most celebrated coffees.
Kona: A single-origin coffee from the Kona coast of the Island of Hawaii. The best Kona coffee displays a classic balance between a medium body, a good acidity and culminating in a rich complex aroma and flavor.
Lintong: Market name for the most admired coffee of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. This coffee grows in the Lake Toba area toward the northern end of the island. Whilst it is a term used to describe a broader group of coffee beans, it properly only describes coffees grown in a relatively small region just southwest of Lake Toba in the Kecamatan or the district of Lintongnihuta. Small plots of coffee producers are scattered over the high, undulating plateau of fern-covered clay and is grown without shade or chemicals of any kind.
Mandheling: Is a more comprehensive designation that refers to both Lintong coffees and to any coffees grown under similar conditions in the region of Diari, north of Lake Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia. It is recognised as one of the world’s most famous coffees. It is also the name of a Coffea canephora variety that was cultivated in the same area of Indonesia.
Mattari: The Market name for one of the most admired coffees from Yemen. Grown in the Bani Mattar area west of the capital city of Sana'a, it is usually a winier, fruitier and sharper version of the Yemen chocolatey style. This coffee is dry processed.
Mérida: Is the market name for one of the most respected and most characteristic Venezuela coffees. It is described as delicate and sweet in the cup yet full bodied with a mellow rich flavor.
Ocoa: The market name for one of the better-respected, well balanced coffees from the Dominican Republic. It is a wet-processed coffee that is noted for its sweetness. Most of this coffee is exported to European markets.
Tarrazu: Coffee named after the town of San Marcos de Tarrazu. It is the market name for one of the Costa Rica’s and in fact the world’s better coffees. It is grown in rich volcanic soil in the south of the state at elevations of between 3,900 – 5,000 feet.
Yauco Selecto: This is an Arabica (var. Bourbon) coffee bean from a region of Puerto Rico and is grown high in the mountains above 3,000 feet. It is one of the finest coffees of the Caribbean but it can be subject to some commercial inconsistency. Often likened to the balanced perfection of the Jamaica Blue Mountain because of its deep, vibrant, yet restrained acidity and gently rich flavor. Two famous estates in the region include Hecienda San Pedro and Santa Ana.
Yirgacheffe/Yirga Cheffe: The market name for one of the most famous Ethiopian washed Arabica coffee bean gardens grown at 5,000-7,500 feet in the south central Sidamo region near the boarder with Kenya and the village of Yirga Ch'efe. Regarded by many as the ‘cream of the crop’ of all coffees grown in the horn of Africa. It has unparalleled fruity aroma and is distinguished by its lemon/fruit-like and distinct tart bite floral acidity. The body is light and elegant whilst the flavour is complex leaving a rich floral finish and an almost menthol aftertaste. It is believed that these trees were cultivated from the varieties of the south-west of the state. Sometimes spelled "Yirgacheffe".

What are the best practices for tamping ground coffee when making espresso?
Best practices for tamping ground coffee when making espresso include:

ensure that the process does no put undue pressure on the wrist because Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) can occur over time if the wrist is engaged in the pressure tamping.
exert sufficient pressure to ensure that the ground coffee does not move in the process of engaging the portafilter with the group head. The 'screw-up' pressure on the grounds as the portafilter engages tightly with the group head will exert far more pressure on the grounds than the tamp ever will.
make sure all lose coffee grains have been removed from the portafilter edge so that an impenetrable seal is formed with the group head (i.e. no loss of pump pressure through the ground coffee) and so that there is minimal wear and tear on the rubber seal.
tip, tap or shake lose grains from the coffee filled portafilter to minimize the amount that gets caught in the group head shower screen in the extraction process.
choose the appropriate tamper. while the two-handed separate bench-tamper is safer for RSI it creates inefficiencies in a busy espresso making environment as compared with the on-grinder 'lift & tamp'.
check the spent coffee puck after extraction to ensure no pit-holes, no side cavities, the group head screw imprint is visible in the grounds and the puck that is dry, solid and removes easily in one piece from the portafilter with a single firm tap. This usually means you got the whole extraction process 'about right'.

Of all the variables involved in extracting the perfect espresso, I have found that tamping makes the least significant contribution.

The other variables all play a much more significant role in getting that perfect extraction of espresso. These other variables are:

coffee bean species (Arabica)
bean quality/grade (AA, SHB, Supremo)
roast (mid-dark)
freshness (less than 2 weeks for beans, less than 15 minutes ground)
grinder/grind (commercial conical, fine powder)
dose size (maximum for the filter that the machine will allow)
filter & shower head (spotless)
portafilter seal with group head (non-penetrable under 10 bar pressure)
water quality (filtered & demineralized),
temperature (94 degrees) and
run time (20-25 seconds)

Because I fill my portafilter to the maximum amount, I use the tamping process to simply work the pack of mound coffee into a usable form that is shaped slightly higher at the edges than the middle. This properly and neatly shaped ground coffee in the portafilter can then be more easily connected with the espresso machine without causing spillage and interfeering with the very important need to have a tight non-penetrable seal between the portafilter and the group. The arm pressure action of screw tightening the portafilter up firmly against the shower head in the group, packs the ground coffee anyway, and at a pressure that I believe is in excess of what any previous wrist tamping processes could apply. Note: The connection lugs on the side of the portafilter are ramp-shaped to force the ground coffee up against the group shower head as you tighten it. This action also pushes the raised coffee at the edge (as shaped by the tampa) into the middle to ensure there is no place for the pressured hot water to go except through the finely ground coffee in order to extract only the highly desirable 'coffee oils'.

So, I see tamping as a necessary part of the espresso making process but I don't believe that varying the wrist tamping pressure contributes in any significant way to the extraction of the perfect espresso.

The most significant thing to be concerned about in the tamping process, from my point of view, is the workplace issue that Darryl Lin raises - i.e. the potential for Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) caused by incorrect technique and posture while repeatedly placing tamping pressure strain on a wrist that was not structurally designed for this type of work.

How does a shot of espresso compare to a cup of coffee in terms of caffeine?
According to the respected espresso coffee industry leader illy coffee http://www.illy.com/wps/wcm/conn...

The average cup of espresso has 78mg of caffeine

According to the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency - http://www.food.gov.uk/science/s...

The average cup of instant coffee has 75mg of caffeine
The average cup of brewed, percolated and drip coffee has 100mg

All the analysis I have read constantly identifies brewed, percolated and drip coffee as having more caffeine than espresso coffee (up to 125mg) and that's comparing it with a 30ml espresso extraction which I think is 5ml more than ideal.

Some research believes that it is the length of time that the hot water comes in contact with the ground coffee that produces the extra caffeine content. In espresso it is about 20-25 seconds while it is much longer in the brewed, percolated and drip coffee methods.

Interestingly the better quality beans (Arabica) have about half the caffeine content of the cheaper ones (Robusta). So, I reckon that a 25ml shot of espresso made on 100% Arabica beans is a good option for reducing your caffeine intake while still enjoying that 'elixir of the gods

Why does an espresso in almost any Italian coffee shop taste so much better than an espresso anywhere else in Europe (or the world for that matter)?

Philipp M. W. Hoffmann got it about right when he identified that the experience of the average Italian barista is many times greater than that of the baristas making espresso in popular cafe chains in other parts of the world who all stand behind Italian made or Italian designed espresso machines and grinders. Let's face it, the Italians have been passionate about espresso for over 100 years - the rest of us are just playing 'catch-up'. The average age of Italian baristas is 45 ... so, you can taste the experience in every cup.

I guess the fact that Italians have a rich history of inventions in pursuit of the perfect espresso, also has a lot to do with their mastery of this particular process. These Italians include:

Angelo Moriondo who patented a bulk coffee brewer in 1885, capable of producing fifty cups and was first to separate the steam and water into two distinct functions in the espresso making process.
Luigi Bezzera whose espresso coffee machine invention named the ‘Tipo Gigante’ in 1901, made espresso just ‘one cup at a time’.
M. Cremonesi who developed the piston pump in 1928, which significantly improved the espresso coffee making process and taste.
Francesco Illy who in 1935 invented the first automatic coffee machine called the "illetta", that substituted compressed air for steam in the espresso extraction process.
Achilles Gaggia who with a machine called the “Crema Caffe” in 1947, perfected espresso coffee making by introducing a piston lever that extracted the perfect espresso via the application of intense pressure to the ground coffee beans.
Ernesto Valente, the father of the Faema brand of espresso machines, who in the 1960's produced the first pump driven espresso machine called the "Faema E61". This design concept remains the benchmark for espresso coffee machines even up till today.

Also, Italians generally drink their coffee in its purest form ... espresso. Espresso (short black) provides the barista with no opportunity to mask a poorly extracted espresso coffee with milk, cream, powders and flavor additives as they do in other parts of the world. So, baristas in Italy keep their jobs by constantly providing their Italian customers with the flavorsome coffee oils which they expertly derive from each perfectly extracted shot of espresso.

From the smallest Italian railway station to the historic cafes of Caffe Florian, Baratti & Milano Caffe, Pedrocchi Coffee House and Caffe Greco, we tourists are simply the beneficiaries of all this experience ... this masterful know-how ... this peculiar Italian passion for the perfect espresso.

Why did coffee become a popular beverage worldwide?
Coffee became a popular global beverage due to a series of unique historic events. These events built one upon the other to eventually create what we have today where coffee is the 2nd most traded commodity in the world, beaten only by oil.

Here's how it happened:

Its discovery - in 600 the legend claims coffee's discovery by the goat herder Kaldi in Abyssinia (present day Ethiopia).
Its use in medicine - in 1000 Avicenna, Mahommedan physician and philosopher, and other Arabian physicians are using coffee, which they call bunchum, for its medicinal properties.
Roasting discovered - in 1200 the Turkish people discover the flavor enhancements achieved by roasting the coffee beans.
Cultivation begins - in 1300 the people of Yemen see a buck in cultivating coffee and selling it to Arabian traders.
The Koran - in 1400 alcohol is declared forbidden by the Koran, so coffee then becomes the replacement stimulant drink for Muslims.
Coffee shops concept - in 1453 the first known coffee shop is opened in Constantinople (later called Istanbul) and called “Kiva Han”. Coffee as a beverage begins it's journey to commercialization.
Europe imports - in the 1500’s European travelers to Arabia discover the coffee beverage and traders start selling coffee into Europe from the ports of Alexandria and Smyrna.
The Pope decrees - in the 1600’s Pope Clement VIII baptizes coffee drinking, making it an acceptable beverage for Christians. Coffee's future is secured with the two greatest religions in the world accepting its consumption.
India cultivates - in 1650 a Muslim pilgrim from India named Baba Budan was the first to sneak some fertile seeds out of Arabia and into India. So begins the coffee plant spread from the 1,000 year monopolistic control of coffee by the Arabian states.
Coffeehouses proliferate - in 1652 the first coffeehouse is opened in Oxford England and the concept quickly proliferates throughout England.
France adopts it - in 1669 the Ambassador of the Turkish Ottoman Empire to the court of Louis XIV in Paris brought coffee into fashion in Parisian High Society.
The Dutch trade - in 1690 the Dutch smuggled live coffee plants from the Arabian port of Mocha, and cultivate coffee commercially, in Ceylon and in their East Indian colony of Java. In the Dutch golden age of the 1700's, their merchant fleets trade with all parts of the globe carrying the coffee beverage and beans with them.
The one plant - in 1714 the Burgomaster of Amsterdam gave King Louis XIV of France a seedling coffee plant from the Amsterdam Botanical Gardens as a gift. In 1720 Chevalier Gabriel Mathiew de Clieu, removes a coffee plant from the King's glass house and takes it with him to Martinique in the Caribbean. He establishes a plantation in Martinique that eventually becomes the source for 90 percent of the world's coffee plantations.

"The Boston Tea Party" - in 1773 America changed from drinking (English) tea to coffee which was seen at the time as their patriotic duty.
Brazilian excess - in the late 1800’s Brazil's coffee plantations expand excessively turning coffee from a drink only for the elite into an everyday drink for the people, due to the price drop generated from the oversupply.
Instant coffee invented - in 1906 George Constant Washington, an English chemist living in Guatemala, invents instant coffee and creates the first mass-produced instant coffee called Red E Coffee.

Prohibition promotes it - in the 1920s prohibition goes into effect in the United States which only serves to create a boom in coffee sales and consumption.
Illy commercializes espresso - in 1933 Dr. Ernest Illy develops the first automatic espresso machine which opens the way for the commercially viable sale of espresso coffee
Nescafé solves Brazil's problems - in 1938 the Nestlé company developed its own freeze dried instant coffee to assist the Brazilian government in solving its coffee surplus problem.
American globalization - America exports it culture (including coffee drinking) to the world via the golden age of Hollywood (1927- 1945) and with the American soldier's issue of instant Maxwell House coffee in their WW2 ration kits.
... and TV does the rest - the advent of TV in the 1950 coinciding with coffee's abundant supply (low cost), it's global acceptance, innovative product (instant) and a company like Nestles to exploit the medium and the product with advertisments. Coffee ads generated an instant use as an accompanyment to the TV experience. Nestle's + TV + Instant coffee completes the global phenomenon that is the coffee drink.

Coffee today, in 2011, is regarded as one of the world's most popular beverage with more than 450 billion cups being consumed each year, but it may never have happened if any of the key historical links above had not each played their part in bringing it about.

What are the most common coffee faults, and how do you detect them?
The most common coffee faults are usually detected and removed long before the extract from the ground coffee beans are enjoyed by us at our favorite cafe or at our home espresso maker. Still, in spite of the scrutiny, a few common faults make it through the grading processes at the farm, processing center, importing agent and roaster and so end up in the consumer's roasted coffee bean mix.

Green bean coffee faults
Green coffee bean faults or defects are usually caused by natural and human failures in the picking, processing, drying, sorting, storage, or transportation stages of the green coffee bean production. Further human failures can create coffee faults at the roaster and in the distribution and storage of the roasted coffee beans.Discoloration in the green beans is created from the oxidation of the damaged areas of the bean and off-flavors will result. Discolored beans roast unevenly, age rapidly, and even just a few are capable of significantly reducing the overall coffee taste.

The most common discoloration is identified by the black, deep blue, or dark brown surface areas on the green bean. Green beans with more than 25% of this discoloration are known as Black Beans (on the New York Coffee Exchange) and are considered to have a significant detrimental effect on the coffee taste.
'Black Beans' and other types of discolorations are typically caused by:

harvesting immature coffee cherries
harvesting dead cherries that fell naturally from the trees.
exposure to water and heat at the wrong time in the process
wet processed beans that have been cut or bruised by the machinery during the pulping stage
beans that were dried too rapidly causing them to fade in color
faulty fermentation, improper washing, over drying, or by harvesting over-ripe coffee cherries creating a brown or rust color on the green coffee bean
uneven drying during processing causing blotchy discolorations.
green bean that have been left too long in the fermentation tanks under the natural fermentation method and have become discolored by putrefactive bacteria which attacks the proteins causing the beans to sour. These are often identified by their yellow or redish brown color.
picking over ripe coffee cherries that become 'stinkers' and produce an unpleasant or even foul taste. One or two stinker beans can spoil a whole batch of coffee.

Common green bean defects caused by natural failures that can also produce poor tasting coffee include:

insect-damage i.e. Coffee Berry Borer (CBB) is one of the most significant pest problems for coffee farmers.
disease damaged coffee beans mostly caused by fungus (mold). i.e. Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR), Coffee Berry Disease (CBD)

Grading is the simplest way to identify faulty coffee beans
All stakeholders in the coffee industry are interested in a grading process that is able to identify and separate quality beans from those with taste faults because the grading standard has a direct impact on their prices and profits. So by the time the coffee bean has progressed through all the stages and on to the consumer, the grading of the coffee has been pretty well defined. So getting to know your grading codes and names is one of the easiest ways to identify the quality beans from those that have been determined as having taste faults. Sadly, there is no uniform global standard on grading names/codes so you will need to learn the country specific grading names and codes.

The SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) does have specific standards for grading coffee beans. These are:

Specialty Grade Green Coffee (1) - no more than 5 full defects per 300 grams
Premium Coffee Grade (2): no more than 8 full defects in 300 grams.
Exchange Coffee Grade (3): no more than 9-23 full defects in 300 grams.
Below Standard Coffee Grade (4): 24-86 defects in 300 grams.
Off Grade Coffee (5): More than 86 defects in 300 grams.

Note: Given that there are about 2,000 coffee beans in 300 grams, it only takes 4% of the coffee beans (86) to be sour/stinker/quakers (defective) to render the entire batch 'Off-grade coffee'.

Roasted bean coffee faults
As a roasted coffee buyer, for my many espresso coffee outlets over the years, I look for or mitigate the following coffee faults in roasted coffee beans:

The roasted beans not being fresh - I believe that roasted coffee beans are at their best within a few weeks after roasting. After that they start to lose some of their most delicate flavors. One way to test if your coffee beans have been roasted in the past few weeks is to take a sample and seal them in an air-tight plastic bag like a coin bag. If the bag puffs up over 24hrs then the beans were roasted within the past couple of weeks, if not then they are not as fresh as they could be. This is because roasted coffee beans exhaust CO2 for up to three weeks after roasting.
The roasted beans being stored incorrectly - If the roasted beans were not stored in an airtight, cool, dry, sunlight and aroma free environment then they will have possibly started to sweat and/or absorb moisture and aromas from the air. When beans sweat the oils created in the roasting process come to the surface of the bean increasing the chances of taste distortion via the oxidation process. Oils can also be brought to the surface during the roasting process as well but as good as it looks, I am no fan of the oil covered surface on roasted coffee due to the flavor killing oxidization process.
Not an even roast - This can be caused by poor roasting or bean blending techniques that allow parts of the batch to roast unevenly and thereby produce a range of quality coffee extractions. This is pretty easy to detect - look for inconsistent color in the roast coffee beans.
No 'black beans' - When I review a batch of roasted coffee beans I go looking for the number of 'black beans' that may have escaped the grading systems. These will be identified as very light colored roasted beans in the batch, beans with borer holes, beans that look wrinkled and beans that are just outer shells or have been roasted as broken beans. The more of these in your mix, the lower the taste quality outcome. Remember, just 4% of the batch will render it "Off-grade".

By converse, the fault-free (perfect) roasted espresso coffee bean batch for me would be:

roasted in the past few weeks
100% arabica species - See What are some ways to visually differentiate between the Arabica and Robusta coffee bean?
large bean size (15-19)
top grade beans - dense, mountain grown on a renown estate
an even dark brown roast color across the entire batch - zero light colored beans
speckled amounts of surface oil only
no hollow shells
perfectly shaped beans with no wrinkles or malformations
no broken roasted coffee bean bits

Why does Britain prefer tea to coffee?
I went to a short talk last week by Henrietta Lovell, founder of the Rare Tea Company (http://www.rareteacompany.com). She was talking about some of the history of tea here. When it first started being imported tea was one of the most coveted, valuable items in the household of those rich enough to afford it. The tea would be kept in a locked chest, with the key worn round the neck of the lady of the house so the servants couldn't steal it. This tea would have been bought from china and brewed very delicately, served black, with no milk. Black tea was imported because it kept its flavour better on long journeys than a more delicate green tea.

Tea was so expensive at first because the Chinese would only sell it to us for gold or silver - we couldn't trade or barter with any other item. The British government got tired of seeing their gold resources dwindling, so In the 19th century our government started sending opium from India and Afghanistan into China so that desperate addicts would sell us tea for opium, causing Chinese life expectancy to fall. In the 19th century we also sent in a spy named Robert Fortune, a British man who disguised himself to look Chinese (incidentally, one of Henrietta's ancestors!). He learned the secrets of tea production and smuggled a few plants out to India, where the British had colonies. We were then able to start making tea ourselves more cheaply in India. Yep, our ancestors were lovely people. These actions made tea more affordable here, although it was still a premium product compared to now.

Milk started being added around the time of the second world war. We were surrounded by German u-boats, so importing tea got a little tricky. Because tea was so important for national morale, the government took over tea importation, adding it to rationing and importing lower quality tea from Africa. As rationing continued to the 1950s, we got used to drinking lower quality black tea here, which was higher in tannins. This caused the need to add milk to sweeten, and since then we have continued doing so.

So we have a history with tea, but there are some signs that our love of tea is dwindling here. Recently there have been news stories about espresso cups outselling mugs: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fooda.... Walk around high streets and you will see an emphasis on coffee shops, where people can order all sorts of fancy coffee combinations. Tea choices tend to be more limited. But at my work people still mostly go for tea, not coffee. I don't know why historically we might have preferred tea to coffee, but personally I prefer it because of the lower caffeine content (though tea contains more caffeine than coffee (by dry weight), a cup of tea usually contains much less caffeine than a cup of coffee, as tea is generally brewed much weaker), which leaves me feeling less shaky. It's also not a diuretic, unlike coffee.

What qualities make for a good cup of coffee?
You can think about the process of how coffee comes together and work forwards (somewhat simplified in order to avoid duplicate qualities for differing reasons):

Starting with good beans → robust and interesting flavor (maybe complex, maybe not).
Competent roasting → the coffee isn't too acidic (too light) or too oily or burnt tasting (too dark).
Brewing after CO2 has dissipated → the coffee doesn't have too many grinds as excess CO2 causes coffee to bloom up during brewing and grounds can overflow into the cup.
Brewing fresh grounds → the coffee hasn't lost all or some of its flavors since the gas contained in the grounds represents a lot of the flavor, which escapes quickly after grinding.
Brewing with good water → it doesn't taste like chemicals like chlorine or others found in poor water.
Brewing at the right concentration ("strength" in coffee terms, meaning coffee/water ratio) → the flavor isn't too strong or too watery.
Brewing at the right water temperature → the flavor isn't too sour (too cold) or too bitter (too hot).

I realize these aren't good qualities, they're more like the lack of bad qualities. But I think that's a great thing about coffee — as long as it doesn't suck (for the outlined reasons) your personal preferences will guide you. I think

Coffee: Why did coffee become a popular beverage worldwide?
Coffee became a popular global beverage due to a series of unique historic events. These events built one upon the other to eventually create what we have today where coffee is the 2nd most traded commodity in the world, beaten only by oil.

Here's how it happened:

Its discovery - in 600 the legend claims coffee's discovery by the goat herder Kaldi in Abyssinia (present day Ethiopia).
Its use in medicine - in 1000 Avicenna, Mahommedan physician and philosopher, and other Arabian physicians are using coffee, which they call bunchum, for its medicinal properties.
Roasting discovered - in 1200 the Turkish people discover the flavor enhancements achieved by roasting the coffee beans.
Cultivation begins - in 1300 the people of Yemen see a buck in cultivating coffee and selling it to Arabian traders.
The Koran - in 1400 alcohol is declared forbidden by the Koran, so coffee then becomes the replacement stimulant drink for Muslims.
Coffee shops concept - in 1453 the first known coffee shop is opened in Constantinople (later called Istanbul) and called “Kiva Han”. Coffee as a beverage begins it's journey to commercialization.
Europe imports - in the 1500’s European travelers to Arabia discover the coffee beverage and traders start selling coffee into Europe from the ports of Alexandria and Smyrna.
The Pope decrees - in the 1600’s Pope Clement VIII baptizes coffee drinking, making it an acceptable beverage for Christians. Coffee's future is secured with the two greatest religions in the world accepting its consumption.
India cultivates - in 1650 a Muslim pilgrim from India named Baba Budan was the first to sneak some fertile seeds out of Arabia and into India. So begins the coffee plant spread from the 1,000 year monopolistic control of coffee by the Arabian states.
Coffeehouses proliferate - in 1652 the first coffeehouse is opened in Oxford England and the concept quickly proliferates throughout England.
France adopts it - in 1669 the Ambassador of the Turkish Ottoman Empire to the court of Louis XIV in Paris brought coffee into fashion in Parisian High Society.
The Dutch trade - in 1690 the Dutch smuggled live coffee plants from the Arabian port of Mocha, and cultivate coffee commercially, in Ceylon and in their East Indian colony of Java. In the Dutch golden age of the 1700's, their merchant fleets trade with all parts of the globe carrying the coffee beverage and beans with them.
The one plant - in 1714 the Burgomaster of Amsterdam gave King Louis XIV of France a seedling coffee plant from the Amsterdam Botanical Gardens as a gift. In 1720 Chevalier Gabriel Mathiew de Clieu, removes a coffee plant from the King's glass house and takes it with him to Martinique in the Caribbean. He establishes a plantation in Martinique that eventually becomes the source for 90 percent of the world's coffee plantations.

"The Boston Tea Party" - in 1773 America changed from drinking (English) tea to coffee which was seen at the time as their patriotic duty.
Brazilian excess - in the late 1800’s Brazil's coffee plantations expand excessively turning coffee from a drink only for the elite into an everyday drink for the people, due to the price drop generated from the oversupply.
Instant coffee invented - in 1906 George Constant Washington, an English chemist living in Guatemala, invents instant coffee and creates the first mass-produced instant coffee called Red E Coffee.

Prohibition promotes it - in the 1920s prohibition goes into effect in the United States which only serves to create a boom in coffee sales and consumption.
Illy commercializes espresso - in 1933 Dr. Ernest Illy develops the first automatic espresso machine which opens the way for the commercially viable sale of espresso coffee
Nescafé solves Brazil's problems - in 1938 the Nestlé company developed its own freeze dried instant coffee to assist the Brazilian government in solving its coffee surplus problem.
American globalization - America exports it culture (including coffee drinking) to the world via the golden age of Hollywood (1927- 1945) and with the American soldier's issue of instant Maxwell House coffee in their WW2 ration kits.
... and TV does the rest - the advent of TV in the 1950 coinciding with coffee's abundant supply (low cost), it's global acceptance, innovative product (instant) and a company like Nestles to exploit the medium and the product with advertisments. Coffee ads generated an instant use as an accompanyment to the TV experience. Nestle's + TV + Instant coffee completes the global phenomenon that is the coffee drink.

Coffee today, in 2011, is regarded as one of the world's most popular beverage with more than 450 billion cups being consumed each year, but it may never have happened if any of the key historical links above had not each played their part in bringing it about.

What would the world be like without coffee?
Taking the hypothetical case that some alien force in an instant destroyed all coffee trees and all currently available green, roasted and instant coffee on the planet, then the following would occur:

Whole countries and economies would be affected ....

52 countries of the would lose export income with the loss of sales from their 130 million 60-kilogram bags of coffee export each year.
The top 4 coffee producing countries that between them produce 40% of the world's coffee supply would lose a significant export earner. They are Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia and Indonesia.
15 of the poorest countries of the world that depend on coffee as a vital contributor to foreign exchange earnings and also account for a significant proportion of tax income and gross domestic product would be severely affected. These include Burundi, Ethiopia Uganda, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Coffee as the second most commonly traded commodity in the world (measured by monetary volume) would financially devastate all the stakeholders in the supply chain including: producers, intermediaries, processors, government agencies, exporters, dealers/brokers, roasters, retailers and cafes if the industry disappeared in an instant.

Jobs would be lost ...

