When you think of having beef for dinner you probably see the little white smiling glove signaling another night with everyone's quick fix dinner routine, or you see the golden arches everywhere before your eyes. If you're a little more adventurous you might cook a steak or two every few months but anything outside of ground beef is usually beyond your reach, your style and the abilities of your cookbook and microwave to make happen without causing a huge disaster or creating a meal that no one wants to eat.
In reality, in doesn't have to be this way. If you're willing to venture out into the realm of something even easier than hamburgers and other ground beef entrees, there is a way to make a beef meal that seems less like it took five minutes and more like it came from a restaurant. Not ready to spend two hours over the stove or oven every night? Like I said, this method is actually easier than microwave meals.
Using a slow cooker, or crock pot, to make your dinners will not only open doors for you with the types of foods you're able to cook but there are literally hundreds of beef crock pot recipes that require less than 15 minutes to prepare. You're thinking that 15 minutes of prep usually leads to at least one hour spent over the stove. But with slow cookers, you simply prepare the meal in the morning, set the slow cooker and go about your daily business while the machine you left in the back of the cupboard for five years works magic with a different beef slow cooker recipe every time you want to cook beef for dinner.
Slow cookers can take care of all of your beef slow cooker recipes that cover every type of beef, from beef stew to steaks to beef ribs and even beef pot pies and other types of beef recipes you can find in your regular cook books--you can turn any recipe into a crock pot recipe, slow cooker cook books and all over the internet.
As if that's not enough, with beef slow cooker recipes, you will never have to worry about dry, flavorless, tough to chew and tough to cut beef meals. Slow cookers do just that--cook your food slowly, so you don't have to worry about extreme heats depleting the natural juices (or the natural nutritional value) of the foods you cook, especially when it comes to meats.
Additionally, making homemade meals with your slow cooker doesn't just save your taste buds. It also saves your time. You can make enough food from a beef crock pot recipe, especially something like beef stew, for enough leftovers for the next day's lunch. And it certainly doesn't hurt that slow cookers always turn out better leftovers than double-microwave meals.
Remember, if beef is what's for dinner, you don't have to go the ground beef route. You can save time and your taste buds with your slow cooker.
Beer in China (traditional Chinese: 中國啤酒; simplified Chinese: 中国啤酒; pinyin: Zhōnggúo píjǐu) has become increasingly popular, first in China in the last century, and then internationally in the last few decades. While most Chinese beers are pale lagers, other styles are occasionally found, such as Tsingtao Dark Beer.
History
The history of Chinese beer is around nine thousand years, with recent archaeological findings showing that Chinese villagers were brewing beer type alcoholic drinks as far back as 7000 BC on small and individual scale, with the production process / methods similar to that of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The ancient Chinese beer was important in ancestral worship, funeral and other rituals of Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, and the beer was called as Lao Li (醪醴 in oracle bone script). However, after Han Dynasty, Chinese beer lost its prominence to huangjiu, which was the case for the next two millennia. Modern beer brewery was not introduced into China until the end of 19th century when Russia first set up a brewery in Harbin, with another three followed (also in Harbin), set up by Germany, Czechoslovakia and Russia respectively.
Economy
Tsingtao Beer, produced by Tsingtao Brewery, has been the best selling beer in China for eleven consecutive years, and is also the brand most widely exported to other countries, followed by Zhujiang and Yanjing. Tsingtao Beer is brewed in the city of Qingdao (formerly spelled Tsingtao) which was a German base in the time of unequal treaties and late-colonial western influence in China. The Germans needed beer for their sailors, soldiers and traders, and production continued after they lost the city to the Japanese in World War I.
Apart from Tsingtao, other major Chinese brewing groups include China Blue Ribbon, Yanjing, Sie-Tang Lio and Zhujiang. Many major international brewers now have interests in, or joint ventures with, Chinese breweries, and popular international brands such as Carlsberg are now produced in China. This gives them access to the Chinese market, while providing capital and expertise to help upgrade local brewing standards, albeit at the cost of variety.
Only a few brewpubs exist in China, primarily in major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing which have a resident western community. The most well-known craft brewer in China is Kaiwei Beer House, a brewpub chain based in Wuhan.
Chinese media reported in 2001 that as many as 95% of all Chinese beers contained formaldehyde, to prevent sedimentation in bottles and cans while in storage. This practice has now been made illegal.[citation needed]
Chinese beers often contain rice, sorghum and sometimes rye in addition to barley.
Interestingly, some beer is produced that uses Bitter Melon instead of hops as the bittering agent.
Mexican food is a style of food that originated in Mexico. Mexican cuisine is known for its intense and varied flavors, colorful decoration, and variety of spices.
National cuisine
When conquistadores arrived in the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City), they found that the people's diet consisted largely of corn-based dishes with chilies and herbs, usually complemented with beans and tomatoes. The conquistadores eventually combined their imported diet of rice, beef, pork, chicken, wine, garlic and onions with the native indigenous foods of pre-Columbian Mexico, including chocolate, maize, tomato, vanilla, avocado, guava, papaya, pineapple, jicama, chile pepper, beans, squash, sweet potato, peanut, fish and turkey.
