Tips For Making Restaurant Quality Chinese Food at Home

Without a doubt, Chinese cuisine is the most popular type of ethnic cuisine enjoyed by Americans. Indeed, the statistics show that there are more Asian restaurants than Italian and Mexican eateries combined. If you've ever asked yourself after eating at your favorite establishment why your attempts at making Chinese food at home never turn out quite right, there are a few tricks and techniques that you can learn to elevate your dishes to a whole new level. After reviewing these tips, you'll be making restaurant quality Chinese food at home in no time to rival your favorite takeout establishment.

The first reason that food at a Chinese restaurant tastes a lot better than anything that you have made at home is that they are using the right ingredients. Your recipe for a dish like Szechuan Beef may call for soy sauce, but unless you have access to a local Asian supermarket, you'll likely only have a few options at your regular grocery store. Moreover, most of the times, these brands are inferior in quality to anything that you would find in an ethnic market and would never be used by real Asian cooks. The only way to solve this problem, however, is to make a visit to one of these Asian food stores. There, you can ask the purveyors what brands of sauces they recommend and buy an assortment of them to test at home. When you get home, test out each brand and see what you like.

Another reason that dishes cooked by chefs taste better than yours is that they are using the right recipes. When you're looking over the internet for easy Chinese recipes that you can make at home, try to avoid those that are printed by major magazine publications. Most of the times, these recipes are not authentic and have been tailored to suit western palates. Instead, search out food blogs that deal with ethnic cooking or look for Chinese cookbooks written by Chinese authors.

One other issue that makes restaurant food taste different than home cooking is that they have much hotter stoves than most people at home do. Restaurants use woks that sit over large gas burners that resemble jet engines. These large and powerful stoves can put out more than 30000 BTU of heat, a level that is not attainable on a home burner. Cooking on very high heat does a couple of things to make the food taste better. First of all, it decreases the total cooking time of the dish. Not only does a shorter cooking time preserve the nutrients and color of foods, but it also keeps moisture in it. Next, the high temperature of a professional wok burner allows the natural sugars in the food to become more caramelized. As food browns, a complex series of chemical reactions called the Maillard Reaction takes place, which makes food taste better. Finally, the high heat helps to create what Chinese chefs call "wok hay," or "the breath of the wok." This term refers to the slight charring and smokiness than food picks up when it is cooked at such a high temperature. At home, you have a couple of options for simulating the high heat of a professional style stove. First of all, you can buy yourself a cast iron wok. Cast iron is an excellent material to use for a wok, because it can retain high temperatures for a long time. The only negative to having a cast iron wok is that it needs to be heated for a long time to get to the proper temperature. Next, you can place your wok directly on top of the burner instead of on a wok ring, if you have a curved bottom wok.

The final thing you can do to replicate your favorite dishes at home is to by a good set of knives and to develop your knife skills. If you look at your takeout food closely, you will notice that all the vegetables and meats are sliced uniformly. This ensures that everything cooks evenly and that nothing is overcooked while other things are still raw. Buy a nice set of forged knives that are very sharp and practice your cutting techniques on inexpensive vegetables like potatoes or carrots. Remember that you should value the quality and uniformity of your cuts rather than how fast you can slice things.

The first step in making restaurant quality Chinese food at home that taste the same as your favorite takeout spot is making sure that you have good fundamentals. Honing proper knife techniques, using the right equipment, and having the right ingredients and recipes will make all the difference and elevate your cooking to new heights.

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How to Eat Kiwifruit

Kiwifruit is familiar to people. It is mainly produced in New Zealand. It was once called Chinese gooseberry because it looked like a goose egg and it was originated from China. There are generally two kinds of kiwifruit on the market. The kiwifruit planted in China looks yellow; while that from New Zealand is usually green. They look almost the same but their tastes are slightly different. Moreover, the ZESPRI label could always be found on kiwifruit from New Zealand. Recently, people from New Zealand have developed a new type of kiwifruit. It is as nutritious as other types, but it looks gold and it tastes sweeter.

Kiwifruit is nutritious but low-calorie. It is the champion of twenty-seven kinds of common fruit in terms of daily value. It provides 1.7 times more vitamin C than oranges to people. Besides, it is rich in vitamin E and bate-carotene, which are good at resisting cancer and preventing people from rheumatism and jaundice.

Like many other kinds of fruit, kiwifruit is ready to serve when it is peeled off. Some people like to cut it into two parts and eat with spoons. It is wise to make sure the kiwifruit is mature enough. Otherwise, it would taste dry and sour. If it is still immature, you can put it into the refrigerator or put it together with mature apples and bananas.

There are many other creative ways to eat kiwifruit. The first way is to make special kiwifruit juice. You can peel off the kiwifruit and make some juice first. Then you had better add a small amount of julep into it. After mixing the liquid, it is good to add some cream. You should not put too much mint julep, or the taste of kiwifruit would not be that original. The second way to deal with kiwifruit is to make kiwifruit custard. Cut the kiwifruit into small dices and mix with adequate yoghourt. Then boil the shrimps and put them into the mixture. This dish is simple but delicious. Another way to eat kiwifruit is to make some tuna salad. What you should do is to mix the diced kiwifruit and sliced tuna and then to add some olive oil. The last method is to make it into sushi. You need to boil the rice in coconut milk first. After the rice becomes cool enough, make it into rolls and put some sliced kiwifruit on the rolls. In one word, all the above new methods not only maintain important nutrition of kiwifruit such as vitamins and chlorophylls, but also make some changes. I believe that these interesting ways of eating kiwifruit will be well received by the pubic.

Yan Hu is the freelance writer for e-commerce website in the chemistry. LookChem.com is just a place for you to Look for Chemicals! Our LookChem provide the most convenient conditions for the international buyers and let these leads benefit all the business person.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Yan_Hu

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An Easy Recipe for Home-Made Rock Candy

Candies are one of the simplest things to make. In order to prepare a food item though, you need to know what it is. Many people consider candy and chocolate to be one and the same thing. However, there is more to these fun filled treats than gooey chocolate delight. The different kinds of candies include hard, soft and sweet. Truffles and lollipops are easy recipes that can be made in your kitchen.

Making rock candy at home is a source of pleasure because you can add your own creativity to the recipe. You can experiment with different flavors and colors to come up with new and interesting delights. In fact, the whole family can join in the fun!

To begin the process of candy making, soak a piece of thread in water for some time. Then tie the thread to a stick or a pencil and place the pencil at the mouth of the jar. In order to help the thread to hang straight, you can attach a paper clip to it. The next step is to roll the wet thread in granulated sugar. This action helps the sugar crystals to stay glued together as the rock candy starts to form. You can either prepare the sugar syrup at home or buy it ready made from your local supermarket. Pour the sugar syrup into the jar.

Carefully lower the string into the jar till it is about an inch from the bottom. Now cover the jar with a plastic or paper towel and wait for the sugar crystals to set. It will take around two to four hours for the sugar to crystallize.

Lollipops are another easy dessert recipe. The ingredients needed for a lollipop recipe are granulated sugar, water and corn syrup. In a pan, mix together 3 ? cups of granulated sugar, a cup of water and 1 ? cup of corn syrup. Then, heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves properly. It is important to stir continuously till the mixture reaches a boiling point. Remove the pan from the heat and add in your own flavors and color. The ideal temperature to allow the candy to boil properly is 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

This easy recipe shows that making candy is not a difficult task and it is not even time- consuming. Along with that, homemade rock candy does not include any chemicals and other additives. This makes it a healthy treat for the kids as well.

 

Best Oil For Deep Fried Recipes - It Makes All The Difference!

Deep frying indicates preparing food in hot oil. In contrast to saut?ing or pan frying, your meals are completely immersed in the oil whenever you deep fry. This particular cooking food technique could be traced to unique European and Asian origins, once the excess fat had been rendered from beef and used to prepare meals quicker compared to roasting or even simmering. There is lots of cholesterol within animal fat; therefore many people would rather cook with vegetable fat such as canola oil.

Oil Smoke Factors

Whenever deep frying, the oil you select impacts the quality as well as taste of the completed meal, so it's vital that you know about the greatest oil for deep frying. Canola oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, as well as sunflower oil are great types of natural oils for deep frying simply because they have higher smoke factors. What this means is they're not going to break up at higher temps. The actual smoke stage of the oil is the heat where the oil begins to decay and give off smoky gases.

