Saturday 23 December 2017
Thursday 21 December 2017
History of food consumption in the late-18th- to 19th-century in America
Wednesday 13 December 2017
Whisky vs Rum vs Brandy
Whisky vs Rum
Historically, whisky was considered more exquisite and a rich man's drink from rich European countries.
And rum was Caribbean and drank by blue collar.
Still in terms of cost whiskey brands are higher in price due to the well controlled and exquisite way of making.
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This is a matter of personal choice. Both have their adherents. Whisky is currently in vogue so will earn you more social brownie points. Dark rum is a much underrated spirit except in certain parts of the Caribbean (where most of it is made) and some places that had a naval tradition.
https://www.quora.com/Which-is-better-rum-or-whiskey-and-why
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Brandy
Brandy has fallen out of fashion in many places, though some of the expensive versions I'm sure you've heard of. For example, Cognac is a type of brandy, and is mentioned in quite a number of popular songs.
There are places where 'normal' brandy is still popular, like South Africa. It's just not in fashion everywhere.
***
No expert, but from working at a liquor store, the main difference is that brandy is distilled wine/fruit and whiskey is distilled grain.
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"Better version" of brandy is called cognac. It's brandy made in the Cognac area of France, just like champagne is just "better version" of sparkling wine made in Champagne region of France.
Also I assume you are from the US. Brandy and Cognac are made from grapes, and Europe has a long history of grape based spirits, so these drinks are more common in Europe.
The US on the other hand gives more weight on bourbon whiskeys (like Jack Daniels and Jim Beam) which are made from corn, so bourbons are much integral part of American spirits culture than brandy and cognac.
***
It's just personal taste. I would much rather drink brandy than whisky, I find whisky makes me a bitter drunk, whereas brandy makes your stomach warm, and I get in a really good, laughing mood. Maybe it's to do with the ol' "brandy makes you randy". Which is not untrue, but, you know, alcohol in general has that effect. I found people thought it was weird when I drunk brandy at parties, it has connotations of being a classy drink that people drink alone in their armchairs by a fireplace. This might contribute to it's lower sales volumes. It's possible your store also stocked Congac (Kon- Yak), which is also just brandy, but from a particular region and using a particular grape (like champagne).
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3k74hm/eli5_why_is_the_alcoholic_beverage_brandy_so/
***
“Whatever was the available agricultural surplus became the main source for alcohol. Barley was the main crop in Scotland, rye and corn in Americas and cane in Asia,” says Vikram Achanta, a sommelier who founded talleeho.com.
https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/the-rs-41000-crore-trick-called-imfl/298501
Alcohol and cold
Nonetheless, two large studies have found that although moderate drinking will not cure colds, it can help keep them at bay. One, by researchers at Carnegie Mellon in 1993, looked at 391 adults and found that resistance to colds increased with moderate drinking, except in smokers.
Then, in 2002, researchers in Spain followed 4,300 healthy adults, examining their habits and susceptibility to colds. The study, in The American Journal of Epidemiology, found no relationship between the incidence of colds and consumption of beer, spirits, Vitamin C or zinc. But drinking 8 to 14 glasses of wine per week, particularly red wine, was linked to as much as a 60 percent reduction in the risk of developing a cold. The scientists suspected this had something to do with the antioxidant properties of wine.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Alcohol will not help cure a cold, though moderate consumption may reduce susceptibility.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E03E0D71630F93BA25751C1A9619C8B63
Tuesday 12 December 2017
Why Do Heavy Drinkers Outlive Nondrinkers? Also, they have better cognition
One of the most contentious issues in the vast literature about alcohol consumption has been the consistent finding that those who don't drink tend to die sooner than those who do.
a new paper in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggests that — for reasons that aren't entirely clear — abstaining from alcohol does tend to increase one's risk of dying, even when you exclude former problem drinkers. The most shocking part? Abstainers' mortality rates are higher than those of heavy drinkers.
Moderate drinking, which is defined as one to three drinks per day, is associated with the lowest mortality rates in alcohol studies.
But even after controlling for nearly all imaginable variables — socioeconomic status, level of physical activity, number of close friends, quality of social support and so on — the researchers (a six-member team led by psychologist Charles Holahan of the University of Texas at Austin) found that over a 20-year period, mortality rates were highest for those who were not current drinkers, regardless of whether they used to be alcoholics, second highest for heavy drinkers and lowest for moderate drinkers.
The sample of those who were studied included individuals between ages 55 and 65 who had had any kind of outpatient care in the previous three years. The 1,824 participants between the ages of 55 and 65 were followed for 20 years.