The 60 million people globally that earn some or all of their income from coffee would be severely affected.
The 25 million directly employed by the industry would be out of work.
10 million small peasant coffee farmers (incorporating 25 million family members) who dependent on coffee sales for their primary source of income would be devastated. These small peasant farmers, each cultivating on less than 25 acres, produce about 70% of the world’s coffee supply.

Consumers would be bewildered ....

The 54% of the overall American adult population that partake daily in the consumption of coffee beverages are going to be mightily peeved.
The 1,100,000,000 missed coffee cups on the first day from the 400 billion consumed annually on the planet, is going to create one hell of a 'mass coffee headache'. No work place would be sustainable.
The missed 400 million cups of coffee on the first day in the United States as the leading consumer of coffee in the world, is going to surly start the American Revolution II.

... and business would need to revisit their business models.

Starbuck's 16,680 stores worldwide are going to struggle and will need a whole new approach to their business and marketing. I wonder if they could destroy hot chocolate as comprehensively as they have destroyed the art and taste of fine espresso coffee?
Kraft, Philip Morris, Nestlé, Proctor and Gamble and Sara Lee/Douwe Egberts who between them 'own' the global coffee trade are going to have to find another lucrative 'screw the poor - sell to the rich' business model to replace the billions they make each year from controlling the haves & have-nots of the coffee trade.

Should coffee beans be stored in the freezer?
No, an airtight container is the best storage for coffee. The cold temperatures and lack of controlled humidity tends to affect the flavor of the coffee (not to mention flavors from other food).

Good airtight containers are easy to come by (most kitchen stores should have them in glass or stainless steel).

What is the difference between coffee, cappuccino, espresso & frappuccino?
Definitions of each can vary depending on the country where the question is asked. Having established and operated over 20 outlets in Australia serving coffee, I would identify the differences in the following way:

Coffee: Is a term often used to describe a hot beverage made from roasted coffee beans. Various methods can be used to make a hot coffee beverage and include the espresso, Turkish, percolated, instant, drip or plunger (French press) method.
Espresso: This can describe (1) one method of making coffee that consist of forcing hot pressured water through finely ground coffee beans in an espresso machine to extract the coffee oils/essence that form the basis of various drinks or (2) a specific coffee drink that is also known as a 'short black' and served in a demitasse cup/glass. Italians refer to a coffee drink consisting of simply the expressed oils from the ground coffee beans via an espresso coffee machine as - espresso.
Cappuccino: Is a specific hot coffee drink made using the espresso method and consists of espresso essence/extract, hot steamed milk, topped with velvet milk foam and finished with a sprinkle of chocolate powder.
Frappuccino: Frappuccino is a blended coffee beverages developed and sold by Starbucks who have trademarked the name. It is an iced or chilled cappuccino that may be topped with whipped cream. It generally consists of espresso coffee, milk, sugar, ice, whipped cream and other sweeteners.

Coffee: How many cups of coffee is safe to drink per day?
Caffeine is a stimulant, and an overdose can be lethal. As for other side effects, caffeine is similar to other stimulants. If you do not regularly consume caffeine, I would avoid taking more than 2 cups in any 4 hour period.

The median lethal dose of caffeine is anywhere between 150 and 200 milligrams per kg of body weight in a human. A cup of coffee has around 100 milligrams of caffeine.

So, you would need around 2x your bodyweight in kilograms of cups of coffee to kill yourself. There have been no known instances of lethal caffeine overdoses from drinking coffee alone. Probably because drinking that much coffee would be impractical for even the most dedicated person.

Now, even at lower doses, there can be severe adverse side effects, and these are probably what you're interested in.

Overdosing on caffeine can result in palpitations, twitching, and nervousness as well as increasing your heart rate. But since caffeine is a drug easily adapted to, its hard to determine what dosage would result in significant side effects for a given individual.

Caffeine operates by binding to the adenosine receptors without activating them, stopping adenosine from activating them. Adenosine has an inhibitory effect on the central nervous system. Taking caffeine regularly will cause your body to increase the number of adenosine receptors - thus blunting its effect.

Coffee: What are all the different types of coffee drinks?
The following are the different types of coffee drinks that you may find in a cafe that prepares coffee using the espresso coffee making method:

Affogato: This is a term that literally means 'drowned'. It is the description of a shot of separately served espresso that is later poured over a the top of a scoop of vanilla ice cream or gelato. This beverage is usually served in a short drink glass and is a Italian desert favourite. Popular Affogatos include Vanilla Affogato, Mocha Affogato, and Peppermint Affogato.
Babycino: A cappuccino styled drink served in an up-market café typically for children. It consists of warm milk in a small cup and topped with milk froth and chocolate powder. No espresso coffee essence is added.
Breve: A term in Italian that means short and is used to describe an espresso coffee drink made with a half-and-half light cream or semi-skim milk instead of full fat milk
Caffe' Freddo: Chilled, sweetened espresso served in a tall glass, often on ice.
Caffe Latte or “Latte”: A ‘premium milk coffee experience’. Freshly steamed milk without foam served in a tall glass with a shot of espresso coffee.
Caffe Mocha: A combination of chocolate syrup and a shot of espresso, topped with steamed milk and a layer of micro-foam. Finished with a sprinkled of chocolate.
Cappuccino Chiaro: (AKA Wet or Light cappuccino): Cappuccino prepared with more milk than usual.
Cappuccino Scuro: (AKA Dry or Dark cappuccino) Cappuccino prepared with less milk than usual.
Cappuccino: “Cap”: A ‘traditional morning heart starter’. Steamed foamed velvety milk poured over one shot (1) of coffee oil extract made from 12gm of freshly ground beans producing 38ml of essence. Finished by topping with foam and a sprinkle of chocolate powder. Served in a pre heated vitrified ceramic cup.
Con panna: Like the beverage "macchiato", but whipped cream is substituted for steamed milk.
Corretto: Espresso "corrected" with a touch of grappa, cognac, sambuca, or other spirit.
Doppio: Italian term for double. Double Espresso or twice the amount of coffee and twice the amount of water. Basically it describes two shots of espresso in one demitasse container.
Espresso con Panna: A variation of the macchiato by substituting a dollop of whipped cream for the milk froth. Basically a Starbucks invention. Means in Italian "espresso with cream”.
Espresso Lungo: American term where a shot is extracted longer for a bit of extra espresso. Tends to maximizes the caffeine but will mostly produce a more bitter cup.
Espresso Romano: Espresso served with a lemon peel on the side. Whilst not a typical accompaniment in Italy it is commonly served with the espresso beverage in America.
Flat White: “White Coffee” - ‘uncompromising taste’.Steamed microfroam milk poured through and under the espresso crème produced from one shot (1) of coffee extract made on 12gm of freshly ground coffee producing 38ml of essence. Served in a pre heated vitrified ceramic cup. A common espresso coffee order in Australia/New Zealand. Great for latte art!
Hammerhead: A coffee drink only served in the USA. It is an American term for a shot of espresso in a coffee cup that is topped up with drip-filtered coffee.
Latte Macchiato: Steamed milk served in a tall glass rather than a cup that is “stained” by a shot of espresso coffee.
Long Black: Often called the “American”. It is the ‘benchmark coffee without milk’. It is pure coffee made from one & one half shots of coffee extract made on 16gm of fresh ground beans producing 50ml of essence blended with steamed water. Served in a pre heated vitrified ceramic cup with the essence floated over the top of a cup filled with hot/boiling water. It is a standard espresso (Short Black) but lengthened by the addition of hot/boiling water.
Lungo: An espresso made by purposely allowing more water to flow through the ground coffee than usual. (sometimes called an Americano or ‘long’).
Macchiato: Meaning “stained” - Described as ‘strong, marked or stained’. A touch of steamed foamed milk added to a double shot of coffee extract made from 24gm of fresh ground beans producing 75ml of essence. Served in glass.

Mazagran: A French drink composed of cold coffee and seltzer water. First created by the French soldiers in 1840 in the town of Argelia. A variation includes iced coffee made with maraschino.
Quad: An espresso drink made with four shots of coffee.
Ristretto: (Ristretto in Italian means "restricted, shrunk or short”) It is the richest and most concentrated espresso drink where less water but the same amount of coffee is used to make the beverage and creates a less bitter espresso. The extraction time is shortened producing as little as 3 oz of liquid per serving. Pure and intense espresso served in a demitasse cup.
Short Black: A ‘pure intense Italian favourite with a biting crème head. Contains 75ml of pure double shot (2) coffee essence made from 24gm of fresh ground coffee beans. Traditionally served in glass and is referred to as Espresso by European customers.
Viennese Coffee: Brewed black coffee of any roast or origin topped and served with whipped cream.

Spaces of Banana Control

2011-12-20T15:41:00.000-08:00

When Paul Rosenblatt answers the phone, he says “Bananas!”
Rosenblatt ships a million boxes of bananas every year from the Banana Distributors of New York facility on Drake Street, in the Hunt’s Point section of the Bronx. When I visited, a couple of weeks ago, he had 20,000 cases of bananas, each weighing 40lbs, in the building.

I was there with a group of students from my “Artificial Cryosphere” class — a research seminar on the built landscape of refrigeration that I’m teaching at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation this autumn. Contrary to popular belief, as well as to Chiquita’s famous advertising jingle, bananas are the ultimate refrigerated fruit. A behind-the-scenes tour at the Banana Distributors of New York contains several examples of the banana supply chain’s evolving architecture of atmospheric control.In 1899, Scientific American published careful instructions as to how to peel that most exotic and rare of fruits, the banana. But by 1914, bananas were so common that a popular scouting manual suggested that a daily good turn might well consist of “moving a piece of banana peel from the pavement.” Meanwhile, in 1903, United Fruit introduced its first refrigerated banana boat. As Sarah Murray explains in Movable Feasts:

Without refrigerated transport, shiploads of fruit frequently arrived at best overripened, at worst in a downright rotten state, making the mass marketing of bananas impossible. With the preservative power of refrigeration and the speed of steam-powered engines, however, bananas could be shipped in enormous volumes. [...] In a matter of decades, refrigerated vessels had helped turn what in the 1890s was an exotic curiosity into a mass-market product, paving the way for a massive and highly lucrative trans-American trade.In other words, in order to be a global commodity rather than a tropical treat, the banana has to be harvested and transported while completely unripe. Bananas are cut while green, hard, and immature, washed in cool water (both to begin removing field heat and to stop them from leaking their natural latex), and then held at 56 degrees — originally in a refrigerated steamship; today, in a refrigerated container — until they reach their country of consumption weeks later.

What this means is that ripening must then be artificially induced, in a specialized architecture of pressurized, temperature- and atmosphere-controlled rooms that fool the banana into thinking it is still back on the plant in tropical Ecuador. New York City’s supermarkets, grocers, coffee-shops, and food cart vendors are served by just a handful of banana ripening outfits — one in Brooklyn, one in Long Island, a small facility inside the main Hunt’s Point Terminal Market, and our field trip destination: Banana Distributors of New York, in the Bronx.During our visit, Paul Rosenblatt told us that he aims to ripen fruit in five days at 62 degrees, but, to schedule fruit readiness in accordance with supply and demand, he can push a room in four days at 64 degrees, or extend the process to seven days at 58 degrees.

“The energy coming off a box of ripening bananas could heat a small apartment,” Rosenblatt explains, which means that heavy-duty refrigeration is required to keep each room temperature-controlled to within a half a degree. In the past, Banana Distributors of New York has even experimented with heating parts of the building on captured heat from the ripening process.

To add to the complexity, customers can choose from different degrees of ripeness, ranging from 1 (all green) to 7 (all yellow with brown sugar spots). Banana Distributors of New York proudly promise that they have “Every Color, Every Day,” although Rosenblatt gets nervous if he has more than 2000 boxes of any particular shade.To provide this variety every single day, a banana ripening facility has to have a minimum of five or six rooms (Banana Distributors of New York has twenty-two). Each room holds between 1,000 and 2,000 boxes, which means that a banana distributor has to move at least 5,000 boxes each week to make the business worthwhile. This, Rosenblatt explains, has squeezed out the two dozen smaller, three- or four-room operators that used to be sprinkled around New York City in the 1970s.

The most popular shades are between 2.5 and 3.5, but much depends on the retailer’s size and target market. The grocery chain Fairway, which sources its bananas from Banana Distributors of New York, expects to hold bananas for a couple of days, and will therefore buy greener bananas than a smaller bodega that turns its stock over on a daily basis. “Street vendors,” Rosenblatt notes, as well as shops serving a mostly Latin American customer base, “like full yellow.” Personally, he eats only a couple of bananas each week, and favours fully ripe “sevens.”In addition to precise temperature control, the ripening process also depends on atmospheric design. Over a 24-hour period, each roomful of bananas is gassed with ethylene, a plant hormone that accelerates ripening (and is also, curiously, the most produced organic compound in the world).The ethylene is produced in a low, even flow from portable “Easy-Ripe” generators. In the past, Rosenblatt, explained, rooms would be injected with a burst of ethylene released from a cylinder, which not only made it much harder to achieve an even distribution among the stacked bananas, but also posed a heightened fire risk (ethylene is highly flammable, and in the early days of injection technology, fatal banana ripening room explosions were not uncommon).

When Rosenblatt opened the door on a recently gassed room, the smell was revolting — like a wine-soaked carpet, the morning after.For students of the artificial cryosphere, a visit to the Banana Distributors of New York is particularly exciting because original pressurised rooms from the late 1970s are still in use, alongside state-of-the-art Dutch door technology. The older rooms are a legacy of the pre-pallet era, when bananas used to arrive loose and were carefully stacked from concrete floor to ceiling “like bricks,” packed tight and fan ventilated to force air around each hand.Using these old rooms to ripen today’s boxed bananas requires a few adaptations: eight-box stacks are covered with a tarp to create a vacuum, and three axial fans draw air through the carefully measured corridors in between. Even and efficient air circulation is critical to successful temperature control and ethylene distribution, as is occasional venting, as the ripening bananas consume oxygen and release carbon dioxide.

“With bananas,” explains Rosenblatt, “it’s all about ventilation.”The next rooms that Rosenblatt showed us are, he mentions almost as an aside, the first two-tier banana ripening rooms ever built. In 1988, he explains, “this guy called Jim Still came along and offered to build them for free, as an experiment.” They worked, and Jim Still is now known as Banana Jim™, founder and president of ripening industry leaders, Global Logic, LLC.

In addition to increased capacity and improved ripening uniformity, these vertical air-flow banana chambers can be loaded and unloaded using fork-lift trucks in twenty minutes or less.With minor improvements in fan engineering, and the optional addition of a third tier, brand-new banana ripening rooms still look identical to today. “All the technological innovation,” Rosenblatt tells us, “is to be found in doors.” He points out some old roll-up air-tight doors, explaining that “we call these widowmakers — we never stand under them.”I asked Rosenblatt about new, in-container ripening systems, which threaten to make the banana ripening room extinct by integrating the process into the final few days of a banana’s boat journey, so that it can be unloaded from a freighter and trucked straight to the supermarket. “Banana Jim” Still has actually filed a patent for his Ripe-Anywhere™ container system, and promotes it under the humble tagline, “It was a modest invention… but it changed a planet.”

Rosenblatt is not convinced: “Walmart could do containers, but in New York City, retailers don’t have the volume.” Nonetheless, the future of his family business is uncertain. While his father-in-law got his start in the fruit trade at the age of eight, working for street pedlars, Rosenblatt told us that he hopes his own children don’t go into banana ripening.

The hours are certainly unappealing: Banana Distributors is open from 10pm to noon every night. To the downsides, I added my own mistrust of banana boxes, dating back to a scarring experience with a large, furry spider as a sixteen-year-old shelf stacker at Waitrose. However, Rosenblatt told us that in his 39 years in the banana trade, he has never seen a snake, and has only come across one spider, which he gave to the Bronx Zoo.We said goodbye as the final trailer was being loaded and shipped out for the day. Nearly two million bananas pass through these ripening rooms on their journey to New York consumers each week — a vital link in the largely invisible, highly specialized architecture of artificial refrigeration that has enabled the banana to become and remain America’s favourite fruit.

Sous-Vide 101: How to Cook the Most Tender and Flavorful Meat You’ve Ever Tasted

2011-12-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

Dry turkey and overcooked steaks don't have to be a staple of your holiday dinners or homemade meals. Sous-vide is a cooking method that uses immersion in hot water to cook food over long periods, low and slow, resulting in some of the most succulent and tender meat you've ever tasted, and an easy, hands-off cooking process that anyone can do. Sous-vide has gotten a bit trendy but it's for good reason. It's surprisingly easy, not nearly as fussy as it might appear, and the results speak for themselves. Here's a primer to what sous-vide cooking is, why it's incredible and you should try it, and how you can get started on the cheap.

Sous-vide cooking involves cooking food in sealed plastic bags immersed in hot water for long periods of time. Depending on the cut, type, and thickness of the meat or the type of food in question, cooking sous-vide for several hours is not out of the ordinary. The key is managing the temperature of the water so it stays hot enough to cook the food thoroughly and evenly, and long enough to kill any food-borne pathogens that may be in the bag along with the food. Cooking in sealed bags (usually vacuum sealed) at lower temperatures also results in juicier food, since there's no substantive transfer of moisture from the food in the way there is with a more moist cooking method like poaching or broiling, and the cooking temperatures don't get so high that the food starts to dry out.

Meat and fish are best suited to sous-vide cooking. You can cook vegetables, but because they usually require higher temperatures than cooking meat does, they can be a bit more difficult (although not impossible—more on this later.) Almost any type of meat takes well to to process, and since sous-vide doesn't significantly alter the texture, you can cook delicate fish that's sensitive to high temperatures or usually dry and difficult meats like turkey breasts and flank steak and end up with a flavorful, moist dinner.

Professional chefs use high-end, thousand-dollar immersion circulators that regulate the temperature of the water precisely within fractions of a degree for the duration of the cooking process, and are well insulated to lose as little heat as possible while cooking. Home cooks like you and me don't need that kind of gear to get started, though. Below, I'll suggest some starter sous-vide methods that don't require you to buy anything at all.

What Makes It Better or Worse Than Cooking On a Stove or Grill?

If you're still not convinced sous-vide cooking is for you, here are some pros and cons to consider:

Sous-Vide 101: How to Cook the Most Tender and Flavorful Meat Youâve Ever Tasted Pros:
Cooking sous-vide results in evenly-cooked meat and fish.
Cooking sous-vide gives you specific control over the final temperature of the meat, avoiding overdone, dried-out food.
You can hold foods cooked sous-vide at their specified temperature for long periods of time without damaging the texture or quality of the dish, making it an ideal cooking method for holiday dinners or meals with multiple components and side-dishes.
Bacterial or other contamination is largely not an issue with sous-vide cooking. While you may be cooking up to minimum safe temperatures, the length of time you're holding the food at its safe temperature will pasteurize your meat and ensure the safety of your food, meaning "safe" meat doesn't have to equal "dry" or "not pink" meat any longer. Still, keep your meat thermometer handy, and test before serving. Remember, sous-vide lets you hold food at temp for long periods without diminishing the quality of the food, so if it's undercooked, you can seal the bag and put it back in.
Sous-vide cooking is by nature a repeatable process. Set the temperature, set the timer, and walk away. You will wind up with perfectly cooked food every time you do it.
Sous-Vide 101: How to Cook the Most Tender and Flavorful Meat Youâve Ever Tasted Cons:
Cooking sous-vide usually requires some equipment you may not already have.
Sous-vide takes a long time—sometimes an hour or so for thin cuts of meat, and sometimes several hours—even most of a day—for thicker cuts and large portions. Planning ahead is key—sous-vide is definitely not a 30-minute-meal approach to cooking.
When cooking meat sous-vide, you're cooking at low temperatures, which means the Maillard Reaction, characterized by the delicious browning of the outside of the meat, does not occur. You can get around this by applying a finishing sear to the meat after cooking, or by pre-searing at very high temperatures to get the reaction without cooking the interior.
While sous-vide cooking is largely considered safe, care must be taken to ensure that food cooked sous-vide reaches the appropriate safe internal temperature before serving, more-so than higher-temperature cooking methods, because of the risk of botulism contamination. Even though sous-vide cooking times are long and hot enough to pasteurize meat, extra care must be taken, especially when handling leftovers, and people with immune disorders and pregnant women have been warned to eat sous-vide cooked meats with caution, if at all.

It's Easier Than You Think: Some Easy Sous-Vide Dishes

If you're ready to try cooking your next meal sous-vide, you don't have to run out and spend several hundred dollars on a sous-vide cooking kit, or a home-version of a professional immersion circulator or water oven. We've discussed sous-vide cooking in the past here at Lifehacker, and one way you can get started is with some small cuts of salmon and your kitchen sink. This method relies on the fact that low temperatures—even temperatures within the danger zone—can still pasteurize meat and fish if held at temperature for the appropriate amount of time (see this Serious Eats article and this USDA guide for chicken for examples of this.) Because a large volume of water loses its temperature slower than smaller ones, a kitchen sink full of hot water—and you need to take its temperature with a instant-read thermometer to make sure the temperature is right—makes for a great sous-vide cooking vessel if you're only going to cook a thin cut of fish for a matter of minutes, and then crisp up the outside in a pan.

Sous-Vide 101: How to Cook the Most Tender and Flavorful Meat Youâve Ever Tasted My first sous-vide recipe closely followed the beer cooler steak hack performed by Serious Eats' J. Kenji López-Alt back in 2010, and their sous-vide steak how-to. I picked up a 5-quart personal cooler from Amazon for $16, and thawed out a pair of thin (less than a quarter-inch) strip steaks I had in the fridge. I seasoned the steaks and dropped them into a pair of sealed plastic bags along with a little canola oil for a little fat in the mix. In a separate pot, I brought some water up to 145 degrees, and poured it into the cooler. I got as much air as possible out of the bags by dipping them in the water and letting the air come out before sealing them shut, added them to the cooler, shut the lid, and walked away for just over an hour. Since I was using a typical beer cooler, traditionally designed to keep cold in and warm out (now converted to work in reverse), I couldn't heat the water in the cooler to keep temp. Instead, I relied on the cooler to retain heat, which it did (mostly, I lost a few degrees, but not much) for the duration of the cooking time. When I took the steaks out, the results were incredible, and some of the juiciest steak I'd ever eaten.

From there, I moved on to experiment with salmon fillets one night and cod fillets another night, both bagged with a little olive oil and some spices and herbs for seasoning, and cooked in 120-degree water for well over an hour. The process worked like a charm, and the resulting fish was flaky and flavorful, and thoroughly cooked. To that point, there is a bit of blind faith that comes with sous-vide cooking. You're trusting that the cooking process is running its course, and while you can measure with a meat thermometer before you serve (and you should, to make sure your food is completely done and ready to eat) you don't get the same sight, smell, and texture cues that you get when cooking in an oven or on the stove. You can't poke or prod your meat or fish to see if it's coming along—it's a more scientific process than that. You just have to wait for your timer to go off, take the temperature of the food, and put it back in the bath if it's not finished.

Just as López-Alt discovered, I found that even though the personal cooler loses heat much more rapidly than a commercial sous-vide cooker or water oven, the heat loss is definitely slow enough to keep the water at temp for long enough for a few thin cuts of steak, or a couple of ribs, or a pair of fish fillets, seasoned with oil, spices, and aromatics. However, the heat loss is enough that if you want to try a whole rack or ribs, or thick ribeyes or full New York strip steaks, or if you want to try cooking the perfect turkey the way my friend Dr. Terry Simpson does every Thanksgiving and Christmas (and on other occasions, too), you'll need better equipment than a small beer cooler and some simple freezer bags.

Give the cooler or the kitchen sink method a try if you want a super-low-cost entry point to sous-vide cooking that gives you the freedom to experiment without a big investment first. As long as you won't cook vegetables (Pectin, the tough stuff that binds vegetables together, breaks down at over 180-degrees, a temperature that's difficult to hold in a small cooler for long enough to cook the veggies to the right doneness), and you know you'll only cook for one or two people at a time, you'll be fine. If you plan to cook at higher temps or for long periods, it's time to step up your game.

Sous-Vide 101: How to Cook the Most Tender and Flavorful Meat Youâve Ever Tasted
Take It to The Next Level with Specialized Equipment

The costs associated with sous vide cooking are not trivial—depending on the type of water oven you get, you can spend hundreds of dollars on the oven, and then a good bit more on a vacuum-sealer and the appropriate FDA-approved polyethylene bags you'll need to put your food in before it goes into the water oven. As we mentioned earlier, these products can all range in quality and price, but the Sous Vide Supreme water oven is considered the best and most widely available consumer water oven for the task. It will set you back $399 at Amazon stand-alone, or $479 in a promo package with a vacuum-sealer and some bags to get started. The Sous Vide Supreme Demi is a slightly smaller appliance, retailing for $299, that has a lower entry point, but still requires you get a sealer and the right bags to cook with. Serious Eats took the Sous Vide Supreme for a test-drive with a professional chef, and the results were encouraging, if you're considering picking one up.

There's no reason to run out and buy a PolyScience immersion circulator like professional chefs use in their kitchens. Even so, when it comes time to do a whole rack of ribs, or you want to cook enough to feed a dinner party, or you're ready to cook a whole chicken or turkey sous-vide, you'll need a larger water oven to get the job done than a cooler or kitchen sink can provide, even if you cut up the chicken or turkey into dark meat and white meat and cook them separately.

Separating the dark meat from the white meat before cooking your poultry sous-vide is a technique I recommend, since the temperature and cooking times for perfect doneness can differ between parts of the bird, and doing so will allow you to pull out the dark meat while it's still tender and juicy, while letting the white meat cook a little longer until it's fully done, but also juicy and perfectly cooked. You'll never have to worry about perfectly done dark meat and under-done breast meat (or vice-versa) again.

Sous-Vide 101: How to Cook the Most Tender and Flavorful Meat Youâve Ever Tasted Regardless of what you plan to cook in your water oven, a 10-liter model will do you just fine when it comes to cooking just about everything, from large, thick steaks to thin fillets of fish, and it does it all safely. Simply program the oven with the cooking temperature, and the oven makes sure the water stays at the right temperature for the duration of your cooking time. It's definitely a steep admission price to get into the world of sous-vide cooking, so even though we think the food is worth the cost, it's a good idea to try our cooler method before you buy.

Have you tried cooking sous-vide? The beer cooler hack may be a little difficult to explain to a spouse or visiting friends, but once they've tasted the results, they'll be convinced. Share your sous-vide cooking tips in the comments below.

2010-08-22T15:49:00.000-07:00

Hebrew University Professor Researches the "Humble Potato"

2010-07-01T03:39:00.000-07:00

Chocolate chip cookies, perfected

2009-12-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

BY JOE HOLLEMAN
POST-DISPATCH
Wednesday, Dec. 02 2009
When you're the Life Sherpa, days and nights are constant searches for inner
peace, enlightenment and ways to beat football spreads. Sometimes, I come close.

