Dried Flowers From Your Food Dehydrator

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July 15, 2015

12:52 pm

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This article is about preserving flowers, leaves, and other foliage from your garden, yard, or bouquet, in a food dehydrator, thus extending their beauty in flower arrangements that will last to, and through, the winter months, or even beyond. Here you will find simple steps on drying flowers with a food dehydrator to produce a potpourri of color and fragrance.

The starting point is the selection of flowers. I use flowers throughout the following explanations but it includes other foliage that can be dried as supplements to a wreath, or any other dried arrangements that the imagination creates. Flowers, selected for drying, can be anywhere along the bloom but not past the point of full bloom. Do not use bloom that is damaged, by blight, insects, wind, or withered. If the flower has been subjected to pesticide, or dirt, it can be sprayed with a pump type mist sprayer, similar to one of the window cleaner sprayers, then gently shaken to remove as much water as possible. Never use detergents, or cleaner sprays.

Most food dehydrators have trays that are inch apart, that provides plenty of clearance if drying flower petals, or leaf type foliage separately, but for drying a complete floral bloom remove one or two trays, on the drawer type dehydrators, to accommodate an entire flower. The trays should be clean. I have lined the trays with parchment paper, but many food dehydrators have non-stick sheets available that fit their drying shelves. You need room when drying flowers keeping them spread out so as not to touch each other causing discoloring or distortion. A thermostat on the food dehydrator should range between 100 deg F and 140 deg F. Flower petals will dry well around 100-120 deg F for 2 to 5 hours.

A discussion about drying flowers would not be complete without mentioning Roses. Of all flowers from the garden, or florist, to me, roses and dried rose petals, produce the best aromatic fragrance, and potpourri, as any other dried flower. Their perfume seems more permeating, and is longer lasting than most blooms.

In earlier times flowers were dried by burying them in sand, as well as hanging them in a bag made out of paper, or porous cloth. These methods were time consuming, in most cases up to several weeks. It becomes clear now, why food dehydrators have come into vogue for making dried flower arrangements. The drying process is very less involved, less mess, and the drying time reduced to between the two to three hour range. This reduced time in processing contributes to a better quality of dried flower.

In summary, drying flowers, or foliage, in a food dehydrator has advantages over a microwave. Food dehydrators provide a wider drying area so items do not come in contact with each other causing spoilage of the petals during the drying process. Food dehydrators are able to provide for higher volumes of produce, not only do they have larger drying capacity, but can accommodate larger and more bulky flowers.

Quick View To Civilization Of Chinese Food

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July 8, 2015

7:08 pm

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Chinese food now holds a popular place among the entire population of the world. You can find a Chinese restaurant in every major city and in many smaller areas of the world as well. Why is Chinese food so popular? Is Chinese food healthy? What is the history of Chinese food?
Firstly Id like give a brief introduction of the development of the Chinese food culture.
In China, food and its preparation has been developed so highly that it has reached the status of an art form. Rich and poor, the Chinese people consider that delicious and nutritious food is a basic necessity. There is an old Chinese saying Food is the first necessity of the people.
Many scientists believe that Chinese food history dates back to the Peking Man which started using fire for cooking about 400,000 years ago. Others claim that Chinese cuisine was established during the Chinese stone age when people began to produce noodle and to cultivate rice.

Chinese food history is remarkable for its variety. Almost each Chinese Dynasty introduced some new innovations, enriching unique Chinese food history. Thus, the Zhou Dynasty is responsible for the appearance of a such well-known Chinese food tradition as chopsticks, and the Qing Dynasty is associated with most of today’s Chinese food popular dishes. Another feature of Chinese food history stir-frying (a famous Chinese food cooking technique) was created during the Tang Dynasty to conserve valuable fuel.

Chinese food history has a deep philosophical background which influenced Chinese food recipes, cooking tips and menus. Thus, in Chinese culture preparation of food is considered not just a craft but an art. Most Chinese food popular dishes require special experience and talent of the chef, however many of them were much modified for western Chinese food restaurants.

Some Chinese food history experts think there are two basic philosophies that had the biggest effect on Chinese food Confucianism and Taoism. After Confucius standards of etiquette food is cut into small pieces before being served, and there should be no knives on the table. The followers of this Chinese food history movement propagated harmony during both cooking and eating.

