~ FOOD ~

[MysteRy]

ButterMilk




Buttermilk refers to a number of dairy drinks. Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cream. This type of buttermilk is known as traditional buttermilk.

The term buttermilk also refers to a range of fermented milk drinks, common in warm climates (e.g., Middle East, Pakistan, India, and the Southern United States) where unrefrigerated fresh milk otherwise sours quickly, as well as in colder climates such as Germany, Scandinavia and the Netherlands.

This fermented dairy product known as cultured buttermilk is produced from cow’s milk and has a characteristically sour taste caused by lactic acid bacteria.

This variant is made using one of two species of bacteria—either Streptococcus lactis or Lactobacillus bulgaricus, which creates more tartness. Buttermilk made with the latter is called Bulgarian buttermilk.

The tartness of buttermilk is due to acid in the milk. The increased acidity is primarily due to lactic acid produced by lactic acid bacteria while fermenting lactose, the primary sugar in milk.

As the bacteria produces lactic acid, the pH of the milk decreases and casein, the primary milk protein, precipitates, causing the curdling or clabbering of milk.

This process makes buttermilk thicker than plain milk. While both traditional and cultured buttermilk contain lactic acid, traditional buttermilk tends to be less viscous, whereas cultured buttermilk is more viscous.

Buttermilk is usually drunk straight, but it can also be used in cooking. Soda bread is a bread where the buttermilk acidifies the rising agent, sodium bicarbonate, to produce carbon dioxide.

[MysteRy]

Tender Coconut




Coconut water is the juice in the interior or endosperm of young coconut. The water is one of the nature’s most refreshing drinks consumed worldwide for its nutritious and health benefiting properties.

Its juicy water is usually obtained by opening a tender, green, healthy, and undamaged coconut. The liquid is clear, sweet, and sterile and composed of unique chemicals such as sugars, vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, enzymes, amino acids, cytokine, and phyto-hormones.

Botanically, coconut plant belongs to the Arecaceae family of palm trees and has scientific name: Cocos nucifera.   Each nut may contain about 200 to 1000 ml of water depending on cultivar type and size.

Any nuts younger than 5 months age tend to be bitter in taste and devoid of nutrients. Whereas, older nuts have less water and their endosperm becomes thicker as white edible meat (kernel).

Coconut water is a very refreshing drink to beat tropical summer thirst. The juice is packed with simple sugar, electrolytes, and minerals to replenish hydration levels in the body.

Research studies suggest that cytokinins (e.g., kinetin and trans-zeatin) in coconut water showed significant anti-ageing, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-thrombotic effects.

Coconut water has been generally offered to patients with diarrhea in many tropic regions to replace fluid loss from the gastrointestinal tract and reduce the need for intravenous therapy.

The osmolarity of tender coconut water is slightly greater than that of WHO recommended ORS (Oral Rehydration Therapy) osmolarity.

Coconut water is composed of many naturally occurring bioactive enzymes such as acid phosphatase, catalase, dehydrogenase, diastase, peroxidase, RNA polymerases etc. Altogether, these enzymes aid in digestion and metabolism.

Despite very light consistency, its water has much better composition of minerals like calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, and zinc than some of fruits like oranges.

Its water is also a very good source of B-complex vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pyridoxine, and folates. These vitamins are essential in the sense that body requires them from external sources to replenish.

Coconut water contains a very good amount of electrolyte potassium. 100 ml of water has 250 mg of potassium and 105 mg of sodium.

Together, these electrolytes help replenish electrolytes deficiency in the body due to diarrhea (loose stools).   In addition, fresh coconut water has small amount of vitamin-C (ascorbic acid); provides about 2.4 mcg or 4% of RDA. Vitamin C is a water-soluble ant-oxidant.

[MysteRy]

Mango




The mango is known as the ‘king of fruit’ throughout the world.

The Mango is a member of the cashew family of flowering plants; other species include the pistachio tree and poison ivy.

The name ‘mango’ is derived from the Tamil word ‘mangkay’ or ‘man-gay’. When the Portuguese traders settled in Western India they adopted the name as ‘manga’.

Mangos originated in East India, Burma and the Andaman Islands bordering the Bay of Bengal. Persian traders took the mango into the middle east and Africa, from there the Portuguese brought it to Brazil and the West Indies. Mango cultivars arrived in Florida in the 1830′s and in California in the 1880′s.

The Mango tree is a symbol of love.

Mango leaves are used at weddings to ensure the couple bear plenty of children (though it is only the birth of the male child that is celebrated – again by hanging mango leaves outside the house).

Many Southeast Asian kings and nobles had their own mango groves; with private cultivars being sources of great pride and social standing, hence began the custom of sending gifts of the choicest mangoes.