While 69 percent of the abstainers died during the 20-year time span of the study, only 41 percent of moderate drinkers passed away. (Moderate drinkers were also 23 percent less likely to die than light drinkers.) But here’s the really weird data point: Heavy drinkers also live longer than abstainers. (Only 61 percent of heavy drinkers died during the study.)
We live in a reductionist age, in which every longitudinal effect is explained away at the most fundamental possible level. And so this study will no doubt lead researchers to probe the benefits of red wine, with its antioxidants and resveratrol. It will also lead people to explore the cardiovascular benefits of alcohol, since many of the perks of drinking (such as increased levels of HDL cholesterol) seem to extend to people who drink beer and hard liquor.
Let’s think, for a moment, about the cultural history of drinking. The first reason people consume booze is to relax, taking advantage of its anxiolytic properties. This is the proverbial drink after work -- after a eight hours of toil, there’s something deeply soothing about a dose of alcohol, which quiets the brain by up-regulating our GABA receptors. (But don’t get carried away: While the moderate consumption of alcohol might reduce the stress response, blood alcohol levels above 0.1 percent -- most states consider 0.08 the legal limit for driving -- trigger a large release of stress hormones. Although you might feel drunkenly relaxed, your body is convinced it’s in a state of mortal danger.) And so the stresses of the day seem to fade away – we are given a temporary respite from the recursive complaints of self-consciousness. Since chronic stress is really, really bad for us, finding a substance that can reliably interrupt the stress loop might have medical benefits.
These are remarkable statistics. Even though heavy drinking is associated with higher risk for cirrhosis and several types of cancer (particularly cancers in the mouth and esophagus), heavy drinkers are less likely to die than people who don't drink, even if they never had a problem with alcohol.
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2017200,00.html
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/why-alcohol-is-good-for-you
Lead author Erin Richard, a graduate student, added: 'This study shows that moderate drinking may be part of a healthy lifestyle to maintain cognitive fitness in aging.
A 30-year study by the University of California, San Diego has concluded that over-65s who indulge in up to three alcoholic drinks a day can look forward to a happy and healthy retirement.
In fact, they said, moderate to heavy drinkers are more likely to live to the age of 85 without dementia or other cognitive impairments than non-drinkers.
The study, which tracked more than 1,000 middle class white men and women in California, builds on a swell of recent research linking alcohol intake to longevity.
However, the researchers warned excessive alcohol intake is known to cause alcohol-related dementia.
'This study is unique because we considered men and women's cognitive health at late age and found that alcohol consumption is not only associated with reduced mortality, but with greater chances of remaining cognitively healthy into older age,' said lead author Dr Linda McEvoy.
The data derive from a relatively homogenous population in one specific region of San Diego County: Rancho Bernardo, a white-collar, middle-to-upper-middle-class suburb.
The researchers tracked 1,344 older adults, including 728 women and 616 men, from 1984 to 2013.
Ninety-nine percent of them were white with at least some college education.
Cognitive health was assessed every four years over the course of the 29-year study, using a standard dementia screening test known as the Mini Mental State Examination.
The researchers found that people who drank 'moderate to heavy' amounts of alcohol five to seven days a week were doubly likely to be cognitively healthy than non-drinkers.
Moderate drinking is defined as consuming up to one alcoholic beverage a day for adult women of any age and men aged 65 and older. For men age over 65, that constitutes drinking up to two drinks a day.
Heavy drinking is defined as drinking up to three alcoholic beverages per day for women of any adult age and for men age 65 and older. For men under 65, that would be four drinks a day.
Drinking more than four drinks a day is classed as excessive.
The researchers warned that the study does not suggest drinking is responsible for increased longevity and cognitive health.
They make the point that people who drink moderate amounts of wine on a regular basis tend to have higher incomes and education levels. They also tend to smoke less and have better access to health care.
The UC San Diego School of Medicine research team adjusted the statistical analyses to remove confounding variables, such as smoking or obesity.
'It is important to point out that there were very few individuals in our study who drank to excess, so our study does not show how excessive or binge-type drinking may affect longevity and cognitive health in aging,' Dr McEvoy warned.
Lead author Erin Richard, a graduate student, added: 'This study shows that moderate drinking may be part of a healthy lifestyle to maintain cognitive fitness in aging.
'However, it is not a recommendation for everyone to drink.
'Some people have health problems that are made worse by alcohol, and others cannot limit their drinking to only a glass or two per day. For these people, drinking can have negative consequences.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4751614/Heavy-drinkers-likely-reach-85-without-dementia.html
Sunday 10 December 2017
Jaggery - eaten after every meal in winter in north India
1. Mixed with other ingredients like peanuts, til (sesame seeds), coconut, jaggery is a staple after-meal sweet found in most North Indian homes.