Any time you fry, you decrease the smoke stage of the oil. When the smoke stage of the oil is about 485 degrees Fahrenheit (the standard deep frying heat), the actual smoke stage may decrease several levels after the first use.

This will make it ineffective, which means you should select good oil with a smoke stage of 400 degrees Fahrenheit or even more, such as soybean, peanut, safflower, sunflower, sesame, canola, or even corn oil.

There are some things that may decrease the smoke stage of the oil, such as the heat you heat it to, the presence of sodium, if the items you're frying include vegetable oils, how long the actual oil is warmed for, how often it's used, and also the storage space conditions of the oil.

Keep in mind that whenever most oils reach 600 degrees Fahrenheit, that's the flash stage, or when it's at risk of catching fire. If this ought to occur, smother the fire with a linen of aluminum foil or perhaps a tight cover. By no means use water on an oil fire since it can make the actual oil spatter.

Recipe for Fried Battered Shrimp

This particular recipe really is easy and tends to make enough battered shrimp to serve 6 individuals. There are lots of various meals you are able to deep fry. Probably the most well-liked is actually chicken and there are literally countless fried chicken recipes you are able to select from.

What you will need:

one 1/2 pounds uncooked, de-veined, and peeled shrimp

1/4 tsp sodium

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup oil

3/4 teaspoons experienced sodium

one cup all-purpose flour

one outdone egg cell

Oil with regard to heavy baking

Steps to make them:

If you work with frozen shrimp, unfreeze them. Mix the egg as well as oil, beating the mixture nicely. Include all of those other components and mix till things are nicely mixed with each other.

Pre-heat the deep frying oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Drop every shrimp within the batter, after that drop all of them in the deep frying oil and fry for 30 to 60 mere seconds, or before batter is actually gold dark brown. Remove them with a placed spoon and drain on kitchen area towels. Serve hot with a dip.

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Confessions of a Gas Grill Smoker

If you are a die-hard charcoal grill user, you may not know that with just a few simple steps, the gas grill can be used as a barbeque smoker. And if you are a gas grill user, you may not have known this either. But why smoke your food you may ask. Well, once you smoke your food on a barbeque grill you will never ask that question again.

It used to be way back when, we humans had more time on our hands than we knew what to do with. It was back then that we didn't think twice about loading up the charcoal grill with briquettes and waiting the half hour or so for our coals to be ready. Then after our food was cooked, setting aside the time required to scoop out and dispose of our used charcoal. I'm up to about 45 extra minutes, how about you?

That was then. Today most of us don't have that kind of time so we have opted for the propane gas grill for its ease of use, convenience and time savings. What we have given up though in my estimation, is the range of flavors that smoking food on the barbeque grill afforded. What you will find though is that the Weber gas grill can do an excellent job smoking your food while retaining the convenience of the gas grill.

Smoking your food on the barbeque grill requires wood chips. Wood chips are soaked in water for about 45 - 60 minutes then placed in your grill inside a "smoking tray" which can be nothing more than a disposable aluminum tray that you can make with some aluminum foil. The important things to remember are to place the wood chips in your grill BEFORE you heat your grill and to make sure that your wood chips are not seeing any direct heat - that is do not put them on your burners. Tuck them into a corner of your grill away from the direct flame of your burner. Make sure that you purchase good quality wood chips that have been aged and make sure that you resist the temptation to continually add to the chips once your grill gets going.

After you have positioned your wood chips, replace your grate and preheat your grill by turning the burners full on. Allow your grill to come up to temperature for about 10 - 20 minutes until the wood chips begin to smoke.

At this point you are going to use a cooking method called the indirect cooking method. What this entails is turning off your middle burner and placing the food you will be cooking over the middle burner that is now unlit. Close the lid of your grill and keep your lid closed until all your food is cooked.

Feeling the need to apply barbeque sauce? Well make sure you don't apply it too soon. Do this and you risk burning the barbeque sauce and having it caramelize leaving a burned coating on your food that you probably won't like. Apply your barbeque sauce about 10 minutes before your food is ready to be pulled out of the grill. Be certain that you have a meat thermometer on hand to determine that your foods, especially your poultries and pork, are thoroughly cooked throughout.

Try experimenting with the different wood chips that you will find at any hardware store that sells grills. And see what you can come up with in the way of different barbeque sauces. You will find a slew of recipes online that you can whip up yourself.

Your question a bit earlier was why smoke your food. Try it once and you'll never go back.

 

Broccoli - Give It a Second Chance - Plus a Great Slow Cooker Recipe

Did you mother force you to eat broccoli as a child? Did you hate it? Perhaps you ate it only as a 'little tree' smothered in ranch dressing. As a grown up, are you giving some thought to eating better? Now that you're making your own choices in life, you should give broccoli a second chance. For many folks, broccoli is a 'go to' vegetable choice, and for many healthy reasons too. There's no need to stick with the 'little tree' option when there are so many ways to enjoy broccoli.

Broccoli is first of all a super food full of vitamins, fiber, folic acid and calcium. Eating broccoli helps you maintain strong bones, as well as reducing high blood pressure. There are many other conditions that this wonderful green veggie helps eliminate or control.

We've discussed here how great broccoli is for your body, so why are you still sitting there doubting whether or not you can stand to eat it? All you really need to do is find some tasty ways to prepare it. Lots of people love to simply steam their broccoli and enjoy it as a dinner side. Don't over cook your broccoli or you'll lose most of the nutrients, ending up with a limp green mass. Kind of negates your reasons for incorporating it into your diet. Slightly crunchy is best; tender and still bright green.

One favorite method is to steam and then add some cheese. Cheddar is great, but even some of the processed cheese that melts easily is quite tasty, and you're still getting the benefits of the vegetable. You can add broccoli to soups and stews as well. Broccoli tastes great combined with cauliflower and or carrots; drizzle melted cheese over the top and yummy! Do you like baked potatoes? Then top yours with broccoli and cheese with a dab of sour cream. Delicious.

While we're on the subject of how to prepare broccoli, here's a great recipe to try:

Cheesy Broccoli Bake

2 packages (10 oz. each) frozen chopped broccoli, partially thawed
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
1-1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup crushed butter-flavored crackers (about 25)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine

In a large bowl, combine broccoli, soup, 1 cup cheese, onion, Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Pour into a greased slow cooker. Sprinkle crackers on top; dot with butter. Cover and cook on high for 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cook 10 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted.

Now that you've discovered there's no need to fear broccoli any more, go out and yourself a nice head of broccoli and treat yourself to a healthy and delicious meal.

 

Taking Cooking Classes In Chicago

Are you an aspiring chef? Or maybe you are just into the culinary arts. Either way, if you live in or are planning a trip to Chicago then you have a wide variety of choices for cooking classes.

The Chopping Block: This is Chicago's largest recreational cooking school and offers wine classes, cooking parties, and even corporate events. They also perform demonstrations and offer hands-on lessons if you are into that. Their classes focus on the basic to advanced aspects of cooking. Price ranges are from $40-$75. Be sure to check their calendar and find the classes you want.

Wooden Spoon: This wonderful venue offers cooking classes, private event hosting, and gift certificates. Most of their classes are in the $65 range. This cooking venue tries to keep their classes exciting by varying each day of the week with a different cooking style or menu options. You will not go wrong visiting this fabulous establishment.

Heat and Spice: This is a premier cooking venue. Their Buena Park location only offers class seating up to five! This gives the class more of a private tutoring kind of feel. They offer a wide range of cooking classes and cuisine types including: Indian, Sri Lankan, Mexican, New Mexican, Thai and Vietnamese. They offer a vegetarian trail course, grilling with heat and spice course, couples grilling, and a hot fins and shell seafood course. Their prices vary by length of course and type of ingredients used in each course. Their average class price is about $485 but there are some classes as low as $80.

Le Cordon Bleu: Now this is the be-all of cooking establishments. Anyone that has ever heard of a great chef has heard of this cooking college. What differentiates this place from others is that it offers accredited classes for those of you wanting to pursue careers as professional chefs. But, their fine establishment also offers non-college courses for the food connoisseur. The average price to get in on one of their fine classes is about $90. A pretty good deal considering their prestige.

