~Eating Monkey's Brain Alive~

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~Cooking Live Snake and Fish~

Fried the body of the fish, but the head still alive, is the one of style cooking in the age of Empress Dowager Cixi

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~7 must try Asian condiments~

Tranform meals with these exotic flavor boosters

1)Japan Ponzu: This light citrus sauce, often made with soy sauce, enhances seared tuna or grilled chicken.

2)Vietnam Fish Sauce: Sub it in for soy sauce and/or salt in stew or noodle dishes to add a savory (not fishy) note.

3)Korea Hot Pepper Paste: This slightly spicy bean paste is great as condiment for Korean BBQ, or as a marinade for fish.

4)China Oyster Sauce: This condiment is a pleasant mix of salty and sweet. Drizzle it over sauteed spinach.

5)Indonesia Sambal: Usually made from crusted chillies and salt, sambal adds an instant kick to fried rice or scramble eggs.

6)Malaysia Satay Sauce: Satay sauce is crushed peanuts punch up with soy sauce and spices. It'd delicious with kebabs, but try it over wok-fried vegetables or shrimp, too.

7)Thailand Red Curry Paste: This paste infuses Thai curries and soups with citrusy heat. Slater it on chicken wing for grilling.

Reference:

Zakary Pelaccio; creative director of The Fatty Crab Restaurant in New York

~Fire In The Belly!!!~

Behold the power of peppers. A recent Korean lab study found that the compound that makes chillies spicy, capsaicin, can help kill colon cancer cells. And previously, a Dutch study review had concluded that capsaicin encourages thermogenesis - the body's heat - generating response to food intake, which can help burn calories. For the thermogenic effect, it's best to eat chili - based food on a daily basis. The more capsaicin in the pepper you eat, the greater the benefit (and hotter the burn).

Reference:

Jeya Henry; Ph.D; Oxford Brookes University

WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF THE HAMBURGER AND THE HOT DOG?

The hamburger and the hot dog are every day fast food items that are sold in many countries around the world,particularly the United States. Even today, the origins of these foods remain uncertain.

The word “hamburger” comes from the German city of Hamburg, where the food first became popular. Some people believe that German immigrants then brought the hamburger to the United States in the nine teenth century, while others say that it was invented by Charlie Nagreen at the Outagamie County Fair in Seymour, Wisconsin, in 1885. Nagreen supposedly sold fried meatballs at the fair, but his customers had trouble carrying them and so he flattened them inside a bun and called them hamburgers. Meanwhile,an establishment called Louis’ Lunch in New Haven,Connecticut, also claims to have invented the hamburger. The popular view, however, is that the first proper hamburgers in buns were made in 1904 at the St Louis World’s Fair Despite the origins of the hamburger, it became world renowned in the 1950s with the opening of the fast food chain McDonald’s.

Like the hamburger, the hot dog is said to have originated at the 1904 St Louis World’s Fair, when a Bavarian named Anton Feuchtwanger apparently lent his customers gloves with which to hold hot sausages. When the gloves weren’t returned, he employed his brother—a baker—to provide buns instead

Another theory is that hot dogs were invented by Harry Stevens at the New York Polo Grounds in 1901, when, on a cold day, he bought dachshund sausages and sold them inwarm buns to the New York Giants fans. A sports cartoonist on the day, Tad Dorgan, drew a cartoon of it and, unsure how to spell “dachshund,” wrote, “Hot dog!” While this is commonly believed to be where the term originated, similar items were sold in Germany well before that time, and it issaid that St Louis Browns owner Chris von der Ahe soldthem at his baseball park in 1880.

IS CHOCOLATE ADDICTIVE?

Chocolate is a psychoactive food (i e , one that’s capable of affecting mood and/or behavior) made from a variety of the cacao tree called the obroma, a Greek word meaning “food of the gods ”. It has been suggested by some that chocolate can be addictive, and, indeed, the fact that it contains an array of complex chemicals might support this claim. For instance,chocolate contains a compound called an andamide, which is a cannabinoid (as is marijuana), as well as chemicals that inhibit the breakdown of cannabinoids—which are, in fact,produced naturally by the body and synthesized in the brain.

Chocolate contains compounds that make this chemical remain in the bloodstream for longer, which some people cite as the reason for any chemical dependency on chocolate. Chocolate also contains caffeine, a stimulant that increases the consumer’s sense of satisfaction and floods the brain with endorphins, which act something like opiates, reducing a person’s sensitivity to pain and producing a similar effect to that of morphine. It also contains quantities of tryptophan, a mood regulator that enhances serotonin function.