2. In fact, not just in food, gur is steeped in Punjab’s entire culture from its folk songs to its many traditions; a symbol of shagun, it finds place in every celebration.
3. Celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar included sugarcane and gur in the list of 10 Indian superfoods in her book Indian Superfoods: Change the Way You Eat, last year.
She advocates eating a mixture of ghee and gur with lunch and dinner in winters. This acts as a perfect cleanser for lungs and intestines and works as a digestive aid as well. This concoction is good for detoxing, too, if you are feeling bloated.
4. The ayurveda celebrates gur for its property to increase majja or health of the bone marrow. Apart from being a natural sweetener, gur is also rich in vitamins and minerals and boosts immunity.
5. “Have you ever asked your elders why they end every meal with gur?” asks Preeti Bisth, a Patiala-based dietician. She dubs “the gur as a magical potion that is good for digestion. It cleanses the liver by flushing out harmful toxins, purifies blood, boosts resistance against infections, prevents anaemia, and most importantly, it helps women to deal with menstrual pain. So, gur is an ideal solution for many health problems.”
6. Epidemology evidence that jaggery is good for health
Sweet notes from history
Tejwant Gill, a literary critic, says gur has always been a part of Punjabi culture and heritage. “People used to give a chunk of gur as shagun in olden times. Every celebration or festival, be it marriage or the birth of a child or Lohri, gur used to be distributed as sweets to all near and dear ones. It was an essential item in every Punjabi kitchen. From children to adults, everyone could relish it in various ways. A glass of milk with shakkar was mandatory for kids for speedy growth and better digestion, while adults would relish it as gur wale chawal or gur wale paranthe.” The recent ravings by dieticians and doctors surprise Gill, as our elders always knew about the health benefits of gur.
Going places
Across India, various regional recipes use jaggery in various dishes. In Andhra Pradesh, Chakkara Pongal is prepared with rice, jaggery and milk. In Kerala, various varieties of payasam are made with jaggery as sweetener.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/spectrum/the-goodness-of-gur/510693.html
Friday 8 December 2017
Rice - Anything less than 18 months of aging is sacrilege.
Sarraju Narasinga Rao For pulao and biryani, Basmati is a very desirable option. Especially if it is “No.4268 Special Old Malai”. I’ve found that Afghani sela also works beautifully for this purpose.
To eat with dals, sambars, and all manner of meats and fish and vegetables cooked, stewed, curried or even fried, Sona Masoori is extremely desirable. I believe there are a few cultivars that are together called SonaMasoori.
The common features of these are a medium grain, cooks fluffy with just the right amount of adhesion between grains and grows in several parts of India. In my home state, the best rice of this family comes from Nellore or Kurnool.
Aging is a terribly important thing for rice. New rice has far too much available starch that releases into the pot on cooking and makes the rice glutinous and sticky and sometimes even a bit slimy. I’m not a plant biochemist, but I deduce from that aging transforms these available starches and somehow fixes them so they don’t leech out into the pot. Six months to a year is considered acceptable by most people in this day and age of instant gratification and JIT supply chains. But that’s people who don’t taste what they eat.
Anything less than 18 months of aging is sacrilege.
https://www.indianfoodfreak.com/2013/07/30/whats-rice/
To eat with dals, sambars, and all manner of meats and fish and vegetables cooked, stewed, curried or even fried, Sona Masoori is extremely desirable. I believe there are a few cultivars that are together called SonaMasoori.
The common features of these are a medium grain, cooks fluffy with just the right amount of adhesion between grains and grows in several parts of India. In my home state, the best rice of this family comes from Nellore or Kurnool.
Aging is a terribly important thing for rice. New rice has far too much available starch that releases into the pot on cooking and makes the rice glutinous and sticky and sometimes even a bit slimy. I’m not a plant biochemist, but I deduce from that aging transforms these available starches and somehow fixes them so they don’t leech out into the pot. Six months to a year is considered acceptable by most people in this day and age of instant gratification and JIT supply chains. But that’s people who don’t taste what they eat.