The Kids' Table: This is the perfect place for parents to get their children involved with their cooking activities. Do you have an aspiring little Julia Childs at home? Well, bring them here and I am sure that their insatiable cooking appetite will be well met and satisfied. Don't fret though mom and dad. This place also offers great cooking classes for adults as well. And if the teenagers think that they are too cool to come then they should think again because this establishment offers teen cooking classes as well. Overall, this is a good family friendly cooking establishment and promises a great time if you want to take the family out for a night. Class prices vary by age and size of class but some are as low as $25, which is a pretty great deal.

So, whether you are looking for a classy night out on the town with that special someone or just want a great evening with the kids, you will find plenty of options in the Windy City at a great price. And while you are having fun becoming the next great chef, remember that I told you about the place.

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8 Benefits of Having the Indoor Butterball Turkey Fryer in Your Kitchen!

Have you read any butterball turkey fryer reviews? Are you interested in this fryer, and want to know if it's worth buying? I can tell you that it is! Thanks to this unit, I've been able to cook turkeys like they're meant to be cooked!

If YOU want to fry turkeys quickly and safely, then you may want to consider getting the Indoor Butterball Turkey Fryer. This appliance comes with everything you need to prepare a nice meal for your family. Not only can it fry turkey; its cooking basket allows the user to cook fries, rice, onion rings, desserts, and more.

With this in your kitchen, you will no longer have to worry about starting a fire. Its safety features alone make it a great investment. Here are some benefits you can expect with this indoor turkey fryer in your kitchen:

1. Turkeys up to 14 pounds can be fried easily! Approximately 1/3 less oil is used than conventional turkey fryers. The food will come out grease-free, so your family will be able to eat a nice, healthy meal.

2. It comes with a digital timer, adjustable thermostat control, an extra storage compartment in which you can store the cord, etc. These convenient features make it easy to cook and prepare a variety of meals. Thanks to the storage compartment, you can keep the cord tucked safely away so to prevent kitchen hazards.

3. The housing is made out of stainless steel, with a porcelain coated inner pot. This makes it a very durable fryer which can last for decades. Also included is a drain valve, which allows for easy cleaning.

4. There is a fold-away lid with a window which, along with the timer, allows you to keep an eye on the food. No need to worry about burning or overcooking!

5. It runs on electricity instead of a gas flame. This reduces the risk of fire. Plus, you can control the temperature with the adjustable thermostat.

6. Don't worry - you won't have to air out any cooking odors! This indoor fryer has a built-in filter that reduces the smell of frying food.

7. Once again, it can cook and fry other foods. If you're not sure whether or not you want to invest in a unit just for cooking turkey, you'll be glad to know that you can easily fry everything from fish to vegetables.

8. It has a lot of positive feedback and reviews from users, including myself. You won't find as many positive reviews about any other cooker or turkey frying unit.

Everybody wants a yummy, golden-brown turkey that has plenty of juice and flavor in every bite. Unfortunately, not every turkey can come out perfect. How many times have you been disappointed by a bland or burnt turkey? If you're in charge of a holiday meal, you will want to impress everybody by cooking the best tasting turkey ever!

The Butterball Turkey Fryer helps me to do just that, and I know it can for you too.

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Artificial Sugar Substitutes or Sweeteners

One way to avoid sugar-based food additives is to avoid the foods that contain them, if that is possible. It is a long list and includes diet sodas and other beverages, protein shakes, cereals, breakfast bars, sugar-free and frozen desserts, powdered desserts like puddings and gelatin, candy, chewing gum, baked goods, diet foods, toothpaste, mouthwash, chewable and liquid medicines, etc. Translate etc to mean read all labels.

Acesulfame potassium, which goes by the name of Sunett or Sweet One is often blended with other artificial sweeteners because of its unpleasant aftertaste. It can handle high heat baking.

Aspartame has been around since 1965 and is the preferred sweetener of the US food industry. The more common name is Equal or NutraSweet. It is 200 times sweeter than table sugar. It doesn't hold up to high temperature baking.

Saccharin has been around since the 19th century and is about 400 times as sweet as table sugar. It is a chemical that is more commonly known as Sweet'N Low. It has no calories and has been known to prevent tooth decay. It was banned by Canada in 1977, but is accepted in the US. It does not hold up to baking.

Sucralose is 600 times sweeter than table sugar. It goes by the name of Splenda and is a sugar with added chlorine. Its price is continuing to decline, so it may soon beat out NutraSweet as the primary sweetener in US foods. Most countries consider sucralose a safe ingredient. It can handle high heat baking and frying. Another NutraSweet sweetener goes by the name of neotame. It is a super sweetener over 7000 times as sweet as granulated sugar.

Xylitol and sorbitol are fruit or vegetable sugars that are made by hydrogenation (adding hydrogen like hydrogenated oils). It is made mostly of glucose, but has fewer calories per gram. Xylitol has been shown to prevent tooth decay.

Stevia has been used as a sweetener since the 1950s. Truvia and PureVia, developed as sweeteners by soda manufacturers, come from stevia leaves. These stevia derivatives were accepted by the Food and Drug Administration, which had given conflicting opinions on stevia use prior to these new additives

It is difficult to avoid artificial sweeteners and may be impossible in the near future, especially if you use pre-packaged foods, mixes and canned goods. Artificial sweeteners do make life sweeter for those with diabetes, who have to constantly watch their blood sugar levels. But at least now you can be aware of what some of the ingredients on the labels are. If you are a purist, you might just conclude that baking your own cookies from scratch is worth the time to avoid additives. We all eat and drink the wrong things some of the time, whether with natural or artificial sweeteners. The key thing is to eat and drink the right things most of the time.

Copyright 2011 by Linda K. Murdock. Linda is the author of A Busy Cook's Guide to Flavor-Packed Cookies & Bars. This book includes 63 different flavors with a cookie and bar recipe for each flavor, including Eggnog Cookies, Lime (like key lime pie), Root Beer, Curry Pecan and others. Smaller recipes, easy instructions and readily available ingredients attract busy bakers, who prefer more flavor and less sugar in their desserts. To learn more go to http://bellwetherbooks.com/

 

The Secret to Crispy Fried Chicken Batter

The chicken is one of the tastes that are most enhanced using a fry pan, weather pan frying or deep-frying, the chicken- if done correctly, chicken will always have the best results when cooked in oil.

Frying has the ability, if done correctly to turn the coating into a tasty addition yet, at the same time, enable the chicken to cook in its own juices and become tender and delicious.

What you need to make certain when frying is that the oil is hot enough- if the chicken is put into boiling oil the heat of the oil turns the juices of the chicken into a powerful steam pushing out from the chicken, that steam is what in actual fact cooks the chicken (that is why fried chicken is so tasty) at the same time the oil is prevented from penetrating the chicken and only fries the batter into a crisp coat that adds spice and flavor.

The rules are almost the same for all pieces in the chicken:
The center parts (that have the longer, thicker muscles and slightly whiter meat) have less natural juices and dry out faster.

Chicken thighs, drumsticks have a slightly softer, browner meat and a succulent taste (wings are an exception to both groups, they have darker meat but are so thin they must be fried quickly to avoid drying out)

When frying a chicken it should really be sliced into the different parts (whole stuffed chickens are best in the oven, food generally doesn't fry uniformly when different sizes of pieces are cooked at once). The larger breast pieces are best fried when separated from the bones and skin, whereas the legs (drumsticks) and thighs are best when left with their bones (skin is optional as it is tasty to some, unappealing to others and has a high fat content that should be taken into account).

All chicken pieces are better when covered up before pan-fried or deep fried. Unlike beef that has the ability to close inside all juices when on a heat source (grill, pan, or cast Iron skillet) the chicken meat doesn't have the same ability, and it loses moisture and dries up. If there is a coating (batter or other) the oil remains on the outside while the chicken cooks in the steam formed from its own juices- so the fried chicken doesn't lose neither the moisture nor the flavor.

Two quick recipes for either type of chicken meat, and a SECRET revealed in each one:

The chicken thighs, drumsticks and wings should be covered in a softer batter and deep fried:
The secret for the batter is to dip the chicken parts into Yogurt! a simple sour yogurt (it adds moisture, while softening the meat and enriches the taste) leave it in the Yogurt for 30 minutes, then roll it in a mixture of seasoned bread crumbs and gently put into deep hot oil until golden, make sure you take out immediately when ready and soak off all excess fat (another tip is not to fry too many pieces at the same time, they need room to properly fry).