Except when it comes to making chocolate chip cookies. Batches have been baked,
recipes have been refined — and nirvana has been reached. Nothing left but to
pour the milk and share:

My quest began with the recipe on the Nestle Toll House chocolate chips bag.
Being a guy, I just HAD to tweak it, find more power in that engine. I got help
from food scientist Shirley O. Corriher and the crew at "America's Test
Kitchen."

I wanted to make the cookie softer, but only the center. I like a crisp crust
and bottom. So instead of "‰3/4 cup of white sugar and 3/4 cup of brown sugar,
I switched to one cup of brown and 1/2 cup of white. I learned from Corriher's
"BakeWise" (Scribner, $40) that the less white sugar you use, the chewier the
cookie.

In "The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2010" (America's Test Kitchen, $35),
Charles Kelsey recommends reducing the amount of flour to enhance chewiness.
(Also reducing the amount of butter keeps the fat-to-flour ratio right.) He
recommends stirring the wet ingredients, letting them sit for a few minutes,
stirring again, then sitting, then stirring a third time. This allows the sugar
to caramelize more easily and contributes to the crispy crust.

I also didn't like the way Toll House cookies spread out, and I've found ways
to remedy that.

First, melt the butter completely. That separates the water from the butterfat,
which produces more gluten when mixed with the flour. This gives the cookies
more chew and a slightly stronger structure. Second, refrigerate the dough
before baking. An hour is the minimum, three hours is better, overnight is
perfect.

I increased the vanilla extract from one teaspoon to one tablespoon. Why? I
love vanilla; no other reason.

The best idea came from Corriher: Grind up toasted pecans or walnuts and mix
them with the flour. This is in addition to the chopped nuts many stir into the
cookie dough. The earthy flavor of the ground nuts accentuates the sharp flavor
of the dark chocolate chips and also seems to reduce spreading.

So that's how I arrived at the perfect "Sherpa Chocolate Chip." If anyone can
convince me I'm wrong, well then, I guess I'll just have to bake more cookies.

Turkey Testicle Festival

2009-11-24T05:46:00.000-08:00

Just Visit US travels to Huntley, IL to feast on the local cuisine. People flock to this annual festival to have a ball.

Soda Pop Stop

2009-08-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

John Nese is the proprietor of Galcos Soda Pop Stop in LA. His father ran it as a grocery store, and when the time came for John to take charge, he decided to convert it into the ultimate soda-lovers destination. About 500 pops line the shelves, sourced lovingly by John from around the world. John has made it his mission to keep small soda-makers afloat and help them find their consumers. Galcos also acts as a distributor for restaurants and bars along the West Coast, spreading the gospel of soda made with cane sugar (no high-fructose corn syrup if John can avoid it).

The Unfortunate Sex Life of the Banana

2009-08-25T06:05:00.000-07:00

Written by Matt Castle on 24 August 2009

The humble banana almost seems like a miracle of nature. Colourful, nutritious, and much cherished by children, monkeys and clowns, it has a favoured position in the planet’s fruitbowls. The banana is vitally important in many regions of the tropics, where different parts of the plant are used for clothing, paper and tableware, and where the fruit itself is an essential dietary staple. People across the globe appreciate the soft, nourishing flesh, the snack-sized portions, and the easy-peel covering that conveniently changes colour to indicate ripeness. Individual fruit—or fingers—sit comfortably in the human hand, readily detached from their close-packed companions. Indeed, the banana appears almost purpose-designed for efficient human consumption and distribution. It is difficult to conceive of a more fortuitous fruit.

The banana, however, is a freakish and fragile genetic mutant; one that has survived through the centuries due to the sustained application of selective breeding by diligent humans. Indeed, the “miraculous” banana is far from being a no-strings-attached gift from nature. Its cheerful appearance hides a fatal flaw— one that threatens its proud place in the grocery basket. The banana’s problem can be summed up in a single word: sex.

The banana plant is a hybrid, originating from the mismatched pairing of two South Asian wild plant species: Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. Between these two products of nature, the former produces unpalatable fruit flesh, and the latter is far too seedy for enjoyable consumption. Nonetheless, these closely related plants occasionally cross-pollinate and spawn seedlings which grow into sterile, half-breed banana plants. Some ten thousand years ago, early human experimenters noted that some of these hybridized Musa bore unexpectedly tasty, seedless fruit in addition to an unheard-of yellowness and inexplicably amusing shape. They also proved an excellent source of carbohydrates and other important nutrients.

wild_bananaA seed-packed wild musa (banana)Despite the hybrid’s unfortunate sexual impotence, shrewd would-be agriculturalists realised that the plants could be cultivated from suckering shoots and cuttings taken from the underground stem. The genetically identical progeny produced this way remained sterile, yet the new plant could be widely propagated with human help. An intensive and prolonged process of selective breeding—aided by the variety of hybrids and occasional random genetic mutations—eventually evolved the banana into its present familiar form. Arab traders carried these new wonderfruit to Africa, and Spanish conquistadors relayed them onwards to the Americas. Thus the tasty new banana was spared from an otherwise unavoidable evolutionary dead-end.

Today, bananas and their close relatives, the starchy plantains, grow in a number of different varieties or cultivars. Among temperate palates, the most familiar is the Cavendish, a shapely and sweet-tasting dessert banana. This is the banana found in the supermarkets, splits, and milkshakes of the developed world. It is exported on an industrial scale from commercial plantations in the tropics. Every Cavendish is genetically identical, possessing the same pleasant taste (which is somewhat lacking in more subtle flavours according to banana aficionados). They also all share the same potential for yellow curvaceousness and the same susceptibility to disease.

Although there are numerous other banana and plantain varieties cultivated for local consumption in Africa and Asia, none has the same worldwide appeal as the Cavendish. While these other varieties display more genetic variability, all come from the same sterile Musa hybrids which so delighted our forebears thousands of years ago. Likewise none of them have enjoyed the benefits of the frenzied gene-shuffling facilitated by sexual congress.

Stuck with the clunky, inefficient cloning of asexual reproduction, the sterile banana is at a serious disadvantage in the never-ending biological arms race between plant and pest. Indeed, it is a well-established fact that bananas are particularly prone to crop-consuming insects and diseases. A severe outbreak of banana disease could easily spread through the genetically uniform plantations, devastating economies and depriving our fruitbowls. Varieties grown for local consumption would also suffer, potentially causing mass starvation in tropical regions.

banana_bagBanana bunches in protective isolation.This scenario may seem preposterous, but researchers all over the world are earnestly exploring the possibility. The custodians of the beloved banana are all too aware of the potential for a banana apocalypse— because it has already happened in the fruit’s past. And the next time could be much worse.

Until the middle of the twentieth century, most bananas on sale in the developed world belonged to the Gros Michel cultivar. These bananas were sweet and tasty and didn’t spoil too quickly, making them eminently suitable for commercial export. Old-timers contend that in flavour and convenience, the Gros Michel outshone even the current top-banana, the Cavendish. Yet from the early twentieth century, large plantations of ‘Big Mike’ proved increasingly fertile ground for a fungal leaf affliction known as Panama disease. Affected crops would soon deteriorate into rotting piles of unprofitable vegetation. As the century progressed, commercial growers found themselves in a desperate race against time, making doomed attempts to establish new plantations in disease-free areas of rainforest before the fungus arrived.

In the 1950s the Vietnamese Cavendish came to the rescue. Banana companies delayed switching from Big Mike for as long as possible due to the necessary changes in growing, storage, and ripening infrastructure, and many producers teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. As Big Mike started pushing up daisies, banana plantations frantically reconfigured, and by the mid 1960s the changeover was largely complete. The distinct—and now extinct—taste of Big Mike was quickly lost to the fickle public memory. Cavendish was king.

It has done a sterling job in the intervening years, yet now the Cavendish is starting to struggle in its own contest against contagion. In the 1970s a disease named Black Sigatoka was beaten back with enthusiastic applications of pesticide, but more recently a new strain of the original bane of the banana has threatened the plantations. Since 1992 a vigorous, pesticide-tolerant strain of Panama disease has been wiping out bananas—including previously resistant crops of Cavendish—in Southeast Asia. It has yet to reach the large commercial plantations in Latin America, but most banana-watchers believe that this is only a matter of time.

navel_orangeA navel orange and its underdeveloped siamese twinOpinions differ on how long the Cavendish can survive the new onslaught, and on the best way to tackle the threat. This time, unfortunately, there is no obvious back-up variety waiting in the wings. So far, banana science has provided scant few approaches for improving disease resistance. One method involves the traditional techniques of selective breeding: although banana plants are clones, very occasionally they can be persuaded to produce seeds through a painstaking process of hand pollination. Only one fruit in three hundred will produce a seed, and of these seeds only one in three will have the correct chromosomal configuration to allow germination. The seeds are laboriously extracted by straining tons of mashed fruit through fine meshes. Research stations in commercial banana growing countries, such as Honduras, engage large squads of banana sex workers for such tasks, and to screen the new plant varieties for favourable characteristics.

Another fruit subject to such human-assisted reproduction is the ubiquitous navel orange. It, too, was the result of a serendipitous mutation, this one from an orange tree in Brazil in the mid-1800s. Each orange on this particular tree was found to have a tiny, underdeveloped twin sharing its skin, causing a navel-like formation opposite the stem. These strange siamese citruses were much sweeter than the fruit of their parent trees, and delightfully seedless. Since the new tree was unable to reproduce naturally, caretakers amputated some of its limbs and grafted them onto other citrus trees to produce more of the desirable fruit. Even today navel oranges are produced through such botanical surgery, and all of the navel oranges everywhere are direct descendants—essentially genetic clones—of those from that original tree.

As for the Cavendish, its last best hope may lie in genetic modification (GM). The University of Leuven in Belgium is a world centre in banana research due to its colonial connections with Africa. Belgian banana scientists have become skilled in using DNA-transfer to introduce disease-resistance genes directly into the plant’s genome. These less labour-intensive methods promise a way to develop stronger, fitter, happier and more productive bananas.

fruity_flash“Fruity Flash” by José Mª Andrés Martín. Prints available.In 2007, Ugandan field trials of the first Leuven uber-banana were announced, although public distaste of the idea of GM foods may impede its long term success. And in Honduras, researchers have developed a banana cultivar named ‘Goldfinger’ through traditional selective breeding methods. Although it has enjoyed some public acceptance in Australia, it suffers from the drawbacks of a distinctly different, non-Cavendish flavour, and a longer maturation time. If nothing else, these advances offer hope that science will one day overcome the unfortunate sexual inadequacies of the banana. Let us hope so, otherwise the resulting bananageddon will ensure that the Cavendish goes the way of Big Mike, and future generations of fruit lovers will have to find some other curved yellow food to complement their ice cream.

The Get-Slim Food List

2009-08-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

15 Foods To Help You Lose
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/15-foods-to-help-you-lose?page=3
WebMD Feature from "Good Housekeeping" MagazineBy Denise Foley
Want To Curb Your Appetite And Stop Sugar Cravings? Then Put These On Your Grocery List.
Thirty billion a year -- that's about how much Americans spend on slim-down products, many of which don't even work. A better way to get real weight-loss results? Go grocery shopping. New research points to more than a dozen foods, from beans to beef, that can help you fight hunger, kick your candy addiction, boost your metabolism-and ultimately shed pounds. And some of these superfoods deliver health bonuses too.
1. Eggs. Skip the bagel this morning. Eggs, which are full of protein, will help you feel fuller longer-a lot longer. A multicenter study of 30 overweight or obese women found that those who ate two scrambled eggs (with two slices of toast and a reduced-calorie fruit spread) consumed less for the next 36 hours than women who had a bagel breakfast of equal calories. Other research has shown that protein may also prevent spikes in blood sugar, which can lead to food cravings.
2. Beans. You've probably never heard of cholecystokinin, but it's one of your best weight-loss pals. This digestive hormone is a natural appetite suppressant. So how do you get more cholecystokinin? One way, report researchers at the University of California at Davis, is by eating beans: A study of eight men found that their levels of the hormone (which may work by keeping food in your stomach longer) were twice as high after a meal containing beans than after a low-fiber meal containing rice and dry milk. There's also some evidence that beans keep blood sugar on an even keel, so you can stave off hunger longer. Heart-health bonus: High-fiber beans can lower your cholesterol.
3. Salad. Do you tend to stuff yourself at meals? Control that calorie intake by starting with a large salad (but hold the creamy dressing). In a study of 42 women at Penn State University, those who ate a big, low-cal salad consumed 12 percent less pasta afterward-even though they were offered as much as they wanted. The secret, say researchers, is the sheer volume of a salad, which makes you feel too full to pig out. Health bonus: A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that people who ate one salad a day with dressing had higher levels of vitamins C and E, folic acid, lycopene, and carotenoids-all disease fighters-than those who didn't add salad to their daily menu.
4. Green tea. The slimming ingredient isn't caffeine. Antioxidants called catechins are what help speed metabolism and fat burning. In a recent Japanese study, 35 men who drank a bottle of oolong tea mixed with green tea catechins lost weight, boosted their metabolism, and had a significant drop in their body mass index. Health bonus: The participants also lowered their (bad) LDL cholesterol.

5. Pears. They're now recognized as having more fiber, thanks to a corrected calculation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. At six grams (formerly four grams) per medium-size pear, they're great at filling you up. Apples come in second, with about three grams per medium-size fruit. Both contain pectin fiber, which decreases blood-sugar levels, helping you avoid between-meal snacking. This may explain why, in a Brazilian study that lasted 12 weeks, overweight women who ate three small pears or apples a day lost more weight than women on the same diet who ate three oat cookies daily instead of the fruit.
6. Soup. A cup of chicken soup is as appetite blunting as a piece of chicken: That was the finding of a Purdue University study with 18 women and 13 men. Why? Researchers speculate that even the simplest soup satisfies hunger because your brain perceives it as filling.
7. Lean beef. It's what's for dinner-or should be, if you're trying to shed pounds. The amino acid leucine, which is abundant in proteins like meat and fish as well as in dairy products, can help you pare down while maintaining calorie-burning muscle. That's what it did for 24 overweight middle-aged women in a study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Eating anywhere from nine to 10 ounces of beef a day on a roughly 1,700-calorie diet helped the women lose more weight, more fat, and less muscle mass than a control group consuming the same number of calories, but less protein. The beef eaters also had fewer hunger pangs.
8. Olive oil. Fight off middle-age pounds with extra virgin olive oil. A monounsaturated fat, it'll help you burn calories. In an Australian study, 12 postmenopausal women (ages 57 to 73) were given a breakfast cereal dressed either with a mixture of cream and skim milk or half an ounce of olive oil and skim milk. The women who ate the oil-laced muesli boosted their metabolism. Don't want to add olive oil to your oatmeal? That's OK-it works just as well in salad dressings, as a bread dip, or for sautéing.
9. Grapefruit. It's back! A 2006 study of 91 obese people conducted at the Nutrition and Metabolic Research Center at Scripps Clinic found that eating half a grapefruit before each meal or drinking a serving of the juice three times a day helped people drop more than three pounds over 12 weeks. The fruit's phytochemicals reduce insulin levels, a process that may force your body to convert calories into energy rather than flab.
10. Cinnamon. Sprinkle it on microwave oatmeal or whole-grain toast to help cure those mid-afternoon sugar slumps. Research from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture found that a little cinnamon can help control post-meal insulin spikes, which make you feel hungry. Health bonus: One USDA study showed that just a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon a day lowered the blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
11. Vinegar. It's a great filler-upper. In a Swedish study, researchers found that people who ate bread dipped in vinegar felt fuller than those who had their slices plain. The probable reason: Acetic acid in the vinegar may slow the passage of food from the stomach into the small intestine, so your tummy stays full longer. Vinegar can also short-circuit the swift blood-sugar rise that occurs after you eat refined carbs such as white bread, cookies, and crackers.
12. Tofu. It seems too light to be filling, but a study at Louisiana State University showed that tofu does the job. Researchers tested it against chicken as a pre-meal appetizer for 42 overweight women-and the participants who had tofu ate less food during the meal. The secret: Tofu is an appetite-quashing protein.
13. Nuts. Yes, they are fattening: A handful of peanuts is about 165 calories. But research shows that people who snack on nuts tend to be slimmer than those who don't. A study from Purdue University found that when a group of 15 normal-weight people added about 500 calories worth of peanuts to their regular diet, they consumed less at subsequent meals. The participants also revved up their resting metabolism by 11 percent, which means they burned more calories even when relaxing. Health bonus: Walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids. And researchers at Loma Linda University recently found that eating 10 to 20 whole pecans daily can reduce heart disease risks.
14. High-fiber cereal. Studies show that you can curb your appetite by eating a bowl for breakfast. But how well does it really work? Researchers at the VA Medical Center and the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis tested the theory against the ultimate diet challenge: the buffet table. They gave 14 volunteers one of five cereals before sending them out to the smorgasbord. Those who'd had the highest-fiber cereal ate less than those who didn't have as much fiber in the morning. Try General Mills Fiber One (14 grams per serving) or Kellogg's All Bran With Extra Fiber (13 grams per serving).
15. Hot red pepper. Eating a bowl of spicy chili regularly can help you lose weight. In a Japanese study, 13 women who ate breakfast foods with red pepper (think southwestern omelet) ate less than they normally did at lunch. The magic ingredient may be capsaicin, which helps suppress appetite.

Food Scenes

2009-08-08T06:57:00.000-07:00

Edible 'Sunscreen' In Food

2009-06-12T05:34:00.000-07:00

Watch CBS Videos Online

Natural ways to boost skin's defense against sunburn include watermelon and orange peel, Dr. Jennifer Ashton explains more to Maggie Rodriguez.

Jackie Newgent discusses her book, "Big Green Cookbook".

2009-06-12T05:15:00.000-07:00

The Authors@Google program welcomed Jackie Newgent to Google's New York office to discuss her book, "Big Green Cookbook".

"Jackie Newgent, an award-winning cookbook author, is a well-respected registered dietitian and culinary expert. Her much-anticipated cookbook,
"Big Green Cookbook: Hundreds of Planet-pleasing Recipes and Tips for a Luscious Low-carbon Lifestyle" (Wiley, 2009) has arrived. Its the first-ever cookbook which shows concerned consumers how to maximize flavor in real meals that minimize their carbon footprint. Its like a hybrid the Prius of cookbooks!

This event took place on April 20, 2009.

Top Poisonous Foods We Love To Eat

2009-02-04T17:31:00.000-08:00

Everyday we chow down on food produced from plants that carry deadly poisons. Most of the time we don’t need to be concerned with this as the mass production of fruit and vegetables ensures that we are usually safe, but from time to time people accidentally kill themselves by unwittingly eating the wrong part of a plant. In order to ensure that this never happens to you, I have put together a list of the most commonly seen poisons that we come in to contact with in our kitchens.

Mushrooms

We have all heard of toadstools - and know that they are poisonous, but what many people don’t know is that a toadstool is actually a mushroom, not a separate type of plant. Toadstool is slang for “poisonous mushroom”. While there are some useful signs that a mushroom is poisonous, they are not consistent and all mushrooms of unknown origin should be considered dangerous to eat. Some of the things you can look for to try to determine whether a mushroom is poisonous are: it should have a flat cap with no bumps, it should have pink or black gills (poisonous mushrooms often have white gills), and the gills should stay attached to the cap (not the stalk) if you pull it off. But remember, while this is generally true of many types of mushroom, it is not always true.

Elderberry

Elderberry trees are very attractive and quite large. They are covered with thousands of tiny flowers which have a delicate scent. The flowers are used mainly for making elderflower liqueur and soda. Sometimes the flowers are eaten after being battered and deep fried. But beneath the pretty surface lurks danger! The roots and some other parts of the elderberry tree are highly poisonous and will cause severe stomach problems. So next time you decide to pick some elderberry flowers for eating, be sure to eat just the flowers.

4-castor-oil

Castor Oil

Castor oil, the bane of many of our childhoods, is regularly added to candies, chocolate, and other foods. Furthermore, many people still consume a small amount daily or force it on their unwilling children. Fortunately the castor oil we buy is carefully prepared, because the castor bean is so deadly, that it takes just one bean to kill a human, and four to kill a horse. The poison is ricin, which is so toxic that workers who collect the seeds have strict safety guidelines to prevent accidental death. Despite this, many people working in the fields gathering the seeds suffer terrible side-effects.

Almonds

Almonds are one of the most useful and wonderful of seeds (it is not a nut as many people would have you believe). It has a unique taste and its excellent suitability for use in cooking have made it one of the most popular ingredients in pastry kitchens for centuries. The most flavorsome almonds are bitter almonds (as opposed to “sweet” almonds). They have the strongest scent and are the most popular in many countries. But there is one problem: they are full of cyanide. Before consumption, bitter almonds must be processed to remove the poison. Despite this requirement, some countries make the sale of bitter almonds illegal (New Zealand regretfully is one of them). As an alternative, you can use the pip from an apricot stone which has a similar flavor and poison content. Heating destroys the poison. In fact, you may not know that it is now illegal in the USA to sell raw almonds - all almonds sold are now heat-treated to remove traces of poison and bacteria.

Cherries

Cherries are a very popular fruit - used in cooking, liqueur production, or eaten raw. They are from the same family as plums, apricots, and peaches. All of the previously mentioned fruits contain highly poisonous compounds in their leaves and seeds. Almonds are also a member of this family but they are the only fruit which is harvested especially for its seeds. When the seeds of cherries are crushed, chewed, or even slightly injured, they produce prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide). Next time you are eating cherries, remember not to suck on or chew the pip.

Apples

Like the previous two items, apple seeds also contain cyanide - but obviously in much smaller doses. Apple seeds are very often eaten accidentally but you would need to chew and consume a fairly high number to get sick. There are not enough seeds in one apple to kill, but it is absolutely possible to eat enough to die. I recommend avoiding apple eating competitions! Incidentally, if you want to eat an apple and find a worm in it (and hopefully not half a worm), you can drop it in a bowl of salt water which will kill the worm.

Rhubarb

Rhubarb is a very underrated plant - it produces some of the nicest tasting puddings and is incredibly easy to grow at home. Rhubarb is something of a wonder plant - in addition to an unknown poison in its leaves, they also contain a corrosive acid. If you mix the leaves with water and soda, it becomes even more potent. The stems are edible (and incredibly tasty) and the roots have been used for over 5,000 years as a laxitive and poop-softener.

Tomatoes

First off, a little interesting trivia: in the US, thanks to a US Supreme Court decision in 1893, tomatoes are vegetables. In the rest of the world they are considered to be fruit (or more accurately, a berry). The reason for this decision was a tax on vegetables but not fruit. You may also be interested to know that technically, a tomato is an ovary. The leaves and stems of the tomato plant contain a chemical called “Glycoalkaloid” which causes extreme nervousness and stomach upsets. Despite this, they can be used in cooking to enhance flavor, but they must be removed before eating. Cooking in this way does not allow enough poison to seep out but can make a huge difference in taste. Finally, to enhance the flavor of tomatoes, sprinkle a little sugar on them. Now we just need to work out whether they are “toe-mah-toes” or “toe-may-toes”.

10-potatoes

Potatoes

Potatoes have appeared in our history books since their introduction to Europe in the 16th century. Unfortunately they appear largely due to crop failure and severe famine, but they will be forever the central vegetable of most western families daily diet. Potatoes (like tomatoes) contain poison in the stems and leaves - and even in the potato itself if left to turn green (the green is due to a high concentration of the glycoalkaloid poison). Potato poisoning is rare, but it does happen from time to time. Death normally comes after a period of weakness and confusion, followed by a coma. The majority of cases of death by potato in the last fifty years in the USA have been the result of eating green potatoes or drinking potato leaf tea.

Unauthorized commercial for Trader Joe's

2009-02-03T17:03:00.000-08:00

Brew the Best Possible Coffee Without Breaking the Bank

2009-02-03T08:15:00.000-08:00

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Whether you're the kind of coffee drinker that slugs back the swill in the break-room coffee pot at work or savors exotic coffee on sleepy Sundays, there is always room for enhancing your java.

Consider yourself forewarned however, once you begin brewing better coffee it becomes increasingly difficult to go back to enjoying crappy coffee. Raised in a family of non-coffee drinkers I simply accepted that the coffee I intermittently experienced in diners and donut shops across America was the entirety of the coffee experience—scalding hot, bitter in taste, and certainly not as pleasant a caffeine delivery system as Mountain Dew. All of that changed when I started drinking more coffee to survive life on the graveyard shift and decided that there had to be a way to make coffee taste good without adding so much sugar into it that I may as well have kept drinking soda.

You won't always be able to use all of the following tricks to brew a great cup of coffee—not all of us have access a local coffee roaster or the a well stocked local market—but applying even a few of them to your coffee routine will boost the quality of your coffee drinking experience.
Know Your Varieties

Nearly all the coffee in the world comes from two types of coffee plants: Arabica and Robusta. Arabica has roughly half the amount of caffeine and a more mellow taste. Robusta has more caffeine and higher acidic content which creates a significantly more bitter flavor. Many people experience mild stomach aches from the combination of higher caffeine and acidic content of Robusta beans, certainly many a potential future coffee-drinker has sworn off the stuff because of such an experience with cheap Robusta beans. It often isn't all that much more to buy Arabica over Robusta and with careful label reading you can often get Arabica coffee for the same price as Robusta based blends.
Buy Whole Beans

When you smell coffee—whether you're smelling whole beans or already ground coffee—you're essentially breathing in some of the flavor. The oils and chemical compounds that give coffee its distinct flavoring are in constant flight from the bean. The more you can do to preserve the integrity of the beans and the delightful flavor inside right up until the moment of brewing, the better the coffee will be. Keeping the beans intact for as long as possible helps immensely. If possible where you live, try to buy locally roasted beans to benefit from the freshness. Barring that, buying whole bean coffee is vastly superior to buying pre-ground coffee.

Grind Your Own

You've got whole bean coffee, now what? There are two principle types of coffee grinders on the market. A basic blade grinder costs less than $15 at any kitchen store or big box grocer and looks a lot like a tall and narrow food processor. There is a flat blade at the bottom of the chamber you put your coffee in that spins and grinds up the beans. The other kind of grinder is a burr grinder and prices for a quality model start at $200 and rise rapidly. Burr models use two interlocking metal burns to create extremely uniform coffee grounds—imagine if you will two cone shaped gears that fit together like nesting dolls. Coffee aficionados will balk at my suggestion that a blade grinder is adequate, but it's better to have irregularly but freshly ground coffee than it is to have no coffee at all because you blew $500 on a premium coffee grinder! Grind the coffee as closely to the time it will be used as possible, ideally right before you use it.
Storage

The refrigerator is the mortal enemy of your coffee. Taking coffee in and out of the fridge is a sure way to suck the flavor right out of it. Coffee that will be used frequently and immediately—whole bean or ground— is ideally stored in an air tight, opaque,and glass or otherwise inert container. Coffee that will not be consumed immediately but needs to be preserved for near-future use can be safely stored in the freezer assuming it is stored in a dry and air tight container. Storing an unsealed container of grounds or beans in the cold temperatures of either the fridge or freezer is a sure way to accelerate the its journey from delicious flavor to stale bitterness.