Corn is its traditional staple grain, but today, rice is equally important. According to food writer Karen Hursh Graber, the initial introduction of rice to Spain from North Africa in the 4th Century led to the Spanish introduction of rice into Mexico at the port of Veracruz in the 1520s. This, Graber says, created one of the earliest instances of the world's greatest fusion cuisines. 
Most of today's Mexican food is based on ancient traditions, such as the Aztecs and Maya, combined with culinary trends introduced by Spanish colonists. Quesadillas, for example, are a flour or corn tortilla with cheese (often a Mexican-style soft farmer's cheese such as Queso Fresco or Queso Oaxaca ), beef, chicken, pork, and so on. The indigenous part of this and many other traditional foods is the chili pepper. Foods like these tend to be very colorful because of the rich variety of vegetables (among them are the chili peppers, green peppers, chilies, broccoli, cauliflower, and radishes) and meats in Mexican food. The French occupation of Mexico influenced Mexican cuisine with baked goods such as sweet breads and the bolillo (pronounced bo-lee-yo), a Mexican take on the French roll. There is also a minor Asian influence due to the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade, which lasted from 1565 to 1815.
There are also more exotic dishes, cooked in the Aztec or Mayan style, with ingredients ranging from iguana to rattlesnake, deer, spider monkey, grasshoppers, ant eggs, and other kinds of insects. This is usually known as comida prehispánica (or prehispanic food).
Common dishes found on a national level
Foods that are part of the Mexican culinary tradition include:
* Common appetizers and side dishes found in Mexican cuisine
* Common main course dishes found in Mexican cuisine
* Common drinks found in Mexican cuisine
* Common desserts and sweets found in Mexican cuisine types
Regional cuisine
Two large jars of aguas frescas. On the left is a jar of jamaica and on the right is a jar of horchata.
Mexican food varies by region, because of local climate and geography and ethnic differences among the indigenous inhabitants and because these different populations were influenced by the Spaniards in varying degrees. The north of Mexico is known for its beef, goat and ostrich production and meat dishes, in particular the well-known Arrachera cut. Central Mexico's cuisine is largely made up of influences from the rest of the country, but also has its authentic dishes, such as barbacoa, pozole, menudo and carnitas. Southeastern Mexico, on the other hand, is known for its spicy vegetable and chicken-based dishes. Seafood is commonly prepared in the states that border the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico, the latter having a famous reputation for its fish dishes a la veracruzana.
In modern times, other cuisines of the world have become very popular in Mexico, thus adopting a Mexican fusion. For example, sushi in Mexico is often made with a variety of sauces based on mango or tamarind, and very often served with serrano-chili blended soy sauce, or made with habanero and chipotle peppers. Tacos have also become popular served in very small tortillas, adopting the name of tacos árabes, or Arab tacos for their resemblance to dolmas. Middle eastern cuisine is also popular due to the very large Mexican-Lebanese population living in the country.
Mexican cuisine outside of Mexico
Churros served with hot chocolate.
A distinction must be made between truly authentic Mexican food, and "Tex Mex" (Texan-Mexican) cuisine. Mexican cuisine combines with the cuisine of the southwest United States (which itself has a number of Mexican influences) to form Cal-Mex and Tex-Mex cuisine.[citation needed]
The six regions of Mexico differ greatly in terms of cuisine-style; it is almost as if each region is their own separate country with separate cuisines. In the Yucatan, for instance, a unique, natural sweetness (instead of spiciness) exists in the widely used local produce along with an ununsual love for achiote seasoning. In contrast, the Oaxacan region is known for their savory tamales and celabratory moles. New Mexican and Southern Arizonan cooking differ from Northern Mexican cuisine far less than, for example, Mexico City cuisine and California-style Mexican cuisine differ from Northern Mexican.
While Mexican Restaurants can be found in almost any town throughout the United States, and in many cities around the world, restaurants outside the American Southwest often feature nontraditional ingredients, such as grated American-style cheese, "nacho" cheese or tomato-based sauce substitutes for Mexican chile-based sauces or mole.
Margaritas come in a variety of flavors and colors.
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and parts of Florida and Illinois have large expatriate Mexican populations, and a variety of authentic Mexican restaurants can be found in these states. In other areas of the United States and Canada, Mexican dishes and restaurants vary as much as Italian restaurants and dishes do between Italy and many locations in the western Hemisphere.
New Mexico's long tradition of Mexican settlement and history and native American influence as well, has created a distinct form of New Mexican cuisine. Even though many of the dishes vary from their Mexican counterparts, they are still considered "authentic" or "traditional" for New Mexican cuisine. Both Mexicans and New Mexicans typically find each other's cuisine very similar, yet unfamiliar, and non-traditional, typically missing the true taste that they desire. Rarely are Mexican restaurants specializing in New Mexican cuisine found outside of New Mexico (even in Arizona) except in very large cities.
