Tag Archives: Culinary

Sushi

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Sushi

What do you like in your favourite sushi?

  • Sushi is a rice-based food originating from Japan, and the rice is normally held together by, or wrapped in nori (seaweed).
  • Sushi can be prepared in wide variety of styles, including hand rolled in a cone as temakizushi, rolled cylindrically as makizushi, pressed into a rectangular shape and topped with an ingredient as nigirizushi, or put in a bowl as chirashizushi.
  • Rice made with rice vinegar is virtually always used as the base in sushi, while other ingredients can include specially prepared cooked egg (tamagoyaki), raw fish and other seafood, cucumber, pickled vegetables, yam and avocado.
  • Soy sauce, or wasabi may be served with sushi, while green tea is commonly drunk with the dish and pickled ginger (gari) commonly accompanies the food to cleanse the palate for the next course.
  • Traditional sushi, known as ‘narezushi’, originated from the 700s in Japan and surrounding areas as a way of preserving fish, as it was encased in fermented rice for many months, however, the rice was typically thrown out until the Japanese started eating it with the fish, and they eventually added vinegar to the rice, which resulted in a shortened fermentation process.

Sushi, Assortment, Rolls, Cut, Homemade, Ten Random Facts, temakizushi, makizushi

  • Japanese Hanaya Yohei of Tokyo is credited with the invention of the now common, modern style sushi in the early 1800s, which was a ‘fast food’ version, small in comparison to the previous style, quick to make, and easy to eat.
  • Unlike Japan, raw seafood is often not chosen as a commercial sushi filling in Western civilisations, as seafood is notorious for requiring the hassle of freezing to kill potentially harmful parasites as per safety regulations in many countries.
  • Sushi may be eaten with chopsticks, although it is traditional to eat it with fingers and this is common practice in both Japan and the West.
  • Sushi is typically white in colour, due to the rice, and dark green, due to the nori seafood, and other colours vary depending on the extra ingredients, while the dish is savoury and served as the main dish of a main meal, one of the dishes in a main meal, a snack, or in bento (a portable food box),
  • Sushi is generally high in carbohydrates and protein, while significant quantities of other vitamins and minerals vary, depending on the fillings.
Bibliography:
Avey T, Discovering the History of Sushi, 2012, PBS, http://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/history-of-sushi/
Sushi, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushi

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Drinking Straw

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Drinking Straw

Slurping loudly with a drinking straw is half the fun.

  • A drinking straw is a thin, hollow tube used primarily to move a liquid from a container into one’s mouth using suction principles, and they are typically disposable, although reusable straws are available.
  • Drinking straws work by sucking in air using the mouth, and as a result lower the air pressure, which in turn pulls the liquid through the tube.
  • The shape of drinking straws range widely in diameter and length, although they are typically cylindrical, however some straws have crazy, twisted shapes primarily to entertain, or they may have an adjustable, bendy top, while others contain flavouring ingredients, and yet others include a spoon shaped end to generally scoop crushed ice into one’s mouth.
  • The earliest known drinking straw, dating back to 2000 to 3000 BC, was found in a tomb belonging to Sumerians, located in modern day Iraq in the Middle East, and was made of gold and precious stone, while a seal found in the same tomb depicts straws used to drink a beverage, most likely beer.
  • The 1800s saw the escalating use of drinking straws, in the form of rye grass, that notoriously disintegrated and left a rye residue and therefore a grassy taste in the beverage.

Drinking Straw, Assortment, Colourful, Plastic, Paper, Variety, Invention, Ten Random Facts

  • Modern drinking straws were invented by Marvin Chester Stone from Ohio in the United States, who is said to have created a glued paper tube in the 1880s after drinking a beverage unpleasantly tainted with rye residue, and eventually patented his idea in 1888 after refining it.
  • Drinking straws with an adjustable upper bend, known as ‘bendy straws’, ‘articulated straws’, or ‘flexi straws’, made their appearance in the 1930s, created and patented in 1937 by American Joseph Friedman after his young daughter had difficulty drinking through a straight straw in her milkshake.
  • Plastic drinking straws started infiltrating the market in the 1960s and became so popular that by the 1970s they had made paper straws redundant, however they are not environmentally friendly, taking years to break down, hence paper straws have made a small comeback, although in a reinvented sturdier version than the original.
  • In America, large quantities of drinking straws are used daily, numbering around 500 million, and while they are typically made from plastic; metal, glass and paper are also used; and in some instances they are used for craft purposes, while in Uganda they are recycled to make useful woven items like bags.
  • Drinking straws are said to lower the incidence of tooth decay caused by acids in beverages such as carbonated drinks, as they channel the drink more directly into the throat, bypassing more teeth.
Bibliography:
Drinking Straw, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_straw
Hollander C, A Brief History of the Straw, 2014, Bon Appétit, http://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/trends-news/article/history-of-the-straw
Thompson B, The Amazing History and the Strange Invention of the Bendy Straw, 2011, The Atlantic, http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/11/the-amazing-history-and-the-strange-invention-of-the-bendy-straw/248923/

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Ginger Root

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Ginger Root

Ginger root is strong in flavour.