Press It

Most people would assume if they had less than $50 to spend on coffee brewing equipment that there would be no way they could get a premium cup of coffee out of the supplies they could afford. Fortunately one of the best methods of brewing coffee is the cheapest. You can pick up a Bodum Chambord French Press, the original and classic design, for $25 or less just about everywhere. Using a French press is one of the simplest methods of brewing a fantastic cup of coffee. A French press is a glass cylinder that has a lid with a piston style rod attached to a circular screen. Grind your coffee, put a few heaping scoops in the bottom, pour nearly boiling water over the grounds, wait about four minutes, press the plunger down to push the grounds down and enjoy some delicious coffee. One of the primary benefits of making coffee in a French press over a standard drip pot is that more of the coffee oils end up in your cup instead of in the machine's filter. More oils means better taste! As a bonus, a carefully cleaned French press can also double as an excellent pot for loose leaf tea. If you already have a drip pot and want to keep on using it, use a tip we've previously highlighted as a way to get better coffee out of drip coffee makers: run a pot of water through it before putting the actual coffee through to pre-heat the unit and help get it closer to optimum brewing temperature.
Use Pure(r) Water

While it might not be practical to install a reverse osmosis filter under your sink, the more pure the water you use for your coffee the better it will taste. A gallon of locally distilled water costs less than a dollar in most places and many supermarkets have cheap refills available—my local market has a machine that will refill a gallon jug for 35 cents. Even if you—for environmental or financial reasons—don't want to spend money on filtered or bottled water for your coffee you can still tweak your water. Fill up a pitcher of water the night before and set it out on the counter. While it's not the same as being filtered through the stony depths of a mountain aquifer it will allow some chemicals in the water like chlorine to dissipate. Anything that makes your cup of joe taste less like the pool at the YMCA is welcome.

The variety of coffees and methods of preparation ensure that the above list just barely scratches the surface of tips and tricks to be shared on the subject. If you have a great tip for making a better cup of coffee, share it in the comments below and help your fellow readers make 2009 the year their coffee stops being bitter enough to kill an old cowboy.

Professor Invents Sticker That Tells Whether Fruit Is Ripe

2009-01-04T07:26:00.000-08:00

TUCSON, Ariz. — A University of Arizona professor has invented a sticker that can tell consumers if a fruit or vegetable is ripe.

The stickers will be available to growers next year and should make their way to supermarkets within two to three years, said Mark Riley, a UA assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering.

He said growers and grocers throw out thousands of bushels of fruit each year because it ripened faster than it could get to market or be sold.

With no simple way to tell whether fruit that looks good on the outside will taste good on the inside, consumers often buy peaches, pears and melons they can't eat because they're under-ripe or overripe.

"Right now, picking fruit is more of an art than it is a science," Riley said.

A marker on Riley's RediRipe stickers detects a chemical called ethylene gas, which is released by fruit or vegetables as they ripen.

As that happens, the sticker turns from white to blue.
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The more ethylene gas the fruit produces, the darker the blue, Riley said.

The color shift is not instantaneous once a sticker is attached. It takes about 24 to 48 hours, depending on how fast the fruit is ripening, Riley said.

And there are still bugs to be worked out: The stickers do not change color to reflect an overripe or rotten piece of fruit.

Also, not all fruit produces enough ethylene to be detected by the sticker, said Jim McFerson, manager of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, a growers' research group that helped sponsor the research.

"There is still a lot of research to do," McFerson said.

Each sticker is expected to cost growers and grocers about a penny, Riley said.

There is a patent pending for the stickers through the UA. Riley said when RediRipe goes to market, the university will keep the patent and the company will license the product.

Research on ethylene's use in fruit ripening began in the 1940s, and the gas is used to ripen fruits and vegetables in storage.

Riley has done multiple small field tests on his stickers — including at an apple orchard in Willcox — and plans a much larger field test this fall in Washington.

Emmental (cheese)

2008-12-24T06:22:00.001-08:00

Emmental, Emmentaler, Emmenthal, or Emmenthaler is a cheese from Switzerland. It is sometimes known as Swiss cheese in North America, Australia and New Zealand, although Swiss cheese does not always imply Emmental.

The cheese originally comes from the Emme valley in the canton of Bern. Unlike some other cheese varieties, the denomination "Emmental" was not protected ("Emmentaler Switzerland" is, though). Hence, Emmental of other origin, especially from France and Bavaria, is widely available. Even Finland is an exporter of Emmental cheese.

Emmental is a yellow, medium-hard cheese, with characteristic large holes. It has a piquant, but not really sharp taste. Three types of bacteria are used in the production of Emmental: Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus, and Propionibacter shermani. In the late stage of cheese production, P. shermani consumes the lactic acid excreted by the other bacteria, and releases carbon dioxide gas, which slowly forms the bubbles that make holes.
* Emmentaler Switzerland AOC is registered since 2006 as an AOC (Appellation d'origine contrôlée). This “original Emmentaler” has to be aged for a minimum of 4 months. It is produced in a round shape with a natural rind and aged in traditional cellars. The original Emmentaler exists with different age profiles, classic 4 month, reserve 8 month, Premier Cru 14 month. It is produced with raw cow milk adding only natural ingredients (water, salt, natural starters and rennet). Preservatives or ingredients from GMO modified organism are not allowed. Emmental AOC is still produced in small rural dairies.

* Emmentaler Switzerland Premier Cru is a special Emmental aged for 14 months in humid caves. It was the first cheese from Switzerland to win the title World Champion at the Wisconsin (USA) Cheese World Championships in 2006. It was nominated best cheese among over 1,700 competitors. For this achievement it has received a place in the Historic Museum in Bern Switzerland.

It is noteworthy that "Swiss Cheese" not made in Switzerland typically tastes considerably different, primarily because the raw milk to make the cheese should not be transported over long distances, as the vibrations homogenize the milk, and thereby change the outcome.

It features prominently in the cuisine of the United States where it is a standard cheese for use in the preparation of sandwiches.

In cooking, it is often put on top of gratins, dishes which are then put in the oven to let the cheese melt and become golden-brown and crusty. It is also used for fondue in which case it is blended with Gruyere cheese.

Mozzarella

2008-12-24T06:11:00.001-08:00

Mozzarella is a generic term for several kinds of originally Italian cheeses that are made using spinning and then cutting (hence the name; the Italian verb mozzare means "to cut"):

* Mozzarella di Bufala (buffalo mozzarella), made from domesticated water buffalo milk
* mozzarella fior di latte, made from fresh pasteurized or unpasteurized cow's milk
* low-moisture mozzarella, which is made from whole or part skim milk, and widely used in the foodservice industry
* smoked mozzarella

Fresh mozzarella is generally white, but may vary seasonally to slightly yellow depending on the animal's diet.[2] It is a semi-soft cheese. Due to its high moisture content, it is traditionally served the day it is made[3], but can be kept in brine for up to a week[4], or longer when sold in vacuum-sealed packages. Low-moisture mozzarella can keep refrigerated for up to a month[5], though some pre-shredded low-moisture mozzerella is sold with a shelf life of up to 6 months.[6] Mozzarella of several kinds are also used for most types of pizza, lasagna, or served with sliced tomatoes and basil in Insalata caprese.
Types

The mozzarella from bufala campana (DOP 1996) is a particular type of mozzarella; some consider it the best for flavour or quality and it is protected by European DOP. It is a raw material in Italian style neapolitan Pizza - rather than mozzarella made with pasteurized cow's milk.

Mozzarella is available fresh; it is usually rolled in the shape of a ball of 80 to 100 grams (6 cm diameter), sometimes up to 1 kilogram (about 12 cm diameter), and soaked in salt water or whey, sometimes with added citric acid, until sold.

Fior di latte (written also as fiordilatte) is used to distinguish the mozzarella made from cow's milk from that made from buffalo's milk.

When slightly desiccated (partially dried), the structure becomes more compact; then it is better used to prepare dishes cooked in the oven, for example lasagne.

When twisted to form a plait it is called treccia.

It is also available in smoked (called affumicata) and reduced-moisture packaged varieties.

The production of mozzarella involves the mixture of curd with heated whey, followed by stretching and kneading to produce a delicate consistency -- this process is generally known as pasta filata. According to the Mozzarella di Bufala trade association, "The cheesemaker kneads it with his hands, like a baker making bread, until he obtains a smooth, shiny paste, a strand of which he pulls out and lops off, forming the individual mozzarella." [7] It is then typically formed into ball shapes or in plait. In Italy, a "rubbery" consistency is generally considered not satisfactory; the cheese is expected to be softer.
Etymology

It has been said that the name "mozzarella", which is clearly derived from southern Italian dialects, was the diminutive form of mozza (cut), or mozzare (to cut off) derived from the method of working. Other theories describe its origins as a minor preparation of "scamozza" (Scamorza cheese), which in its turn probably derives from "scamozzata" ("without a shirt"), with allusion to the fact that these cheeses have no hard surface covering typical of a dry cured cheese.

The term mozzarella is first found definitively mentioned in 1570, cited in a cookbook by Bartolomeo Scappi, reading "…milk cream, fresh butter, ricotta cheese, fresh mozzarella and milk…"

Cheese curds

2008-12-24T06:04:00.000-08:00

Cheese curds are the fresh curds of cheese, often cheddar. They are generally available in retail stores operated at cheese factories throughout the countries of Canada and the United States (especially in USA's Upstate New York, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Canada's provinces of Ontario, and Quebec, where they can be found in many grocery stores. ) Cheese curds are little-known in locations without cheese factories, because they should ideally be eaten within hours of manufacture.

Their flavor is mild with about the same firmness as cheese, but has a springy or rubbery texture. Fresh curds squeak against the teeth when bitten into, which some would say is their defining characteristic. Cheese curds are sometimes referred to as "Squeaky cheese." They are sometimes somewhat salty. The American variety are usually yellow or orange in color, like most American cheddar cheese. Other varieties, such as the Québécois and New York variety, can be roughly the same color as white cheddar cheese.
After twelve hours, even under refrigeration, they have lost much of their "fresh" characteristics, particularly the "squeak". This "squeak" has been described by the New York Times as sounding like "balloons trying to neck".[1] After twenty-four hours, they will lose their freshness entirely. If they are purchased locally and need to be kept for a couple of days, room temperature, rather than refrigeration, may preserve the flavor and "squeak".
n Wisconsin, Minnesota, Upper Michigan, South Dakota, Northern Illinois, and Iowa, deep-fried cheese curds are often found at carnivals and fairs, and often local non-chain fast food restaurants and bars. Deep-fried cheese curds are covered with a batter, like that used for onion rings, or are breaded and placed in a deep fryer. In the United States, A&W Restaurants and Culver's have added fried cheese curds to their menus and they are available nationwide.
Cheese curds are a main ingredient in poutine, a dish in which cheese curds are served layered on top of french fries, and melting under steaming hot gravy.

How to Relieve Bloating With Food

2008-12-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

Try fresh pineapple. Fresh pineapple contains bromelain and this is a digestion-promoting enzyme.
Try fresh papaya. This also contains bromelain and it is great for breaking down food and digesting proteins.
Munch on celery. Celery helps to relieve fluid retention because it is a diuretic. Try a handful each day until your bloating is under better control.
Choose asparagus. Asparagus encourages the growth of friendly gut bacteria. Friendly bacteria work to reduce the build-up of stomach gas.
Add yogurt to your daily diet. Yogurt brings helpful bacteria to your gut.
Season your food with freshly ground black pepper. Black pepper aids digestion and massaging the essential oil of black pepper on your stomach region can also help.
Drink peppermint tea. Peppermint tea aids digesting by helping food pass through the stomach quickly. It also calms flatulence. Either pre-packaged peppermint tea in bags or fresh mint leaves will work.

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

2008-12-21T06:13:00.000-08:00

Parmigiano-Reggiano is a hard, fat granular cheese, cooked but not pressed, named after the producing areas of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna, and Mantova, in Lombardy, Italy.

Parmigiano is simply the Italian adjective for Parma; the French version, Parmesan, is used in the English language. The term Parmesan is also loosely used as a common term for cheeses imitating true Parmesan cheese, especially outside Europe; within Europe, the Parmesan name is classified as a protected designation of origin.
Parmigiano-Reggiano is made from raw cow's milk. The whole milk of the morning milking is mixed with the naturally skimmed milk (it is left in large shallow tanks to allow the cream to separate) of the previous evening's milking, resulting in a part skim mixture. The milk is pumped into copper-lined vats (copper heats and cools quickly). Starter whey is added, and the temperature is raised to 33-35C. Calf rennet is added, and the mixture is left to curdle for 10-12 minutes. The curd is then broken up mechanically (spinitura in Italian) into small pieces (around the size of rice grains). The temperature is then raised to 55 °C with careful control by the cheese-maker. The curd is left to settle for 45-60 minutes. The compacted curd is collected in a piece of muslin before being divided in two and placed in moulds. There are 1100 L of milk per vat, producing two cheeses each. The curd making up each wheel at this point weighs around 45 kg (100 lb). The remaining whey in the vat was traditionally used to feed the pigs from which "Prosciutto di Parma" (cured Parma ham) is produced. The barns for these animals were usually just a few yards away from the cheese production rooms.

The cheese is put into a stainless steel round form that is pulled tight with a spring powered buckle so the cheese retains its wheel shape. After a day or two, the buckle is released and a plastic belt imprinted numerous times with the Parmigiano-Reggiano name, the plant's number, and month and year of production is put around the cheese and the metal form is buckled tight again. The imprints take hold on the rind of the cheese in about a day and the wheel is then put into a brine bath to absorb salt for 20-25 days. After brining, the wheels are then transferred to the aging rooms in the plant for 12 months. Each cheese is placed on wooden shelves that can be 24 cheeses high by 90 cheeses long or about 4,000 total wheels per aisle. Each cheese and the shelf underneath it is then cleaned manually or robotically every 7 days. The cheese is also turned at this time.
A factory of Parmigiano-Reggiano. There are two storerooms, both with 20 of these shelves.

At 12 months, the Consorzio Parmigiano-Reggiano inspects each and every cheese. The cheese is tested by a master grader whose only instruments are a hammer and his ear. By tapping the wheel at various points, he can identify undesirable cracks and voids within the wheel. Those cheeses that pass the test are then heat branded on the rind with the Consorzio's logo; those that don't used to have their rinds remarked with lines or crosses all the way around so consumers know they are not getting top-quality Parmigiano-Reggiano but are now simply stripped of all markings.

Traditionally, cows have to be fed only on grass or hay, producing grass fed milk. Only natural whey culture is allowed as a starter, together with calf rennet.[1]

The only additive allowed is salt, which the cheese absorbs while being submerged for 20 days in brine tanks saturated to near total salinity with Mediterranean sea salt. The product is aged an average of two years. The cheese is produced daily, and it can show a natural variability. True Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese has a sharp, complex fruity/nutty taste and a slightly gritty texture. Inferior versions can impart a bitter taste.

The average Parmigiano-Reggiano wheel is about 18-24 cm (7 to 9 inches) high, 40-45 cm (16 to 18 inches) in diameter, and weighs an average of 38 kg (80 pounds).

Uses of the cheese include being grated with a grater over pasta, stirred into soup and risotto, and eaten in chunks with balsamic vinegar. It is also a key ingredient in alfredo sauce and pesto.

Parmigiano cheese is considerably harder the farther it gets from its center and very hard near the crust; however it's exactly from this harder portions that the best grated cheese is obtained: a fine whiter dust which is more aromatic and tasty than the grating resulting from softer sections.

One traditional use of a whole Parmigiano head is to use it as a serving pot. Once the head is used up and thoroughly hollowed out so that the bare crust remains, steaming pasta is poured in it and served from therein.

[edit] History
Parmesan cheese being taste tested at a festival in Modena with balsamic vinegar drizzled on top.

According to legend, the Parmigiano was created in the course of the Middle Ages in Bibbiano, in the province of Reggio Emilia. Its production soon spread to the Parma and Modena areas. Historical documents show that in the 13th-14th century Parmigiano was already very similar to that produced today; this suggests that its origins can be traced far before.

In the memoirs of Giacomo Casanova, he remarked that the name "Parmesan" was a misnomer in his time (mid-18th century) as the cheese was produced in the town of Lodi, not Parma. This comment originates probably from the fact that a grana cheese very similar to the "Parmigiano", the Grana Padano, is produced in the Lodi area.

It was praised as early as 1348 in the writings of Boccaccio; in the Decameron, he speaks of a mountain made completely of Parmigiano to accompany macaroni and ravioli.

Samuel Pepys is reputed to have buried his Parmigiano during the Great Fire of London of 1666 to preserve it.

[edit] Use of the Name Parmigiano-Reggiano
Parmigiano-Reggiano festival in Modena; each wheel (block of cheese) costs 490 euro.

In the European Union, "Parmesan" is a protected designation of origin; legally, it refers exclusively to the Parmigiano-Reggiano DOP cheese manufactured in a limited area in Northern Italy. Outside Europe, most notably in the United States, similar cheeses may be sold under the name Parmesan, considered generic. When they are sold in Europe, they must use another name, such as Kraft's "pamesello italiano".[2]

The name is trademarked, and in Italy there is a legal exclusive control exercised over its production and sales by the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese Consorzio, which was created by a governmental decree. There are strict criteria each wheel must meet early in the aging process, when the cheese is still soft and creamy, to merit the official seal and be placed in storage for aging. Parmigiano-Reggiano has become an increasingly regulated product; in 1955 it became what is known as a certified name (not a brand name).

Outside Europe, the name "Parmesan" is treated as generic. The European Union campaigns against the use of protected European food labels by producers outside the designated region of origin, which might eventually lead to dropping the word "Parmesan" from cheese products originating outside the designated production region of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Other Cheeses Sold as Parmesan
An American version of pre-grated Parmesan.

The Grana Padano is an Italian cheese very similar to the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Differences are:

* It is produced mainly in Lombardy - the name Padano derives from the Pianura Padana
* Cows can also be fed silage, not grass and hay only
* The milk contains slightly less fat
* Milk of several days can be used
* It is aged for up to 20 months

Commercial Parmesan cheeses common in North America typically differ from Parmigiano-Reggiano in several ways:

* The cheese is aged for a shorter time
* The curds for Parmigiano-Reggiano are cut into fragments the size of wheat grains, which is much finer than the fragments created in the manufacture of the American version of Parmesan. The smaller curds drain more effectively;
* American Parmesan is mechanically pressed in order to expel excess moisture.
* Parmesan wheels in the United States average 11 kg (24 pounds). The size difference can affect their salt saturation during the brining process; Parmigiano-Reggiano on average contains two-thirds less salt than the average Parmesan.
* It is often sold grated.
* There is no outside body regulating or supervising the quality of the raw ingredients or of the production process.

[edit] Parmigiano Aroma and Chemical Components

Parmigiano has many aroma-active compounds, including various aldehydes and butyrates. Butyric acid and isovaleric acid together are sometimes used to imitate the dominant aromas.

Parmigiano is also particularly high in glutamates, containing as much as 1200 mg of glutamate per 100 g of cheese, making it the naturally produced food with the second highest level of glutamate, after Roquefort cheese. The strong presence of glutamates explains the strong umami taste of Parmigiano, and the fact of being present in so many dishes of the Italian cuisine helps explaining why Italian food is so much liked by umami-loving easterners and why so many Italians like Chinese and Japanese dishes heavy in umami flavours

Durian fruit Stinky, Pricey Delicacy

2008-06-21T06:08:00.000-07:00

The world's smelliest fruit may now also be the most expensive. It's the spiky, sulphurous durian, which has been selling in Thailand this summer for $200 each.

Adored by Southeast Asians and Chinese, the durian sends most foreigners fleeing, thanks to its unmistakable odor. "Gasoline" and "blue cheese" are two tame metaphors people often use to describe it; "garbage," "stinky socks" and "manure" also are frequently invoked. Even here in Thailand, durians are banned in hotel elevators, subways and airplanes. But they are the center of attention at Bangkok's upscale Otokor Market, where they are displayed in stacks, like pineapples on steroids.

The only thing about the durian more striking than the smell is the price: $200 for a prized specimen, and that is in a city where almost every tropical fruit is a bargain. Speaking of food inflation, that's an increase of 50% in just two years.

The Mon Thong, the most plentiful of Thailand's 30-odd species of durians, can be had for a mere $10 to $15 each. But prices rise to the stratosphere for the Kan Yao, a prized variety whose best specimens come from the Nonthaburi province, next to Bangkok. Thais swear Nonthaburi's soil and water produce the perfect kan yao durians -- better than those grown elsewhere in Thailand -- or for that matter in Malaysia or the Philippines, whose local durians have their own enthusiasts. In the U.S., imported durians sold at Asian and specialty markets usually have been picked so green that by the time they ripen they bear scant resemblance to durians eaten in Asia.

At Bangkok's Otokor market, durians attract devoted customers.

Behind the kan yao's high price -- $200 is a record this year -- is the confluence of two factors: Nonthaburi is turning into a bedroom suburb of Bangkok, with high-rise condominiums replacing the orchards. At the same time, as Bangkok's middle class grows, more people each year clamor after Nonthaburi's reduced durian crop. Especially in the past two years, demand has seemed to soar, even as supply plummeted.

This makes Vibhavadi Mapobsuk a popular woman. At her tiny stand in Otokor, she sells kan yao and 20 other species of durian harvested from trees she and her relatives own in Nonthaburi. She says her trees are at least 80 years old. Her customers are such devotees that some of them visit her orchard three months in advance, when the durians are tiny, to pick the ones they want, paying half the purchase price as the deposit. Ms. Vibhavadi prides herself on remembering everyone's selection without having to place tags on branches to identify which durian belongs to whom, as many other growers do.

An interview with Ms. Vibhavadi is a drawn-out process. Every minute or so, a customer interrupts waving stacks of 1000-baht notes, each worth about $30. One woman in line buys so many durians she can barely carry the plastic bags away; it's enough to feed an army platoon. "They're for my extended family," she explains. How many is that? "Four people," she answers. A man is spending $15 for a tiny misshapen kan yao; the $200 kan yaos by contrast are huge and perfectly symmetrical. "I'm not eating any because the price is so high," he says. "It's only for my wife, to show how much I love her."

Another customer gets sent away empty-handed. After he picked out the durian he wanted, Ms. Vibhavadi cut it open for him, looked at the meat and rejected the fruit as not up to her standards. She cut a second durian -- the only other one in his price range -- and rejected that one, too. Ms. Vibhavadi brags that she uses no chemicals, and she holds up with pride a durian whose top half is squashed and dark brown because of an invasion of predators.
[Durian photo]
StockFood

Cutting open a durian, whose season extends from April to July, requires considerable skill. The spikes are sharp, but Ms. Vibhavadi doesn't wear gloves as she slices the durian lengthwise with a big knife and pulls apart the two halves. Each wedge yields three or four big dark brown pods covered with yellow flesh -- the part that's eaten. The taste -- sweet, nutty -- and the custard-like texture bear no relation to the smell, which is so powerful that a durian will quickly impart its aroma to milk, juice and everything else in the refrigerator, even if it's in a sealed container. A mon thong is so custardy it adheres to the fingers, and Thais complain that the taste is excessively sweet. By contrast, the flesh of the kan yao is firmer and the taste much more subtle.

One problem buyers face is knowing when the durian is ready to eat, since different species -- and even the same species from different trees -- come in varying shades of green and brown that don't betray their ripeness. Ms. Vibhavadi, who grew up on a durian farm, says the solution is to listen carefully as you tap them with a knife handle. "When you hear 'peng, peng, peng,' they're not ready yet," she states. " 'Boop, boop, boop' and they're ripe."

In February, ten researchers from Warsaw Agricultural University, in Poland, published what they claim is the first extensive study of the durian's health benefits. They found that the Mon Thong was so high in antioxidants that they suggested it be included in diets to prevent heart disease. The Kan Yao also was found effective, but less so.

That should come as a relief to durian eaters who have suffered from its extreme richness and curious heat-inducing properties. Many people perspire excessively for an hour or two after consuming a durian -- the high sulfur content is generally thought to be the cause, says Bob Halliday, a Bangkok restaurant critic and a Western expert on Thai foods. A common remedy is to eat durian along with mangosteens, a small fruit with a hard purple shell and sweet, white flesh that many Thais believe has a cooling effect. Durian orchards often have mangosteen trees growing adjacent to them, and durian growers say the two fruits are like brothers; the branches grow intertwined.

Both durians and mangosteens were available in profusion at this year's annual Nonthaburi durian fair, held on the grounds of a Buddhist temple. Last year, the fair drew 20,000 visitors over a nine-day period. Organizers certify each grower to make certain no one falsely claims to come from the province. The durian is so beloved that it practically sells itself -- when a pickup truck loaded with durians comes from a farm to Bangkok, it need only pull over to any curb, and a crowd of smiling Thais will instantly surround it. The fair is no exception. "I just sold a small kan yao for 2500 baht ($80)," brags Prakong Krutthai, whose small table of durians was surrounded by potential buyers.

Recipe

When celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten opened Spice Market restaurant in New York City in 2004, durian ice cream was on the menu, and its stinky-socks aroma and blue-cheese finish were the talk of the food scene. Then pastry chef Pichet Ong left to open his own restaurant, P*ONG, and, in April, a takeout place called Batch. Durian ice cream is available by special request, and so far, he's had all of 15 orders -- at $18 a quart -- from curiosity-seekers and from people who have lived in Southeast Asia. "It is definitely an acquired taste," Mr. Ong says.

--Katy McLaughlin
Pichet Ong's Durian Ice Cream
[Durian ice cream photo]
Andrew Scrivani for The Wall Street Journal

Makes: 1 quart
Prep time: 5 minutes
Freezing time: 20 minutes to chill, plus 20 to 30 minutes for freezing (time depends on your ice-cream maker)

1 pound frozen durian meat, preferably a variety such as Mon Thong, thawed (found in plastic boxes in the freezer section of some Asian markets)
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
2/3 cup well-shaken coconut milk, chilled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Put durian meat, milk, sugar, and salt in a large, heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat, whisking often to break up the durian, until the mixture scalds, 2 to 3 minutes. Meanwhile, place the egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl.

• Ladle 1 to 2 cups of the warm durian and milk mixture into the bowl of yolks and whisk quickly to combine and temper the eggs. Add the remaining durian mixture and whisk to combine.

• Whisk the coconut milk and vanilla into the mixture. Set the bowl of custard in a larger bowl filled with ice and water (an ice-water bath) to chill.

• Once cooled, churn ice-cream base in maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Depending on your machine, you may need to transfer the ice cream to a container and place in your freezer to achieve desired consistency.

Chef's tips: Be sure to use a variety like Mon Thong, which is golden yellow and has a soft, custard-like texture when ripe. For a smooth texture, blend the durian and the milk in a blender before placing them in the saucepan. My preference, however, is for a chunkier texture.