When the colonists came to America, their initial attempts at survival included planting crops familiar to them from back home in England. In the same way, they farmed animals for clothing and meat in a similar fashion. Through hardships and eventual establishment of trade with Britain, the West Indies and other regions, the colonists were able to establish themselves in the American colonies with a cuisine similar to their previous British cuisine. There were some exceptions to the diet, such as local vegetation and animals, but the colonists attempted to use these items in the same fashion as they had their equivalents or ignore them if they could. The manner of cooking for the American colonists followed along the line of British cookery up until the Revolution. The British sentiment followed in the cookbooks brought to the New World as well.
There was a general disdain for French cookery, even with the French Huguenots in South Carolina and French-Canadians. One of the cookbooks that proliferated in the colonies was The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy written by Hannah Glasse, wrote of disdain for the French style of cookery, stating “the blind folly of this age that would rather be imposed on by a French booby, than give encouragement to a good English cook!” Of the French recipes, she does add to the text she speaks out flagrantly against the dishes as she “… think it an odd jumble of trash.” Reinforcing the anti-French sentiment was the French and Indian War from 1754-1764. This created a large anxiety against the French, which influenced the English to either deport many of the French, or as in the case of the Acadians, they migrated to Louisiana. The Acadian French did create a large French influence in the diet of those settled in Louisiana, but had little or no influence outside of Louisiana.
Common ingredients
The American colonial diet varied depending on where the settled region. Local cuisine patterns had established by the mid 18th century. The New England colonies were extremely similar in their dietary habits to those that many of them had brought from England. A striking difference for the colonists in New England compared to other regions was seasonality. While in the southern colonies, they could farm almost year round, in the northern colonies, the growing seasons were very restricted. In addition, colonists’ close proximity to the ocean gave them a bounty of fresh fish to add to their diet, especially in the northern colonies. Wheat, however, the grain used to bake bread back in England was almost impossible to grow, and imports of wheat were far from cost productive. Substitutes in cases such as this included cornmeal. The Johnnycake was a poor substitute to some for wheaten bread, but acceptance by both the northern and southern colonies seems evident.
As many of the New Englanders were originally from England, game hunting was often a pastime from back home that paid off when they immigrated to the New World. Much of the northern colonists depended upon the ability either of themselves to hunt, or for others from which they could purchase game. This was the preferred method for protein consumption over animal husbandry, as it required much less work to defend the kept animals against Native Americans or the French.
Livestock and game
The more commonly hunted and eaten game included deer, bear, buffalo and wild turkey. The larger muscles of the animals were roasted and served with currant sauce, while the other smaller portions went into soups, stews, sausages, pies and pasties. In addition to game, mutton was a meat that colonists would enjoy from time to time. The Spanish in Florida originally introduced sheep to the New World, in the north however, the Dutch and English introduced sheep. The keeping of sheep was a result of the English non-practice of animal husbandry. The keeping of sheep was of importance as it not only provided wool, but also after the sheep had reached an age that it was unmanageable for wool production; it became mutton for the English diet. The forage–based diet for sheep that prevailed in the Colonies produce a characteristically strong, gamy flavor and a tougher consistency, which required aging and slow cooking to tenderize.
Fats and oils
A number of fats and oils made from animals served to cook much of the colonial foods. Many homes had a sack made of deerskin filled with bear oil for cooking, while solidified bear fat resembled shortening. Rendered pork fat made the most popular cooking medium, especially from the cooking of bacon. Pork fat was used more often in the southern colonies than the northern colonies as the Spanish introduced pigs earlier to the south. The colonists enjoyed butter in cooking as well, but it was rare prior to the American Revolution, as cattle were not yet plentiful.
Seafood
The American lobster was a staple of the colonial diet
Those living near the New England shore often dined on fish, crustaceans, and other animals that originated in the waters. Colonists ate large quantities of turtle, and it was an exportable delicacy for Europe. Cod, in both fresh and salted form was enjoyed, with the salted variation created for long storage. The highest quality cod was usually dried, however, and exported to the Mediterranean in exchange for fruits not available in the American colonies. Lobsters proliferated in the waters as well, and were extremely common in the New England diet.
Vegetables
A number of vegetables grew in the northern colonies, which included turnips, onions, cabbage, carrots, and parsnips, along with a number of beans, pulses and legumes. These vegetables kept well through the colder months in storage. Other vegetables grew which were salted or pickled for preservation, such as cucumbers. As control over the northern colonies’ farming practices came from the seasons, fresh greens consumption occurred only during the summer months. Pumpkins and gourds were other vegetables that grew well in the northern colonies; often used for fodder for animals in addition to human consumption. In addition to the vegetables, a large number of fruits were grown seasonally. Fruits not eaten in season often saw their way into preservation methods like jam, wet sweetmeats, dried or cooked into pies that could freeze during the winter months.
Alcoholic drinks
Prior to the revolution New Englanders consumed large quantities of rum and beer as they had relatively easy access of the goods needed to produce these items from maritime imports. Rum was the distilled spirit of choice as the main ingredient; molasses was readily available from trade with the West Indies. Further into the interior, one would often find colonists consuming whiskey, as they did not have similar access to the sugar cane. They did have ready access to corn and rye, which they used to produce their whiskey. However, up until the Revolution many considered whiskey to be a coarse alcohol unfit for human consumption, as many believed that it caused the poor to become raucous and unkempt drunkards. One item that was important to the production of beer that did not grow well in the colonies however was hops. Hops only grew wild in the New World, and as such, importation from England and elsewhere became essential to beer production. In addition to these alcohol-based products produced in America, imports were seen on merchant shelves, including wine and brandy.