Taoism which had also a great influence on Chinese culture, and particularly on Chinese food history, focused on such important concepts as healing powers of food and its healthiness. In this way, the Chinese discovered that using ginger as a garnish is a good remedy for upset stomach and cold.
However, the consumption of food is a vital part of the chemical process of life is to state the obvious, but sometimes we fail to realize that food is more than just vital. The only other activity that we engage in that is of comparable importance to our lives and to the life of our species is sex. As Kao Tzu, a Warring States-period philosopher and keen observer of human nature, said, “Appetite for food and sex is nature.” But these two activities are quite different. We are, I believe, much closer to our animal base in our sexual endeavors than we are in our eating habits. Too, the range of variations is infinitely wider in food than in sex. In fact, the importance of food in understanding human culture lies precisely in its infinite variability -variability that is not essential for species survival. For survival needs, all men everywhere could eat the same food, to be measured only in calories, fats, carbohydrates, proteins, and vitamins. But no, people of different backgrounds eat very differently. The basic stuffs from which food is prepared; the ways in which it is preserved, cut up, cooked (if at all); the amount and variety at each meal; the tastes that are liked and disliked; the customs of serving food; the utensils; the beliefs about the food’s properties -these all vary. The number of such “food variables” is great.
Chinese food, when authentic is probably the healthiest food in the world. Some restaurants, which are not authentic, prepare their menu with highly saturated fats or with meats that contain unhealthy amounts of animal fat. These Chinese restaurants are not recommended and they are both neither authentic nor healthy.
Good Chinese food however, is prepared and cooked with poly-unsaturated oils. Authentic Chinese food does not require the use of milk-fat ingredients such as cream, butter or cheese. Meat is used, but not in abundance, which makes it easy for those who love authentic Chinese food to avoid high levels of animal fat. Many believe that authentic Chinese food is really the ideal diet.
Nowadays people are attracted both by Chinese food exoticism and its medical aspects. According to Chinese food history specialists, Chinese cuisine has never been so widespread as it is today.

Food Safety Legislation in the UK

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July 6, 2015

9:24 am

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Washing facilities

It is a legal requirement for all food businesses to have hand washing facilities. Hand washing facilities must be for hand washing only and have adequate access for staff to wash their hands. The hand wash sinks must have hot and cold running water, soap and drying facilities. It is also recommended, although not a legal requirement, to have separate food and equipment sinks with hot and cold running water.

Legislation

UK food legislation includes:

The food safety act 1990

The food hygiene, England, regulations 2006

EC 852/2004 regulation on the hygiene of foodstuffs

Since 2004 the Food Safety Act has become more concentrated on food quality rather than food safety.

If any of the laws of broken, an individual or business can be prosecuted. Food safety is covered under criminal law which involves being prosecuted in either a Magistrate or Crown court. The Magistrate court deals with less serious offences, termed summary offences, whilst the Crown Court deals with more serious offences, termed indictable offences.

Penalties in the Crown Court include an unlimited fine and/or imprisonment of up to 2 years. The penalties in a Magistrate court are 20,000 fine and/or six months imprisonment.

The enforcement officers who oversee the legislation are called Environmental Health Practitioners.

They:

provide food safety advice, and inspect food premises
enforce legislation covering food
can enter and inspect premises at any reasonable time of the day or night and can be accompanied by the uniformed police
can investigate outbreaks of foodborne disease, food poisoning and other possible offences
can instruct that food be destroyed if it is considered unsafe to eat
can issue improvement and prohibition notices
can take food businesses to court for breaking food safety laws
can initiate prosecution by gathering evidence.

If a company is prosecuted they can provide a due diligence defence. This means that the business can prove that they took all reasonable precautions to prevent contamination and food poisoning. This due diligence defence is achieved with the use of written records. The written records are called the Food Safety Management System, which is a collection of records, procedures and all information regarding running the food business safely. The information includes some of the following:

training records
suppliers audits
pest control documentation
cleaning schedules
temperature records
maintenance contracts

There are legal requirements that apply to food handlers and these include:

keeping themselves clean
ensuring the workplace remains clean
to protect food from contamination or anything that cause harm to it
following good personal hygiene practices such as hand washing and regular bathing or showering
wearing clean protective clothing
informing their employer if they are suffering from food poisoning and foodborne illness.

For further information on the UK Food Legislation go to Food Safety.

Different Types Of Soups

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June 26, 2015

4:45 pm

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The two general classes of soup already mentioned permit of numerous methods of classification. For instance, soups are sometimes named from the principal ingredient or an imitation of it, as the names potato soup, beef soup, macaroni soup, mock-turtle soup testify. Again, both stimulating and nutritious soups may be divided into thin and thick soups, thin soups usually being clear, and thick soups, because of their nature, cloudy. When the quality of soups is considered, they are placed in still different classes and are called broth, bisque, consomme, puree, and so on. Another important classification of soups results from the nationality of the people who use them. While soups are classified in other ways, it will be sufficient for all practical purposes if the housewife understands these three principal classes.