Grown in Transit

2008-06-03T06:12:00.000-07:00

Grown in Transit

Supermarkets and modern food transportation systems have sacrificed freshness and seasonality in favour of warehousing depots, bulk transportation and blemish-free produce. But a new attitude is emerging, with the creation of innovative ways of growing food in transit rather than refrigerating products into suspended animation.

Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Agata Jaworska's project "Made in Transit" aims to eliminate the wasted time and trapped inventory in many supply chains by actually growing produce en route to the store. Jaworska's concept aims to move from "Best Before" preservative packaging to "Ready By" cultivational packaging which consumers would open when the product was ready for consumption. Jaworska's first example [below] would grow mushrooms on the way to the supermarket.

The instant a crop is removed from the ground or separated from its parent plant, a steady process of deterioration begins, says Jaworska. Methods to compensate for the loss of quality, taste and nutrients can only slow the process of deterioration but the result will never match what we have at the source of life. The Grown in Transit concept enables growth along the way, to deliver absolute freshness and allow the consumer to harvest their own food. The idea would also minimise excess packaging such as the plastic film and crates that protect delicate food items in transit. These are rarely reused.

Banana: R.I.P.

2008-06-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

They're in trouble. Can biotechnology save the fruit?
The banana we eat today is not the one your grandparents ate. That one - known as the Gros Michel - was, by all accounts, bigger, tastier, and hardier than the variety we know and love, which is called the Cavendish. The unavailability of the Gros Michel is easily explained: it is virtually extinct.

Introduced to our hemisphere in the late 19th century, the Gros Michel was almost immediately hit by a blight that wiped it out by 1960. The Cavendish was adopted at the last minute by the big banana companies - Chiquita and Dole - because it was resistant to that blight, a fungus known as Panama disease. For the past fifty years, all has been quiet in the banana world. Until now.

Panama disease in Hawaii
Photo: Scot Nelson
Panama disease - or Fusarium wilt of banana - is back, and the Cavendish does not appear to be safe from this new strain, which appeared two decades ago in Malaysia, spread slowly at first, but is now moving at a geometrically quicker pace. There is no cure, and nearly every banana scientist says that though Panama disease has yet to hit the banana crops of Latin America, which feed our hemisphere, the question is not if this will happen, but when. Even worse, the malady has the potential to spread to dozens of other banana varieties, including African bananas, the primary source of nutrition for millions of people.

Crop disease is only half the problem. The other part is denial. One of the most recent places Panama disease struck was Australia. Three years ago, when I was researching my book on bananas, growers down under were bragging that they'd found a way to control the disease, which first appeared in 1997 near the Northern Territory town of Darwin. "We have developed a rapid and accurate DNA-based diagnostic test...used in the detection and management of outbreaks," asserted a brochure issued by the country's Cooperative Research Centre for Plant Protection.

The Australian management program consisted of quick quarantine of fields that were proven by the test to be infected. But early detection doesn't necessarily buy enough time. The plan came apart in March 2006, when Cyclone Larry ravaged Australia's banana growing regions. High winds destroyed more than 85% of the banana crop, and flooding spread infected water and dirt to the surviving banana trees. An October report from the Australia Broadcasting Company documented the rapid spread of the blight on previously-disease free plantations. Reporter Anne Barker wrote that the "industry, which once had such bright prospects, is now facing collapse."

Panama disease hasn't hit our hemisphere yet, and the big banana companies appear unalarmed. Chiquita's 2006 annual report doesn't mention banana disease at all. The company's 2007 end-of-year SEC filing names plant disease as a "risk factor," but only mentions black sigatoka, which can be controlled chemically.

Why should it be? After all, Latin America, where we grow all of our bananas, is a hemisphere away from the places where the disease is now spreading. With all that ocean, could the epidemic could actually reach our bananalands?

Not only is it possible, it might already be happening. In late December, 2007, Philippine agriculture secretary Arthur Yap announced that the U.S. had agreed to import a large shipment of Cavendish bananas from Philippine plantations (overall, we import about 8.5 billion pounds of bananas each year, all from Latin America).

Transgenic plants in field, Uganda
Photo: Rony Swennen
Panama disease is so virulent that a single clump of dirt tracked in on a tire tread or a shoe can spark a country-wide outbreak. It isn't hard to imagine that a stray banana box from the Philippines, loaded into a Dole shipping container could be left unloaded at Long Beach, California, and continue on to Guatemala, where it could infect that nation's crop and tear through Latin America. In fact, the original Panama disease outbreak that decimated the Gros Michel almost certainly went from Asia, to the Caribbean, to Central and South America, though the exact path was never determined. The spread of Panama disease from Asia to the banana plantations of the Western Hemisphere is more than imaginable. With shipping containers traveling the world, and bananas crossing hemispheres, it's likely.

When the first outbreak of Panama disease hit the Gros Michels of South and Central America, it nearly put the entire industry out of business. Only at the last minute was a substitute banana - the Cavendish - found. The Cavendish was thought to be resistant, and for 50 years, that was true. No longer.

Transgenic banana plantlet in Belgian lab
Photo: Dan Koeppel
Now, the future of the Cavendish lies in genetic engineering. Scientists have created bananas that resist Panama disease in the lab. The problem with these engineered bananas is that they lack the other characteristics - ideal ripening speed, a thick skin, and the right taste - that make a banana variety attractive for export. Making a single banana with all of those attributes may take years. Another issue is consumer acceptance: surveys have shown that most shoppers would reject modified bananas, even if they were proven to be safe.

Bananas are, however, excellent candidates for genetic modification. They are sterile - no seeds or pollen by which mutations might spread - and reproduce vegetatively. Right now, regulations have prevented even publicly funded research organizations from testing more than a handful of transformed bananas in the field. Most of this research has been conducted under the auspices of Bioversity International, an umbrella group that works mostly on food security issues. The bananas being field tested were developed by scientists in Leuven, Belgium, and are being grown at experimental plots in Uganda, a country where about 80 percent of some local diets is made up of the fruit, and where the consequences of a banana wipe-out would be disastrous. The millions of people like those in Uganda who depend on bananas to survive would be the real beneficiaries of a better banana.

There's little time left. If there is a "grail banana," it is likely to be found in the lab. The question is whether we'll let it split from there.

Dan Koeppel is the author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World. He spent three years hanging out with banana growers, scientists, and banana consumers around the world. His website is www.bananabook.org.

Just the cricket: Eating insects is good for us and for the environment, scientists claim

2008-06-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

It might be a while before they appear on the shelf at Tesco.

But scientists claim adding insects to our diet would be good for us and the environment.

Crunching into crickets or snacking on grilled caterpillar is apparently a means to a nutrient-rich diet that also helps reduce pests and puts less strain on the planet than eating conventional meat.

Enlarge insects

Some insects in their dried form are said to have twice the protein of raw meat and fish, while others are rich in unsaturated fat and contain important vitamins and minerals.

Experts believe they could one day be marketed as a healthy alternative to fatty snacks.

In most of Europe, bug-eating is largely restricted to the belated realisation that there has been an unwelcome addition to the salad.

It is common elsewhere, however, with some 1,700 species of bug eaten in 113 countries.

In Taiwan, stir-fried crickets or sauteed caterpillars are delicacies. A plate of maguey worms - larvae of a giant butterfly - sells for £12.50 in smart Mexican restaurants.

Sago grubs wrapped in banana leaves go down well in Papua New Guinea, as does dragonfly in Bali.

In many parts of south-east Asia market stalls sell insects by the pound and deep-fried snacks are served up as street food.

Insects are arthropods, much like crab, shrimps and lobster which are all accepted by the European palate. In North Africa locusts are sometimes called sky prawns.

But Patrick Durst, of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, said that if consumers were to be tempted to broaden their culinary horizons the trick might be to make the bugs look more palatable.

'You need to get the food into a form where someone doesn't have to look the bug in the eye when they eat it,' he said.

Earlier this year the Food and Agriculture Organisation held a conference to discuss how entomophagy - eating insects as food - could contribute to sustainable development.

Bug-farming preserves forests - which are needed to attract insects - and is encouraged in some countries.

As for pesticides, some experts have pointed out the irony of using chemicals to get rid of bugs that are more nutritious than the crops they prey on.

In Thailand when pesticides failed to control locusts, the government urged locals to eat them and distributed recipes.

Chef Paul Cook, who supplies exotic and unusual food through his Bristol-based business Osgrow, has sold a range of insects including locusts.

He said: 'You have to get past your feeling when you look at a whole locust or cricket. They are very clean and nutritious.

'But I don't think we are going to see Jamie Oliver encouraging us to have sky prawns on the school menu.'

How to Make a No Bake Cherry Cheesecake

2008-05-04T10:20:00.001-07:00

As it starts to get warmer and cherry season kicks into a gear, you might yearn for the refreshing and enriching flavor of a cherry cheesecake but shudder (or sweat) at the thought of turning on the oven. With this recipe, all you need to do is mix the ingredients, chill, and savor this light dessert.

* 16 ounces cream cheese ([2] 8 ounce packages, 0.45 kg)
* 1 tablespoon (13g) vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon (5g) lemon juice
* 1 14 oz. can (415mL) of sweetened condensed milk
* 8 oz. (227g) cherry pie filling
* 1 pie crust (already baked)

Steps

1. Soften the cream cheese by letting it stand for about 10 minutes at room temperature.
2. Chill lemon juice in refrigerator for 5 minutes.
3.
Mixing ingredients
Mixing ingredients
Mix together the softened cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Mix or beat until smooth.
4. Add the lemon using a wooden spoon for stirring.
5.
Pouring batter into the crust
Pouring batter into the crust
Pour the batter into the pie crust.
6.
Evenly spread the filling
Evenly spread the filling
Spread the cheesecake filling evenly throughout the pie crust.
7.
Chill.
Chill.
Chill this cheesecake in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or until cold.
8.
Adding cheeries on top of the cheesecake
Adding cheeries on top of the cheesecake
Top the cheesecake with cherry pie filling.
9. Chill the cheesecake for another 10 minutes.
10. Serve.

Tips

* The cherry pie filling does not have to be cold, but can be if desired.
* Chocolate or other favorite topping may be used instead of cherries.

Things You'll Need

* Large mixing bowl
* Wooden spoon
* Mixer
* Can opener
* Regular spoon

How to Make an Oreo Cheesecake from Scratch

2008-05-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

This cheesecake is a proven crowd pleaser. It’s great for holidays or family gatherings. This recipe uses Oreo brand cookies, but any chocolate sandwich cookie can be substituted. Constructing this piece of art is a two-day process, taking approximately 13-14 hours to complete. Although time consuming, the taste is well worth the wait.
[edit] Ingredients

1 pound (16 ounces, 455 grams) of Philadelphia Cream Cheese

1 cup (200 grams) of granulated white sugar

5 large size eggs

1/2 cup (119 grams) of heavy whipping cream

1 bag (510 grams) of Oreo cookies

For decorating:

Oreos

1 cup (238 grams) heavy whipping cream

3/4 cup (90 grams) confection sugar

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

[edit] Steps

1. Remove cream cheese from the refrigerator and allow softening for approximately 1 hour.
2. Use 9” (23cm) cheesecake pan to measure parchment paper for covering the bottom and sides.

3. Remove an entire row of Oreos from the bag.
4. Use a knife and remove the icing in the middle of the Oreos. Don't worry if it breaks, it will be crushed up anyway.

5. Put the outside of the Oreos in the food processor. After processing, place the crushed Oreos aside.
6. Pre-heat the oven to 280 degrees F (138 degrees C).
7. Cut the softened cream cheese into approximately 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) slices

8. Adding the slices one by one, put 1 pound (450 grams) of the cream cheese in the mixer.
9. Add half of the sugar to the mixer and allow mixing for approximately 2 minutes.
10. Adding the slices one by one, put the last of the cream cheese in the mixer.
11. Add the rest of the sugar to the mixer and allow mixing for approximately 2 minutes.
12. Add five whole eggs to the mixer, one at a time, and mix each until yolk is no longer visible

13. Add 1/2 cup (119 grams) of heavy whipping cream and allow mixing for approximately 1-2 minutes.
14. Add approximately 2 spoonfuls of the crushed Oreos to the mixer and allow mixing.
15. Break Oreos (half a row) into pieces and add to the mixer.
16. Make sure the previously measured parchment paper is correctly placed in the bottom and around the sides of the pan.
17. Place the previously crushed Oreo crumbs into the pan, spread as evenly as possible.

18. Pour the cheesecake filling from the mixer into the pan.
19. Fill the half-sheet cake pan 1/2 with water and place the 9” cheesecake pan in the middle.
20. Bake cheesecake at 280 degrees (138 degrees C) for 2 hours and 35 minutes (use convection oven if available).
21. Remove cheesecake and let cool for 1 hour.
22. Refrigerate cooled cheesecake for 8 hours.

Decorating

1. Remove cheesecake from pan and place on serving dish.
2. Put 1 cup (238 grams) of heavy whipping cream into the small bowl.
3. Add 3/4 cup of confection sugar to the heavy whipping cream.
4. Mix ingredients with a hand mixer until it becomes thick and fluffy (approximately 5-7 minutes).
5. Using the rubber spatula, spread the cream over the top and sides of the cheesecake.

6. Crumble Oreos onto the top of cheesecake.
7. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips onto the top of the cheesecake.
8. In a medium pot heat water (medium to high heat).
9. Place the melting pot into the heated water.
10. Put 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips into the melting pot.
11. Cut a very small hole in the corner of the snack size zip lock bag.

12. Scoop the melted chocolate into the snack size zip lock bag.
13. Squeeze the bag and drizzle melted chocolate onto the top of the cheesecake and enjoy!

[edit] Things You'll Need
For making the cheesecake

9” cheesecake pan

Parchment paper

Half-sheet cake pan

Mixer

Food Processor

Measuring cups (1 cup and ½ cup)

Spoon

A History of Cacao and Chocolate

2008-05-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

The book Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao, edited by Cameron L. McNeil, is an interdisciplinary attempt by scholars from different fields, linguists, botanists and archaeologists, to track the history of cacao in Mesoamerica, from pre-Columbian times until today. The Swedish natural scientist Carolus Linnaeus called the cacao tree Theobroma (“food of the gods”) cacao. The word ‘cacao’ generally refers to the species T. cacao, although among the Maya of Mesoamerica it is sometimes also applied to the closely related Theobroma bicolor.

In the introduction, editor Cameron L. McNeil writes:

Chocolate is made from the seeds of the Theobroma cacao L. tree, commonly referred to as the ‘cacao tree.’ For many pre-Columbian cultures of the Americas, cacao seeds and the comestibles produced from them were literally part of their religion and played a central role in their spiritual beliefs and social and economic systems. In isolated areas these traditions continue to this day. Parts of this plant have been consumed in Central and South America for thousands of years. For many of the ancient and modern cultures in these regions, cacao was not only an important part of religious rituals, but also a component of beverages and foods, a topical cream, and an ingredient in medicine. It reached its height of importance in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, whose northern limit begins in Central Mexico, and which then encompasses Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and western Honduras. Mesoamerica is renowned for its myriad highly stratified societies including the Olmecs, Maya, and Mexica (Aztecs). Cacao played a central role in the complex elite culinary traditions and practices of these cultures.

According to her, “The origins of the cacao tree remain unknown, with scholars debating both its natural distribution and area of domestication. The variety of comestibles that were made from this plant in pre-Columbian times is also the subject of disagreement. Was cacao used to produce only beverages, or was it also a component of other types of food? Were beverages made from the pulp of cacao pods or only from the seeds? Who consumed cacao — only members of the elite, or was it widely available to the lower socioeconomic classes?”

The genus Theobroma evolved in South America, where both its greatest number of species and most closely related genus, Herrania, are to be found. From the upper Amazon basin, T. cacao spread through Central America and into Mexico either naturally or through human agency. Scholars continue to debate how this tree migrated, but also in what form — wild or as a cultigen. The earliest cacao iconography in the Americas may come from Peru. A 2500-year-old Peruvian vessel is decorated with pod elements that could be cacao. The written history of cacao is definitely Mesoamerican (we know of no true writing system in pre-Columbian South America), from perhaps as early as the mid-third century A.D. (Early Classic Period) in the form of glyphs on ceramic vessels. Mexica, Maya and Mixtec codices from later periods record the ritual significance of cacao. Domestication is uncertain, but a vessel form known throughout Mesoamerica as well as Andean South America from around 1000 B.C. supports a date for domestication by at least this time.

As McNeil says, “Debates continue as to whether T. cacao has two domestication spheres, one in South America and one in Mesoamerica, or only one, located either in South America or in Mesoamerica. The concept of domestication itself further confuses this issue as scholars today recognize that domestication is a process with many steps. For example cacao could have arrived from South America as a cultigen, only to be more fully domesticated in Mesoamerica. It seems likely that if cacao was domesticated in both South America and Mesoamerica, the focus of selection for these two processes was not the same, as South Americans most commonly have used the pulp for consumption, while Mesoamericans most commonly used the seeds.”

It is likely that maize was first cultivated, indeed created, in Mesoamerica and later imported to South America, but for the most part it seems that cultural exchanges between the civilizations of Mesoamerica and those of South America were surprisingly limited. There are two subspecies of Theobroma cacao. According to Cameron L. McNeil:

Before the arrival of Europeans, criollos were endemic to Central America and forasteros were endemic to South America (A. M. Young 1994). Whether through natural evolution or human selection, the T. cacao species in Mesoamerica came to produce fruit and seeds distinct from those in the southern hemisphere. Criollo seeds are milder, that is, less bitter, than the South American members of their species and make a tastier chocolate. Forastero-type cacao plants are hardier, and, not only do they generally produce pods two years earlier than criollos do (at three years), they also produce more pods per tree (Millon 1955a:11). However, the flavor of forastero beans is bitterer than the flavor of criollos. After sixteenth-century European contact, criollos and forasteros were hybridized as the Spanish tried to create breeds of cacao that produced larger amounts of pods while still retaining some of the criollo flavor.

Cacao treeToday, most of the world’s cacao beans are grown in Africa, ironically while much of the world’s coffee, an African crop, is grown in Latin America. Forastero beans account for about 95% of the global production of cacao, whereas the high-quality criollo beans are still mainly grown in Latin America, for instance in Venezuela. The hybrid form is called trinitario.

As McNeil says, “Most scholars believe that only the pulp, not the seeds, of T. cacao was consumed in pre-Columbian South America (A. M. Young 1994). The pulp, which also contains theobromine and caffeine, can be removed from the seeds and made into a fruit beverage or can be fermented to produce an alcoholic drink. It may seem surprising that the South American cultures discarded the stimulating seeds, which were so important in Mesoamerica. Nathaniel Bletter and Douglas Daly (this volume) suggest, however, that cacao seeds were not used in pre-Columbian South America because there were several other plant species containing higher levels of stimulating compounds that required far less processing.”
- - - - - - - - -
These caffeinated substances were not available in Mesoamerica, and their absence may explain why cacao seeds became widely used in one area but not in the other. There are many steps involved in preparing cacao seeds for use in beverages, and “If other species provided stronger stimulants while requiring less time investment, it is not surprising that South Americans did not find the need to create a process for using the bitter seeds as well as the pulp. The less bitter flavor of criollo seeds may be a product of a process of selection for seeds more appealing to the palate.”

Cacao and maize constituted an important ritual pair in Mesoamerican cosmology. Both were combined in ritual beverages with sacred water to feed the gods and ancestors so that they would provide agricultural fertility. Maize, which is grown in open fields, was associated with light. Cacao may have been associated with darkness, death and the underworld because it is grown in shaded areas. In certain regions of Mexico until at least the twentieth century, people continued to provide the dead with cacao for the journey to the afterworld. It was also associated with blood, and was “sometimes mixed with blood and offered in rituals.”

According to McNeil, “Cacao was also associated with blood and sacrifice in the pre-Columbian period. For Mesoamerican peoples, blood was an important offering to the gods. Not only were animals sacrificed, but people — particularly elites and rulers — offered their own blood and that of human captives.”

We should remember that human sacrifice was unusually widespread among Mesoamerican cultures, the Aztecs in particular. The usage of cacao reflects this. Cacao beverages were sometimes colored red with achiote (also called annatto), and several colonial chroniclers noted the similarity between red-dyed cacao drink and blood. Cameron L. McNeil writes:

“The people of Cholula, Mexico, made a cacao beverage from water in which knives used in human sacrifice had been washed (Acosta 2002 [1590]:325). In the Florentine Codex, Sahagún (1950-82, Book 6, 1969:256) records that ‘heart’ and ‘blood’ were metaphors for ‘cacao…because it was precious.’ J. Eric S. Thompson (1956:100) proposed that hearts and cacao pods share associations, because both are ‘the repositories of precious liquids — blood and cacao.’ Rosemary Joyce has suggested that the frequent exchange of cacao in marriage ceremonies may signify the mixing of bloodlines (Meskell and Joyce 2003:139-140). A range of images supports the association of cacao with sacrifice and blood. A stela from the archaeological site of Santa Lucia Cotzumalhuapa on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala depicts a human figure sacrificing a cacao pod as though it were a human heart: the cacao pod spouts a liquid substance. In Mixtec codices, bleeding cacao pods are depicted both on the tops and insides of temples, which were places of sacrifice (Mary E. Smith 1973:236). In the sixteenth century, Diego García de Palacio wrote that in pre-Columbian times the Pipil people in Nicaragua marked war captives for sacrifice with strands of cacao seeds, feathers and green stones.”

Breakthroughs in the deciphering of Mayan glyphs have led to a renewed interest in the Mayan civilization during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. According to scholar David Stuart, “The importance of cacao in Classic Maya society was not widely appreciated until the decipherment of glyphic texts on ceramics in the 1980s, when it became clear that seemingly countless ceramic vessels were inscribed with a dedicatory formula identifying them as drinking vessels for chocolate.” Now scholars readily see cacao as a key element of courtly life, having a profound role in political economics and display, feasting events and ritual. It even permeates many examples of Maya religious iconography.

Cacao — MayaAccording to Dorie Reents-Budet, “The ancient Maya developed a complex society renowned for its monumental architecture, colossal sculptures, and portable carvings that adorned their towns and the bodies of the elite; for scientific and intellectual achievements in mathematics, astronomy, philosophy; and for the only true writing system (that is, the graphic representation of spoken language) in the ancient Americas. During the Classical period apogee (A.D. 250-900) of the Maya culture, artisans created copious objects in a variety of media that were essential components of the sociopolitical and economic systems of the ruling elite (M. D. Coe and J. Kerr 1998). Among these artefacts were decorated pottery vessels for serving food, especially vessels for kakaw (chocolate) beverages (Reents-Budet 1994a). Unlike their ceramic predecessors of earlier centuries (1200 B.C.-A.D. 150), which were characterized by elegantly simple forms and monochrome or occasionally bichrome slip-painted surfaces, Classical period elite service wares were elaborately embellished with painted, incised, or modeled imagery or various combinations of these. Skilled painters adorned the service wares with renderings of elite life and portraits of powerful rulers. They also portrayed the supernatural beings and religious myths that explained the universe and the place of the Mayas therein.”

Moreover, “During Late Postclassical times and continuing into the Colonial period, kakaw beans functioned as an abstract representation of value; that is, as money. For example, in the markets of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec empire, the beans could be exchanged for any number of commodities. They also served as payment for work service and to buy one’s way out of forced labor (slavery) (S. D. Coe and M. D. Coe 1996: 98-99). Kakaw beans were the preferred payment for tax or service obligations because they were a readily convertible capital medium in most of the prevailing economic systems of the myriad cultures of Mesoamerica and also of those to the south in Central America.”

The Aztecs developed a tribute system based on the payment of cacao beans by conquered peoples. They also used the beans to create an alcoholic beverage. Most commonly, the kernel was ground and beaten with water, flavorings and usually maize to make a drink. In historical times, the pulp that surrounds the kernels inside the husk has been and is often fermented to produce an alcoholic beverage. The strongest evidence for the use of fermented cacao beverages comes from the Late Postclassic Mexica (Aztecs), as recorded by Bernardino de Sahagún. According to John S. Henderson and Rosemary A. Joyce, “The Nahuatl-speaking informants, describing the food consumed by the lords of Tenochtitlan, the Mexica capital, enumerated a wide range of cacao beverages, including some that recall the ‘tree fresh’ cacao of the Classic Maya and the honey-cacao identified as possibly a fermented drink.”

The only way a person could become intoxicated on new cacao would be by drinking the liquid of fermentation, which is otherwise a waste product. As Henderson and Joyce state, “The product of fermentation is a clear liquid (unlike the dense suspension of ground cacao) that is lighter in color than chocolate. References to ‘fresh’ cacao could mark the distinction between the primary fermented beverage and the secondary, unfermented chocolate. The fermented beverage would have to be consumed new, or fresh, as soon as it was produced, since it would continue to ferment and get sour.”

According to them, “among the forms of cacao consumption in the sixteenth century, there was at least one means of drinking cacao as a fermented, intoxicating beverage. It is impossible to produce the conventional form of chocolate without producing a fermented cacao drink as one stage in the process.” Moreover, “after the available sugars in the seeds and pulp are converted into alcohol, a second stage of fermentation starts, which converts alcohol to acetic acid. In order to recoup drinkable cacao chicha, fermentation could not be allowed to continue too long, or the product would be effectively undrinkable, cacao vinegar.”

Chocolate was also used as an aphrodisiac. According to scholar Manuel Aguilar-Moreno:

“Sahagún and numerous Colonial sources state that the drinking of chocolate was exclusive to the Aztec elite: the royal house, the lords and nobility, the long-distance traders (pochteca), and the warriors. Apparently, the only commoners who were privileged to consume this luxurious commodity were soldiers in battle, because cacao was considered to be a stimulant (S. D. Coe and M. D. Coe 1996:93). As an eyewitness to the Conquest, Bernal Díaz del Castillo, described a banquet given by the Emperor Motecuhzoma II, where: ‘they brought him some cups of fine gold, with a certain drink made of cacao, which they said was for success with women; but I saw that they brought more than 50 great jars of good cacao with its foam, and he drank of that; and the women served him drink very respectfully.’ (Díaz del Castillo 2002 [1568]:167). In this passage, Díaz makes a statement about the aphrodisiacal property of cacao, an idea that would be reinforced by the studies of Francisco Hernández, the royal physician and naturalist to Philip II of Spain. Hernández was in Mexico from 1572 to 1577 in search of medical plants to add to the European pharmacopoeia.”

How did the word “chocolate” come into being? According to Cameron L. McNeil, “The most commonly used ancient Maya term for cacao was kakaw. There has been some debate about the linguistic antecedent of these words. Lyle Campbell and Terrence Kaufman (1976) proposed that their origins lie in proto-Mije-Sokean and that this language was spoken by the Olmec of the southern Veracruz and the western Tabasco lowlands of Mexico. Karen Dakin and Søren Wichmann (2000) have presented arguments supporting a Uto-Aztecan origin for kakaw-tl, but Terrence Kaufman and John Justeson (this volume) refute the Dakin and Wichmann linguistic analysis with persuasive evidence for the previously proposed proto-Mije-Sokean source. The origin of the word chocolatl (the basis for ‘chocolate’) is almost as contentious and appears to have been a late development within Nahua, possibly as late as the sixteenth century (Kaufman and Justeson, this volume).”