Southern variations
In comparison to the northern colonies, the southern colonies were quite diverse in their agricultural diet. Unlike the colonies to the north, the southern colonies did not have a central region of culture. The uplands and the lowlands made up the two main parts of the southern colonies. The slaves and poor of the south often ate a similar diet, which consisted of many of the indigenous New World crops. Salted or smoked pork often supplement the vegetable diet. Rural poor often ate squirrel, possum, rabbit and other woodland animals. Those on the “rice coast” often ate ample amounts of rice, while the grain for the rest of the southern poor and slaves was cornmeal used in breads and porridges. Wheat was not an option for most of those that lived in the southern colonies.
The diet of the uplands often included cabbage, string beans, white potatoes, while most avoided yams and peanuts. Non-poor whites in the uplands avoided crops imported from Africa because of the inferred inferiority of crops of the African slaves. Those who could grow or afford wheat often had biscuits on their table for breakfast, along with healthy portions of pork. Salted pork was a staple of any meal, as it used in the preparations of vegetables for flavor, in addition to its direct consumption as a protein.
The lowlands, which included much of the Acadian French regions of Louisiana and the surrounding area, included a varied diet heavily influenced by Africans and Caribbeans, rather than just the French. As such, rice played a large part of the diet as it played a large part of the diets of the Africans and Caribbean. In addition, unlike the uplands, the lowlands subsistence of protein came mostly from coastal seafood and game meats. Much of the diet involved the use of peppers, as it still does today. Interestingly, although the English had an inherent disdain for French foodways, as well as many of the native foodstuff of the colonies, the French had no such disdain for the indigenous foodstuffs. In fact, they had a vast appreciation for the native ingredients and dishes.
20th century–21st century
One characteristic of American cooking is the fusion of multiple ethnic or regional approaches into completely new cooking styles. The cuisine of the South, for example, has been heavily influenced by immigrants from Africa, France, and Mexico, among others. Asian cooking has played a particularly large role in American fusion cuisine.
Similarly, while some dishes considered typically American many have their origins in other countries, American cooks and chefs have substantially altered them over the years, to the degree that the dish as now enjoyed the world over are considered to be American. Hot dogs and hamburgers are both based on traditional German dishes, brought over to America by German immigrants to the United States, but in their modern popular form they can be reasonably considered American dishes, even "All-American", along with the Italian influence of pizza.
Many companies in the American food industry develop new products requiring minimal preparation, such as frozen entrees. Some corporate kitchens (e.g. General Mills, Campbell's, Kraft Foods) develop consumer recipes featuring their company's products. Many of these recipes have become very popular. For example, the General Mills Betty Crocker's Cookbook, first published in 1950 and currently in its 10th edition, is commonly found in American homes.
Latin American Cuisine is a phrase that refers to typical foods, beverages, and cooking styles common to many of the countries and cultures in Latin America. It should be noted that Latin America is a very diverse area of land that holds various cuisines that vary from nation to nation.
Some items typical of Latin American cuisine include maize-based dishes (tortillas, tamales, pupusas) and various salsas and other condiments (guacamole, pico de gallo, mole, chimichurri, and pebre). These spices are generally what give the Latin American cuisines a distinct flavor; yet, each country of Latin America tends to use a different spice and those that share spices tend to use them at different quantities. Thus, this leads for a variety across the land.
Latin American beverages are just as distinct as their foods. Some of the beverages can even date back to the times of the Native Americans. Some popular beverages include mate, pisco, horchata, chicha, atole, cacao and aguas frescas.
Desserts in Latin America are generally very sweet in taste. They include dulce de leche, alfajor, arroz con leche, tres leches cake, Teja and flan.
The cuisine of the United States is a style of food preparation derived from the United States. The cuisine has a history dating back before the colonial period when the Native Americans had a rich and diverse cooking style for an equally diverse amount of ingredients. With European colonization, the style of cookery changed vastly, with numerous ingredients introduced from Europe, as well as cooking styles and modern cookbooks. The style of cookery continued to expand into the 19th and 20th centuries with the influx of immigrants from various nations across the world. This influx has created a rich diversity and a unique regional character throughout the country. In addition to cookery, cheese and wine play an important role in the cuisine. The wine industry is regulated by American Viticultural Areas (AVA) (regulated appellation), similar to those laws found in countries such as France and Italy.
History (Pre-1492)
Before the European colonists came to America, the Native Americans had an established cookery style that varied greatly from group to group. The vast variety of ingredients and cookery styles were never found in the same locality; any one group had a much more limited diet. Nutrition was an issue for most hunting and gathering societies that wandered widely in search of game and who might encounter serious shortages in wintertime.