  • Ginger root is the root of the ginger plant native to parts of South-East Asia, including southern China, that has the scientific name Zingiber officinale.
  • ‘Ginger root’ is also known as simply ‘ginger’, and the word has its origins in Old English, Latin, Greek and Prakrit – gingiber, zingiberi, zingiberis, and singabera respectively, with suggestions that it ultimately came from the Sanskrit words ‘srngam’ and ‘vera’, meaning ‘horn’ and ‘body’ respectively, in reference to the root’s shape.
  • Ginger root is commonly used as a culinary spice, and ranges from mild to hot strengths with a sweet tangy and spicy flavour, and it is a good source of copper, manganese, magnesium and potassium.
  • Common foods that use ginger root as a flavouring include beverages, condiments, curry, and baked goods including cookies, and the root can also be candied, pickled or juiced.
  • Ginger root can be collected when the plant root is either young or old, and it can be dried and ground or used fresh, while the younger roots are normally juicer, contain less fibres and are milder in spiciness.

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  • Ginger root can be used for medical purposes, including preventing motion sickness and other causes of nausea, reduction or prevention of some cancers, and for treating some inflammatory problems.
  • The skin of ginger root is typically brown coloured, with red, white, yellow or orange flesh, which varies according to the variety of the plant.
  • Fresh ginger root is commonly peeled to remove the skin before grating, slicing or chopping the flesh, though it is not usually necessary to peel younger roots.
  • Care should be taken when eating ginger root as it can cause allergic reactions in some people and negative affects include rashes, bloating, burping, gas and nausea, and it can interfere with some medical drugs.
  • Ginger root has been used since ancient times in the Middle East, India and China, and in 2012 India was the largest producer of the root, growing a third of the world’s total production.
Bibliography:
Ginger, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginger
Ginger, 2015, The World’s Healthiest Foods, http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=72

Yorkshire Pudding

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Yorkshire Pudding

When do you enjoy a Yorkshire pudding?

  • Yorkshire pudding is a flour-based culinary dish that has been commonly eaten in Great Britain in Europe.
  • Yorkshire pudding is typically made of a batter of eggs, flour and a liquid, commonly milk or water, or a combination of the two, and it is traditionally cooked in fat.
  • ‘Yorkshire pudding’ is a ‘batter pudding’, and it is also known as ‘dripping pudding’ due to it being originally cooked in dripping, a fat from meat, and it is believed to have originated in northern England.
  • Most often, Yorkshire puddings are served as a side with a main meal of roast beef, or other roasted meat, although they can be served as an entrée, a main meal in themselves, or even dessert.
  • There is evidence of a recipe of a Yorkshire pudding that was published in 1737, in the book The Whole Duty of a Woman, and it is one of the earliest known written records of the pudding.
Yorkshire Pudding, Wheat, Pile, Food, Culinary, Ten Random Facts, Trivia
Yorkshire Puddings
Image courtesy of Sam Greenhalgh/Flickr
  • Yorkshire puddings are often tall and have a puffy texture, while the early versions where quite flat in comparison.
  • Hannah Glasse, who wrote the book The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy in 1747, recorded her own version of the Yorkshire pudding.
  • Gravy or other sauces, especially those made for meat or from meat juices, are commonly eaten with Yorkshire pudding.
  • Yorkshire pudding varies in size and shape, although it commonly has a somewhat sunken middle and is often cooked in the oven in small tins for individual serves, that have sides to increase the height of the pudding.
  • Many peasant families ate Yorkshire pudding as the main meal due to its inexpensive nature, and it was usually served with a sauce, often a gravy made from roast meat.
Bibliography:
Challis C, The History of Yorkshire Pudding, 2015, BT, https://home.bt.com/lifestyle/the-history-of-the-yorkshire-pudding-11363958395461
Yorkshire Pudding, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire_pudding
The Yorkshire Pudding- Where Did It All Begin?, 2014, Yorkshire Pudd, http://www.yorkshirepudd.co.uk/yorkshire-pudding-history/

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Cheddar Cheese

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Cheddar Cheese

Have you ever seen a mouse nibbling on cheddar cheese?