CLASSES DENOTING CONSISTENCY.–As has already been pointed out, soups are of only two kinds when their consistency is thought of, namely, clear soups and thick soups.

CLEAR SOUPS are those made from carefully cleared stock, or soup foundation, and flavored or garnished with a material from which the soup usually takes its name. There are not many soups of this kind, bouillon and consomme being the two leading varieties, but in order to be palatable, they require considerable care in making.

THICK SOUPS are also made from stock, but milk, cream, water, or any mixture of these may also be used as a basis, and to it may be added for thickening meat, fish, vegetables, eggs, or grain or some other starchy material. Soups of this kind are often made too thick, and as such soups are not appetizing, care must be taken to have them just right in consistency.

CLASSES DENOTING QUALITY.–When attention is given to the quality of soup, this food divides itself into several varieties, namely, broth, cream soup, bisque, chowder, and puree.

BROTHS have for their foundation a clear stock. They are sometimes a thin soup, but other times they are made quite thick with vegetables, rice, barley, or other material, when they are served as a substantial part of a meal.

CREAM SOUPS are highly nutritious and are of great variety. They have for their foundation a thin cream sauce, but to this are always added vegetables, meat, fish, or grains.

BISQUES are thick, rich soups made from game, fish, or shell fish, particularly crabs, shrimp, etc. Occasionally, vegetables are used in soup of this kind.

CHOWDERS are soups that have sea food for their basis. Vegetables and crackers are generally added for thickening and to impart flavor.

PUREES are soups made thick partly or entirely by the addition of some material obtained by boiling an article of food and then straining it to form a pulp. When vegetables containing starch, such as beans, peas, lentils, and potatoes, are used for this purpose, it is unnecessary to thicken the soup with any additional starch; but when meat, fish, or watery vegetables are used, other thickening is required. To be right, a puree should be nearly as smooth as thick cream and of the same consistency.

CLASSES TYPICAL OF PARTICULAR COUNTRIES.–Certain kinds of soup have been made so universally by the people of various countries that they have come to be regarded as national dishes and are always thought of as typical of the particular people by whom they are used. Among the best known of these soups are Borsch, a soup much used by the Russian people and made from beets, leeks, and sour cream; Daikan, a Japanese soup in which radishes are the principal ingredient; Kouskous, a soup favored by the people of Abyssinia and made from vegetables; Krishara, a rice soup that finds much favor in India; Lebaba, an Egyptian soup whose chief ingredients are honey, butter, and raisin water; Minestra, an Italian soup in which vegetables are combined; Mulligatawny, an Indian rice soup that is flavored with curry; Potroka, another kind of Russian soup, having giblets for its foundation; Soljinka, an entirely different variety of Russian soup, being made from fish and onions; and Tarhonya, a Hungarian soup containing noodles.

Future Trends In Food Packaging

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June 10, 2015

11:22 pm

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Any product that keeps the same packaging year after year is at risk of losing business to newer products and companies that recognise the importance of keeping up with emerging trends. Food packaging must evolve to fit customer needs and demands, or a business can expect to see sales plummet.

The Health Trend –

These days, consumers are very concerned about the healthfulness of their food. To remain competitive with similar products, you will need to use packaging which highlights the products health benefits. Phraseology is very important; you want to ensure that the nutritious benefits of your food is made crystal clear. Otherwise, consumers will pass your product over for one that does promise to bring healthy benefits to the table.

The Increasing Importance Of Convenience –

In years past, many Australians spent the majority of their adult lives surrounded by decently sized families. Most adults lived with their spouses, parents, grandparents, siblings and children for the majority of their adulthood. That’s changed a lot, though. Today, more people than ever before are going it alone. More couples are opting not to have any children, and many professionals choose to live alone instead of getting married or sharing a place with roommates.

Since large groups of people aren’t the norm anymore, individual-sized portions are becoming key in packaging. Products are increasingly expected to be easy to open and resealable whenever possible. People don’t want to waste food, and trends in packaging dictate that smaller definitely is better. Single serving packaging is becoming very commonplace as well, and companies that fail to take that into consideration are going to fall behind the competition.

Premium Quality: More Important Than Ever In Packaging –

Today, packaging should highlight the quality of the food that it is protecting. Consumer’s confidence is greatly increased in the quality of the product through the use of impressive and heavy duty packaging materials. Phraseology on the packaging should highlight the luxury nature of the product, and it should appeal to the customer’s demand for top of the line goods. In every way possible, the packaging should enhance the appearance of the product and impart a sense of class and sophistication to the food to make it more palatable to the consumer.