Common ingredients
Plant foods
Sweet potato, an indigenous tuber found in Native American cookery
Maize, the indigenous grain to America found in Native American cookery
The Native Americans had at least 2,000 separate plant foods which contributed to their cooking. Numerous root vegetables were indigenous to America. Root vegetables were numerous in the diet including camas bulb, arrowhead, blue lapine, bitterroot, biscuit root, breadroot, prairie turnip, sedge tubers, and whitestar potatoes (Ipomoea lacunosa) along with the sweet potato and white potato. Greens included salmonberry shoots and stalks, coltsfoot, fiddlehead fern, milkweed, wild celery, wood sorrel, purslane, and wild nasturtium. Other vegetables include century plant crowns and flower shoots, yucca blossoms, tule rootstocks, amole stalks, bear grass stalks, cattail rootstocks, narrowleaf yucca stalks, and sotol crowns. Fruits included strawberries which Europeans named the Virginia strawberry due to being larger than the European dwarf mountain strawberry. Additional fruits included huckleberries, blueberries, cherries, currants, gooseberries, plums, crab apples, raspberries, sumac berries, juniper berries, hackberries, elderberries, hawthorne fruit, pitaya, white evening primrose fruit, and yucca fruit (of various species, such as Spanish bayonet, banana yucca). Some fruits which were found only in North America at the time were the fruit of various species of cactus (e.g., cholla, saguaro, nipple cactus, prickly pear, etc.), agarita berries, chokecherries, American persimmons, and the wild beach plum.
Nuts proliferated in the diet as well, including pecans, hickory nuts, beechnuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts, chinquapins, black walnuts, and butternuts. Acorns were also popularly used to produce oil for seasoning, and pounded into a flour to mix with cornmeal to thicken soups and fried into cakes and breads. Legumes included peanuts, screwbeans, honey locust beans, and mesquite beans. The grain used in most of Native American cooking was maize, while wild rice (not a true grain) was found in certain southern regions.[8] The seeds from various plants were also commonly utilized: pine nuts (western white pine, western yellow pine, pinyon pine), anglepod, dropseed, pigweed, spurge, sunflower seeds, tumbleweed, unicorn plant.
Land animal foods
The largest amount of animal protein came from game meats. Large game included bison, deer, elk, moose, bighorn sheep, and bear, mountain lion, along with goat and pronghorn being found in the Rocky Mountains. The small game cooked included rabbit, raccoon, opossum, squirrel, wood rat, chipmunk, ground hog, peccary, prairie dog, skunk, badger, beaver, and porcupine. Game birds included turkey, partridge, quail, pigeon, plover, lark and osprey. Water fowl was quite abundant and varied, particularly on the coasts such as ducks, geese, swan, crane and sea crane. Other amphibious proteins included alligators and frogs, which the legs were enjoyed from, especially bullfrogs. Snail meat was also enjoyed, along with various turtles such as the painted turtle, wood turtle, and snapping turtle along with their eggs. In addition the sea turtle and green turtle, endangered today were considered an important spiritual protein by the Native Americans.
Seafood
Blue crab was cooked by Native Americans on the east coast of America.
Saltwater fish eaten by the Native Americans were cod, lemon sole, flounder, herring, halibut, sturgeon, smelt, drum on the East Coast, and olachen on the West Coast. Whale was hunted by Native Americans off the Northwest coast, especially by the Makah, and used for their meat and oil. Seal and walrus were also utilized. Eel from New York's Finger Lakes region were eaten. Catfish seemed to be favored by tribes, including the Modocs. Crustacean included shrimp, lobster, crayfish, and giant crabs in the Northwest and blue crabs in the East. Other shellfish include abalone and geoduck on the California coast, while on the East Coast the surf clam, quahog, and the soft-shell clam. Oysters were eaten on both shores, as were mussels and periwinkles.
Cooking methods
Native Americans utilized a number of cooking methods. Grilling meats was common. Spit roasting over a pit fire was common as well. Vegetables, especially root vegetables were often cooked directly in the ashes of the fire. As early Native Americans lacked the proper pottery that could be used directly over a fire, they developed a technique which has caused many anthropologists to call them "Stone Boilers." The Native Americans would heat rocks directly in a fire and then add the bricks to a pot filled with water until it came to a boil so that it would cook the meat or vegetables in the boiling water. Another method was to use an empty bison stomach filled with desired ingredients and suspended over a low fire. The fire would have been insufficient to completely cook the food contained in the stomach however, as the flesh would burn so heated rocks would be added to the food as well. Some Native Americans would also use the leather of a bison hide in the same manner.
The Native Americans are credited as the first in America to create fire-proof pottery to place in direct flame. In what is now the Southwestern United States, Native Americans also created ovens made of adobe called hornos in which to bake items such as breads made from cornmeal. Native Americans in other parts of America made ovens out of dug pits. These pits were also used to steam foods by adding heated rocks or embers and then seaweed or corn husks (or other coverings) placed on top to steam fish and shellfish as well as vegetables; potatoes would be added while still in-skin and corn while in-husk, this would later be referred to as a clambake by the colonists. The hole was also a location for producing what has become Boston baked beans made from beans, maple sugar and a piece of bear fat.