The chicken breast and back-the "Schnitzel Oriental":
The chicken breast should be cleaned from bones and skins and cut into slices 0.2 inch high (0.5 centimeter) than put dipped into scrambled egg (a small secret is to add milk and half a teaspoon of mustard into the egg batter for extra taste!) and dip into a seasoned mix of breadcrumbs. The secret to the breadcrumbs is to use Oriental seasoning-Turmeric, Cumin, Dried Garlic, Curry powder, Dharma Masala, and for the brave- Sambar Powder. Fry in a flat pan in boiling oil (the level of the oil should reach half the height of the chicken fillets) when Gold on the bottom flip over and when golden on both take out and soak excess oil onto a paper towel. These are just as good if frozen and reheated at a later date (even in a microwave) so you can make a large batch that will last a long time. Note that these spices make the "Schnitzel" a darker Golden shade so make sure they are ready before removing them from the oil.

Enjoy!
Michelle Blu

By Michelle Blu, writer and editor http://friedpan.com/
We are enthusiast cookers, passionate fryers, and experts in all about the equipment needed to perfect it. Fried Pan- All about fry pans: free tips, recipes and a fabulous online pan shop!

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Deep Frying Tips - What Type of Oil to Use and How Often to Replace It

Deep frying is considered unhealthy, as people have been repeatedly taught that deep frying will "flood" your food with oil, but if done correctly that is not the case:

The first thing we need to do is understand how deep frying actually works- when, a piece of chicken (for example) is placed into boiling oil, the moisture inside the chicken meat immediately boils, turning into a powerful steam that repels the oil out and away from the chicken surface, not enabling oil to penetrate the chicken. This is why fried food must be taken out of the oil as soon as it is ready, and not be left in the cooling oil, as once it is ready there is no more steam vapor and, hence, nothing to prevent oil from penetrating the skin and soaking into the food. Due to the high temperatures this technique cooks food very quickly.

Note that foods like potatoes have the ability to form a natural skin in frying conditions (that assist the vapor in preventing oil penetration), but other foods need a batter or coating that will act as a skin, turn hard when in touch with boiling oil, keeping the oil out while leaving the food inside tender and juicy.

The secret to the success of deep frying is in the type and temperature of the oil. If you control these two variables, than you are on the way to crunchy delicacies. Using a good deep fry pan or electrical pan will simplify your job and for your safety- when such a large pot of boiling oil is in a closed kitchen I always stay in the kitchen and keep a fire extinguisher near by (though nothing can replace common sense, concentration and attentiveness- deep frying is a quick process, there is really no excuse to leave boiling oil by itself...)

When it comes to the selection of cooking oil- the important thing is to select an oil with a high boiling temperature, enabling boiling at higher temperatures without the oil breaking down and smoking. When an oil breaks down it looses all the benefits and becomes harmful. Correct temperatures are between 345-375 degrees F (175 and 190 C) to achieve this using an oil thermometer recommended, both before and during the frying process (recheck the temperature of the oil between each batch of food placed in it). It is recommended not to fry too many pieces of the food in each batch as this can cause an immediate drop down in oil temperature that might make oil penetrate it, resulting in soggy oily food, rather put in a single layer of food with ample space between the pieces so they are completely covered in oil and are not touching each other.

The Oils that are best for frying are Vegetable oils: a large group of oils that are extracted from corn, cottonseed, peanuts, grape seeds, sesame seeds, and soybeans. They are usually quite light in color and mild in flavor and in general have relatively high smoke temperatures. The best one, in my opinion, is Canola oil which is processed from rapeseed. It has no flavor and a high smoke point, which makes it useful for both frying and general cooking, but there are other vegetable oils that can be used for general purposes and cost mostly the same.

And one last note, about changing oil- if it has started smoking or it is strangely thin and runny during the frying process, that means it is no longer good for frying and should be immediately replaced. Regardless, when frying is over, oil that has cooled down is better for you to not reheat it but rather replace the oil before using your deep fry pan again. Vegetable oils are not expensive, and the quality of frying will be easily visible for you.

Enjoy!
Michelle Blu

By Michelle Blu, writer and editor http://friedpan.com/
We are enthusiast cookers, passionate fryers, and experts in all about the equipment needed to perfect it. Fried Pan- All about fry pans: free tips, recipes and a fabulous online pan shop!

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Healthy - Cooking for Kids

Getting the children involved is the best ways to resolve this issue as usually preparing the meal gives them sense of control over what goes into the meal and make them willingly to gulping down all whatever is on their plate. Of course please make sure that you only do this activity on weekends.

I've learnt that, an eating regime which is not flexible or too full of 'nutritious' input would result in them becoming more and more uninterested to practice a balanced diet, what's more to sit down at the dining hall for each meal. As the saying goes... moderation is the key to success.

Reward may play an important role here. As time goes by, when they managed to finish the food, praise them. Make them be a super hero or a super nutritious agent of some kind. Be their one and only cheerleading squad. You could also use some tactics to allure them such as a trip to the playground or a treat to their favorite ice-cream parlor once in a while but only till they have cultivated good and healthy eating habits.

Patience is vital during the course of persuading or so called instilling good eating habits among the kids. You could expect for the worst and not for an immediate result. This would only on a majority of the times end up in frustrations as children need more time to adapt than us; adults. Ensuring you start the healthy eating habits from as earlier age as possible will help transitioning children to new and more fulfilling nutritional food groups. Once they start to acquire the taste it should be easier for you to create no fuss meals.

It would be best to introduce this habit gradually and administer to them small portions of healthy foods at a time. Feed and display on the table those healthy snacks for them to nibble and enjoy in between the meal. Sneak in some health goodies in their school bags and lunch box. An attractive meal will boost their appetite to savor it before even noticing that's what supposed to be a healthy diet.

A Strict NO Food for them is:

1) Ice-Cream
2) Carbonated drinks
3) Burgers
4) Pizza
5) Hot dogs
6) Bologna
7) Whole milk
8) Chocolate bars
9) French Fries
10) Cheese all the time

All these should be replaced with the below:

1) Lean meat without the skins
2) Whole grain snacks and choose cereals which is lower in sugar content
3) Fresh fruits and vegetables
4) Skimmed milk
5) Fat-free snack and chips
6) Whole wheat crackers
7) Non-fat ice-cream and yoghurt
8) Low-fat hot dogs
9) Pop-corn
10) Vegetable burgers

 

Tips to Consider When Cooking Clams

Clams are delicious any way they are cooked. From plain boiling to eating them raw, they are among the most delicious foods on earth. When buying clams, ask your fish monger for the harvest date to know how many days they have been harvested. Clams are at most excellent if they are not more than four days old.

Check for Freshness

There are many types of clams in a broad variety of shapes, sizes and colors. If the shells are tightly closed, they are alive. If the shell is slightly opened, it should quickly close when tapped. If the shell is open and does not close when tapped, or damaged in any way, don't buy it. Fresh clams hold the smell of the sea and not fishy, while shucked clams should be sold in clear and not muddy liquid. As soon as you reach home, unwrap fresh clams immediately so they can breathe, otherwise, they will be suffocated and go bad.

Cleaning Your Clams

Once home, rinse shellfish under running water and brush to scrub off any loose debris or ingested sand. Place in a bowl or pot of water and salt. A good example is stirring 1/3 cup of salt to 4 cups of cold water and let the clams sit on the salted water for 20 to 30 minutes. After the process, simply rinse well. This will help clean deep-seated sand from inside the shells.

Cooking Your Clams

You may decide how to cook your clams. To boil and steam, add the shellfish to boiling water or steamer and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the shells open. Reject ones that do not open after cooking. This means that clams were not alive at the beginning of your cooking and may be polluted with bacteria or toxins. It is ideal to cook gently at low heat as extended high heat can toughen the meat. For barbecued clams, arrange shellfish on a grill and cook until they open. Dispose those that do not open after cooking. If you are eating them raw, look for the smallest clams. Their flesh is the most desirable for eating raw. The larger the clams go the tougher meat it gets.

Opening Clams

A good knife is generally used to open clams. Hold the knife in your right hand with the clam in your left hand. Cut the knife into the clam gently pushing as far as it will go to cut the muscle that keeps the shells together. Spin the knife to open the shell.