Burning of mango wood, leaves and debris is not advised – toxic fumes can cause serious irritation to eyes and lungs.

Mango leaves are considered toxic and can kill cattle or other grazing livestock.

Mangos are bursting with protective nutrients. The vitamin content depends upon the variety and maturity of the fruit, when the mango is green the amount of vitamin C is higher, as it ripens the amount of beta carotene (vitamin A) increases.

There are over 20 million metric tons of mangos grown throughout the tropical and sub-tropical world. The leading mango producer is India, with very little export as most are consumed within the country. Mexico and China compete for second place, followed by Pakistan and Indonesia. Thailand, Nigeria, Brazil, Philippines and Haiti follow in order.

The fruit of the mango is called a Drupe – consisting of the mesocarp (edible fleshy part) and endocarp (large woody, flattened pit).

The mango is a member of the Anachardiaceae family. Other distant relatives include the cashew, pistachio, Jamaica plum, poison ivy and poison oak.

The over 1,000 known mango cultivars are derived from two strains of mango seed – monoembryonic (single embryo) and polyembryonic (multiple embryo). Monoembryonic hails from the Indian (original) strain of mango, polyembryonic from the Indochinese.

Dermatitis can result from contact with the resinous latex sap that drips from the stem end when mangos are harvested. The mango fruit skin is not considered edible.

Mangiferin – rich in splenocytes, found in the stem bark of the mango tree has purported potent immunomodulatory characteristics – believed to inhibit tumor growth in early and late stages.

Mangoes contain as much vitamin C as an orange.

To choose a Mango gently squeeze the ‘nose’ of the fruit. If there is slight give then the mango is ripe. Color is not the best indicator of ripeness.

A Mango stored at 55 degrees will last for up to two weeks. Do not refrigerate.

Mangoes are some of the best sources of beta carotene; they contain 20 percent more than cantaloupe and 50 percent more than apricots.

[MysteRy]

Garlic




Garlic is believed to ward off heart disease, cancer, colds, and flu. The consumption of garlic lowers blood cholesterol levels and reduces the buildup of plaque in the arteries.

It was even once used to treat acne, warts, and toothaches.

The psychological term for fear of garlic is alliumphobia.

The origin of National Garlic Day is unknown and it is not recorded in congressional or presidential proclamations.

Garlic is said to fight off evil spirits and keep vampires away.

If your garlic has sprouted, it is still usable although it has lost some of its flavor and health benefits.

The smell of garlic can be removed by running your hands under cold water while rubbing a stainless steel object.

Garlic is a member of the onion family which also includes leeks and shallots.

Its pungent flavor is due to a chemical reaction that occurs when the garlic cells are broken. The flavor is most intense just after mincing.

The majority of garlic (90%) grown in the United States comes from California.

If your rose garden is being attacked by aphids, an excellent home remedy to get rid of them is to spritz the leaves and blooms with a mixture of crushed garlic and water.

When picking out garlic at the grocery store, choose firm, tight, heavy dry bulbs.

Garlic has been used to infuse vodka and as an ingredient to make cocktails.

[Anu]

Nice informative tempting article dear

[MysteRy]

Nice informative tempting article dear

[MysteRy]

Salt




1. Right up to the 20th century, pound bars of salt (called amoleh) were the basic currency in Abyssinia (now called Ethiopia).

2. The amazing Salar de Uyuni (the world’s largest salt flat at 4,000 square miles) in Bolivia becomes mirrorlike when a thin layer of water lies on top. This reflectivity makes it a very useful tool in calibration scientific equipment from outer space. This amazing salt flat also contains half of the world’s supply of lithium. The salt flat is pictured above.

3. Salt is so essential to the body that if you drink too much water it can flush it out of your system and cause fatal Hyponatremia. This is what killed Jennifer Strange who entered a “Hold your wee for a wii” competition.

4. Consumption of too much salt can be deadly – you need to take about 1 gram of salt per kilogram of weight to die and this was used as a method of ritual suicide in China – especially amongst the nobility as salt was so expensive.

5. Good quality sea salt contains many essential minerals for the body. The best type of sea salt should be slightly wet from the sea it was taken from.

6. In the Middle Ages, salt as so expensive it was sometimes referred to as “white gold”. The medieval pavement of one of the transportation routes for Salt still exists in Germany where it links the inland city of Lüneburg to the German Baltic coast.

7. Black Salt is made in India by mixing salt water with harad seeds. The mixture is left to evaporate leaving behind black lumps of salt. When the salt is ground, the resulting powder is pink (as can be seen in the image above).