Cacao IncaThe widely attested pre-Columbian term for “cacao” was kakaw. Scholars Terrence Kaufman and John Justeson claim that this term originated in the Gulf Coast of southern Mexico, among speakers of an early Mije-Sokean language, and spread across Mesoamerica, but did not reach South America in pre-Columbian times. The Olmecs (which meant “rubber people” to the Aztecs), one of the earliest significant cultures in Mesoamerica (and sometimes labeled the “mother culture” of Mayans and others, although this is now disputed) are believed to have spoke a language ancestral to the Mije-Sokean languages.

Mije-Sokean vocabulary is found in languages across Mesoamerica. “No other language families in Meso-America had anything like the impact that Mije-Sokean had, either in the range of linguistic families they affected or in the number of items that were borrowed from them.” As they see it, “Some of the Mije-Sokean loans probably go back to the influence of the Olmecs, while others are attributable to a post-Olmec era of Mije-Sokean influence. The widespread and early diffusion of the word kakaw (a) into a large number of Meso-American languages and language families fits the profile of these typical Mije-Sokean loans. In addition, one of the prime areas of cacao cultivation, in the lowlands of Tabasco, was part of the (Mije-Sokean-speaking) Olmec heartland, where Gulf Sokean languages are still spoken.”

According to Kaufman and Justeson, “Aztecs, and arguably Teotihuacanos and other pre-Columbian societies, made strong efforts to control the production and distribution of cacao. The kernel came to be used as currency, reflected, for example, by Xinxa / tuwa/, meaning both ‘cacao’ and ‘money.’“

They also state that “Traditionally, words for drinks made from cacao appear to have consisted either of the word for cacao itself or of that word together with modifiers. Other terms, not including the word for ‘cacao,’ but including a word meaning ‘water, liquid’ or a word meaning ‘(a) drink,’ are known from Colonial and modern sources in various Meso-American languages. Among these is a Nawa word, attested variously as chikol=a:-tl and chokol=a:-tl, which spread to several European languages and then around the world. This term may have been coined during the sixteenth century. Contrary to persistent but uninformed speculation, Mayan languages played no role in the development of this term.”

Regarding the origins of the word “chocolate,” they demonstrate that the earliest Spanish sources all used the word “cacao” to refer to the drink made from cacao beans. They didn’t use the term “chocolate” at all:

Chocolate-makingThe first occurrence of the Spanish word chocolate is in Book 4, Chapter 22, of Historia natural y moral de las Indias, which was published in 1590 by Joseph (José) de Acosta. The above evidence also shows that in the Spanish spoken in Central Mexico, chocolate was called cacao until well into the seventeenth century, and we know of no evidence of the word chocolate or chicolate being used there at this time. José de Acosta, however, who lived in both Mexico and Peru, was using the word chocolate by 1590; we must suppose that his usage in Spanish was simply different, for reasons which we are not at the moment able to determine, though his place of writing, his place of origin, and his social group affiliation are all possibly relevant.

Kaufman and Justeson suggest that “the words chikola:tl and chokola:tl may not have existed in pre-Columbian times.” The word “chocolate” existed by late the sixteenth century, but nobody knows for sure how it came into being in Spanish, and from there spread to other European languages. They conclude that there are “serious gaps” in our knowledge here.

According to Cameron L. McNeil, “In many regions of Mesoamerica, cacao use has significantly diminished since the Colonial period. In those areas where cacao is still used, there is sometimes a continuity with pre-Columbian and early Colonial practices. Ethnographers document the role of cacao in ritual life as an offering not only to ancestors but also to the Chacs (rain gods), the gods of the mountains (sometimes ancestor deities), and the Earth Goddess, as well as to the saints and to Christ, who are often barely disguised representatives of pre-Conquest deities.”

Cacao is still used as a gift for major life passage events: “When the author asked people in various regions of Guatemala when they used cacao, the most common answers were: for holidays, for childbirth and for breast-feeding mothers, as a gift that men offer to the family of a woman whose hand they wish to request in marriage, and for Easter. Cacao seeds were formerly an important item of exchange, akin to, but not the same as a currency (Millon 1955a). This use, as well as the importance of cacao in elite rituals, has connected it to concepts of wealth and power.”

As Patricia A. McAnany and Satoru Murata state: “Belizean chocolate — the moniker does not carry the same cachet as Swiss or Belgian chocolate, does it? Although the heavily marketed European brands have gained global prestige and name recognition, the nations of reference are far away from the tropical climes in which cacao is grown today and was grown in the past. Contemporary name-tagging of chocolate is linked to processing techniques and packaging locales rather than to centers of cultivation.” However, “Belizean chocolate, sold under the sobriquet of Maya Gold, is enjoying modest recognition today under a fair trade agreement negotiated between a British candy company and Maya cacao-growers of southern Belize.”

Cacao farming has been undertaken in the region from Middle Preclassic to contemporary times (perhaps 800 B.C. to present):

“Long after European cacao processing — including the addition of sugar and the production of ‘solid’ chocolate — had become the norm, the traditional mode of cacao consumption among Toledo Maya maintained a strong degree of pre-Columbian continuity in the form of liquid cacao drinks. Preparation of the drink by the Mopan Maya as documented by J. E. S. Thompson (1930) entailed shelling, fermentation, and then drying the cacao beans on a piece of bark. The beans were then roasted on a pottery comal (or sok) and ground on a stone metate. The ground cacao was next mixed with maize flour and soaked in water, after which the mixture was reground on the metate. Finally, the mixture was placed on the fire, boiled, and served after the addition of ‘a considerable quantity of black pepper’ (J. E. S. Thompson 1930:186). Thompson considered black pepper to be a modern substitute for chile.”

There is thus some continuity, but gradual change has come with the addition of sugar and pressure from alternative beverages such as coffee. Despite decline in cacao consumption due to the disruption of traditional societies, traditional practices are carried on in some regions. Religious syncretism is also quite common, with older ideas continuing under nominally Christian forms.

Cacao may have been used in certain combinations with foodstuff, but it was primarily used in liquid form. The Florentine Codex describes the variety of chocolate beverages offered to Mexica Aztec rulers, including green cacao-pods, honeyed chocolate, flowered chocolate, chocolate flavored with vanilla and bright red chocolate. Cacao was highly prized for its foam. Early colonial writers describe how it was produced by pouring the beverage from one container to another to agitate it or by mixing it with a specially constructed stick, but they may have missed a key ingredient of the frothy beverage.

Among the products usually added to cacao beverages were flowers which taste spicy like black pepper, vanilla, and a relative of black pepper. Because of its bitter, astringent flavor, it took time for the Spanish and other Europeans to develop a taste for chocolate. The Europeans added sugar and milk to counteract the natural bitterness and removed the chilli pepper and similar ingredients. One indigenous American spice they did continue to use was vanilla.

The Little Book of Chocolate by Katherine Khodorowsky and Herve Robert is not intended to be as scholarly as the above mentioned book about chocolate in Mesoamerica, but it is reasonably accurate and will be widely quoted regarding the history of chocolate in Europe.

A chocolate partyChristopher Columbus brought some cocoa beans to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, but the drink didn’t catch on immediately. In 1585 the first shipment of cocoa beans arrived in the Iberian Peninsula from New Spain. The Spanish tried to guard the secret of cacao, but it eventually spread to the rest of Europe. In the beginning it was a drink for kings, nobilities and elites, as it had been in Mesoamerica, which added to its prestige and status. Cacao beans gradually spread across Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In France, they owed their official introduction to Anne of Austria, daughter of Philip III of Spain, who married Louis XIII in 1615. The interest for chocolate at the French court increased in strength at the Versailles under the “Sun King” Louis XIV, and later under Louis XV. Some very fine top-quality chocolate is still being produced in France, for instance Valrhona, a manufacturer near Lyon founded in 1924 by a pastry chef from the Rhône valley.

Pepper and chilli were replaced in Europe by vanilla (an indigenous American plant that was used in combination with cacao also in Mesoamerica) and spices such as cinnamon or other additions — milk, wine or even beer. Cacao drinks still didn’t much resemble chocolate as we think of it today. The drinking of chocolate was introduced to Italy in 1606 by a Florentine merchant returning from Spain, Antonio Carletti. According to Khodorowsky and Robert:

The simplest of his recipes contained cocoa, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Members of the Italian aristocracy, however, like their French counterparts, enjoyed experimenting with unusual flavorings, including citron and lemon, musk and ambergris and, at the court of the Medicis, jasmine. Antonio Ari was the first cioccolatiere to put the drink on sale in Turin, which by the seventeenth century had become the Italian chocolate capital, a distinction which it retains to this day. Eighteenth-century Turin saw the invention of chocolate bavareisa, or mousse, and above all of the delectable bicerin, a drink prepared with equal parts of coffee, chocolate and cream, which delighted Alexandre Dumas in 1852. The name is derived from the charming small glasses or bicerin in which it is still served today. Turin was also the birthplace in 1861 of the gianduja, invented by Caffarel: these ingot-shaped chocolates, with their meltingly smooth mixture of finely ground hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds, sugar and chocolate, are now famous throughout the world.

The most popular Italian chocolate worldwide today is the small, praline-filled Ferrero Rocher, but they are also famous for the small squares of chocolate known as neapolitans, which are enjoyed with cups of coffee across the Western world. The Italians played a prominent role in the early history of chocolate inEurope. As Khodorowsky and Robert say:

Sacher TorteDrinking chocolate arrived in Austria via Italy in about 1640. Monks who discovered a taste for the beverage ensured its spread throughout the Holy Roman Empire, notably in what is today Germany. On his return from Spain in 1713, Charles VI introduced it to his court in Vienna. From this grew the firmly established Viennese tradition of serving cups of rich chocolate flavoured with sugar and vanilla and topped with a cloud of whipped cream (Schlagsahne) sprinkled with cacao powder. The beverage also became popular in Germany. But it was in the realm of pâtisserie that the Austrians surpassed themselves, producing the first recipe for a cake made with chocolate in 1778, and thus opening up a whole world of inspiration which has yet to be exhausted. In 1832, in response to Prince Klemens von Metternich’s request for a ‘dense, compact and masculine’ dessert, his chief pâtissier, Franz Sacher, produced a rich chocolate cake sandwiched with a fine layer of apricot jelly and covered with chocolate fondant icing. Known henceforth as Sacher Torte, it was to become a classic throughout the world.

Another masterpiece of Austrian cuisine, Imperial Torte, alternates fine layers of milk chocolate and almond paste. A German classic is Black Forest gateau, a confection of chocolate, whipped cream, cherries and kirsch.

According to Khodorowsky and Robert: “The vogue for drinking chocolate, already established in Spain, reached the British Isles thanks to a Frenchman, who in 1657 opened the first chocolate factory in London. Unlike in France, where it was a pleasure strictly limited to the aristocracy, this ‘excellent West Indian drink’ was made available to the middle classes from the outset. Soon, alongside the coffee houses which made their appearance from 1652, there opened the first chocolate houses. London was also the setting, in 1674, for a historic invention: solid chocolate, presented in the form of ‘Spanish rolls’ or pastilles, and sold by the Coffee Mill and Tobacco Roll shop.”

The drinking of chocolate had to compete with tea, introduced from East Asia, and coffee introduced from the Middle East at about the same time. Britain, then in the process of changing human history through the Industrial Revolution, made significant contributions to the development of chocolate:

The British were also responsible, in 1728, for the first factory equipped with hydraulic machinery, for the first clubs exclusively for devotees of chocolate, and above all for the development of the chocolate bar (although this attribution is disputed by the Italians), created by the Bristol firm of J. S. Fry and Sons in 1847. But the symbolic father of British chocolate is undoubtedly John Cadbury (1801-1889). In 1824, Cadbury opened his first coffee, tea and chocolate shop. In 1831 he started manufacturing chocolate, and following his Quaker conscience and the example of the great French chocolate-manufacturer Menier in caring for the social conditions of his workers, he created a model town for his employees in the Birmingham suburb of Bournville.

Wikipedia, in its entry on the history of chocolate, credits the Frenchman Doret with inventing a machine to crush cacao beans and mix and blend the chocolate paste: “At the end of the 18th century, the first form of solid chocolate was invented in Turin by Doret. This chocolate was sold in large quantities from 1826 by Pierre Paul Caffarel. In 1819, F. L. Cailler opened the first Swiss chocolate factory. In 1828, Dutchman Coenraad Johannes van Houten patented a method for extracting the fat from cocoa beans and making powdered cocoa and cocoa butter. Van Houten also developed the so-called Dutch process of treating chocolate with alkali to remove the bitter taste. This made it possible to form the modern chocolate bar. It is believed that the Englishman Joseph Fry made the first chocolate for eating in 1847, followed in 1849 by the Cadbury brothers.”

As mentioned above, an extremely important achievement in the development of modern chocolate was made in the Netherlands, when the Amsterdam chocolate maker Coenraad Johannes van Houten (or his father Casparus van Houten Sr., the sources differ on this) in 1828 patented an inexpensive method of making cacao powder. He wanted to improve the quality of drinking chocolate, which was still by far the most important way of using cacao beans even though a paste version was available, but his invention made solid chocolate much more feasible. The use of chocolate gradually spread to cover most regions of Europe. The Russian poet Alexander Pushkin allegedly drank a cup of chocolate in St Petersburg just before his fatal duel in 1837.

The Spanish encouraged plantations of cacao beans in their colonies in Latin America. In the seventeenth century, the British managed to acclimatize the cacao tree in Jamaica, as did the French in Martinique and the Dutch in Surinam. Not until the nineteenth century did the tree cross the Atlantic, first to the island of São Tomé, initially a Portuguese colony, later to West Africa. The Dutch in the late nineteenth century introduced the tree to Southeast Asia, to Java and Sumatra where they also introduced the coffee shrub.

In the sixteenth century, the Spanish king was the most powerful man not only in the Americas, but also within Europe. The Spanish ruled much of the European continent, including present-day Belgium and the Netherlands. As Khodorowsky and Robert say:

For two centuries, Flanders was part of the immense Spanish empire. As early as the sixteenth century, it thus became one of the first European countries to taste the new cocoa-based drink. In the late seventeenth century, the first chocolate factories were established in Brussels. It was to Jean Neuhaus, chocolatier in the exclusive Galerie de la Reine shopping arcade, that Belgium owed the invention of the praline chocolate, in 1912, and of the protective cardboard packaging, the ballotin, in 1915. Belgian praline chocolates are generally molded: the liquid chocolate is poured into a mold to form a shell, and when this has been filled, the base is sealed with a layer of chocolate.

Among the innumerable varieties available are praline in a milk chocolate shell, crème fraiche or butter in dark chocolate shell, known as fondant; marzipan in chocolate fondant; and, most celebrated of all, the Manon. Garnished with a walnut and crème fraiche or butter, the Manon is encased in white chocolate or fondant sugar icing and is sometimes flavored with coffee. Belgian praline chocolate is now made in large quantities. Most of it is exported from major companies such as Leonidas, Godiva, Neuhas and Guylian.

Although the fact that Belgium became an important center for chocolate can perhaps be attributed to her historical connections to Spain, the success of her Swiss rivals is more difficult to explain. After all, the Swiss were never under Spanish rule, did not have any colonies and do not even have access to the sea. Switzerland was a relative latecomer to chocolate making, as it was to the making of clocks and watches, but the country created both technical advances and new recipes, with the invention of chocolate with hazelnuts, milk chocolate and fondant chocolate.

Heinrich Escher, the mayor of Zurich, first introduced chocolate to Switzerland after a stay in Brussels in 1697. It was discreetly consumed for some time, but the Zurich Council banned it in 1722. Chocolate had a reputation as an aphrodisiac, as it once had among the Aztecs in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and concerned citizens were afraid that chocolate could be put to improper uses, such as seducing women. Nevertheless, despite initial resistance, the first chocolate manufacture was set up around 1750 by two Italians near Bern, and the first chocolate shop in Switzerland opened in Bern in 1792. During the course of the nineteenth century, the country was to become an important center for chocolate making in its own right.

François-Louis Cailler, inspired by chocolate makers in Turin, Italy, created a smooth chocolate that could be formed into bars and opened a chocolate factory near Vevey in 1819. His success inspired others in Switzerland, such as Charles-Amédée Kohler, who mixed chocolate with hazelnuts and opened a factory in Lausanne in 1830. Heinrich Nestle, the founder of Nestlé S.A. which is today the world’s largest food and beverage company, was born in Frankfurt on Main in Germany, but changed his name to Henri Nestlé after moving to Switzerland. He was to become one of the inventors of milk chocolate.

According to Khodorowsky and Robert: “In 1875, Daniel Peter (1836-1919), son-in-law of François-Louis Cailler, adapted the process for condensing milk discovered by the chemist Henri Nestlé (1814-1890): thus milk chocolate was born, earning worldwide fame for Switzerland. Soon, theSocieté Suisse de Chocolats, founded in 1904, was to unite the four great names of Callier, Kohler, Peter and Nestlé. ButSwitzerland’s most remarkable commercial success most be Philippe Suchard’s Milka bar, launched in 1901 and still for many the chief symbol of Swiss chocolate; Suchard remains the best-known brand of Swiss chocolate inEurope. Another great figure, Rudolphe Lindt (1823-1893), was the father of fondant chocolate. According to the website Swissworld.org, “Suchard did not enjoy instant success; chocolate was expensive and regarded by many people as suspiciously exotic, and orders were slow at first. But by a strange quirk of history Neuchâtel was not only a Swiss canton, it simultaneously also belonged to the far-away King of Prussia, and in 1842 Suchard received an order for his chocolate from the royal court in Berlin. The factory eventually took off, and was soon marketing its output abroad as well as inSwitzerland. Suchard chocolate won gold medals at theLondon’s Great Exhibition of 1851 and the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1855. In 1880 Suchard was the first Swiss chocolate maker to set up a factory abroad, in Lörrach inGermany, just over the border from Basel. By the early 1880s the Suchard company was producing about half the total national output of chocolate, and employing about half the total number of people working in the industry.”

ChocolateIn 1908, the Swiss Jean Tobler invented Toblerone, a chocolate bar with almond-and-honey nougat, molded in triangular sections recalling the mountains of his native land. Ironically, a Swiss family also contributed to the fame of Belgian chocolate. In 1857 Jean Neuhaus from Neuchâtel in Switzerland settled in Brussels. As a pharmacist, he did sell some chocolate (which was still viewed as medicine by many at that point), and his son Frédéric persuaded his father to move into confectionery. His grandson (also named Jean Neuhaus) in 1912 invented the bite-sized chocolate which he called praline, and registered a patent for a cardboard container for loose chocolates, the ballotin. Swiss and Belgian chocolate remain important export goods in the twenty-first century, but per capita consumption of chocolate is also high domestically in both Switzerland and Belgium.

The process of “democratization” of chocolate, initially a luxury good available only to the elites, was set in motion in the nineteenth century and accelerated during the twentieth century. Chocolate was made a standard component of army rations in Europe and North America during the First and Second World Wars. In hindsight, the use of cacao beans in the modern world is so different from the one we encountered in pre-Columbian America that it’s easy to forget that we are talking about the same substance.

I have seen suggestions that cacao was used in combination with certain types of foodstuff in Mesoamerica, but there can be no doubt that to pre-Columbian Americans it was first and foremost a drink, which it remained for some time when it was transplanted to Europe. Chocolate bars and other forms of chocolate in solid form are almost entirely a European invention. I admit I prefer buying a Toblerone, Milka bar or box of Belgian praline chocolate over the Aztec custom of mixing cacao beans with the blood of freshly killed victims of human sacrifice. I’m sure this will be viewed by some as culturally insensitive, but I think I can live with that.

World Of Chocolate.

2008-04-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

A Flowery Find That Left Us in the Dust

2008-04-03T06:18:00.000-07:00

A Flowery Find That Left Us in the Dust

(By Julia Ewan -- The Washington Post)
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By Jason Wilson
Wednesday, April 2, 2008; Page F05

My brother Tyler and I sometimes play a game we call Liquor Store Archaeology. The aim is to make a pith-helmeted visit to older, neglected liquor stores, the sort of family-owned shops that perhaps were once prosperous and now do business mainly in pint-size flasks or liters of cheap wine or beer by the can. Inside, we scour the dark bottom shelves and dank back corners of the place, looking for forgotten bottles of spirits that have been languishing, perhaps for decades.
This Story

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Spirits: A Flowery Find That Left Us in the Dust
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Recipe: Blue Moon Cocktail

More often than not, we indeed turn up something rare or just plain strange. Our finds span the world: caraway-flavored kummel from Germany, an Armenian brandy called Ararat, eaux de vie with all manner of fruit floating in them, a wasabi-flavored liqueur, even a honey liqueur bottled with a real honeycomb.

It has become rather competitive. I thought I had taken the lead with something called Panache, a sweet aperitif wine with a 1970s-looking label that was made by Domaine Chandon but now is impossible to find. Then Tyler countered with a wonderful liqueur from Sicily made from mandarin peels, called Mandarino del Castello, about which we can find no information.

I figured I'd won when I'd unearthed a bottle of Cordial Campari. Though made by the same company, Cordial Campari is not to be confused with the more famous Italian red aperitivo; Cordial Campari is a clear, sambuca-like after-dinner digestivo. I'd heard tales of Cordial Campari and seen it in a few old-man bars in Italy. But it has not been widely available in the United States, and my bottle is probably decades old. It may once have been valuable, but probably not anymore -- mainly because my friends and I broke into the bottle during the holidays, and it's now sitting half-empty in my cabinet.

So Tyler became the clear victor not too long ago when he turned up something called, somewhat disturbingly, Peanut Lolita, a thick, peanut-flavored liqueur that once was produced by Continental Distilling in Linfield, Pa. The logo and fonts on the label suggest the early 1960s, but according to what little research exists, Peanut Lolita was still around in the mid-1970s, when infamous presidential brother Billy Carter "often made drunken appearances" with the liqueur's spokesmodel, according to an essay by Christopher S. Kelley in "Life in the White House: A Social History of the First Family and the President's House" (SUNY Press, 2004).

We may now own the only two bottles of Peanut Lolita left in existence. Due to the liqueur's overwhelming whiskey-and-peanut taste and grainy texture -- not to mention its unfortunate name -- it is unlikely to make a comeback anytime soon. But Tyler has created a respectable drink with the stuff: He layers ice-cold Peanut Lolita and raspberry-flavored Chambord in a cordial glass and calls it a PB&J.

For a while, the holy grail of our archaeology has been Creme Yvette, a purple-colored, violet-and-vanilla-flavored liqueur originally made by Sheffield in Connecticut and then by Charles Jacquin et Cie in Philadelphia. Nearly all mid-century bartending guides suggest that Creme Yvette was part of any well-stocked bar, and it was essential in classic cocktails such as the Blue Moon. But in the 1960s, it disappeared.

Creme Yvette is a variation on the traditional creme de violette liqueurs found in Europe, and the closest Tyler and I had come to tasting it was when friends brought home versions from France (Benoit Violette Liqueur) and the Netherlands (Bols' Parfait Amour).

That is, until last summer, when I finally had a taste of real Creme Yvette in New Orleans at the Tales of the Cocktail conference during a session on rare and obscure spirits. Rob Cooper of Charles Jacquin generously served tastes to everyone who attended, poured from one of two bottles left in existence. To judge from the reaction of many of the cocktail geeks in the room, you'd think it was a life-altering experience. Cooper suggested that if he had anything to do with it, Creme Yvette would soon be back on the U.S. market.

One importer has beaten him to the punch. Eric Seed, who owns the Minnesota-based Haus Alpenz, has brought in a delicious creme de violette liqueur made by Austrian distillers Rothman & Winter. This creme de violette is more floral, with less vanilla, than the others I've tried.

It's not the first time Seed has unearthed some long-lost spirit. In Indonesia, he rediscovered Batavia Arrack, a spicy rum cousin that was a standard in pre-Prohibition punches. In the Austrian Alps, he found Zirbenz, a liqueur made from the fruit of the native stone pine. And from Barbados, he began importing falernum, a spirit that until now I've had to manufacture myself if I wanted any (see recipe here).

Though recently called "the Indiana Jones of lost spirits" by Food + Wine, Seed is actually more cerebral and mild-mannered than he is swashbuckling. His hunts often begin at the request of high-end bartending clients, including those at Central and Cork in D.C. When asked what motivates his quests, Seeds says simply, "The customers I sell to, they take a very dim view of vodka."

Needless to say, Seed wins Liquor Store Archaeology in a landslide.

The Weird and Wild Flavors of BeanBoozled Jelly Belly

2008-04-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

Some years after Jelly Belly released the Bertie Bott’s Jelly Bean (inspired by the Harry Potter book series), they came out with these weirdly and wildly flavored jelly beans, BeanBoozled.

Candy Addict blog reviewed some of the flavors:

Pencil Shavings: Oddly enough, these did have a woody essence to them, with notes of plastic and rubber. I’d say it wasn’t horrible, yet it wasn’t tasty either. Just interesting.

Baby Wipes: (from Brian) Wow - these taste just like baby wipes smell. You can’t truly appreciate these unless you have had kids. Brings back many unpleasant diaper memories.

Tea

2008-04-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

According to legend, tea was first discovered when (get ready for vagaries) some leaves happened to fall into a boiling pot and were found to have a tasty and aromatic effect. Sounds a bit suspicious to me, but here are some actual facts and figures regarding this important beverage of my Southern upbringing, tea.

• There are three basic kinds of tea—Green, Oolong, and Black. In the U.S., 94% of tea consumed is Black, with Green coming in at a paltry 5% (as opposed to 80% Black and 19% Green worldwide). A fourth and more rare type of tea, White tea, is a Chinese tea produced exclusively from the buds or tips of the tea bush.

• Most countries have their own tales of origin regarding tea, but as far as American consumption goes, the Cambridge World History of Food tells us “One great change in American tea drinking came about in the early twentieth century. In 1908, tea merchant Thomas Sullivan, in order to reduce shipping weight, began to package tea samples in silk bags instead of miniature tins. Some of his customers brewed the tea without taking it out of the bags and requested more tea packaged in this way; Sullivan obliged, and teabags were created. Today, in America, most tea is brewed from teabags.”

• More recently, teabags have been seen in the shape of a pyramid. Tea’s Got a Brand New Bag

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By FLORENCE FABRICANT
Published: September 13, 2006

THE tea bag, a clever enough idea at first, went terribly awry somewhere along the way, at least in the view of people who love to savor their tea. Now it is in the process of large-scale reinvention, and some of those who currently shun it with almost ostentatious disdain are very likely to be won over.
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Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

Garret Lown for The New York Times

CHANGE IS BREWING Harney & Sons’s pyramid-shape pouches hold longer tea leaves.

At age 100 or so, the old bag is increasingly being filled with fine whole leaf tea, the kind connoisseurs brew in their teapots, and the bag itself has been redesigned in shapes that are not only elegant but constructed to allow those flavorful leaves to show what they’ve got.