Anything less than 18 months of aging is sacrilege.
https://www.indianfoodfreak.com/2013/07/30/whats-rice/
Wednesday 6 December 2017
Best Material for Pots and Pans: A Pros and Cons List
Material Types for Pots and Pans
Note: Read this article for a primer on reactive vs. nonreactive cookware.Stainless Steel
Pros: Nonreactive (meaning you can cook any kind of food in it), heavy, durable, dishwasher-safe, inexpensive for basic models. Cons: Poor heat transfer and distribution. A better option? You can solve this problem by buying better quality (and higher priced) stainless steel cookware with an added inner core made of copper or aluminum, which improves the heat conductivity. It might be expensive, but it'll last a lifetime. All-Clad is a great example of high-end stainless steel cookware, and it's a favorite brand of Kitchn editors.• Strong & Durable: Why We Use Stainless Steel in the Kitchen
• Quick Tip: Removing Rust Spots from Stainless Steel
• How To Clean Tough Burnt Stains Off Stainless CookwareCopper
Pros: Excellent thermal conductivity, cooks food evenly. Cons: Reactive with alkaline or acidic foods, which can take on a metallic taste after being cooked in a copper pot. Light colored foods, like eggs, can also develop grey streaks when they pick up the copper compounds, which also means you'll ingest small amounts of copper. Not a big deal if it's an occasional thing, but not so great for everyday use. Copper also requires regular polishing and maintenance, and it's expensive. A better option?Look for copper pots with a stainless steel or tin lining so you get the best of both worlds: great thermal conductivity, with the safety and versatility of a nonreactive lining.• The Best Place to Buy Quality Copper Cookware in Paris
• Naturally Anti-Microbial: Copper in the Kitchen
• Are There Any Copper Pans That Work for Induction Stoves?
• Dana's Favorite Pan: Marco Pierre White's Copper SkilletAluminum
Pros: Excellent thermal conductivity, lightweight, affordable. Cons: Like copper, raw aluminum is highly reactive to alkaline or acidic foods. It's also very soft and tends to warp in high heat and scratch easily, which leads to health concerns with long term use. A better option? Anodized aluminum has been treated by an electro-chemical process that hardens it, thus solving most of the problems with raw aluminum. It's more expensive than raw aluminum, but also a far superior cookware material. While anodized aluminum does take longer to heat up than other materials, it's an excellent heat conductor (superior to stainless steel), scratch-resistant, and lightweight yet very strong.Cast Iron
Pros: Durable, inexpensive, naturally non-stick if properly seasoned, distributes heat evenly and retains heat well, imparts iron to foods (an added benefit for some), great for long, low simmering and browning. Cons: Cast iron is also reactive, and doesn't take well to acidic foods. It's also quite heavy, takes a long time to heat up, takes a bit more effort to clean and maintain. Another option? While we still prefer raw cast iron for skillets, enameled cast iron (cast iron coated in porcelain enamel) has all the benefits of cast iron without the extra trouble, so it's a great material for dutch ovens. It's non-reactive, easy to clean, and beautiful. Popular enameled cast iron brands include Le Creuset and Staub.
https://www.thekitchn.com/a-guide-to-the-best-material-for-pots-and-pans-pros-cons-168241
Stainless steel seems the best -Stainless doesn’t impart any flavor or create a chemical reaction with food. - used by professional cooks
For those who are new to cooking, the first thing you need to know is this: you won’t get anything to brown in non-stick coated cookware. Stainless steel is the only way to go for beautifully browned meats, but there are some things to know about pans. Temperature is important, so learning to use your stainless is a good idea if you don’t want to ruin your food and destroy your pots. If you don’t know how to use them properly or how to manage the temperature, your food will stick to the pan or burn.
Here are some important tips about cookware.
- Aluminum pans will actually leach into the food as it cooks. That’s why acidic foods such as tomatoes will keep your aluminum pans looking new.
- Copper pots are used by professionals but are very expensive and difficult to maintain, and they’ll react with acidic foods.
- Glass pots have poor heat distribution and food will burn.
- Cast iron pots are porous and trapped grease can turn rancid. They’re heavy and cook well, but they’ll react with food and rust if not properly “seasoned” and maintained.
- Coated pans, no matter how expensive or well made, will eventually chip off. What you don’t see before the actual chipping begins are the minute particles that wear off and lead to chipping.
- The right types of utensils are needed for all types of pans, including stainless.
- Stainless steel by itself is not a good heat conductor, so look for pans with copper or aluminum cores. Copper cores conduct heat very evenly, heat up quickly, and adjust to temperature changes quickly. Aluminum cores also conducts heat very evenly and is cheaper than copper.
- Stainless pots come in various thicknesses, so buy the best you can afford. Cheap stainless steel pots without a copper or aluminum core will cook unevenly, giving you hot spots.
- Stainless is durable and can maintain its appearance for as long as you own it (some stainless cooks have had their cookware for as long as 50 years).
- Stainless doesn’t impart any flavor or create a chemical reaction with food.