Canadian cuisine varies widely from region to region. Generally, the traditional cuisine of English Canada is closely related to British and American cuisine, while the traditional cuisine of French Canada has evolved from French cuisine and the winter provisions of fur traders.
The basis of both groups is traditionally on seasonal, fresh ingredients, and preserves. The cuisine includes a lot of baked foods, wild game, and gathered foods. Prepared foods were still a novelty for recent rural generations, so there are some that are well-loved to the point of obsession and which have come to dominate suburban diets. However, home-made, warming, and wholesome remain key adjectives in what Canadians consider their cuisine.
The cuisine of the western provinces is heavily influenced by German, Ukrainian, Polish, and Scandinavian cuisine. Noteworthy is the cuisine of the Doukhobors: Russian-descended vegetarians.
Canadian Chinese cuisine is widespread across the country, with variation from place to place. The Chinese smorgasbord, although found in the U.S. and other parts of Canada, had its origins in early Gastown, Vancouver, c.1870 and came out of the practice of the many Scandinavians' working in the woods and mills around the shantytown getting the Chinese cook to put out a steam table on a sideboard, so they could "load up" and leave room on the dining table (presumably for "drink").
The traditional cuisine of The Arctic and the Canadian Territories is based on wild game and Inuit and First Nations cooking methods. The cuisines of Newfoundland and the Maritime provinces derive mainly from British and Irish cooking, with a preference for salt-cured fish, beef, and pork. British Columbia also maintains British cuisine traditions.
Today many Canadians will identify foods as being uniquely "Canadian" largely on the basis of such items being uncommon in the United States. Foods enjoyed in both countries, such as fast food and popular restaurant cuisine, will often be described as simply "North American" dining.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates for 2001–2003, 12% of the population of the People’s Republic of China was undernourished. The number of undernourished people in the country has fallen from 386.6 million in 1969–1971 to 150.0 million in 2001–2003.
Undernourishment is a problem mainly in the central and western part of the country, while "unbalanced nutrition" is a problem in developed coastal and urban areas. Decades of food shortages and rationing ended in the 1980s. A study in 2004 showed that fat intake among urban dwellers had grown to 38.4 percent, beyond the 30 per cent limit set by the World Health Organization. Excessive consumption of fats and animal protein has made chronic diseases more prevalent. As of 2008, 22.8 percent of the population were overweight and 18.8 percent had high blood pressure. The number of diabetes cases in China is the highest in the world. In 1959, the incidence of high blood pressure was only 5.9 percent.
A typical Chinese peasant before industrialization would have eaten meat rarely and most meals would have consisted of rice accompanied with green vegetables, with protein coming from foods like peanuts. Fats and sugar were luxuries not eaten on a regular basis by most of the population. With increasing wealth, Chinese diets have become richer with more meats, fats, and sugar being consumed.
Health advocates put some of the blame on the increased popularity of Western foods, especially fast food, and other culinary products and habits. Many Western, especially American, fast food chains have appeared in China, and are highly successful economically. These include McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).
An extensive epidemiological study called the China Project is being conducted to observe the relationship of disease patterns to diet, particularly the move from the traditional Chinese diet to one which incorporates more rich Western-style foods. Controversially, Professor T. Colin Campbell has implicated the increased consumption of animal protein in particular as having a strong correlation with cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other diseases that, while common in Western countries, were considered rare in China. He suggests that even a small increase in the consumption of animal protein can dramatically raise the risk of the aforementioned diseases.
Chinese food therapy (simplified Chinese: 食疗; traditional Chinese: 食療; pinyin: Shí Liáo) is a practice of healing using natural foods instead of medications.
Chinese food therapy is a modality of traditional Chinese medicine, also known as Chinese Nutrition therapy. It is particularly popular among Cantonese people who enjoy slow-cooked soups. One of the most commonly known is a rice soup that goes by many names including congee and jook. This is a traditional breakfast of Asian people all over the world. Congee recipes vary infinitely, depending upon the desired health benefits as well as taste.
Chinese food therapy dates back as early as 2000 BC. However, proper documentation was only found around 500 BC. The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine also known as the Niejing, which was written around 300 BC, was most important in forming the basis of Chinese food therapy. It classified food by four food groups, five tastes and by their natures and characteristics.
Philosophy about food
The ideas of yin and yang are used in the sphere of food and cooking. Yang foods are believed to increase the body's heat (eg. raise the metabolism), while Yin foods are believed to decrease the body's heat (eg. lower the metabolism). As a generalization, Yang foods tend to be dense in food energy, especially energy from fat, while Yin foods tend to have high water content. The Chinese ideal is to eat both types of food to keep the body in balance. A person eating too much Yang food might suffer from acne and bad breath while a person lacking Yang food might be lethargic or anemic.
Chinese cuisine (Traditional Chinese: 中國菜, Simplified Chinese: 中国菜) originated from the various regions of China and has become widespread in many other parts of the world — from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa. In recent years, connoisseurs of Chinese cuisine have also sprouted in Eastern Europe and South Asia. American Chinese cuisine and Canadian Chinese food are popular examples of local varieties. Local ingredients would be adopted while maintaining the style and preparation technique.