  • Cheddar cheese, also known as ‘tasty cheese’ and ‘cheddar’, that is also commonly called by the simple term ‘cheese’, is a firm cheese made from cow’s milk, that is highly popular around the globe, and it is commonly purchased in large rectangular blocks.
  • Cheddar cheese is typically a cream colour or a light yellow, and the variants in colour can be a result of the diet of the cows, although the cheese is sometimes coloured yellow-orange, generally due to a colouring agent.
  • The 1100s saw the invention of cheddar cheese, first made in Somerset’s Cheddar, a village in England, Europe, made in caves where cheese maturing conditions were superb.
  • In the 1800s English dairyman Joseph Harding of Somerset devised a modern process to make cheese, especially cheddar cheese, which led him to be named ‘Father of Cheddar’.
  • Cheddar cheese is made like typical cheese – heating the milk curds and whey, although it also includes a process of turning the curds, and adding salt, and the entire cheese-making process takes 3 to 18 months.

Cheddar Cheese, Tasty, Food, Dairy, Culinary, Ten Random Facts, Homebrand,

  • The flavour of cheddar cheese can be sharp, tasty or mild, and the taste varies depending on the length of the maturing process, with the mild version being ready the quickest; and the cheese may also contain spices or other organic items to alter and enhance the taste.
  • In Australia, cheddar cheese is the most commonly eaten cheese, with a share of more than 50% of the market, while in the United States cheddar is the second most popular cheese, behind mozzarella.
  • The United Kingdom produced around 262,000 tonnes (258,000 tons) of cheddar cheese in 2008, while the United States produced roughly 1,467,000 tonnes (1,443,000 tons) in 2010.
  • In 1989, the heaviest cheddar cheese was made by members of the Federation of American Cheese-makers, weighing 25,790 kilograms (56,850 pounds).
  • Cheddar cheese is normally very high in calcium and high in protein, phosphorus, sodium, riboflavin, vitamin A, zinc and selenium, and it is also high in fat, like most cheeses.
Bibliography:
Cheddar, 2011, Saputo, http://saputo.ca/FoodieLounge/Detail.aspx?id=762
Cheddar, 2015, Cheese.com, http://www.cheese.com/cheddar/
Cheddar Cheese, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheddar_cheese
Why is Cheddar Cheese Orange?, 2015, Wonderopolis, http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-cheddar-cheese-orange/

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Vinegar

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Vinegar

Versatile vinegar!

  • Vinegar is an acidic liquid made of water and acetic acid, which has the chemical formula C2H4O2.
  • Vinegar is made by allowing wine, juice or cider to sit exposed to oxygen and aerobic bacteria, and the process can take many months or years, depending on the circumstances, although quick methods can result in the final product in three days.
  • Among the first discoverers of vinegar were the Babylonians in the Middle East, who are said to have used it before or about 5000 BC for its preserving, cleaning and perceived medicinal properties.
  • Vinegar can be made from a variety of substances, including but not limited to barley, rice, palm fruits including coconuts and dates, grapes and apples.
  • In the food industry, vinegar is used to add flavour or as a liquid base, and it is frequently used in condiments like salad dressings, is found in some drinks, is used for pickling particular vegetables, and is sometimes sprinkled onto potato chips or other vegetables.

Vinegar, Assortment, Chinese, Yellow, Black, Glass, Bottles, Culinary, Food, Acid, Ten Random Facts, Trivia

  • Vinegar has been used throughout history to treat ulcers, coughs, fevers, and bacteria, and as a neutraliser for certain jellyfish stings.
  • The acidic nature of vinegar is enough to cause teeth to decay, and remove sticky residue, among other substances, and is often used in conjunction with water to clean items, and the product is also able to kill mould.
  • Vinegar can be used to kill weeds, although a stronger dose may be required to completely destroy some plants, and the liquid can be used for various other purposes in the garden including killing or deterring pests including snails, slugs and ants.
  • Vinegar can vary in colour, and can be brown, deep red, black, yellow or colourless, depending on its origins.
  • There are various methods of producing commercial vinegar, and some produce more acetic acid than others, while bottles of the liquid commonly found in supermarkets usually contain up to 5% of the acid.
Bibliography:
Know how vinegar came into existence, n.d, The Human Touch of Chemistry, http://humantouchofchemistry.com/know-how-vinegar-came-into-existence.htm
Vinegar, 2015, How Products Are Made, http://www.madehow.com/Volume-7/Vinegar.html
Vinegar, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar
Vinegar History, 2015, Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits, http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/vinegar-history.html

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