Storing Clams

Prior to cooking, place your shellfish in a bowl and leave in open air so water will drain out naturally. Do not store live clams in an airtight container or plastic bag or they will die. Although clams are best when cooked as soon as possible, you may refrigerate in a bowl covered with a damp towel after cleaning. Clams will maintain its taste for 2 to 3 days. Shucked clams can be stored covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Canned clams should only be opened for use. Opened canned clams can be refrigerated for up to four days.

 

Cooking Healthy Meals - Make A Weekly Meal Plan For Cooking Healthy Meals

I have really grown to enjoy cooking and I do my best at cooking healthy meals for my family. One thing I have found to help me do this is to make a weekly meal plan. It keeps us from eating out too much (which also saves money) and helps with our waist lines too.

So at the beginning of a new week this is what I do. I sit down and make a shopping list for each meal I want to prepare for the week. Once you have everything you need for cooking a healthy meal it makes it hard to back out of making it.

Our breakfast I like to keep simple since we have a hard time getting going in the morning. I like to stick to eggs, turkey bacon or sausage, some veggies to mix in with the eggs, original plain oatmeal (for our toddler) and milk. Some things that I consider basics.

For lunch I like to keep things on hand for sandwiches; lunch meat, cheese, peanut butter and jelly (for the little one). Usually what happens though is we end up with leftovers from dinner so I don't have to pick up too many extras for our lunches.

Now with dinner I like to mix things up a bit to make them a little more interesting and flavorful. I can't say that I'm the most creative person when it comes to cooking healthy meals for dinner. I grew up eating a diet of meat, rice and vegetables. So I don't always know exactly what I want to prepare each week.

What I do though is pull out my collection of recipes from magazines and cookbooks to get some ideas. Yes I use them every week and if you choose the right ones I have found many gear towards cooking healthy meals.

Personally I like to choose any where from three to five meals that I want to prepare. After I know what they are I write down the ingredients that I don't have on hand and add them to the list. Having a list to follow keeps me from forgetting what it is I need to buy and prevents me from grabbing a bunch of things that we don't need.

We still choose eat out once a week because we like to have that break from the kitchen and it is also a treat to eat something that I normally would not prepare at home. We also enjoy entertaining or dining with our friends and family on the weekends. This doesn't stop me from cooking the healthy meals I've planned; I just share them.

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The Chicken or the Egg: Not What Came First, But What Will Make You Sick First

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? It doesn't really matter, but can bacteria be transferred vertically from the hen to the egg and then infect humans? That's the real question! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that salmonella and campylobacter infect 3.4 million Americans, sending 25,000 to hospitals and killing 500 people each year. Most cases derive from under cooked food and unsafe food handling.

Salmonella are bacteria that are commonly found in the intestinal tracts of animals. The handling of live baby chicks is one cause of multiple outbreaks of salmonellosis in small children. Avoiding contact with feces and carefully washing hands with soap and water after handling chicks and hens and avoiding hand-to-mouth contact can reduce this risk.

E. coli is usually found in the digestive system of healthy humans and animals. The pathogen is transmitted through fecal matter. If you stay away from the chicken poop you typically would not contract E.coli from a live bird, but rather the meat becomes infected through the slaughtering process.

Avian influenza is spread through the saliva, nasal secretions and feces of infected birds. The infection is not transmitted from hen to egg and chicks are not born with Avian Influenza. Most cases of bird flu infection in humans are the result of contact with infected poultry or contaminated surfaces.

Encephalitis is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. For a chicken to become infected the bird must be exposed to infected mosquitoes and be bitten by an infected mosquito. There is no evidence that the virus is transmitted to the embryo in the egg or that new-hatched chicks transmit the virus to humans, or humans contract the condition from an infected hen.

The inside of an egg was once considered almost sterile. But, recent studies have shown that the bacterium Salmonella has been found inside a small number of eggs. If you eat an infected egg as long as it was cooked properly and served immediately you will not even know it. However if the egg was not cooked thoroughly or after preparation it was left at room temperature then the bacteria will grow and will lead to foodborne illness if consumed.

Most eggs are not contaminated from the hen, but can become contaminated through their porous shell. Bacteria if it is present in the soil or on hands can penetrate an old or cracked shell. The bacterium most likely gets in the egg white but is unable to grow due to lack of nutrients. As an egg ages, however the white thins and the yolk membrane weakens. This makes it possible for the bacteria to reach the nutrient dense yolk where it can grow if the egg is kept at warm temperatures. In some cases an egg is not contaminated when you buy it, but it can become contaminated from improper handling, such as with unclean hands and kitchen equipment.

Eggs must always be cooked thoroughly. Seventy-five percent of all cases of salmonella have been linked to foods containing raw or undercooked eggs. Be sure to cook eggs 'til the yolks are firm and never runny. Never use raw eggs in homemade salad dressings or mayonnaise, cookie dough or any other recipes.

Handling Tips

Handling the Bird

Wash your hands with soap and water immediately after touching live poultry or anything in the area where they live and roam.Adults should supervise children at all times around live poultry.Do not eat or drink in the area where the birds live or roam.Clean equipment and materials associated with raising poultry outside the house, not inside.

Handling Poultry

Cook poultry thoroughly. Chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.Prevent raw chicken or its juices from touching other food.Wash your hands, all work surfaces and utensils with soap and water immediately after they have been in contact with raw meat or poultry.Store chicken at 40 degrees or below. Freeze it if you won' use it for a couple of days.Don' return cooked chicken to the same plate that had the raw chicken.Refrigerate or freeze leftovers within two hours of cooking.

Handling Eggs

Wash all eggs that are not commercially raised.

Refrigerate eggs at 45 degrees or below. Keep them in the coldest part of the refrigerator and not the door. The temperature fluctuates on the door and can lead to bacteria growth. Eggs can be stored for 3-5 weeks from the day they are refrigerated. Never freeze eggs in the shell.

Prevent the spread of bacteria by starting with a clean area and clean utensils. Also watch out for cross-contamination.

Cook eggs thoroughly to destroy bacteria. Make sure the yolks are firm and never runny. Be sure to cook foods that contain eggs thoroughly, such as French toast and quiches.

At a party or outdoor setting, be sure to keep items with eggs out of the heat and ideally at a temperature below 40 degrees or above 140 degrees for hot foods. This will prevent bacteria from growing.

If you experience any symptoms of foodborne illness use iTriageHealth.com to help locate an urgent care or retail clinic near you.

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How to Cook Budget Gourmet Meals at Home

Sometimes thinking the possibility of cooking gourmet at home may just be an illusion, but if you understand the basic significance of gourmet cooking, you will realize that it doesn't always need the most exotic spices or very expensive ingredients to make a classy meal. In short, ingredients don't have to be luxurious to taste like an expensive fine dish.

You may oftentimes consider routine as gourmet or unusual fare, but remember that no matter what you prepare, or whether you're cooking beef, seafood, or vegetables, there are always new bits and pieces to try and create a brand new dish. The mission is to find the best and unique recipes using the best food bargains like organic or free-range meat, eggs, herbs and spices possible.

Take a Look at Other Main Ingredients

Cooking gourmet stands for as many different things and creative ideas as there are several different ingredients that you can use. It isn't always about adding only the most exotic or expensive spices, but finding a way to make the best out of the least. Taking a look at other main ingredients may even help spawn interest in trying new cuisines from ingredients that you can afford. Take tilapia for example. It may sound an ordinary fish, but imagine how you can create different kinds of tilapia dishes in different ingredients and garnishes to make your family a fresh fish dish.

Mixing Up Flavors

By using the main ingredients that you have in new ways, you will bump up new combinations of spices and seasonings. Instead of using canned tomato sauce for spaghetti why not make your own fresh sauce from your garden tomatoes, or why not use fennel seed instead of the usual basil or oregano? Adding chili powder in your chocolate frosting and nutmeg in your eggs is a fantastic home gourmet idea. Flakes and rice crispies instead of cornflakes in a crunchy coconut chicken will turn out great, or turning a can of tuna incredibly satisfying in tomato, avocado, olives, lettuce, cheese and Dijon mustard.