Regional cultural differences vary greatly amongst the different regions of China, giving rise to the different styles of food. There are eight main regional cuisines, or Eight Great Traditions (八大菜系): Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan, and Zhejiang. Among them, Cantonese, Sichuan, Shandong, and Huaiyang cuisine (a major style and even viewed as the representation of the entire Jiangsu cuisine) are often considered as the standouts of Chinese cuisine and due to their influence are proclaimed as the Four Great Traditions (四大菜系). Occasionally, Beijing cuisine and Shanghai cuisine are also cited along with the aforementioned eight regional styles as the Ten Great Traditions (十大菜系). There are also featured Buddhist and Muslim sub-cuisines within the greater Chinese cuisine, with an emphasis on vegetarian and halal-based diets respectively.
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Cooking is the process of preparing food by applying heat, selecting, measuring and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure for producing safe and edible food. The process encompasses a vast range of methods, tools and combinations of ingredients to alter the flavor or digestibility of food. Factors affecting the final outcome include the variability of ingredients, ambient conditions, tools, and the skill of the individual doing the actual cooking.
The diversity of cooking worldwide is a reflection of the natural polynormal nutritional, aesthetic, agricultural, economic, cultural, social and religious considerations that impact upon it.
Applying heat to a food usually, though not always, chemically transforms it, thus changing its flavor, texture, consistency, appearance, and nutritional properties. Other methods of cooking that involve the boiling of liquid in a receptacle have been practiced at least since the 10th millennium BC, with the introduction of pottery.
Effects of cooking
Cooking prevents many foodborne illnesses that would otherwise occur if the raw food was eaten. Also, cooking increases the digestibility of many foods, especially meat.
Nutrients & Proteins
Edible animal material, including muscle, offal, milk and egg white, contains substantial amounts of protein. Almost all vegetable matter (in particular legumes and seeds) also includes proteins, although generally in smaller amounts, by weight. (When considered as a proportion of total calories, plant foods often contain a greater proportion of protein than animal foods. Broccoli, for example, contains a higher proportion of protein than ground beef.)
These foods may also be a source of essential amino acids. When proteins are heated they become de-natured and change texture. In many cases, this causes the structure of the material to become softer or more friable - meat becomes cooked. In some cases, proteins can form more rigid structures, such as the coagulation of albumen in egg whites. The formation of a relatively rigid but flexible matrix from egg white provides an important component of much cake cookery, and also underpins many desserts based on meringue.
Liquids
Cooking often involves water which is frequently present as other liquids, both added in order to immerse the substances being cooked (typically water, stock or wine), and released from the foods themselves. Liquids are so important to cooking that the name of the cooking method used may be based on how the liquid is combined with the food, as in steaming, simmering, boiling, braising and blanching. Heating liquid in an open container results in rapidly increased evaporation, which concentrates the remaining flavor and ingredients - this is a critical component of both stewing and sauce making.
Fat
Fats and oils come from both animal and plant sources. In cooking, fats provide tastes and textures. When used as the principal cooking medium (rather than water), they also allow the cook access to a wide range of cooking temperatures. Common oil-cooking techniques include sauteing, stir-frying, and deep-frying. Commonly used fats and oils include butter; olive oil; vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, corn oil, and safflower oil; animal fats such as lard, schmaltz, and beef fat (both dripping and tallow); and seed oils such as rapeseed oil (Canola or mustard oil), sesame oil, soybean oil, and peanut oil. The inclusion of fats tends to add flavour to cooked food, even though the taste of the oil on its own is often unpleasant. This fact has encouraged the popularity of high fat foods, many of which are classified as junk food.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates include simple sugars such as glucose (from table sugar) and fructose (from fruit), and starches from sources such as cereal flour, rice, arrowroot, potato. The interaction of heat and carbohydrate is complex.
Long-chain sugars such as starch tend to break down into more simple sugars when cooked, while simple sugars can form syrups. If sugars are heated so that all water of crystallisation is driven off, then caramelisation starts, with the sugar undergoing thermal decomposition with the formation of carbon, and other breakdown products producing caramel. Similarly, the heating of sugars and proteins elicits the Maillard reaction, a basic flavor-enhancing technique.
An emulsion of starch with fat or water can, when gently heated, provide thickening to the dish being cooked. In European cooking, a mixture of butter and flour called a roux is used to thicken liquids to make stews or sauces. In Asian cooking, a similar effect is obtained from a mixture of rice or corn starch and water. These techniques rely on the properties of starches to create simpler mucilaginous saccharides during cooking, which causes the familiar thickening of sauces. This thickening will break down, however, under additional heat.
French cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of France. It evolved from centuries of social and political change. The Middle Ages brought lavish banquets to the upper class with ornate, heavily seasoned food prepared by chefs such as Guillaume Tirel. The era of the French Revolution, however, saw a move toward fewer spices and more liberal usage of herbs and refined techniques, beginning with François Pierre La Varenne and further developing with Napoleon Bonaparte and other dignitaries, Marie-Antoine Carême.
