The Finney School of Real Life

Honey is the most known apicultural product, it is a substance that the bees produce through a complicated process of elaboration, where they absorb the nectar and deposit it in their stomach, then go back to the beehive to deliver it, throwing up repeated times; this way ferments, acid and albumen are added to the nectar. It contains most of the essential mineral elements that our system needs. There have already been found, in the honey, more than 180 different nutritional substances.

The beekeeping is a very old activity. Evidences from Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece describe ancient beekeeping and the honey is also mentioned in the Bible. It was considered sacred, and was also used to pay taxes and debts. Besides all this, it was used to draw and paint as well. Honey contains proteins, essential minerals and vitamins. It is a food of elevated energy and is also known for its medicinal and therapeutic assets. Honey is a food of easy digestion and enthusiastically assimilated by humans, constituting a healthy source of energy.

Honey consumed as food is important for the balance of the biological process of the organism. It contains glucose and fructose, which goes directly into the blood, becoming an energetic product. Honey can be used as food, as a natural sweetener and as medicine. After some time of use, it assists in the control of rheumatism and arthritis, prevents all types of respiratory illnesses and helps in the digestion. Honey is also used on the skin and is an ingredient for some shampoos. It is used extensively in the cosmetic industry as well (creams, cleanness facemasks, tonics, etc.) because of its astringent and softening qualities.

Eating honey will improve your quality of life, since it stimulates and increases physical resistance; it is slightly sedative, discouraging insomnias; it helps in the healing, it is anti-septic, digestive and laxative, helping in the treatment of gastritis; it is an expectorant fighting the cough, also of smokers. Used externally, it speeds up the healing of wounds and minor burnings, besides hydrating the skin.

With honey - and nothing else -, Nigerian doctors were able to cure serious wounds, burnings and ulcers of skin in 59 patients, which were submitted previously to conventional treatments with antibiotics without any satisfying results. First, the doctors gathered samples of the wounds to be studied in laboratory. The results had shown that the infections were caused by common bacteria - therefore more resistant - as the Pseudomonad, found frequently in infections. After that, the honey was applied on the infected skin. One week later, no micro organism appeared in the laboratory examinations. For the reason that it is slightly acid, extremely viscous and absorbs water, the honey cleaned the wounds, diminished their size and protected them from new infections. According to the Nigerian doctors, honey also has the property of being a bactericidal agent.

It has been indicated to prevent, control or cure the following illnesses:

• Respiratory diseases
• Cramps
• Intestinal disturbances
• Digestive disturbances
• Throat irritation
• Urinary irritation
• Irritation of the eyes
• Dental caries
• Illnesses of the liver
• Rheumatic pains
• Physical fatigue
• Insomnia
• Skin burn
• Stomach ulcer, etc.

The flavour, aroma and colour of the honey differ according to its botanical origin, in accordance with the flowers from where the bee has removed the nectar to manufacture it. The climate, humidity and even the altitude will interfere in these characteristics of the honey. Usually, the clear honey presents weak flavour and aroma. The honey of darker coloration is richer in proteins and minerals.

Here goes an advice: honey fattens less than sugar. 1 tea-spoon or 5g of honey = 16,4kcal. It is also the best option for athletes. Biologists concluded that honey is the best source of carbohydrates and energy for athletes and mature people.

If you would like to know more about honey, health facts, how to produce and more visit: www.honeystore.info

Coffee drinks are quite the rage these days and the espresso and latte are among the favorites. Sure, you can get them at the local coffee house, but why not save some money and make them yourself?

Here’s some tips on foolproof methods to the best espresso drinks around.

First off, you want to start with a good quality machine. If you are serious about your espresso, you need to spring for the best machine you can get. One thing to look for in a quality machine is to make sure it has a built in grinder as the grind of the beans is key to good coffee.

When you grind your beans for espresso or latte drinks, make sure you give it a good medium to fine grind. If they are too course the drink will be very weak, on the other hand if you grind the beans to fine the drink will taste bitter. A little bit of practice makes perfect!

To brew your espresso should only take 15 to 20 seconds. While your drink is dripping out into the cup, a foam should form on the top. When you see that the water coming out is a whitish brown color it’s time to stop and reap the rewards.

The output should yield 1 fluid ounces. If you have made more than that then your drink may be bitter.

Now that you have your perfect espresso drink, you can use it to make a latte. Lattes are great and can be flavored to taste like the ever popular mocha latte.

A latte is really espresso and frothed milk along with the flavoring. So to make a mocha latte, you will mix in chocolate syrup.

Start with a coffee cup and our about 1 3/4 ounces of choclate syrup into the cup. Next add 2 ounces of espresso and then top that with the steamed milk. Now stir the drink from the bottom so that the syrup mixes in. You can get fancy and put a smidge of whipped cream on top and even some choclate shavings if you have them. Enjoy!

Lee Dobbins is a writer for Online Gourmet Foods where you can
find out more about gourmet foods and coffee.

The 1970’s brought a great deal of upheaval and new ideas to the forefront, and the world of cuisine was no exception. In June of 1975, the British magazine Harpers & Queen coined a term to refer to a new type of food that was sweeping the world: Nouvelle Cuisine.

What is nouvelle cuisine? It is, in a word, the marriage of health-conscious California to traditional France. Consider it an updated version of French cuisine- flavorful food with a light-handed, healthy approach. It’s difficult to define nouvelle cuisine in more specific terms because of its huge impact on the way food in general is prepared today. Nouvelle cuisine opened doors to a new generation of restaurant-goers who loved rich tastes and fresh combinations, but didn’t want their bodies to pay for it later.