Resourcefulness in using spices and seasonings can help bring you a surprise victory when it comes to gourmet cooking on a budget. Have you tried using pureed pumpkin to your black bean soup yet? The smooth creaminess is unquestionably gourmet. How about sun dried tomatoes and herbs on Rigatoni pasta? Try finalizing your most ordinary pasta recipe with Italian olive oil. The richer blend of flavors added with Parmesan cheese will make you an appetizing gourmet-style on a tight budget meal.

Look to Quality Ingredients

A well-stocked pantry filled with budget staple items is your best tool towards home-style gourmet cooking. Canned tomatoes, peas and mushrooms, dried beans, dried leaves and spices, black peppercorns sound common but they can enhance even your simplest dish to taste expensive. Seasonings, vinegar, oil particularly olive oil can intensify flavors of your pasta dishes. Milk, eggs, cheese, butter, and other perishables items like organic ingredients are also among the budget ingredients necessary. Don't forget garlic, onions, organic vegetables, and of course a bottle of red and white wine.

Patronize Local Items

If you have enough space in the yard, growing vegetables and herbs such as tomatoes, parsley, basil or chives, rosemary or thyme, celery, lettuce and greens is an incredible way to save money on perishable items. You can visit local farms and cooperatives and ask about new varieties of crops for you to try. They are also interested in finding new ways to cook and serve their crops so more people will buy from them.

Share Your Sophistication

So how does the home cook eat well on a budget? Along with impressing your family with sophisticated healthy and affordable meals, you can prepare to entertain guests over the holidays by looking for gourmet recipe ideas that can also be easy, fun, inexpensive and relatively guilt-free too. Having a good gourmet cookbook can be your secret guide to budget epicurean cooking. Cajun-cooking for example, the regional ingredients cooked in the way their ancestors did using what was available to them became a tradition of taste. Another is the Indian chutneys prepared using the most exotic spices, and the Filipino Adobo known very delicious cooked in the mixture of local seasonings. All these are examples of how every spice have the ability to make a least dish to taste expensive.

If you love eating fine but hate spending for luxury, get to fashionable cooking along the way. You'll find delectable recipes from different cuisines recipe books and websites for people with limited budgets, but sophisticated tastes. This could be the way for you to find the ingredients that are fresher, cheaper, easier to find and of course, affordable.

 

Food Dehydrator Cookies?

When I first saw this topic I was beginning to think that someone was putting me on. While I do like food, and enjoy cooking, I am in no sense of the word a baker. But, the thought of making cookies in a food dehydrator did get my attention.

I did look in several of the nationally known cookbooks having sections on baking cookies just to see if any author had the inkling that any of their readers would seek out such an idea. In reality, I began sensing thoughts further back in my brain, knowing that more than likely I would not find a recipe for making cookies in a dehydrator in any of these baking publications.

Occasionally, I have been subjected to a weight loss program by the semi-head of our household, which besides daily starvation, includes a type of hi-protein bar to be consumed when the paltry meals, or the diet regimen does not suffice the calling signs of the stomach. In analyzing the composition of these handy bars it occurs to me that this type of bar-cookie can indeed be made in food dehydrators with similar good food nutrition. In fact, our own food dehydrator would be ideal.

So in the research mode I seek what might be a better cookie concoction than what the store bought bars offer. There indeed were some fine recipes in Food Dehydrator publications that looked fairly simple to assemble, and the ones I tried did come together quite nicely. The outcome of the recipes I tried were tasty, light weight, and retained a fair degree of stability if not exposed to high temperatures of the sun.

Now, my imagination kicks in along with creative juices, and I'm thinking before I am done I will have enough tested ideas to write one of those cookbooks myself on the Art of Making Cookies....In A Food Dehydrator. Perhaps not, but there are creative minds among us all, and whatever I come up with, you can match, or surpass my ideas with good ones of your own. That is part of the fun with ideas that are not yet tested. Failures, of course, but you do not have to eat them.

I started with an electric food grinder, and a food juicer. I mixed fruit, and vegetables pureed with honey, evaporated cane syrup, molasses, nuts, rice, barley, wheat, rolled oats, crisped rice, and soy. Sometimes onion, and garlic were added to the mixture. The point is experiment, and you will come up with a tasty cookie or bar that will come to be known in the family, and in the neighborhood.

The times when I seemed to run out of ideas, I summoned in the kids, neighbors, nephews, nieces, and whatever of my friend's kids that were curious enough to want to find out what this weird friend of their parents was up to. Despite the results, although most trials were edible, was the fun of sharing our combined talents regardless of the outcome. I know those fun times will become a lasting memory for those boys and girls who shared our food drying talents in making cookies, and will bring smiles to their faces as years go by.

Author Tom Stelmak has lived in Montana most of his life. Has dried food out of doors, in the kitchen oven, and now with state of the art, food dehydrators. The time has come to share those experiences, and invite others with food dehydrator interests to share their secrets, and look at some of the finest Food Dehydrators, Smokers, juicers, food slicers, food grinders, vacuum sealers and associated products. More food dehydrator info and a food dehydrator comparison chart at: http://www.drynaturalfoods.com
Recipes for your food dehydrator http://www.drynaturalfoods.com/recipes

 

 

Virgin Coconut Oil - Everything You Need to Know

Some years ago, coconut oil used to receive flak. It was the culprit behind high blood pressure, heart diseases and other cardiovascular problems. Because commercial coconut oils are refined, bleached or deodorized, it has already lost most of its nutritive properties, making it an "unhealthy oil" that is high in trans fats. This view still persists up to this day.

While warranted, this perception is not entirely true. Virgin coconut oil or VCO is a very healthy oil that provides a lot of immense health benefits. Dr. Conrado Dayrit, one of the pioneers of the study of the effects of VCO in the Philippines, shows that it is, in fact, a "drugstore in a bottle." Not only was it found effective in reducing the viral load of patients with HIV, it has also been found effective in the treatment of other infections like psoriasis, flu, cancer and other degenerative conditions.

Virgin coconut oil is fresh-pressed from coconut meat. It does not undergo any processing so its natural components remain unchanged. In the colorless, pure and fresh VCO are medium chain triglycerides or MCTs which makes it easily digestible. Bile is not needed to digest VCO and since it is rapidly assimilated in the body, the metabolic rate and energy levels rise. This results to having more calories burned. Thus, if you are on the road to losing weight, using VCO for your cooking needs will get you there faster. It is even better compared to using oils from safflower or canola which have long chain triglycerides or LCT. Because medium chain triglycerides increases energy expenditure and depresses food intake, it is a natural weight loss aid.

Lauric and caprilic acids are the types of medium chain triglycerides found in virgin coconut oil. These have anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties that are essential to disease treatment and prevention. In fact, in the study conducted from 1999 to 2000 by Dr. Dayrit in patients afflicted with HIV at the San Lazaro Hospital in Metro Manila, Philippines, the viral load of patients was shown to be significantly reduced with regular intake of VCO. Aside from its benefits to HIV, VCO has also been shown to be effective in fighting strep, herpes, parasitic and yeast infections. Candida albicans is a fungus that lives in an individual's digestive tract. Varieties which have been shown to be resistant to current pharmacological medications have shown positive response to VCO.

The benefits of virgin coconut oil also extend to giving individuals lustrous skin and hair. A little application of VCO daily prevents wrinkles. Instead of using lotions that are full of synthetic ingredients, VCO can also be applied liberally to the skin to prevent it from drying or chafing. VCO is also effective in the treatment of dandruff, cradle cap in babies and generally itchy scalp. It also improves the condition of the hair.

In the United States, VCO is available in most health food stores. You can also order it online. If the taste is too "oily" for you, you can simply use it in your day-to-day cooking, adding small amounts to your recipes. If taste is not an issue, you can consume one to three tablespoons a day.

 

Information And Tips On Jerk Seasoning

Chicken, pork and even vegetables can be spiced up with the exotic jerk seasoning. Jerk originates in Jamaica and involves marinating with a fiery mixtures of ingredients. The seasoning itself gets its flavor and indeed its heat from allspice which the Jamaicans call pimento and peppers, usually the really hot ones called Scotch bonnet which can be a test to the taste buds and be an eye watering addition to any dish.

The word jerk refers to the ingredients of the marinade and to the cooking technique specifically used to prepare dishes such as jerk chicken. Jerk can be used as a handy technique which can be used on a number of protein rich food like including goat, chicken, pork and fish. It was traditionally cooked over charcoal in a steel drum and was popular with people selling foods on the street in the Caribbean.

