Category Archives: Culinary

Pizza

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Pizza

Would you like a slice of pizza facts?

  • A pizza is a cooked bread based meal, that is often topped with a tomato paste or sauce, cheese and other items such as meat or vegetables.
  • An early style of pizza was eaten by both Greeks and Romans in ancient times, and it was primarily topped with herbs, cheese and oil.
  • The more modern pizza probably originated from Italy’s Naples, in Europe, from the 1700s to 1800s, that were topped with herbs, garlic and cheese, and eventually tomato.
  • According to legend, pizzas were cooked for Queen Margherita of the Kingdom of Italy, who was visiting Italy’s Palace of Capodimonte in Naples, and she took a liking to the one topped with mozzarella, tomato and basil, and this combination became famously known as a ‘Magherita’.
  • Pizzas were introduced to the United States by immigrants from Italy in the late 1800s, and while 1905 marked the opening of the first pizzeria in the US, they became popular after World War II, and now during October the food is particularly celebrated in parts of America.

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  • Studies in 2010 suggest that pizza is eaten by approximately 13% of the United States population every day, and they can be bought frozen or ready to cook from supermarkets, or straight out of the oven at retail outlets including prominent pizzerias like Pizza Hut, Domino’s and Papa John’s.
  • The traditional way of cooking pizza is on a flat stone surface in a brick oven near an open flame, known as ‘wood-fired’, although they are often cooked in contemporary style ovens, in trays or pans.
  • Pizzas typically come in a circular shape, although other shapes are sometimes produced, while the crust is either thin, medium or thick,
  • The most expensive commercially available pizza listed in the Guinness World Records, was available in England’s London, that could be bought for £100 or 156 USD, although more expensive ones have been available from time to time, and as of 2014, South Africa had produced the largest, spreading 37.4 metres (122.7 feet) in length, in 1990.
  • Pizzas are high in selenium, riboflavin, folate and protein, and can contain many other vitamins and minerals, however they are known to have unhealthy amounts of salt and fat.
Bibliography:
Pizza, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizza
Turim G, A Slice of History: Pizza throughout the Ages, 2012, History, http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/a-slice-of-history-pizza-through-the-ages

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Quiche

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Quiche

Feel exquisite whenever you eat quiche.

  • Quiche is a pastry food dish like a lid-less pie, that is usually cooked in an oven, and is commonly eaten as a savoury food.
  • Quiche fillings are made primarily of cream or milk and eggs, and meat like bacon, vegetables, cheese and seafood are common additions,
  • A wheat-based pastry usually covers the base and sides of a quiche, however other grains can be used, and some have no pastry at all.
  • Quiches, originally known as ‘tarts’, were being made in the medieval period in Europe, and the recipes that became popular are said to have come from Germany, in Europe, as early as the 1500s, and these were adapted by the French, especially in the region of Lorraine.
  • The term ‘quiche’ comes from the German word ‘kuchen’, meaning ‘cake’, and it was altered by the French to the common word used today.

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  • Quiches can be eaten at warm, cold or room temperatures, and they are commonly eaten for brunch or a lunch meal, and small individual ones are often eaten as finger food at parties and other occasions.
  • In the 1950s, quiches became more widely known in England, and they became popular in America in the 1970s.
  • Among the hardest techniques to master in the art of making quiches, is preventing any of the liquids from leaking outside the pastry, which is one of the reasons for partially baking the pastry before filling it.
  • During the 1900s, quiche was often considered to be a food avoided by ‘real’ men, as it often contained only small quantities of meat.
  • Quiches vary in the quantities of vitamins and minerals they contain, depending on their ingredients, but they are high in calcium, protein, riboflavin and selenium due to the milk and egg content.

 

Bibliography:
Quiche, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiche
What is Quiche?, 2014, WiseGEEK, http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-quiche.htm
FAQs: pie & pastry, 2000, Food Timeline, http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodpies.html

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Wheat Tortilla

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Wheat Tortilla

Did you know that wheat tortillas are really popular?

  • Wheat tortillas are wheat based bread items that are generally thin and soft in texture.
  • ‘Wheat tortillas’ are also known as ‘flour tortillas’, or simply as ‘tortillas’, although this is used as a general term.
  • Wheat tortillas have their origins in the similar corn versions of Ancient North and Central American societies, after wheat was introduced to the area.
  • Wheat tortillas are typically circular in shape and range from 6 to 30 centimetres (2.4 to 12 inches) in diameter, and are able to be rolled out to larger diameters than those made from corn.
  • Food that often accompanies wheat tortillas includes cheese, meat, potato and/or salad.

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  • Wheat tortillas are generally made using a unique machine, which, every hour, can create 60,000 of them.
  • The typical process of making wheat tortillas involves making the unleavened bread mix, and then pressing and cooking it.
  • Wheat tortillas are very popular in Central and North America, and have become a prominent food item especially in northern Mexican cuisine; while tortillas have become the second most common bread item on the continent.
  • Wheat tortillas are commonly used in outer space trips originating from America, as the food creates limited mess, unlike common bread, which helps to prevent machinery malfunctions from small particles.
  • Wheat tortillas are high in fibre, sodium, carbohydrates, and protein, and packaged tortillas often contain preservatives to prolong shelf life.
Bibliography:
Tortilla, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortilla
Tortilla Talk, n.d, TIA, http://www.tortilla-info.com/default.asp?contentID=6

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Bacon

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Bacon

Do you like the smell of bacon frying?