With this new lighter menu came a new style of cooking as well. Chefs in nouvelle cuisine restaurants used shorter cooking times and fresher ingredients, cutting down on the multiple steps that got in the way of the natural flavors of the food. In a world that was waking up to faster-moving times and stricter diets, this new cuisine caught on with incredible speed.

Like any other trend, nouvelle cuisine was often widely misunderstood and misrepresented. Depending on what regional restaurant you visited, you might have been subjected to a low-calorie meal with tiny portions and been told it was nouvelle cuisine. Many chefs and consumers alike did not grasp the concept that lighter did not necessarily mean less.

One of the main goals of nouvelle cuisine was to excite more than just the sense of taste. A skilled nouvelle chef would be able to produce a meal that was artistically arranged on the plate and contained a wonderful mix of smells, textures, and flavors. Oils and fresh spices were used extensively to bring out the natural flavor of the fresh vegetables and pastas in these meals.

The way we cook at home today owes a great deal to nouvelle cuisine. Olive oil, vinaigrette, and fresh herbs are common today in many American kitchens, mainly due to the influence of the nouvelle cuisine movement. Restaurants, too, have taken their cue: before the appearance of nouvelle cuisine, portions were heavier and larger, and consumers went to restaurants expecting to come out full, but not necessarily sated. Nowadays fine restaurants base their expertise on combining flavors, not smothering them; and on their presenting food that satisfies, not simply fills, an empty stomach.

There is still a debate on whether nouvelle cuisine has disappeared from the radar. It has certainly influenced other fields of cooking, but nobody is sure if it can be considered a movement of its own in the current times. Then again, a trend that catches on so quickly is almost always destined to develop in other ways and spread to other things, losing its identity as a separate entity along the way.

About the Author

Visit The Tasty Chef for more great tips, techniques, and insights pertaining to cooking and recipes. http://www.tastychef.net

Do you have a weakness for cheesecakes? There quite simply isn’t a better time than Christmas to luxuriate in the irresistably sweet and satisfying creaminess of posh cheesecakes, for the cracking festive cheer is the perfect accompaniment to this luscious Yuletide treat. Merry Christmas folks!

MERRY CHRISTMAS CHEESECAKES

1 cup of flour

1/2 cup of margarine

1/2 cup of brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup of nuts, chopped

–FILLING:–

1 (8 oz.) pkg. of cream cheese, soft

1/4 cup of sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

2 tablespoons of milk

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In 3 quart bowl combine flour, margarine, and brown sugar. Blend with mixer. Stir in nuts. Reserve 1 cup of mixture for topping. Pat remaining in ungreased 8 inch square pan. Bake near center of oven 8 to 10 minutes.

Prepare filling. Spread over partially baked crust. Sprinkle reserve crumb mixture on top. Return to oven 23 to 30 minutes. Cool, cut and store in refrigerator.

COOLING YOUR COFFEE BEANS The most overlooked part of home
roasting

The process of roasting your own coffee beans is easy once you
have a basic understanding of how it works. Home roasting is
catching on rapidly and has been touted as the fastest growing
hobby in the United States today. While simple, it does require
some knowledge to produce roasts that are truly great.
Understanding the entire process is mandatory in order to
deliver the ultimate cup of coffee.

The number one problem in producing great coffee roasted at home
is the failure to cool the roast quickly after roasting. Coffee
is “roasted” rather than “baked” and for good reason. When
roasted properly at high heat quickly allowing convection
between the heat source and beans as well as from bean to bean
you will avoid “baking” your beans. The baking of coffee beans
renders them flat and void of the brightness and zip they should
have. Baking occurs when the beans are roasted too slowly or
allowed to remain in a slowly decelerating heated situation.
When this happens the coffee is losing the zip it has at peak of
roast.

The manufactured home roasters that I have seen or heard of all
have the same problem; they lack a good cooling system. It is
virtually impossible to cool your roast quickly enough in the
same chamber that they were, moments ago, roasting in. We in the
industry uses sample roasters which are all outfitted with a
separate cooling pan built to cool the roast as quickly as
possible. We watch the roast checking it with a small scoop we
insert into the roasting chamber about every 15 seconds when the
roast is nearing the profile we desire. When the roast hits the
desired profile we immediately dump it into a cool and operating
cooling pan and generally stir it to speed the cooling along
further. It is easy to build a very efficient cooling pan which
I highly recommend. Following is a simple plan for building a
cooling pan:

To build an in-expensive, simple cooling pan that works very
well, you will need: One of those 5 gallon buckets like at the
bakery or Home Depot WITH THE COVER. A large stainless steel
mixing bowl, a couple draw hasps (National Hardware # N208-512
V35) (Bungee cords will work - if you’re less mechanical). A 1×1
(1 gallon/1 hp) shop vac. I bought one yesterday at Wal-Mart for
$19.99 and a wooden spoon. Cut the top of the bucket so the
steel bowl fits snug on top of the bucket. Drill several hundred
little (1/8″ or smaller) holes only in the bottom of the bowl
(colander will not work because the holes go up the sides). Cut
a little hole 3 - 4 inches from the bottom into the side of the
bucket so the vacuum cleaner hose will fit into the bucket
SNUGLY. With the steel bowl snugly fastened on the top and the
shop vac snugly in the hole you will have a very strong downward
draft through the holes in the bottom of the bowl. This makes an
excellent cooling pan!

There are other, even easier ways including a 12 inch box fan
blowing downward with a colander resting on top. For more
information on cooling beans and cooling pans email at:
info@u-roast-em.com .

Next time you roast, make an effort to cool your roast as
quickly as you can and taste the difference. When everything is
done right, your coffee will be noticeably better in the cup and
that is why we roast our own.