Also appearing on the list of chocolate’s ingredients is phenyle thylamine, a chemical that is said to produce a high similar to that produced by taking amphetamines. It occursnaturally in the brain and releases dopamine, which promotes feelings of euphoria, such as those that peak during sexual orgasm. Some claim that eating chocolate produces amilder form of this feeling, although others suggest that the chemical is digested before it reaches the brain.

Chocolate also contains theobromine, a chemical that is toxic to horses, dogs and parrots when consumed in large amounts because they are unable to metabolize it, leading to heart attacks, internal bleeding and death. However,chocolate has been proven to be beneficial to human health as it contains antioxidants, which help to protect the body against cancer and heart problems.

WHY DO BOTTLES OF TEQUILA CONTAIN WORMS?

It’s a common misconception that tequila bottles contain worms; indeed, it is legally forbidden for bottles of tequila tocontain worms In fact, it is the drink mescal similar totequila and also made in Mexico—that contains the wormA number of brands of mescal contain worms.

The worm traditionally used for such a purpose is actually the caterpillar Hipopta agavis, which lives in the stems of agave plants, from which mescal is made These reddish colored worms can be quite rare and at times white worms from the leaves of the plant are used instead.

The practice of adding such worms to bottles of mescal has been in existence since the 1940s, when a Mexican named Jacobo Lozano Paez, while tasting the drink, found that theaddition of the worm changed the taste and color He then decided to include the worm as amarketing gimmick Despite popularbelief, this practice hasn’t been aMexican tradition for centuries.

The worm is supposed to be eaten, traditionally being considered a delicacy by Mexicans, and is thought by some to have aphrodisiacqualities, while others believethat the worm gives strength to those who eat it and that it is an hallucinogenic Apart fromany psychological effects the worm might have, however, in reality it’s merely a worm filled with alcohol.

WHY DOES COFFEE KEEP YOU AWAKE?

As almost everyone knows, coffee keeps you awake becauseit contains caffeine, a drug that produces a number of chemicalreactions in the brain that act to keep you awake.

Caffeine works by blocking the brain’s ability to absorb adenosine, which slows down nerve activity,causing the human body to become sleepy A caffeine molecule is chemicallysimilar to adenosine but, when it attaches itself to anerve cell, it doesn’t cause the cell to slow down but instead blocks the nerve’s adenosinereceptor, which in turn causesan increase in the nerve cell’s level of activity This increasecauses the body to think something is wrong and it goesinto “flight or fight” mode As a result, the body floods the bloodstream with adrenalin, which increases blood pressure and heart rate It also increases the rate of blood flow to themuscles and dilates the alveoli and bronchioles in the lungs,all of which keep the human body awake.

In the same way that amphetamines do, caffeine also increases the body’s levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that stimulates brain functionand induces an overall senseof well-being, making you feel more energetic.

While the effects of caffeine consumption are brief, continuousintake over longer periodscan lead to an increased level of tolerance If this happens, whena person then doesn’t have caffeine,the body can become oversensitive to adenosine, which in turn can lead to a drop in blood pressure and resultant headaches, irritability and deficiency in regenerativedeep sleep Prolonged excessive usage of caffeine can lead to addiction and intoxication.

~Theory of Mash Potatoes~

Every time I make mash I get different results. Worst of all is when they tun out sticky and gluey. What am I doing wrong?

Potato flesh is made up of plant cells. Inside the cells are 1000 if starch granules, the starch inside the granules has a gelatinous consistency, so that the granules may be thought of as tiny sacks of glue.

When heated in a moist environment, the granules take on water and swell until some of the sacks disintegrate, spilling their gummy contents. The granules lose their grainy structure and become gelatinized. If the spilled gelatinous starch remains trapped within the potato's cells, it is still ok because the potato's cell structure keeps them firm. But if you then smash the cells open, the gooey starch runs out and gums up the works.

When mashing, used up-and-down motion; don't slide the masher side ways, which would squash open more starch grains. Never use a food processor. It is notorious for making gluey potatoes because its sharp blades slash through the swollen starch grains, liberation lots of gluey gel.

Beyond all that, some potatoes are better for mashing than others. Small redskins are waxy and makes a waxy mash. Best are the russets, or "Idaho baking potatoes," and Yukon Golds, whose cell structures give a nice, mealy texture. And the color of the Yukon Golds makes your guests think there's more butter in the mashed potatoes than there is.