French cuisine was codified in the 20th century by Georges Auguste Escoffier to become the modern version of haute cuisine. Escoffier's major work, however, left out much of the regional character to be found in the provinces of France. Gastro-tourism and the Guide Michelin helped to bring people to the countryside during the 20th century and beyond, to sample this rich bourgeois and peasant cuisine of France. Basque cuisine has also been a great influence over the cuisine in the southwest of France.
Ingredients and dishes vary by region. There are many significant regional dishes that have become both national and regional. Many dishes that were once regional, however, have proliferated in different variations across the country in the present day. Cheese and wine are also a major part of the cuisine, playing different roles both regionally and nationally with their many variations and Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) (regulated appellation) laws.
Prawn Fries Flour »
Portion measure: 5 people
Material :
* 6 scampy tail, exhaust tip of head
* 3 garlic fang, contuses
* 2 ketchup tablespoon
* 3 sweet ketchup tablespoon
* 1/2 teaspoons merica powder
* 5 tablespoon margarin
* 5 onion leaf bar, measure cut 3 cm
* 2 lemon orange, takes it to the water
Way of making
Dries every prawn tail with mop, then fried in hot oil and many matured finite of chocolate, lifts, leak.
Heats butter, enters garlic, tumis so made fragrance, then entered ketchup, beloved ketchup, and merica powder, scrambled plane, boiled.
Enters prawn to fry is the and onion leaf, scrambled plane, lifts from fire, then decanted lemon orangeade above its, scrambled plane. Safe Tries..
Spaghetti Bolognaise
The Material
Pasta:
* 227 grams spaghetti
* 1 salt teaspoon
* 4 teaspoon cooking oil
Sauce:
* 200 gram beef meat, chops up
* 100 gram leek, chops up
* 300 gram tomato, pours boiling water into water to boil, strip, chops up
* 1 fruit of carrot, chops up is smooth
* 1 garlic fang, contuses
* 4 teaspoon tomato pasta
* 100 cc water
* 1 salt teaspoons
* 1 sugar teaspoons
* 1/2 bacillus teaspoons
* 1/2 teaspoons oregano
* 4 tablespoon parmesan cheese
Way of making :
Pasta: boiled water which many, then added salt and oil.
Enters spagetti, braises until matured and slack about 15 minutes, while once in a while is swirled, then lifted, leak.
Sauce: tumis garlic and leek until wilting, then entered tomato and carrot, scrambled until wilting.
Enters beef, scrambled until turns colour, then tuangi water, scrambled plane.
Enters tomato pasta, ripe until matured and frond.
Adds salt, sugar, bacillus, and oregano, scrambled plane.
Pasta push above saucer, enter with the sauce, and put the top with half of parmesan cheese.
Chocolate has its timeless charm which hooks many a person with a sweet tooth. Then again, some of the chocolates are really expensive. In reality, given a few tips and tricks, you can actually create your own chocolate and save yourself money and increase your delight because of your self-creation.
Essentially, making chocolate begins with the conversion of cacao beans into the bars of chocolate we see in the supermarket shelves. Some other people enjoy eating the cacao beans in its raw form, since it has the basic component that we crave for in the processed chocolates.
A chocolate maker must have persistent attention to detail and dedication to constant practicing. This guide will not ensure to make a chocolate factory out of your kitchen, but it will surely give you the basic idea-- just enough for you to enjoy a bar or two of chocolate at any time you wish without hurting your budget. Moreover, since you are directly involved in making your chocolate, you get to know the materials and amount of calories you are placing in every bar.
It begins with Cocoa Beans
If you are familiar with brewing coffee, it is similar to the beginning of the chocolate-making process. You need to roast the beans. But then, do not roast it too much. Initially, place it in a high temperature, then slowly diminishing the temperature afterwards. Turn the heat off right before the moment the beans hit their cracking or breaking point. You can do this either on your oven.
Or if you are planning to feed many people with your chocolate, have a larger container to accommodate the huge number of beans. From time to time, test the taste of your chocolate. The moment you start tasting chocolate from the cocoa, it is also an indicator to turn off the heat.
After roasting, the beans must be cracked open, removing the hard husks. You can do this by hand or with use of a small hammer. Depending on the size of your beans, you can use other tools for cracking, since the husks are not that useful for eating. Once the husks are removed, you can now grind the remaining portions until it liquefies. You must thoroughly liquefy the said concoction in order to help you become a home chocolatier.
Coco gets refined over time.
The process of conching involves the refinement of chocolate. It may require you to have certain equipment such as the Sancha refiner, which is a common favorite among home chocolatiers. This is where you start adding sugar and milk as part of the delicious chocolate mixture.
You will need to refine and conch for a long time, approximately 10 to 30 hours in length, until you achieve the balance of the ingredients. Excessive refining will turn your chocolate into gum, so be very careful. At this point, even when you let the mixture rest, it must not solidify yet.
Packaging Chocolates: Tempered after refinement.
When you are finished refining your chocolate, you need to make sure that it is under the right temperature before you place it in the mold. Not doing this meticulous tempering process will make your chocolate lumpy and unbalanced.
The rich, creamy quality of most chocolate bars in the market come from effective tempering of the chocolate after refinement.