With tea sales in the United States now four times what they were a decade ago — about $6.2 billion annually, according to the Tea Association of the USA, a trade group — the American tea drinker seems ready for a change for the better.

The change, some say, is overdue. Look closely at a conventional tea bag in your cupboard or in the paper cup from the local deli. Chances are that instead of leaves it is filled with indistinguishable bits, the detritus left after tea leaves are sifted and graded. The tea industry calls it dust, and the beverage it makes is likely to be rusty-looking and often bitterly tannic. But it no longer has to be, nor is it necessary to brew a whole pot of tea to achieve something better tasting.

Perhaps the surest sign that the tea world is changing is this: Lipton, the world’s largest tea company and a division of Unilever, will start selling tea bags containing long leaf teas in supermarkets nationwide next month.

Instead of paper, the leaves will be enveloped by nylon mesh bags in a delicate pyramid shape.

Lipton is following the lead of American businesses like Harney & Sons, Mighty Leaf, Adagio and the Highland Tea Company, which for several years have sold tea bags filled with high-quality full-leaf teas, ones with complex, often floral, herbaceous, spicy or fruity nuances.

Smelling a trend, new companies, like Revolution Tea, Numi Tea, Two Leaves and a Bud, and Tea Forté, have formed expressly to sell fine teas in tea bags. Harrisons & Crosfield, from England, and the luxury Parisian tea purveyors Le Palais des Thés and Mariage Frères have also introduced tea bags.

“We decided to put some of our teas in tea bags because that’s the way most people drink tea,” said Wanja Michuki, the president of the Highland Tea Company, in Montclair, N.J., which sells fine teas from Kenya, the leading exporter of tea worldwide.

James Wong, a Unilever vice president and general manager of Lipton, in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., said the company’s research showed that “every consumer is becoming a gourmand.’’

“They want long leaf tea, but they can be intimidated by buying and brewing it,” he said. “We saw an opportunity to simplify it, making it convenient and accessible, and it’s appealing to new consumers as well as tea lovers.”

Lipton’s new line, called Pyramid, took the company two years to develop. It offers six varieties of long leaf tea, all but one flavored with bits of dried fruit or other seasonings. Only Black Pearl, a black tea blend, is unflavored.

“Consumers have reacted positively to the flavorings,” said John Cheetham, Lipton’s Royal Estates tea master, who selects and blends teas. “And we have Black Pearl to appeal to the purist.”

Even the best tea companies have introduced flavored teas in response to consumer demand, but over the years their reputations have been based on the quality of their oolongs, Darjeelings and senchas.

Mr. Cheetham acknowledged that Lipton’s flavored varieties were “entry level” teas. And they are a far cry from Harney & Sons’s Dragon Pearl Jasmine or Mighty Leaf’s Darjeeling Choice Estate, which are sold in bags that cost 30 cents to $2 each and available at tea shops, fancy food shops and online. Lipton’s Pyramid teas, at $3.49 for 20 tea bags, cost less than 20 cents a cup. Ordinary tea bags average 2 to 8 cents a cup.

“Lipton’s Pyramid will bring premium tea to the masses,” Mr. Cheetham said.

That is the very attitude that drove the company’s founder, Thomas Lipton, an English tea merchant. By buying his own tea estates in the late 1800’s, he made tea, which had been an aristocratic beverage, more affordable and popular. Thomas Sullivan, the New York tea merchant who is credited with inventing the tea bag about 100 years ago, used the bags at first to send samples to his customers. The idea caught on, and by the 1920’s the tea bag was commercially established.

But companies began compromising quality, and before long the little paper pouches were filled with the lowest grades of tea. Consumers did not object. In fact, they liked the fact that the minute particles in tea bags required but a few seconds in hot water to produce deeply colored, strong flavored liquid.

In 1929 Lipton began packing tea in paper tea bags. In 1954 the company introduced its patented double-wall tea bag, which exposed more of the tea to the hot water and took even less time to brew.

Brewing tea from fine tea leaves takes longer, as much as five minutes, for the infusion to develop. And the leaves themselves require more space to unfurl, which is why the better teas are put in pyramid-shape bags, or larger pouches, often made of silk, muslin or nylon mesh (and some hand-sewn). You can see the leaves swell as they come in contact with the hot water.

Like coffee lovers who moved up from making instant coffee to grinding their own estate-grown beans fresh for each cup, many American tea drinkers have graduated to whole leaf teas. Though there are myriad gadgets on the market, like little metal infusers, for brewing a single cup from whole tea leaves, they do not eliminate the chore of cleaning up the soggy remains. Recognizing the demand for convenience, Ito En, a Japanese tea company that has a store on Madison Avenue, has introduced fine nylon mesh bags, $1 each, that can be filled with a cup’s worth of tea, brewed and discarded.

Somewhat surprisingly, English tea companies appear to be the slowest to catch on to the trend of fine tea in tea bags. The English often drink tea with milk and sugar, so they like it dark and strong, just the way cheap tea bags make it. “The English consumer is less adventurous than the American,” Mr. Cheetham said.

Until recently, Americans considered the English to be the standard-bearers for proper tea drinking. But the influence of Japan, which was a bigger supplier of tea to the American market before World War II, has grown in recent years. Many Americans got their first taste of green tea at a sushi bar and have come to appreciate its refined delicacy and earthiness. Since 1998 sales of green tea have increased at a faster rate in America than any other kind of loose or bagged tea.

Joseph P. Simrany, the president of the Tea Association of the USA, which is based in Manhattan, said tea sales are projected to grow 10 percent a year for “the foreseeable future,” fueled in part by ready-to-drink bottled iced tea and by an increasing belief that tea, especially green tea, is healthful. Tea bag sales are lumped in with figures for loose teas, so there are no statistics for the growth of the tea bag segment of the market. But, Mr. Simrany said, “the new tea bags are changing consumer attitudes toward tea; the snobbism is gone.”

And even though the better tea bags will produce an excellent cup of tea, some of the finer points of tea making have been lost, like the different water temperatures and steeping times required, depending on whether the tea is black, oolong or green. An exception is the tea made by Le Palais des Thés: a suggested temperature and brewing time is printed on the foil packets that contain the muslin tea bags. But how many tea drinkers pay attention to those arcane details anyway?

“People like good tea but not the work,” said Michael Harney, a vice president of Harney & Sons, in Millerton, N.Y., a company that his father, John, founded. “We see our customers switching from loose tea to sachets all the time now.”
However, if you like brewing your tea loose leaf, you should consider learning how to read your tea leaves. Reading Tea Leaves

GYPSY'S SECRET… The Tea Reading

RITUAL
Put a pinch of tealeaves in the cup and pour boiling water over them, allowing it to stand about three minutes. Drink the contents of the cup leaving tealeaves and a very small amount of liquid in the bottom.

The person whose fortune is to be told, call the "sitter" or "consultant", should then take the cup by the handle in the left hand, rim upwards, and move it in a circle rapidly three times from left to right some of the tea leaves will seem to cling to the sides of the cup while others remain in the bottom. Next slowly invert the cup over the saucer and leave it there until all liquid drains away.

The "sitter" should approach the oracle in all seriousness and during the ritual should concentrate on his or her future destiny and "wish" that the symbol shall correctly represent happenings to come.

The handle of the cup represents the "sitter" in his or her own "sphere" or "residence" and is the "south" point of the compass. This fixed point designates "letters to" the consultant or "journeys away from", "visitors to be expected", distance "to and from", etc.

The cup is divided into three parts. The rim designates the present; the side, events not far distant; and the bottom the distant future. The nearer the symbols appear to the handle the nearer to fulfillment will be the events foretold.
TELLING FORTUNES

Now the "seer" receives the cup from the "sitter" and proceeds to tell "his" or "her" fortune, unless of course one is to tell one's own fortune. The "seer" should concentrate upon the cup and upon the "consultant". The "seer" will observe that the tealeaves are scattered over the cup in apparent confusion but it will be noted after concentration that they form lines, circles, dots, small groups and figures.

Note carefully the shapes and figures assumed by the leaves. Turn the cup and view from different angles until the symbols become clear. Be patient and search carefully for symbols and not their position. The more you search the clearer they become. Note the resemblance to various objects, and their relation to each other. Sometimes bad omens will be offset by good ones; good ones may be strengthened or weakened by others, good or evil, and so on.

"The tea cup reveals good fortune (1,4,5) for you. I see a lover (3) and much success. I see the letter "L"- perhaps his name begins with "L" but you have not met him yet because he seems to be in the future - not far distant perhaps but not in the present. I see success is about to crown some venture you have undertaken or are about to undertake. But there seems to be difficulties closing in upon (2) you in the near future".

"Fear not in this tea cup good fortune more than outweighs the bad. I see a marriage, possibly you own (4) or a friend's. It seems certain that this good fortune that is coming will be most unexpected".

Such objects as cats, trees, flowers, letters, numbers, etc., will be discerned by the exercise of the "seer's" observation and imagination. Possibly these may be unconsciously strengthened by a keen intuition. Each symbol possesses some significance. They may be large or small and their size may determine their relative importance. For instance: if the likeness of a "Septre" should be observed it would mean that the "sitter" should expect some honor bestowed upon him or her. If the symbol were small, the honor received would be small and if the symbol were large, the honor might be great.

Then again: a few tea leaves may form a group that might in turn form a letter such as "M". If this letter "M" should be close to a symbol resembling a "serpent" which is bad luck, it might mean that the "sitter" should guard against an enemy whose name begins with "M". If on the other hand the letter "M" should appear near a symbol of a bird flying towards the handle of the cup (the "residence") it might mean that the sitter would receive a letter from, or news of, a person whose name begins with "M". If on the other hand the letter "M" should appear near a symbol of a bird flying towards the handle of the cup (the "residence") it might mean that the sitter would receive a letter from, or news of, a person whose name begins with "M". Again: If the bird were flying away from the "residence", the sitter would be sending a letter to the person "M".

The small tealeaves frequently form lines. A line means a journey, a long line a long journey, etc. The direction of the journey may be determined by the direction of the line. If a line should approach and reach the handle and the sitter should be away from home it would mean that he or she would return. If the line should end before it reaches the handle it would mean that the "sitter" would move to another residence. A wavy or broken line means delayed journeys and straight-line quick journeys. If a number such as "6" should be observed it would mean a journey of six days or six weeks; or possibly a journey to be taken in six weeks, etc., etc.

Dots surrounding a symbol indicate money in some form depending on the symbol. Should a leaf cling to the edge or rim of the cup some event foretold by the symbols in the cup is imminent. Someone may be thinking of the "sitter" at the very moment. Look for a letter to find a clue to the identity of this person.

Observe the complete picture as a whole as well as individual symbols for often-bad omens may outweigh good omens or vice versa. One large distinct good omen may outweigh several smaller hazy bad omens. Good and bad should be balanced against each other in determining the forecast.

If mysteries should be revealed to you, question them if you will, but cherish and keep the Gypsy's secret.

• Some of the largest world growers and producers of tea are China, India and Sri Lanka, and the bushes from which tea leaves are harvested are best grown in dense, tropical areas. Now, this sounds like a bit of Monkey News to me, but apparently now you can buy tea that has been hand-picked by, well, monkeys.

• Richard Blechnyden is credited for “inventing” iced tea (this brings me back to considering the “invention” of the chocolate chip cookie—was there really a world with out it?) at the 1904 World’s Fair. Tea Fact Sheet
Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world next to water, and can be found
in almost 80% of all U.S. households. It is the only beverage commonly served hot or
iced, anytime, anywhere, for any occasion. On any given day, over 127 million
Americans are drinking tea.
Annual Consumption:
(U.S.)
In 2007, Americans consumed well over 55 billion
servings of tea, or over 2.50 billion gallons. About 82% of
all tea consumed was Black Tea, 17% was Green Tea,
and a small remaining amount was Oolong and White
Tea.
Daily Consumption:
(U.S.)
On any given day, about one half of the American
population drinks tea. On a regional basis, the South and
Northeast have the greatest concentration of tea drinkers.
Iced Tea Consumption:
Approximately 85% of tea consumed in America is iced.
Ready-To-Drink Iced
Teas:
Over the last ten years, Ready-To-Drink Tea has grown
nearly ten fold. In 2007, Ready-To-Drink sales were
conservatively estimated at $2.80 billion.
Tea Bags, Loose Tea &
Iced Tea Mixes:
In 2007, over 65% of the tea brewed in the United States
was prepared using tea bags. Ready-to-Drink and iced tea
mix comprises about one fourth of all tea prepared in the
U.S., with instant and loose tea accounting for the
balance. Instant tea is declining and loose tea is gaining in
popularity, especially in Specialty Tea and coffee outlets.
Current Sales:
2007 was the 16th consecutive year that consumer
purchases of tea increased. Retail supermarket sales alone
surpassed the $1.95 billion dollar mark. Away-from-home
consumption has been increasing by at least 10% annually
over the last decade.
2
Anticipated Sales:
(U.S.)
The industry anticipates strong, continuous growth over
the next five years. This growth will come from all
segments driven by convenience, by interest in the healthy
properties of tea, and by the continued discovery of
Specialty Tea.
Varieties:
Black, Green, Oolong and White teas all come from the
same plant, a warm-weather evergreen named Camellia
sinensis. Differences among the four types of tea result
from the various degrees of processing and the level of
oxidization. Black tea is oxidized for up to 4 hours and
Oolong teas are oxidized for 2-3 hours. As a result, the
tealeaves undergo natural chemical reactions, which result
in taste and color changes, and allow for distinguishing
characteristics. Green & White teas are not oxidized after
processing and they most closely resemble the look and
chemical composition of the fresh tealeaf. Oolong tea is
midway between Black and Green teas in strength and
color.
Grown In:
Much of the world’s tea is grown in mountainous areas
3,000 – 7,000 feet above sea level, situated between the
Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn in mineralrich
soil. Leading tea-producing countries include
Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Kenya
Malawi, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania.
History:
Tea is nearly 5,000 years old. It was discovered in 2737
BC by Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung, known as the
“Divine Healer,” when as legend goes, some tea leaves
accidentally blew into the Emperor’s pot of boiling water.
In the 1600’s, tea became highly popular throughout
Europe and the American colonies. Tea played a dramatic
part in the establishment of the United States of America.
In 1767 the British Government put a tax on the tea used
by American colonists. Protesting this “taxation without
representation,” the colonists decided to stop buying tea
and refused to allow tea ships to be unloaded. One
December night in 1723, men dressed as Native
Americans boarded British ships in Boston Harbor and
threw more than 300 chests of tea into the sea. This now
famous Boston Tea Party, in protest of the British tea tax,
was said to be one of the acts leading to the Revolutionary
War.
3
Anna, Duchess of Bedford, is credited with creating
Afternoon Tea in 1840, when she began taking tea with a
light snack around 4:00 p.m. to ward off “that sinking
feeling.”
High Tea originated with the rural and working class
British, who would return to their homes at about 6:00
p.m. for a meal of potted meats, fish, cheese, salads,
sweets, and a pot of strong tea. The U.S. played an
important role in the history of tea, inventing the tea bag
and iced tea, both in 1904. Recently, the U.S. has led the
rest of the world in marketing convenient Ready-To-
Drink forms of tea in bottles.
Environmental
Qualities:
Tea is an all-natural and environmentally sound product
from a renewable source. The tea plant is naturally
resistant to most insects; oxidation of the tealeaf is a
natural process; and, many tea packers use recycled paper
for packaging.
Health Qualities:
Tea is a refreshing beverage that contains no sodium, fat
carbonation, or sugar. It is virtually calorie-free. Tea helps
maintain proper fluid balance and may even contribute to
overall good health.
Tea contains flavonoids, naturally occurring compounds
that are believed to have antioxidant properties.
Antioxidants work to neutralize free radicals, which
scientists believe, over time, damage elements in the
body, such as genetic material and lipids, and contribute
to chronic disease.
Every day, new findings from the international scientific
community lend credibility to tea’s healthy properties.
Recent research has explored the potential health
attributes of tea through studies in humans, animal models
and through in vitro laboratory research. For the most
part, studies conducted on green and black tea, which are
both from the Camellia sinensis plant, have yielded
similar results. Recent research suggests that tea and tea
flavonoids may play important roles in various areas of
health and may operate through a number of different
mechanisms still being explored.
As research continues, here are some exciting recent
findings:
4
Heart Health:
The current body of research suggests that drinking 3 to 5
cups of tea per day can offer significant heart health
benefits ranging from reducing heart attack risk to
lowering Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or
“bad” cholesterol. For example, one recent study found
that participants who drank more than 16 fl. oz. of black
tea per day had a 50% lower prevalence of cardiovascular
disease (CHD) than non-tea drinkersi. Another study
found that those who drank more than 3 cups of black tea
per day (>375 mL) reduced their risk of heart attack by
43% as compared to non-tea drinkersii. Additionally, a
study conducted by the US Department of Agriculture
(USDA) found that participants who drank 5 cups of
black tea per day along with a diet moderately low in fat
and cholesterol reduced their LDL cholesterol by about
11% after three weeksiii.
Colon Cancer:
Benefits to gastrointestinal (GI) health reaped by teadrinking
seem to be cumulative and dependant upon the
amount of tea consumed per day as well as the number of
tea-drinking years. Findings include the results of a study
finding that women who consumed the equivalent of 2.5
cups of tea per day had a 60% reduction in rectal cancer
risk, compared with women who drank less than 1.2 cups
of tea dailyiv. An additional study found tea drinkers to
have an approximate 42% reduced risk of colon cancer as
compared to non-tea drinkers. Men who drank more than
1.5 cups of tea per day were found to have a 70% lower
colon cancer riskv.
Skin Cancer:
According to University of Arizona research findings,
participants who drank iced black tea and citrus peel had a
42% reduced risk of skin cancervi and hot black tea
consumption was associated with a significantly lower
risk of the most common form of skin cancer, squamous
cell carcinoma (SCC)vii.
Bone Health:
Two recent studies found that tea-drinking women had
higher bone mineral density (BMD) measurements than
non-tea drinkersviii, especially in those who had been
habitual tea-drinkers for six or more yearsix. Higher bone
mineral densities is an indicator of strong bones.
5
Caffeine Content: Tea is naturally low in caffeine. A cup of Black Tea, for
example, contains about 40 milligrams of caffeine.
Cost Per Serving:
Prepared in the home, tea costs about three cents per
serving, cup or glass. Tea continues to remain one of the
most economical beverages available.
Tea:
The smart choice for today and the millennium.
i
Now, 85% of the tea consumed in the U.S. is of the iced variety.

• And of course, no one can mention American tea consumption without speaking of December 16, 1773. That’s the date of the Boston Tea Party. Every American middle schooler is brow beaten to know that 342 crates of tea were dumped into Boston Harbor in protest of British Parliament’s Tea Act of 1773. (You guys remembered all that … right? Here’s a refresher.)

• Although we might guess the English, with their tradition of High Tea, to be the world’s number one consumers of the aromatic beverage, it’s the Irish who consume the most tea per capita, with an average person handling 4 cups a day (compare that to the U.S., where the average person has a mere half cup each day!)

Sprouted Kamut trutorial

2008-03-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

How to make a raw sprouted grain bread

How to Make Bananas Foster

2008-03-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

Bananas Foster is a dessert that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana (US). It's fairly easy to make and very impressive to watch, not to mention delicious. The burst of flames will dazzle the audience and caramelize the bananas, pleasing the eyes and the taste buds in one shot!

[edit] Ingredients

* Two bananas
* 1 cup of brown sugar
* 1/2 stick of butter
* 1/8 of a cup of spiced rum
* 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract/essence
* Vanilla ice cream

[edit] Steps

1. Peel and cut bananas lengthwise and in half, then set aside.
2. Remove the ice cream from the freezer and allow it to thaw.
3. Set burner to medium to high heat
4. Place the butter into the saucepan, stirring continuously to prevent burning.
5.
Add 1 cup of brown sugar to the melted butter and stir constantly, this should be allowed to cook and caramelize for about 3-5 minutes. Once the brown sugar and butter mixture is the consistency of warm maple syrup, turn the burners to low.
6.
Add the banana slices. Allow these to soften. The bananas should be completely coated by the sugary mixture.
7. Add the vanilla. Once the bananas have reached a more rich color of yellow add the vanilla extract. The vanilla will seem somewhat overpowering until thoroughly stirred in, and allowed to cook. When the smell of vanilla has reduced in strength, add the spiced rum to the mixture.
8.
Give about 10 seconds to simmer. After this, take the lighter and carefully light the mixture.
9.
Let the mixture burn itself out.
10.
When the fire has extinguished itself, pour the Bananas Foster (while still warm) over (or next to) vanilla ice cream.

[edit] Warnings

* Be sure that no one is standing close when you ignite the mixture.
* Be sure that you are not leaning over the pan when you ignite the mixture as well.
* Be sure to turn off the cooker hood or take the pan from the stove when you are going to set the rum on fire!

[edit] Things You'll Need

* Saucepan
* Knife
* Lighter
* Mixing spoon
* Measuring cup / spoon
* Orange peeler (careful use of a knife will suffice)
* Mixing bowl

How Do They Do It: Jellybeans & Chocolates

2008-03-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

Healthy food Recipes

2008-03-05T15:23:00.000-08:00

Pink Smoothie.
Smoothies are an easy and yummy way to get good nutrition. It is best to eat fruit on an empty stomach so morning is the perfect time for a fruit smoothie. Blend these ingredients together and take this breakfast along with you.

* 1 Cup frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)
* 1 Banana
* 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
* 1/2 cup water

Optional

* 1 scoop Whey or Soy Protein instead of Yogurt
* 1 Tbsp ground flax seeds
* additional 1/2 cup water if using the protein powder

4. Green Smoothie.
This is the super healthy one. You get your fruits and greens in one drink. By blending your greens you'll be releasing all the amazing nutrients that are often left locked inside unless you chew them extensively.

If you're scared, don't be! Try it once and you'll be hooked. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how delicious this is. Mix this in your blender and take it on the go with you. Sip it all morning for continuous healthy energy! You won't even need coffee if you get in the habit of drinking this!

What I do with this is drink half of it at say 10am and then the other half at 11am. Another side benefit of drinking green smoothies is that they reduce your cravings for junk food.

* 2 bananas
* 1 cup frozen berries (any kind)
* 1 big handful green leafy vegetable (spinach, kale, mache, arrugala, romaine leaves, your choice!)
* 1 cup water

Optional

* Spirulina
* 1 Tbsp ground flax seeds
* 1-3 tspn flax oil
* Protein powder (whey or soy) + additional 1/2 cup water

Coca Cola - How to make Coca-Cola at home

2008-03-01T20:53:00.000-08:00

Coca Cola - How to make Coca-Cola at home

Codenamed "Merchandise 7X", the list of ingredients that go into Coke - 922 million litres of which were drunk in the UK last year - has been kept carefully shrouded in mystery since the drink's inventor, a medicinal chemist called John Pemberton, first wrote it down in 1886. These days it is supposedly kept under 24-hour guard in a vault in Atlanta, Georgia, which is odd considering that author Mark Pendergrast published it in his exposé of the cola industry For God, Country & Coca-Cola (Basic Books) in 1993. The company maintains that this recipe is not the same as the one it uses.

Kate Rich and Kayle Brandon are bar managers at the Cube Microplex, an "alternative" cinema in central Bristol. Opposed in principle to the business and environmental practices of the Coca-Cola corporation, the Cube bar has never served Coke. That doesn't mean there isn't a demand for it. "We'd tried Pepsi and Virgin Cola and various others too," says Brandon, "but they weren't really a positive alternative. They were acceptable, but they weren't Coke. And people really want Coke."

After conducting various taste tests, they felt the preference had less to do with flavour than the power of the brand. Any alternative they were going to offer had not only to taste almost identical but overcome the incredible pull of Coca-Cola's marketing. "Given that most of the Cube's customers come because they like the place's DIY attitude," Brandon explains, "one way of doing that was to make the cola ourselves."

Cola is basically a mix of caramel, caffeine, sugar, fizzy water, citric or phosphoric acid, and eight essential oils. It's the precise blend of these oils that lies at the heart of the 7X secret formula. A trawl of the web soon uncovered several 7X-type recipes, the most promising of which was adapted from the one in Pendergrast's book.

But turning the recipe into a palatable drink turned out to be more difficult than it looked. "The oils we had to import from the US," says Rich. "The caramel had to be sourced direct from DD Williamson, a large operation based in Manchester which actually provides the caramel for all the Coca-Cola manufactured in the UK. And the caffeine we found at MyProtein.co.uk, a body-building website."

When they had assembled most of the kit, they invited friends along to an "open lab" to help them make the drink. "Unfortunately none of us had any scientific knowledge whatsoever, and it's quite a scientific process," says Rich. "We spent half our time running out to get ingredients that we didn't have, and we kept having to go round to the local post office to weigh things on their parcel scales."

Though they came up with something like cola by the end of that first day, they couldn't replicate their success. The problem was getting the oils to mix with the other ingredients, a process called emulsification, or binding together.

The emulsifier used in most soft drinks is dried acacia sap, better known as gum arabic. But Rich and Brandon couldn't get this to work. "We managed to destroy a whole series of kitchen mixers, completely trashed them. The gum arabic scoured the sides, the blades snapped ... it was really violent and very distressing."

After the fourth mixer went west they realised it was time to seek help. A mass email to the Cube's mailing list uncovered Dr Peter Barham, adviser to the Fat Duck restaurant and expert in food emulsification. He pointed out that they were using the wrong kind of gum arabic. "We'd bought ours from the local Indian food shop, but it wasn't particularly homogenous, so each time it was giving us different results."

Barham also pointed out that making an emulsion was all about force. Rich and Brandon had scaled up their quantities, but not their mixing power. They were looking forlornly at the constituents of their cola lab when they noticed the tubular metal handle on one of their hand whisks was about the same thickness as a large drill bit. Bingo! Whisking the mixture with a hammer drill produced the desired effect.

All they needed to do now was to add caffeine, caramel, sugar, citric acid and sparkling water - and suddenly, from a single cup of emulsion, they had enough cola for a month.

So how does it taste? First, we try the real Coca-Cola. A restrained sweetness, low cool notes of caramel, dry on the tongue, quite flat on the palette. Very refreshing, but with little depth.

Now for Rich and Brandon's home-made product. The initial surprise is that it really does taste like Coke. Very slightly sweeter than "the real thing" but less acidic. A satisfying, complex flavour, subtly different from the brand leader, but easily as good.

Having found their liquid gold, Brandon and Rich plan to sell concentrate kits to other small bars and businesses. They maintain that they are not out to challenge the Coca-Cola hegemony, but they "do hope that along the way we'll help produce a small reality-shift. It's social change through science and baking. Sort of DIY aesthetic meets the WI."

The mega corporation remains unfazed. "As the saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," says a Coca-Cola spokesman. "But our product is unique. Anyone with a selection of ingredients could make a type of cola, but there can only be one Coke."

Thanks to Rich and Brandon, we have a much better idea of what that really means.