~Color of the Olives~

For years I had been told that olives are green or black depending on when they were picked or they were picked at the same time but processed in different ways. Which is true?

Olives are unusual sources of oil, in that almost all other vegetables oils reside in the fruits' seed, whereas in olives the oil is in the flesh.

As olives ripen, their colors change form straw-colored to green, purple, & finally black. The transformation from green to black takes place over a period of 3 - 4 months, olives may be picked at any one of these stages ( except when they are straw - colored), depending whether for oil or for eating at the table. Purplish olives generally produce better quality oil than fully ripe black ones.

The olives on a tree don`t all ripen at the same time, so there is always a mixture of stages to e harvested. Perhaps the biggest problem faced by olives growers is deciding exactly when to harvest for the best yield of the best stage of ripeness for the olives' intended purpose. Over the years, different country and regions have developed and maintained their traditional harvesting practice, which contribute to the different flavor characteristic.

For the table use, all olives must be processed in some way; you cant't snack on them right off the tree because they contain a bitter phenolic compound called oleuropein. It must be removed either by microbial fermentation or by soaking in a strongly alkaline solution such as sodium hydroxie (lye).

In California, semi - ripe, greenish - purple olives are soaked in a series of lye solutions of diminishing concentrations, being rinsed and aerated after each soak. This treatment, aided in some cases by the addition of ferrous gluconate, and iron compound, turn the olives throughly black, after which they are canned.

~I have a recipe that calls for self rising flour, but I can`t find any. Can I make it myself?~

Sure. Self-rising flour is flour that has some baking powder and salt already mixed into it. Most of the bigger supermarket carry it. But to make it yourself, just add about 1.5 teaspoon of baking powder and half teaspoon of salt to each cup of all purpose flour or cake flour and mix well. A gently wielded whisk does the best mixing job.

~Marshmallow...how that sweet sub-stands with such an odd name and texture was ever invented~

I curious about the marshmallow. Ever since I was kid I have been wondered how that sweet, puffy substance with such an odd na

me and texture was ever invented. Is it really old?

The modern version is only about 100 years old, but it`s a new take on a several 1000 years old treat. The marshmallow is named after the marsh mallow plant (Althea Officinalis in the picture below),

whose roots contain a sweet gummy sap that has been used as a confection and for its supposed medicinal properties for some 4000 years.

In the late 19th century, when candy makers were unable to keep up with demand for the real thing, an imitation marshmallow was concocted form sugar, modified starch and gelatin. Today, most marshmallow candies are made form corn syrup, sugar, modified starch and gelatin. The most pleasurable characteristic of marshmallow is its uniquely soft, pillowy texture, unmatched by any other food.

To make it, a hot (240F or 116C) mixture of corn syrup, sugar, water and gelatin is whip vigorously into frothy foam until it`s 2 - 3 times original volume. Zillions of macroscopic air bubbles remain trapped as the mixture cools and the gelatins sets. The result is a solid foam that is only 25 - 45% as dense as water. Technically, a foam is suspension of gas bubbles in a liquid, they`re so tiny and never rise to the surface, they stay suspended in the liquid.

The texture of the marshmallow can be controlled by adjusting the proportion of ingredient ans the amount whipping. It ranges from the semi liquid Marshmallow Fluff to the more elastic and chewier Marshmallows that can stand up to being coated with chocolate. That`s why chocolate - covered marshmallow candies are never as soft inside as you expect them to be.

~Meat that near the bone always the sweetest~

Why do people say that the meat nearest with the bone id always the sweetest?

This is because of the fundamental tastes that have been identified in human, sweetness is the one that seems to give us the most pleasure. Nevertheless, the meat nearest the bone really is testier for several reason:

1)because it`s buried down inside the meat, the bone and it`s surroundings don`t get as hot and cook as fast as the outer parts do. When the T-bone steak being grill, the meat near the bone end up rare than the rest, and the rare the meat, the juicier and flavorful it is.

2)The collagen protein in these tissues breaks down when heated and turns into gelatin, a much softer protein. The gelatin has the further property of being able to hold huge amount of water, up to 10 times its own bulk. So, in general, wherever theres is the most collagen and that`s usually next to the bone-the meat will be both more tender and juicier.

3)A meat near the bone effect is more obvious. In certain cuts, notably in ribs and chops, there is a lot of fat neat the the bone. And much to our regret to our arteries, highly saturated animal fat is delicious.