- Even the best stainless cookware will get tiny scratches if you use knives on them, but generally, stainless is resistant to scratches and dents.
What should you do when it comes to stainless?
Cooking is all about temperature shocks and exchanges. The reason a chicken is roasted at a higher temperature in the beginning is to shock the meat and create a nice, crispy and brown skin. The remainder of the roasting is done at a lower temperature. This same technique is used when cooking on the stove top.
So what’s the trick to finding the right temperature?
Never place food or cooking fat in a pan without preheating the pan. When you add your cooking fat, you should see it shivering somewhat in the pan. If your pan is too hot, the fat will smoke and burn. If this happens, discard the fat and start again. The pan will be very hot at this point so take it off the burner and let it cool a bit while you lower the burner and let the temperature regulate.
It’s best to heat the pan slowly over medium high heat so it can heat up evenly.
Use the water droplet trick
This is a great trick you can try in the beginning to get used to finding the right temperature. Heat your pan and place a small droplet of water into it when you think it’s hot enough.
If your pan is too cold, the droplet will bubble and evaporate very fast. Placing food in a pan that’s too cold will cause it to stick.
If the pan is too hot, the droplet of water will separate very fast into a lot of smaller droplets and move very fast in the pan. Carefully wipe the droplets and let the pan cool down a bit, then try again. If your pan is too hot, food will burn. Even high heat oils such as coconut oil will smoke because stainless conducts heat quickly.
When you’re near the right temperature, the droplet will split into smaller droplets of water and then evaporate.
At the right temperature, the droplet will stay intact and move around the pan, without evaporating, almost like a mercury ball. This is the time to add the cooking fat and then your piece of meat.
Swipe the water from the pan with a paper towel before you add the fat to avoid oil splatter.
You won’t find coated pans in restaurant kitchens. Cooking with stainless steel can produce some of the most fantastic dishes you’ll ever imagine. If you learn to use your pans correctly, you’ll never go back to anything else (check out the van der Waals force if you want to geek out on the physics of cooking). You’ll increase your range of recipes and make cooking and eating more enjoyable.
If you’re just starting out, here are the basic stainless steel cookware pieces you should have in your kitchen. They’re the sizes most often used by both professionals and home cooks.
One, two, and four quart saucepans with lids – These will be your workhorses.
Two to three gallon stockpot with lid – For soups, stock, pasta, and sauces.
Ten to twelve inch sauté pan with lid – A sauté pan (from the French sauter – “to jump”) has relatively high straight sides and a flat bottom. It’s used for making sauces, pan “frying”, and braising.
Ten inch skillet – A skillet (sometimes referred to as a frying pan) has sloped sides that taper in at the bottom. It’s used for eggs, omelets, frittatas or even pancakes.
Look for healthy Paleo recipes here. With the right pans, a little patience and practice, and a few good tips, you’ll soon be cooking great meals and impressing your friends while everyone benefits from healthy eating.
https://paleoleap.com/cooking-stainless-steel/
Tuesday 5 December 2017
eating the uncooked stomach, intestines, and their contents after an animal kill.
Just googled and found a Reddit discussion on carnivore diet. Someone was discussing fermentation to feed the gut microbes of the Inuit. Here is something someone said....I should look it up:
"think gut bacteria may be an issue. I remember reading an article about a group of Inuit who fermented blubber by digging a hole and burying the food. Some do-gooders came in and brought them hygienic plastic buckets so their wouldn't be so much dirt in their food and the tribe got severely ill. This is because instead of being fermented by soil bacteria, the fat just rotted.
The Inuit traditionally had a bunch of strategies for increasing gut flora, which often included eating the uncooked stomach, intestines, and their contents after an animal kill.
The Hazda tribe similarly eats the raw stomach and colon of a fresh kill.
I have heard of other tribes with limited diets who find and eat bird poop out of their nest for the microbes.
In a western diet, we kill all the microbes on the meat, and we get all our microbes from plants."
Hmmmm...this is the one issue that has concerned me about going zero car....my gut microflora is a mess. I dont know that supplementation would do the same job as something dietary and daily, but without plants. However I dont plan on eating raw stomach and colon....just.can't.do. it! Haha!
vegetable oils - skin cancer link
Pretty much everyone can agree sugar is bad. But, vegetable oils are really atrocious as well and don't get nearly the bad press they deserve!
Everyone says sugar feeds cancer. How about the highly inflammatory omega 6 fats?
Skin cancer? Don't fear the sun! Fear the nasty fats!
Skin cancer? Don't fear the sun! Fear the nasty fats!
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