  • Bacon is a type of meat derived from pigs, usually preserved using salt in a process of curing.
  • Bacon is generally cut from the side, back or the belly of pork, and is sold as pieces, strips, or ‘rashers’ as they are known, as well as cubes.
  • Bacon is typically made by curing the pork with salt and generally then left to sit, and is often boiled, smoked and or dried before commercially packing.
  • Bacon is popularly eaten for breakfast, accompanying eggs, but it has more recently been served coated in chocolate, put in sandwiches or deep fried in a batter.
  • The popularity of bacon has recently increased in the United States, with sales in 2013 increasing by 9.5%.

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  • Bacon has fat that becomes runny when hot, which usually solidifies when cool, and it makes lard or grease that meat and other foods can be cooked in.
  • Bacon was originally produced on farms or in homes, with various recipes and methods, although they mostly used a dry curing process, until the introduction of mass production during the Industrial Revolution, and the modern processing methods that followed.
  • Other meats can be prepared in a similar way to bacon, such as turkey meat, and vegetarian versions are also available.
  • Bacon is generally required to be cooked before consumption, and it is typically pink and white when raw, and it usually darkens when cooked.
  • Bacon is high in protein, sodium, niacin, selenium, saturated fat and phosphorus, and due to the high salt content, when large quantities are eaten over periods of time, cardiovascular problems can occur.

 

Bibliography:
Bacon, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacon
History of Bacon, 2014, The English Breakfast Society, http://englishbreakfastsociety.com/history-of-bacon.html

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Tapioca

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Tapioca

Tapioca is a diverse substance.

  • Tapioca is a starch taken from the root of the plant with the scientific name, Manihot esculenta, that is commonly known as cassava.
  • The cassava or manioc tuber, as it is sometimes called, that tapioca is derived from, is native to South America, and was eventually taken to Africa and Asia as a result of explorers from Portugal and Spain.
  • Tapioca can be bought as powder, flakes, pearls, sticks and meal, and the latter four often require soaking before use.
  • Tapioca is often made into desserts; is used as a thickener in liquids; and can be used as a flour in baked goods.
  • The roots of cassava are poisonous and contain cyanide until they are thoroughly processed, after which the tapioca is extracted.

Tapioca, Starch, White, Pearls, Ten Random Facts, Food, Culinary, Invention

  • Tapioca was a staple food item during the food shortages in Southeast Asia during World War II.
  • The word ‘tapioca’ comes from the native Tupí language term for the method of making the cassava root fit for consumption, known as ‘tipi’óka’.
  • Tapioca is commonly used in gluten free cooking, and it helps to give a crispy or chewy feel to baked goods, depending on the item.
  • Tapioca is high in iron and manganese and is very high in carbohydrates.
  • Tapioca is typically white in colour, but very rarely does it affect the colour of other food, and it generally does not provide flavour, although too much of the starch in a food item can cause an unpleasant or slimy texture, as well as taste.
Bibliography:
Tapioca, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapioca
Tapioca Flour, 2014, Bob’s Red Mill, http://www.bobsredmill.com/tapioca-flour.html
WHAT IS TAPIOCA STARCH AND TAPIOCA FLOUR? {GLUTEN FREE FOOD FACTS}, 2012, Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures, http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2012/10/what-is-tapioca-starch-and-tapioca-flour-gluten-free-food-facts.html

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Flaxseed

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Flaxseed

Flaxseeds are nutrition bombs.

  • Flaxseeds are the seeds from the flax plant that has the scientific name Linum usitatissimum, which is from the family Linaceae, a family of flowering plants.
  • Flaxseeds can be eaten cooked, raw or ground, and are often used to flavour dishes and baked goods as well as breakfast cereals, and oil can also be extracted from them.
  • Flaxseeds are typically brown, red brown, yellow, tan or gold in colour, and white, black or green seeds can be obtained, however they are either immature, or over mature, and it is best to avoid them.
  • ‘Flaxseeds’ are also known as ‘flax seeds’ and ‘linseeds’, and are best ground and consumed with water to make them more digestible.
  • Flaxseeds have been used medicinally, primarily in Austrian folk medicine, for infections, colds, fever and problems with eyes and respiratory areas, among others.

Flaxseed, Red, Seed, Grain, Ten Random Facts, Linseed, Culinary, Flavour, Red

  • Ground flaxseeds require refrigeration unless consumed quickly, as they can go rancid in short periods of time – as quickly as seven days, if left at room temperature, although raw unground seeds have a much longer storage life.
  • Flaxseeds and their oil can cause an allergic reaction in some people, and symptoms include itchy skin and nausea.
  • In 2011, Canada was the leading producer of flaxseeds, with 368,300 tonnes (406,000 tons) of the world production of 1,602,000 tonnes (1,765,900 tons), and China ranked a close second.
  • Flaxseeds have been used as a food for thousands of years, particularly in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries.
  • Flaxseed nutrition varies slightly depending on their colour, however, they are very high in fibre, magnesium, manganese, thiamin, and notably, omega-3, as well as being high in copper and phosphorus, and they also contain many other vitamins and minerals.
Bibliography:
Flax, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flax
Flaxseeds, 2014, The World’s Healthiest Foods, http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=81

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