Brew it yourself

NB. 1 batch of 7x formula will produce three batches cola syrup, or approximately 54 litres of cola.

Step 1: 7x formula:

Using food-grade essential oils, assemble 3.75ml orange oil; 3ml lime oil; 1ml lemon oil; 1 ml cassia oil (nb. reduce cassia content for next production); 0.75ml nutmeg oil; 0.25ml coriander oil (6 drops); 0.25ml lavender oil (6 drops); 0.25ml neroli oil (optional/removed due to high cost).

Using a measuring syringe, measure out the oils into a glass or ceramic container. Keep covered to avoid volatile oil fumes escaping. Then dissolve 10g instant gum arabic (equivalent to 22ml) in 20ml water (low calcium/low magnesium, Volvic is good) with one drop vodka - Cube uses Zubrowka. (Be aware that total quantity of vodka will be 0.0007ml per litre of Cube-cola).

Place the gum/water/vodka mix in a high-sided beaker - stainless steel or glass are best. Using a high-power hammer drill with kitchen whisk attachment, whisk the gum mixture at high speed while your assistant droppers the oils. Mix in steadily with the measuring syringe. Continue to whisk at high speed for 5-7 minutes, or until the oils and water emulsify.

The resulting mixture will be cloudy. Test for emulsification by adding a few drops of the mixture to one glass of water. No oils should be visible on the surface. You now have a successful flavour emulsion, which should hold for several months.

Step 2:The mixers

This makes two allied concentrates, Composition A and Composition B, which can be stored separately before being mixed into cold syrup with the addition of sugar and water.

Composition A

Mix 30 ml double strength caramel colouring (DD Williamson Caramel 050) with 10 ml water. While stirring, add 10ml 7x flavour emulsion (oils/gum/water mix).

Composition B

Mix 3 tsp (10ml) citric acid with 5-10ml water, then sieve in 0.75 tsp (2.75ml) caffeine. Mix thoroughly using a pestle and mortar until caffeine granules are no longer evident. The mixture may behave erratically, turning either white or clear for no apparent reason. If it goes white, add more water. Pass through muslin or jelly bag to remove any anomalies.

At this point, A+B can be packaged separately and later reconstituted into cola syrup.

Step 3: The cola syrup

2 litres water; 2kg sugar

Compositions A & B

Make a sugar syrup (mix in a cooking pot on low heat to dissolve quickly) using 1.5 litres of the water and all the sugar. Filter if unsure. Mix Composition A into the remaining 500ml water. Add Composition B, then the sugar syrup. You now have 3 litres Cube-Cola syrup or approx 18 litres cola.

Step 4: The cola

As required, make up your cola as a 5:1 mix, five parts fizzy water to one part cola syrup. Cube uses 350ml syrup in a 2l bottle of Tesco Ashford Mountain Spring. This cola recipe is released under the GNU general public licence.

Unusual Food Combinations

2008-02-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

Carrots and Sugar
While it may seem strange to add sugar to vegetables, it is a very common method of preparing carrots in France. The technical term for this dish is Vichy Carrots, in which you combine Carrots, Salt, Pepper, sugar, and Vichy water (a sparkling water from the Vichy region) and cook them down until the carrots are glazed. The sugar heightens the flavor of the carrots and the end result is a stunning dish of brilliantly orange vegetables.

Coffee and Salt
Add a touch of salt to coffee to heighten the flavor - this is a very common use of salt as it is used in virtually all dishes (including sweet dishes served for pudding). Just a pinch is enough to make a brilliant espresso.

Tomatoes and Sugar
Use sugar, not salt. Tomatoes are already acidic and the addition of salt just increases that acidic flavor. Sugar sweetens and increases the tomato flavor. Tomatoes are fruits after all.

Chocolate and Coffee

Chocolate

When baking with chocolate, add a little coffee - it strengthens the chocolate flavor without adding a strong coffee flavor.

Meat and Aniseed

Beef-Stew-Recipe

When stewing meat, throw in a star anise - you can’t taste the aniseed but the flavor adds a deep richness to the meat. This is a trick used in all meat dishes by Heston Blumenthal the owner of the Fat Duck (3 Michelin stars) - voted the world’s best restaurant for three years in a row.

Cooking tomatoes and Foliage
Throw in a tomato branch - the branch contains all of the flavor that we love in tomatoes - pick a leaf and smell it and you will see what I mean. Simply throw in a small stick of the tomato plant and it will give your cooked tomatoes a much stronger tomato flavor.

Potatoes and Nutmeg
Add nutmeg - just a little - it adds a depth to the potatoes that people won’t recognize, but will definitely like. This is true of virtually every potato dish.

Chili and Chocolate
Add chocolate to chili. It deepens the meaty flavor of the chili while giving a strong base note to the peppers. This is a trick well known in the South where Chili bake-offs are common.

Apples and Vanilla
Apples are very acidic and normally require some sugar in their cooking. Most people add nutmeg or cinnamon to their apple dishes, but vanilla extract adds a deep layer of flavor that most people won’t recognize but will certainly appreciate.

Strawberries and Pepper
Strawberries (fresh) are usually served with a sprinkling of confectioners sugar, but the addition of very finely ground pepper (from fresh corns) heightens the flavor.

How to Scramble Eggs in a Microwave

2008-01-24T14:29:00.000-08:00

How to Scramble Eggs in a Microwave
If you're tired of dealing with burnt saucepans or you're just looking for a faster way to make breakfast, scrambling eggs in a microwave is quick and easy.

[edit] Ingredients

* 2 eggs per person
* 1 tablespoon of water or milk per egg (optional, see Tips below)
* 1 tablespoon of butter or cooking spray
* Salt and pepper

[edit] Steps

1.
Spray or grease a microwave safe bowl with cooking spray or butter. If you do this, the egg batter will not stick to the bowl in the cooking process.
2.
Crack eggs into the bowl. Whip them with a fork or whisk.
3.
Place in the microwave and cook for 30 seconds. Remove, as they will be partially formed (see Warnings below). Use your fork and stir them gently, so that the uncooked blends in with the still loose egg. Set the eggs back in the microwave.
4.
Microwave the eggs for about 10 seconds and check them. If they're not ready for your taste or are too liquidly, stir and break up the egg with a fork and place back in the microwave for a few more seconds.
5.
Microwave for 10 second intervals until you get more solid egg than liquid. Be sure not to overcook or burn the eggs.

[edit] Tips

* The above instructions are for 2 eggs. Increase the cooking time for more eggs.
* Water produces a lighter egg, while milk or cream produces a smoother, creamier egg. Personal preference is the deciding factor.
* Try mixing in a slice of cheese (in the beginning) for delicious cheesy goodness!
* After the first minute, you need to keep an eye on the eggs to avoid overcooking.
* Let the eggs cool in the fridge and mix with mayonnaise for quick sandwiches.
* Adding salt early in the cooking process will greatly reduce the amount needed later to improve flavour.
* Just remember that if you want to eat the eggs with something else, but need to heat that item, microwave it separately from the eggs. The eggs will continue to cook and may turn crispy and brown while heating.
* Cover the bowl with a paper plate or other loose-fitting lid (do not seal); sometimes eggs can explode and make a mess inside the microwave.

[edit] Warnings

* The bowl can get very hot.
* Use oven gloves or a cloth when handling.

[edit] Things You'll Need

* non-metallic mixing bowl
* whisk/fork
* microwave

How to Grow Your Own Food

2008-01-24T14:11:00.000-08:00

How to Grow Your Own Food
For all of human history, people have managed to feed themselves, either by fishing, hunting, gathering and/or subsistence farming. Now, with large-scale food production, gardening is often only a hobby. But growing one's own food could mean increased security, health, and enjoyment. Since the details of growing your own food depend on your unique locale, here's a general overview to get you started.
[edit] Steps
Planning

1. Determine what crops you can raise in your location. Obvious factors include climate, soil, rainfall, and available space. Here are some details on each.

* Climate. Some locales only have a brief growing season, such as Northern Europe and Canada. This means growing quick producing plant varieties that can be harvested and stored for the winter. Other areas have year-long warm weather, where fresh vegetables and grain can be harvested on demand.
* Soil. Depending on the type you have available, you may expect very high yields from a small area, or meager yields from large areas. The best plan to follow is to plant a food crop which flourishes in your conditions as a staple, and use surplus land to grow "luxury" foods that require more fertilisation and effort.
* Rainfall. Some plants thrive with minimal rainfall, but most food crops require substantial amounts of water from irrigation or rainfall. Consider the normal rainfall rate for your area, and the availability of irrigation when choosing crops. If you live in a dry area, consider collecting rainwater.
* Space. If sufficient space is available, you may be able to grow plenty of food using conventional methods, but where space is limited, you may have to look at other techniques, including hydroponics, container gardening, sharecropping, and vertical gardening.
2. Understand how a growing season plays out. Growing food is more than just planting seeds and waiting for a harvest. Below, in the "Growing" section, is a typical sequence of steps in growing a single crop of one plant. You will need to prepare each different plant crop basically the same way, but when you have prepared the soil for planting, you can plant as many different crops as you like at one time.
3. Become familiar with the different types of food crops. We often think of the vegetables we see in the produce section of a market as the garden vegetables, and in a sense, this is true, but to truly grow your own food, you need to consider your whole diet. This is a general list of the types of food you will want to consider growing.

* Vegetables. This includes legumes, leaf vegetables, root vegetables, corn (a grain, looked at more closely later), and vining vegetables like squash, cucumbers, melons, and pumpkins. These provide many essential nutrients and vitamins, including:

o Proteins. Legumes are a good source of proteins. So is meat. Even families who don't eat much meat often decide to raise a few animals such as chickens in order to have eggs. Chickens can be fed mostly on the waste from a family garden, they will eat vegetable peels, stale bread, and many other things you might otherwise throw out or compost. When chickens stop laying, it's time to plan a chicken dinner.
o Carbohydrates. Potatoes and beets are an excellent source of complex carbohydrates, as well as minerals.
o Vitamins and minerals. Leaf vegetables, like cabbage and lettuce, as well as vining vegetables like cucumbers and squash, are a good source of many essential vitamins and minerals.

* Fruits. Most people understand that fruits are a great source of vitamin C, but they also contribute many other vitamins and minerals to your diet, as well as offering a broader variety of taste to enjoy. Fruits also can often be preserved by drying or canning, so refrigeration is not required to store your surplus.
* Grains. Growing grains is not what most people envision when they think of growing their own food, but grains are a staple in most diets. They are filled with carbohydrates and fiber, and can be stored easily for long periods of time. In many early civilizations, and in some countries today, grain is the primary foodstuff for the population. This category of food crops includes:

o Corn. Often eaten as a vegetable with meals, corn is also a versatile grain that can be stored whole, unshucked, shelled (removed from the cob, with whole kernels), or ground into meal for use in making breads or mush dishes like grits. Corn is probably the easiest grain to grow for the home subsistence farmer. Freezing corn is the easiest way to preserve it for winter use.
o Wheat. Most people are familiar with wheat, from which we get most of our flour for baking everything from breads to cakes and pastries. Wheat stores well after harvest, but harvesting itself is more laborious than it is for corn, since the whole plant is usually cut down, sheaved (placed in piles), gathered and threshed (beaten to free the seeds), and ground into fine powder (flour).
o Oats. Another grain, oats for human consumption are processed more than wheat or corn, and the labor involved in harvest is equal to wheat. Still, it may be considered an option in some areas where it is easily grown.
o Rice. For wet areas, areas subject to flooding, or which can be flooded, rice is the obvious choice. Rice is commonly grown in shallowly submerged soil, and is harvested much as wheat is.
o Other grains include barley and rye, which are similar to wheat and oats.
4.
Select the crops and varieties that are suitable to your growing region. This is where the instructions in this article cannot suffice to give comprehensive and accurate information specific to you. Instead, we will look at basic growing requirements for different plants according to standard growing regions, as set forth by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) on their plant hardiness map[1] which you may be able to use by comparing climates in terms of latitude and elevation to your particular region.

* Beans, peas, and other legumes. These are planted after the threat of frost, and require 75 to 90 days to produce fruit, which can continue producing as long as the plants are cared for until autumn frost.
* Gourds. This group of plants includes squash, melons, and pumpkins, and is planted after the last expected frost, and takes between 45 days (cucumbers) to 130 days for pumpkins, to produce harvestable fruit.
* Tomatoes. This fruit (usually grouped with vegetables) can be planted in containers if kept warm, and transplanted into soil after the threat of frost, and will produce season-long as well.
* Grains. There is a great difference in growing seasons with grains, as well as summer and winter varieties of many of these. Generally speaking, summer grains, such as corn and summer wheat, are planted near the end of winter when freezing temperatures are not expected to continue for more than a few weeks, and they take about 110 days to mature, then another 30-60 days to dry sufficiently to harvest for storing as seed.
* Orchard fruits. Apples, pears, plums, and peaches are regarded as orchard fruits in most places, and do not require annual planting. The trees that bear these fruits require pruning and maintenance and usually take 2-3 years before producing their first, modest crop. When the trees begin producing fruit, the yield should increase yearly, and after they become mature and established, a single tree can produce bushels of fruit each year.
5. Develop a "farm plan" on the land you intend to use for your food production. You will need to address specific issues in your planning, including wildlife encroachment, which may require fences or other permanent measures, sun exposures, since some plants require more sunlight to successfully produce than others, and topography, since tilling very steep ground is wrought with problems.

* List all of the possible crops you will attempt to cultivate on your land. You should try to have as diverse a selection as possible to meet nutrition requirements mentioned earlier. You may be able to estimate a total yield per crop item by researching the growing success of others in your area, or by using information from the source you purchase your seed from. Using the list, and the planting plan you began earlier, you will need to calculate the amount of seed you will need. If you have lots of room, plant an excess to allow for poor performance until you have a firm grasp of what you are doing.
* Plan to use your land as effectively as possible if you are limited in space. Except in very cold regions, you may expect to be able to grow and harvest summer, fall, winter, and spring crops. This will allow you to enjoy some fresh produce year around. Beets, carrots, cauliflower, snow peas, cabbage, onions, turnips, collards, mustard greens, and many other vegetables actually prefer growing in cold weather if the ground does not freeze. Winter crops are also much less subject to insect problems. If you are very tight on space, consider your alternatives (see Tips).
6. Plan on your storage method. If you are going to grow grains, you will need barns which will keep your stored harvest dry and safe from insects and vermin. It is likely that if you intend to produce all of the food you consume for yourself, you will find that a combination of storage and preservation methods will be useful. The above steps mention several of these methods, but as a recap, the usual methods for storing foods are:

* Drying (or dehydration). This is a useful method for storing fruits and some vegetables. It can be done without high-tech gadgets in most fairly dry, warm climates.
* Canning. This requires containers (which are reusable with the exception of lids, which may deteriorate over time) but does require proper preparation, cooking equipment, and skill. Pickling is considered in this article as a "canning" process, although it does not have to be so.
* Freezing. This, again, requires some cooking preparation, as well as a freezer and proper containers.
* Bedding. Not previously mentioned, this is a method for storing root crops such as potatoes, rutabagas, beets, and other root crops. It is accomplished by layering the product in a dry, cool, location in a straw bed.
7. Determine the benefits of this activity compared to the cost. You will be investing a considerable amount of money in start-up costs if you do not have any materials and equipment available at the beginning. You will also have a lot of labor invested, which may translate into additional expense if you forgo a regular job to pursue this effort. Before investing a great deal of time and money, research your local growing conditions, available crop selections, and your ability to manage this labor-intensive effort. The benefits will include having food that you can enjoy without the worry of herbicides, pesticides, and other contaminants, except those used at your discretion.
8. Begin your project in stages. If you have abundant land and sufficient equipment, you can start on a fairly large scale, but unless you have sufficient knowledge and experience, you will be gambling that the plants you select are suitable for your soil and climate. Talking to people in your area will often provide you with the best source of specific information on selecting your crops and planting times, but if this is not an option, plant "trial" plantings of new crops the first year to see how well they produce. Begin on a smaller scale, perhaps trying to grow a set percentage of your food requirements to give you an idea of the total yield you can expect, and work your way up to a self-sufficient level.

Growing

1. Break the ground. For cultivated land, this is simply the process of loosening the soil, and "turning under", or covering, the plants or plant residue from a previous crop. It may also be referred to as "tilling", and is done with a plow or tiller pulled by a draft animal or tractor, or on a small scale, with a self-propelled machine called a "rototiller". You should clear away any large stones, roots and limbs, heavy accumulation of vegetation, and other debris before tilling.
2. Lay of rows. With modern farm equipment, this process depends on the type of crop being planted, and "no till" planting actually skips this and the previous step. Here, we are considering the general method that would be used by someone who does not have this type of equipment and expertise. Mark out the area you intend to plant, and with a hoe or plow, create a slightly raised bed in the loose soil in a line across the length of the plot. Next, make your furrow (a shallow groove cut in the soil) with your chosen implement.
3. Place your seeds in the furrow at the depth required for the particular crop you are planting. This may vary according to your choice of plants. As a rule, succulent plants like legumes (beans and peas)and melons, squash, cucumbers are planted between 3/4 and 1 inch (2 - 2.5 cm) deep, where corn and potatoes may be planted 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches (6.3 - 9 cm) deep. After placing the seed in the furrow, cover them and tamp (gently pack down) the soil lightly so the seed bed (the covered furrow) does not dry out as quickly. Continue this process until you have the number of rows you planned on planting.

* Alternatively, you can "start" seeds indoors (such as in a greenhouse) and transplant them later.
4. Cultivate your crops when the ground becomes packed by rainfall, or weeds become a problem. Because you are planting this crop in rows, you will be able to walk the center area between rows (the middles) to accomplish this, if you are doing this by hand. You will want to keep the soil around the roots loosened without damaging the roots themselves.
5. Watch for insects and animals which may damage your plants. If you see leaves which have been eaten, you will have to determine what is causing the damage. Many animals find tender young plants in a garden more appetizing than native growth, so you will have to protect the plants from these, but insects are a much more prevalent problem with growing food. You may find you are able to keep insect damage to a minimum by simply removing and killing them as you find them, but for serious problems, you may have to resort to chemical or biological control.
6.
Harvest. You will have to educate yourself to some degree on when to harvest your crop. Many common garden vegetables are harvested as they become ripe, and continue to produce throughout the growing season with proper care. Grains, on the other hand, are most often harvested when they are fully ripened and dry on the plant. Harvesting is a labor intensive operation, and as you become experienced in growing, you will find that you need to reduce the production of some plants so that harvesting can be managed.
7. Preserve. For common vegetables, you have several choices for storing them through the non-growing season. Carrots, turnips and other root vegetables can be stored well into the winter months in the refrigerator or a root cellar. Drying produce is one option for long term preservation of meats, fruits, and vegetables, and for seed type crops like legumes, this will give excellent results. For succulents and fruits, you may want to consider canning[2][3] or freezing your harvest. A vacuum sealer will give better results in freezing vegetables for long-term use.

[edit] Tips

* Talk with neighbors about co-oping. It is easier to manage a smaller number of different crops, and you may be able to grow enough of some of your selection of food for two families, and another family would grow enough of other crops that you can exchange them.
* Look at alternative methods for growing food if your space is very limited and your desire (or need) is sufficient to justify it. There are a number of high production, compact growing methods. Here are some with a brief description and links to sources with more detailed information:

o Hydroponic gardening.[4][5] This is a method of growing in a liquid medium, also known as "soiless agriculture".
o Vertical gardening. [6] This method is for "vining" crops which usually require a lot of space to spread out, yielding lower units per square foot. By erecting trellises, fencing, or other support structures, you may multiply your yield per square foot, as the vines will grow upward, rather than outward.
o Container growing. Some plants can be grown in almost anything (even an old toilet, although tacky). Growing plants in "window boxes" has been common for many years to give a pleasant effect in the otherwise sterile environment of a city apartment, but the same process can be used to grow smaller, less root dependent food crops, like peppers, squash, tomatoes, and others.
* Look at outside sources of food to supplement your farming effort. Fishing, gathering wild berries and nuts, looking for edible plants growing wild in your region, even trapping and hunting may be possibilities for increasing the scope of your diet.
* Don't give up growing your own vegetables in the winter! Consider growing sprouts in your kitchen. If you grow a variety of sprouts, such as radish, broccoli, alfalfa and clover, you will have a variety of tastes and types of vegetables to add fresh green to your diet to supplement your frozen and canned summer vegetables.

[edit] Warnings

* Growing your own food can be done, but you will be at the mercy of nature, in the form of pests and weather, either of which can destroy whole crops in a remarkably short time.
* Growing your own food requires patience, persistence and a lot of bending and lifting and carrying. Be prepared to sweat. Wear socks under clogs or easy-to-clean footwear. Protect yourself from sun and insects (ticks & mosquitoes carry life-threatening diseases) by washing thoroughly and often.
* Home canning must be done properly to be safe, in order to avoid botulism and other diseases.

[edit] Things You'll Need

* Suitable land for agricultural purposes.
* Storage methods, tools and space.
* Adequate sun and access to water
* Growing equipment.
* Seeds and fertilizer

[edit] Related wikiHows

* How to Preserve Fruit
* How to Grow Beans and Peas
* How to Handle Pesticides Safely
* How to Start an Organic Garden
* How to Practice Sustainable Agriculture
* Farming articles on wikiHow
* Gardening articles on wikiHow

[edit] Sources and Citations

1. ↑ http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html
2. ↑ http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FY719
3. ↑ http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/TOPIC_Canning_Food
4. ↑ http://www.howtohydroponics.com/
5. ↑ http://www.hydroponics.net/learn/hydroponic_gardening_for_beginners.asp
6. ↑ http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/envirohort/426-335/426-335.html

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How to Make Hot Chocolate

2008-01-24T14:02:00.000-08:00

How to Make Hot Chocolate
Hot chocolate can be a delicious and comforting beverage, especially during cold winter months. If chilled, however, you'll have a refreshing drink or possibly a dessert depending on how you dress it up.

But hot chocolate should not to be confused with hot cocoa. The former is made with actual chocolate and is a richer, much more substantial beverage. The latter is produced from cocoa powder or from a manufactured product containing cocoa powder such as hot cocoa mixes available at grocery stores.

This article concentrates on hot chocolate and will serve as a guideline as to how you can prepare it. Experiment with your own recipes and see what you can create. The possibilities are endless!

[edit] Ingredients

* Chocolate
* Milk or water
* Flavorings, such as herbs, spices, liqueur, mint etc.

Pinch of salt

[edit] Steps

1. Obtain some good quality chocolate. This can be milk, dark, or even white chocolate, depending on your preferences and flavors you wish to add.

* If you have some unsweetened chocolate lying around, hot chocolate is a great way to use it up. Simply add sugar to sweeten it.
2.
Chop the chocolate finely on a clean cutting board or counter. One of the easiest ways to chop the chocolate is to use a serrated knife. Make sure the cutting surface has not been exposed to onions or other strong smelling foods. Residual odors can contaminate the chocolate and impart undesirable flavors.

The amount of chocolate you use depends on how strong and rich you want the beverage to be. A good starting point is 25g of chocolate per cup of liquid. If you need more chocolate, simply add it.
3.
Turn the stove top to a medium-low or low setting. Pour milk or water into the pot and gently add the chopped chocolate.
* An alternative to direct heat is to double boil. If you choose to double boil, place a small pot of water on high heat and put a metal bowl on top. Add the chocolate and stir until fully melted turning the heat down some once the water has reached boiling point. Then add cream at 1:1 to the chocolate and stir, effectively making a ganache. The ganache will be added to your mug of hot milk when finished. Add any flavorings suggested below to the ganache while stirring in the cream. (Using the double boil method should make it more difficult to burn your chocolately goodness, but be careful with the bowl as it will get hot!)
* Some people prefer milk for a richer flavor, while others favor water. The choice here is yours, but whatever you use, make sure each serving of hot chocolate is at least 4oz (120ml) for a richer beverage and at most 8oz (240ml) for a thinner beverage.
* This is the point where you can add liqueur if you wish. Doing so now will burn off some of the alcohol and mellow out the flavor.
* Spices and other flavorings can be added here as well. To increase their flavor presence in the hot chocolate, they will need the opportunity to steep for a longer period of time. However, if you want a subtler, less pronounced flavor, hold off for now.
4.
Stir continuously with a whisk until the liquid and chocolate combine completely. Just when you think the two are incorporated, you might notice black flecks scattered in the chocolaty matrix. These flecks are bits of unmelted chocolate, so you should continue to stir until they disappear.
* Sometimes, whisking vigorously is necessary to dissolve unmelted chocolate completely.
* If the mixture becomes too hot, or you feel that it might burn, remove pot from the heat and continue to stir, allowing the temperature to reduce. Put pot back on heat once the mixture has cooled.
5.
Add desired flavorings once you have a fully emulsified liquid in the pot. Liqueur can also be added, but if you do so now, you might find the flavor too strong because the alcohol will not have had a chance to evaporate.
6. Turn off the heat and pour in cups immediately afterwards. Garnish with whatever you wish, such as mint leaves, cinnamon sticks, or whipped cream.
7. Enjoy! And have fun with trying out all sorts of variations!

[edit] Tips

* The pinch of salt makes the chocolate taste more like chocolate!
* The richness of your hot chocolate will usually determine how much you will drink or serve to others. Generally, a richer beverage should be served in 4oz cups such as an espresso cup due to the density of the beverage. A thinner, less chocolaty beverage can be served in more liberal portions, such as coffee cups or mugs.
* The cocoa content of the chocolate will contribute a lot to the flavor and intensity of the beverage. For example, hot chocolate made with 85% chocolate will be strong and not as sweet as most people are familiar with. To balance this out, add sugar, sweeter chocolate, or even milk chocolate for a more rounded flavor.
* Combine different chocolates of various origins, percentages, and even types, such as mixing milk with dark. You can even use flavored bars.
* Feel free to add a tablespoon or two of cream for added richness.
* A pinch of cornstarch can help thicken the chocolate, if you prefer a thicker texture. Make sure to sift it in so that your hot chocolate doesn't end up grainy.
* Store unused portions in the refrigerator to enjoy at another time. Or, refrigerate an entire batch for a cold, refreshing treat. Just shake it to redistribute the chocolate, as it will settle and separate.
* Experiment with different herbs and spices, such as basil, fennel, thyme, nutmeg, and ginger. Combine herbs with fruits for added interest. Cinnamon is a great addition!
* Play around with when to add the flavorings. Sometimes, certain herbs and spices will need to "steep" while you prepare the hot chocolate, so their flavor can be fully extracted. Other times, however, you can add them towards the end of the process. See what works for you.
* Adding malt gives hot chocolate a malted-milk-balls taste.
* Many people enjoy adding marshmallows to their chocolate; they give it the creamy layer you see in some pictures.

[edit] Warnings

* When stirring the hot chocolate in the pot, use only a wire whisk and nothing else. A spoon will not blend the chocolate and liquid thoroughly, and you'll end up with a grainy beverage.
* Knives are of course sharp, and one should be careful while cutting the chocolate.
* Don't leave the stove unattended because milk and chocolate can burn easily.