This kind of cooking and preparation technique is a central part of island culture and is something that Jamaica is well known for. This may be because of the relaxed nature of how people interact and how eating can often be based around interacting socially with others. It is an easy method of preparing and cooking and the results are delicious and nutritious.

Its additional ingredients include cloves, cinnamon, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper and scallions. These can often be combined with a little touch of rum in order for the aromatic qualities from all of the rich ingredients to be released. When added to the meat they should be left on overnight to get the best results form the marinade. This helps you to get the maximum out of the tropical flavours.

Fresh thyme leaves are best used as you get the natural aromatic oils and its distinctive taste works well with the others involved. This also has an impact on the texture and is one of the reason it is popular along with other Jamaican traditional foods such s curry goat and salt fish.

There are many different ready made marinades that can be purchased and it is becoming increasingly popular for people to prepare using a seasoning as awareness of this kind of cooking is increasing. This kind of chicken is ideal party or barbecue food and so has become a staple with people of all ages who like to socialize and have fun.

Fresh chicken thighs are the best foodstuffs to apply your marinade to. The thigh meat has the right amount of flavor that is really complimented by this combination of several exotic spices. Apply and then leave in a covered bowl in the refrigerator for at least twelve hours before putting on the barbecue or grill to be cooked at a leisurely pace.

This is one of many exotic dishes that you can prepare using fresh ingredients to provide you, your friends and family with an unusual and tasty treat. To get the best results always cook with a smile on your face as this shows through on the end results.

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Dinner Basics: Tips for Easy and Nutritious Meals

This is how I begin many meals: Saute diced onion and bell pepper in oil for 5-10 minutes on med-low heat. Turn heat lower, add crushed or diced garlic and saute for 3 more minutes.

From there, you can make a variety of pasta dishes, rice pilaf, soups, chili, eggplant marinara, chicken, pork and more. These flavors lend themselves well to so many things, you almost can't go wrong. In fact, you can cook some pasta, salt, pepper and Parmesan to taste, add a simple green salad, and you have dinner. Same goes for rice pilaf: just add rice, water, and salt and pepper to saute pan and cook.

This is also a great way to begin a chicken or pork dish. I usually add either lemon juice or wine when cooking meat. You can do this entirely on the stove top. For instance, add juice from 1 lemon and chicken breast tenders (salted, peppered, and sprinkled with oregano, rosemary or both) to saute pan, turn up heat until bubbling, cover and reduce heat to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove lid and turn up heat to brown and finish. Tip: Make sure you have enough liquid to start with. You don't need to go crazy with the oil, but don't skimp, either. The lemon or wine helps with this and also adds a lot of flavor. You will have a nice juice to pour over the chicken to serve.

Those are just a few examples of a half-hour meal. I almost always make a simple, green salad to go along with the main course. It takes 5-10 minutes at most and can be done while the rice or pasta cooks. You can make a simple vinaigrette with olive oil, red wine or balsamic vinegar and a little mustard.

Things I keep on hand: onions, bell peppers, garlic bulbs, lemons, fresh carrots, a head of lettuce, canned tomatoes, pasta, rice, beans, olive oil, cheaper cooking oil, red wine vinegar and/or balsamic vinegar, frozen vegetables (spinach and broccoli are my stand-by) and some dried herbs and spices. Most of these have a wonderfully long shelf (or freezer) life and can provide a delicious meal in themselves.

Herbs & Spices I can't live without: basil, oregano, rosemary, bay leaves, tarragon, parsley, sage, dill, thyme, celery seed, paprika, cayenne, black pepper, red pepper flakes. I'm surely missing some, but I've gotten a lot of mileage from the above.

You can do so much with these methods and ingredients, and you'll find that your dinners taste better (and cost less!) than most of what you'll find eating out.

 

Advantages of Deep Frying

There are advantages to deep frying, but they all depend on following guidelines regarding how to deep fry correctly. If you do deep fry correctly, you will find that there is nothing easier and many other advantages.

1. Use a vessel (pan or pot) deep enough for a single layer of frying food to be completely submerged in oil. You don't need a special deep fat fryer and any wide casserole (cooking pot) will do the job well enough, as long as it is both wide and deep enough, as you need do without the comfortable basket found in many deep fry pans.

2. Choose a cooking oil that has a high "smoke point" (the temperature at which the oil starts burning and breaking, thereby smoking) - the higher the "smoke point" the more boiling time and at a higher temperature the oil can endure without smoking, thinning and loosing all the qualities it has.

3. One of the best cooking oils for Deep Frying is Canola oil (produced from Rapeseed) which is relatively cheap, can endure a long, hard day of frying and won't be expensive to replace when the task is done.

4. The Oil should reach a high temperature of between 345-375 degrees F (175 and 190 C), which can easily be measured using a specialized Thermometer, if one is unavailable try dripping into the oil a small (drop size) piece of food, if it starts "dancing" in the oil and is surrounded by a ring of gushing oil, that means the temperature is high enough, and food can be placed in the oil for frying. In this way you can save on purchasing a thermometer. You should check the oil temperature between each batch of food you fry in it.

5. Food cooks very quickly when Deep Fried! As it is a speedy process, place only a small amount of food, each batch you fry, and do not leave the food in the oil once it is ready: the water in the food turns into vapor when it comes in contact with boiling oil so the food cooks in it's own liquids and as long as there is vapor, the food doesn't absorb much of the frying oils, but for that reason should be taken out once frying is done (once there is no more steam the oil will start penetrating the food making it oily, soggy and fattening).

6. Some foods have a natural skin that forms during the frying process (like potatoes- the outer layer turns into a crisp skin that is harder than the inside) to protect the food against oil penetration, other types of food (such as chicken) need a batter or a coat of seasoned bread crumbs to block out oil- but both batter and crumbs are simple to prepare and are cheap to execute.

7. If you purchase a suitable (non-expensive) frying oil, place it in a suitable cooker, heat it up sufficiently, and fry small batches, you should enjoy lightly oiled, crispy delicious and juicy food!

Please note that oil is flammable and should be monitored (preferably with a fire extinguisher near by) at all times. Frying oil should be replaces often and used correctly to maintain the advantages declared above.

Enjoy!
Michelle Blu

By Michelle Blu, writer and editor http://friedpan.com/ We are enthusiast cookers, passionate fryers, and experts in all about the equipment needed to perfect it. Fried Pan- Fry pans of all types- choosing and using tips, free recipes and a fabulous online pan shop!

Come NOW enjoy our FREE frying tips and fried food recipes (from fried potatoes to stir fry and anything in between) and visit our hand selected FABULOUS Online Pan Shop!

 

 

Halloween Cupcake Decorations - Know The Right Procedure!

If you really want to make your kids happy, plan a Halloween party and give him a big surprise. Parties are incomplete without cupcakes. It is something that is responsible for making a party special and attractive!!Kids basically love to have sweet that is decorated with goblins, witches, spiders and all that is related to Halloween. To decorate the cupcake in an innovative way, you can make use of image transfers, plastic decorations, and even craft supplies.

Halloween cupcakes are attractive and are especially loved by the kids. Check out some of the easiest and finest ways of decorating Halloween cupcakes-

The first and the foremost thing that you can apply to decorate cupcakes are the candy treats. As the candies are available in sheets you can decorate as many Halloween cakes as possible. Candy treats make the outlook different. You can also add black and orange sprinkles if you are willing to do so. Kids love to have decorated things.
The next idea that you can apply is transfer of images. Make use of small transfer images of witches, ghosts, skulls and many other images related to Halloween. You can also make use of movie characters and pumpkins. You can make all the cupcakes decorated in the same way or can purchase a variety of packs.
Want to make cupcakes sweeter? Plastic decorations will be the best way in doing so. Three of the most common plastic decorations are witches that sit on the top of a broom, spiders in a web and pumpkins that sit upright on the top of a cupcake.
Craft supplies are also recognized as one of the finest way to decorate cupcakes. With the help of black pipe cleaners you can make the cake look attractive and appealing.
You can make use of picture templates for decorating the cupcakes. Girls love to have cupcakes prepared in an extremely gorgeous way.
For creating special effects, add frosting gels and jelly products. Green and black gel will be a better choice.
Even you can make use of gum drops and chocolates for decorating the cupcake. Gum drops are accessible in variety of colors and designs. You can decorate cupcakes with chocolate fondant and then adorned it with fresh fruits like strawberries, cherries, apples, etc.