8. In Guerande, France, salt is still gathered in the same way as it was by the ancient celts, using baskets through which the sea water is strained. This makes the salt very expensive and highly sought after, especially the finest quality version called Fleur de Sel (flower of salt). This salt is sprinkled on food prior to serving – it is never used in cooking.

9. There is a very common misconception that Roman soldiers were paid in salt (hence the word Salary), but in fact they were paid in normal money. The connection with salt is possibly through the fact that the soldiers protected the salt roads leading to Rome (Via Salarium). Roman Soldiers were private employees – rather than state employees.

10. Before Biblical Judaism ceased to exist, salt was mixed with animal sacrifices. This originated from Moses in Leviticus 2:13 which states: “Whatsoever sacrifice thou offerest, thou shalt season it with salt, neither shalt thou take away the salt of the covenant of thy God from thy sacrifice. In all thy oblations thou shalt offer salt.” The salt was a symbol of wisdom and discretion.

11. After aviation fuel is purified, salt is mixed with it to remove all traces of water before it can be used.

12. Sodium Chloride (salt – pictured above) is formed when the unstable metal sodium reacts with chlorine gas. It is the only family of rocks regularly eaten by humans.

13. In the early 1800s salt was 4 times as expensive as beef on the frontier – it was essential in keeping people and livestock alive.

14. Only 6% of the salt used in the U.S. is used in food; another 17% is used for de-icing streets and highways in the winter months.

15. In the late 17th century, salt was the leading cargo carried from the Caribbean to North America (most tonnage). Salt Cod was the leading cargo carried from North America to the Caribbean. It was used to feed slaves on sugar plantations.

[MysteRy]

Baati




Baati  is a hard, unleavened bread cooked in the desert areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat. It is prized there for its long shelf life and high nutritional content, as well as the minimal quantity of water required for its preparation.

It is always eaten with dal. Bati is also known as litti. Litti can be enjoyed with Chokha (a type of spicy mashed potato mixed with roasted brinjal). Litti and chokha are synonymous with bread and butter in many parts ofIndia.

Baati can either be plain or have various kinds of fillings, including onions, peas, and sattu. Bafla is a kind of baati, which is softer. Bafla and baati are always eaten with hot dal with pure ghee and chutney.

Churma is a popular delicacy usually served with baatis and dal. It is coarsely ground wheat crushed and cooked with ghee and sugar.

Traditionally it is made by mashing up wheat flour baatis or leftover rotis in ghee and jaggery, optionally mixed with dry fruits and flavours. It can be eaten alone or with dal.

Dal Baati Churma
Dal-Baati-Churma, consisting of three items of bati, dal (lentils), and churma, is a Rajasthani dish. It is commonly eaten at festivities, including religious occasions, wedding ceremonies, and birthday parties in Rajasthan.

One of the reasons for this is that it is easy to cook in small or large quantities, and is thus easily made for large gatherings of people.

Dal Bafla, or Dal Bafle, is a central Indian variation made which is boiled in water before being roasted, it is much softer and more rich in ghee than Baati as the ghee penetrates inside.

Baati is also eaten in southernIndia, mostly by the people of the lambada community, but this form of baati is different.

It is made up of jowar and is harder than the wheat bread. It is also eaten with dal, though any curry goes fine with it. Ghee is served along with the curry.

[MysteRy]

Coconut




The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae (palm family). It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos.

The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word.

The term is derived from 16th century Portuguese and Spanish cocos, meaning “grinning face“, from the three small holes on the coconut shell that resemble human facial features.

Found across much of the tropic and subtropic area, the coconut is known for its great versatility as seen in the many domestic, commercial, and industrial uses of its different parts.

Coconuts are part of the daily diet of many people. When young, the entire fruits are used as melons. When mature, only the seeds are used as nuts.

Its endosperm is initially in its nuclear phase suspended within the coconut water. As development continues, cellular layers of endosperm deposit along the walls of the coconut, becoming the edible coconut “flesh”.

When dried, the coconut flesh is called copra. The oil and milk derived from it are commonly used in cooking and frying; coconut oil is also widely used in soaps and cosmetics.

The clear liquid coconut water within is a refreshing drink and can be processed to create alcohol. The husks and leaves can be used as material to make a variety of products for furnishing and decorating.

It also has cultural and religious significance in many societies that use it.

[MysteRy]

Lychee




The lychee (Litchi chinensis, and also known as the leechi, litchi, laichi, lichu, lizhi) is the sole member of the genus Litchi in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae.

It is a tropical and subtropical fruit tree native to southern China and Southeast Asia, and now cultivated in many parts of the world.

The fresh fruit has a “delicate, whitish pulp” with a “perfume” flavor. Since this perfumy flavor is lost in canning, the fruit is usually eaten fresh.   An evergreen tree reaching 10–28 meters tall, the lychee bears fleshy fruits that are up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long and 4 cm (1.6 in) wide.

The outside of the fruit is covered by a pink-red, roughly textured rind that is inedible but easily removed to expose a layer of sweet, translucent white flesh.

Lychees are eaten in many different dessert dishes, and are especially popular in China, throughout Southeast Asia, along with South Asia and India.

The lychee is cultivated in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Bangladesh and northern India (in particular Muzaffarpur Bihar, which accounts for 75% of total Indian production).

South Africa and the United States (Hawaii and Florida) also have commercial lychee production.

The lychee has a history of cultivation going back as far as 2000 BC according to records in China. Cultivation began in the area of southern China, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Wild trees still grow in parts of southern China and on Hainan Island. There are many stories of the fruit’s use as a delicacy in the Chinese Imperial Court. It was first described and introduced to the west in 1782.

[MysteRy]

Rasam




Rasam is a South Indian soup, traditionally prepared using tamarind juice as a base, with the addition of tomato, and chili pepper, pepper, cumin and other spices as seasonings.

Steamed lentils are added along with any preferred vegetables. Nowadays all the seasonings required are combined and ground beforehand into a rasam powder, which is available commercially.

It is eaten with rice or separately as soup. In a traditional meal, it is preceded by a sambar rice course and is followed by curd rice.

Rasam has a distinct taste in comparison to the sambar due to its own seasoning ingredients and is usually fluid in consistency.

History

In Sanskrit language, ‘Rasa’ means Juice. It can refer to any juice but in Tamil simply rasam commonly referred to the one prepared with Tamarind/Tomato juice with added spices.

Historically, it was prepared mainly with black pepper and tamarind, both ingredients native to and abundant inSouth India in general.

Sourashtras, an immigrant community living inMadurai from the 16th century, still refer to it as Pulichaar (Puli or Pulipu means tart (tamarind). Rasam is the basis of the Anglo-Indian Mulligatawny soup.

This is only corrupted version of a Tamil word ‘Milagu-t-tannir’ meaning pepper water (In Tamil milagu means black pepper and tannir means water).

It is said that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose once commented that if he had command over the country, he would have declared Rasam a national drink.

Types

There are different kinds of rasam, varying by ingredient:

Tomato rasam, Lemon Rasam, Meriyala/Milagu (Pepper) rasam, Neem flower rasam, Ginger rasam, Garlic Rasam, Pineapple Rasam, Parupu (Dal) rasam, Porichcha rasam, Drumstick Rasam, etc.,

[MysteRy]

Avocado




Avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable.

There are more than 500 avocado varieties.

Avocados are native to Central and South America, where they have been cultivated for over 10,000 years.

Another name for the avocado is the “alligator pear,” so-called because of its alligator skin texture and pear shape.

Spanish explorers could not pronounce ahuacatl, so they called the avocado aguacate. This is the origin of the word guacamole.

The origin of guacamole is the Aztec avocado sauce called ahuaca-hulli.

The Hass is the most common avocado in the United States and is the only avocado grown year round.

The average avocado contains 300 calories and 30 grams of healthy polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat.

Avocados have the highest protein content of any fruit.

Avocados contain more potassium than bananas.

One avocado contains 81 mcg of lutein, an important nutrient for healthy eyes.

Once an avocado is picked, it takes between 7 and 10 days to ripen. Keeping it in the refrigerator will slow down the ripening process, while putting it in a paper bag with a ripe apple will speed up the process.

[MysteRy]

Fish Head Curry




In Malaysia and Singapore , Fish head curry (Chinese and Indian roots) is a dish where the head of an Ikan Merah (red snapper, literally “Red fish”), is semi-stewed in a Kerala-style curry with assorted vegetables such as okra and brinjals and usually served with either rice or bread.

In Mithila, Orissa and Bengal (Bangladesh and West Bengal) where the staple is rice and fish, one very popular fish head curry is made with moog or ung beans but other vegetables can also be used.

The gravy is very thick and very spicy and the Rui fish (Rohita) is most popular for this. Tamarind (asam) juice is frequently added to the gravy to give it a sweet-sour taste (see asam fish); this variety of fish head curry normally has a thinner, orange gravy. Additionally, a relative amount of coconut milk is often used in the curry.

It is a dish of relative popularity amongst Malaysians and Singaporeans and their tourists, although it is generally not categorised as cheap hawker fare.

The origins of the modern dish began in Singapore, with a chef wanting his South Indian-style food to cater to a wider clientele, notably Chinese customers who considered fish head a specialty.

Today, restaurants of not only Indian, but Malay, Chinese and Peranakan association, serve variations of this dish.