Above mentioned ideas will definitely help you out in decorating the cupcakes and that also in a very inventive way. Make your kid's birthday special by applying such tricks!

 

Tips for Chinese Cooking Made Easy

Have you ever wanted to make Chinese food at home, but were too intimidated by the thought of actually doing it? After all, there can be a lot of exotic ingredients that you might think are hard to find, and the techniques might be different, but you need not worry. By learning a few tips and tricks, Chinese cooking made easy is possible in your own home.

Cooking Chinese food in your own kitchen will not only save you time and money, but will also taste better because you can control the quality of ingredients that you put into your food. In order to save money, a lot of Chinese restaurants will use the cheapest cuts of meat possible and low quality vegetables. But, a lot of people are intimidated by the thought of cooking at home because of all the strange ingredients. Contrary to your perception, finding Asian ingredients for your recipes is easier than you would imagine. In recent years, most major supermarkets have a section devoted to ethnic food. There you will find almost every ingredient that you need to make easy Chinese recipes at home like soy sauce, oyster sauce, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and noodles. You can also make use of your local produce and meat to serve as the foundation to all of your meals.

While at the Asian food section of your local market, you can also find pre-made sauces that can be used to speed up your cooking and to make your life easier. For instance, instead of making your own stir fry sauce, you can buy it already made and seasoned. All that you have to do is stir fry your vegetables or meat and throw in a little of the sauce to finish your dish.

You should also consider buying flavored oils to make your Asian cooking easier. Most Chinese recipes call for ginger and garlic to be added to the oil as aromatic agents. However, you can avoid having to mince garlic and ginger by purchasing oils that are already infused with their essences, saving you the time of having to chop ginger and garlic as well as the money that you would need to spend purchasing them. These stir fry oils keep for a very long time and are great if you only cook Asian foods every now and then and don't want to have to buy fresh ginger or garlic.

Most dishes can be cooked very quickly in a matter of a few minutes. The secret to this high speed method is all in the preparation. The best way to make sure that your cooking will go smoothly and easily is to get all of your prep work done. This starts when you bring your Chinese ingredients back from the grocery store. Wash all of your produce when you bring them back from the store. This way, when you're ready to cook, all you have to do is reach into your refrigerator and grab your ingredients without having to spend the extra time washing them. You can also cut some vegetables in advance to help you save time later in the week when you come home after work and want to have a meal on the table very quickly. Just be sure to only cut vegetables like carrots that will not dry out or discolor. Speaking of vegetables, you can also make your life easier by buying frozen vegetables for your stir fries. Frozen vegetables are picked at the height of their ripeness and are immediately frozen, locking in their flavor.

Rice is almost always served along side Chinese dishes in order to act as a filler and to sop up all of the delicious sauces. However, cooking rice from scratch is not easy to do for novice cooks. It is easy to get the wrong proportions of water to rice and easy to burn. To make cooking rice for your meal easier, you can buy microwaveable rice that comes in little cups that reheat in less than a minute.

By taking a few shortcuts and by knowing a few tips, Chinese food made easy is well within your abilities.

 

How Modern Gastronomy Has Been Influenced by The Commercialization of Ancient Condiments

By Geoff Ficke Geoff Ficke
Level: Platinum

Geoff Ficke has been a serial entrepreneur for almost 50 years. As a small boy, earning his spending money doing odd jobs in the neighborhood, ...

Several years ago I had the good fortune to re-visit the ruins at Pompeii near Naples, Italy with my family. I had been to the ancient site some 30 years before, but the excavation of the volcano shrouded city had progressed a great deal in the interim and there was much that had not yet been discovered on my earlier visit. Our very informative guide advised us that archaeological work and discoveries would be ongoing for many decades still.

Pompeii is stunning in its preservation and the exactitude with which the life of the age is still represented. Inns, restaurants, merchant's homes, apartment buildings, public houses and baths, brothels and a wide variety of commercial shops and markets are clearly defined and on view. The countless ways people worked, played and interacted, even more than 2000 years ago is amazingly similar to way society organizes itself to this day. Food and drink; production, distribution and consumption was especially interesting.

One of the most fascinating bits of information that one learns in visiting Pompeii is how people ate and drank on a daily basis. The prosperous class ate a diet that was heavily weighted towards rich foods and meats. Gout was common amongst these better fed citizens. The poor, less advantaged ate a more pedestrian diet of meal and a porridge-like soup.

Food is consumed for human sustenance. It is only when prosperity blooms that taste and enhancement of this life-essential fuel becomes of import. Pompeii was a center of gastronomy in the ancient world. Evidence of the variety of foodstuffs, drink, wines and fruit that sustained the population of that age is found everywhere to this very day. Excavations regularly uncover amphorae that contain consumable products that were the basis of Pompeii's vaunted prosperity.

The discovery of a food paste called Garum is indicative of a prosperous society's desire for not just a meal, but a tasty meal. Garum was a fish sauce of the time. It was originally created by the Greeks but the Romans perfected and greatly advanced the commercialization and popularity of Garum. This became the world's first widely utilized, mass produced and custom flavored condiment. Recipes for different styles of Garum have been discovered in ruins. Fishing became a hugely important activity in order to supply factories with the basic raw fish stocks essential to produce this spicy condiment.

Garum was sold for prices that rival today's top Caspian caviar's. The richest consumers bought the finest grades of Garum principally made from the filet of fish. Poorer consumers bought the coarser grades produced from innards and tails.

Every dinner table in Pompeii was said to have a container of one or more types of Garum at hand. Fortunes were made in the trade of this spicy fish sauce condiment. It was consumed at every meal in order to enhance flavor, intensity and to embellish foods.

When the Roman Empire declined, and then fell in the 4th Century A.D., a great darkness settled on the vast empire. As prosperity declined, and food again became a mere fuel for existence, the concept of flavor enhancement was lost. Garum disappeared from peoples diets.

The next great civilization to improve the taste of a bland diet was the Arabs. They discovered and enjoyed a condiment called tahini. Later the Indians blessed the dinner table with chutney. The British, so successful as travelers, traders and conquerors, brought back the spices that became Worcestershire sauce. The French perfected the many variants of mustard. In the 19th century, Americans gifted the world with tomato ketchup.

Today we live in a time of plenty. Even the poorest family in a developed country has a selection of condiments in the home. Fine restaurants pride themselves in offering "house secret" dressings, marinates, sauces and flavor enhancers. Amazingly, brand new condiments and variants of existing condiments are ubiquitous on super market shelves and news varieties arrive constantly. As international travel has become democratized the spread and popularity of the condiments that we discover in our journeys has accelerated.

The result is that we enjoy an explosion of variety in dressing and elevating even the most mundane plate of food. Eating is now a hobby for many, a pursuit of luxury and heightened sensual experience for some. The addition and consumption of this galaxy of condiments has created not only the platform for blissful taste experience, but amazing commercial opportunities. Condiments and naturally occurring food additives are grown, harvested, processed, marketed, packaged and transported from all corners of the planet to our corner stores and offered at amazingly affordable prices.

The business activity this trade has created is stupefying. Just as Garum was one of the major cornerstones of trade and enjoyment in the ancient world, so too today are condiments integral to our modern quality of life. We could survive without spicy mustard, or mayonnaise. Why would anyone want to!

Geoff Ficke has been a serial entrepreneur for almost 50 years. As a small boy, earning his spending money doing odd jobs in the neighborhood, he learned the value of selling himself, offering service and value for money.

After putting himself through the University of Kentucky (B.A. Broadcast Journalism, 1969) and serving in the United States Marine Corp, Mr. Ficke commenced a career in the cosmetic industry. After rising to National Sales Manager for Vidal Sassoon Hair Care at age 28, he then launched a number of ventures, including Rubigo Cosmetics, Parfums Pierre Wulff Paris, Le Bain Couture and Fashion Fragrance.

Geoff Ficke and his consulting firm, Duquesa Marketing, has assisted businesses large and small, domestic and international, entrepreneurs, inventors and students in new product development, capital formation, licensing, marketing, sales and business plans and successful implementation of his customized strategies. He is a Senior Fellow at the Page Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Business School, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

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Article Submitted On: April 13, 2011

 

Bet You Don't Know Jack? About Cooking Steaks on a Gas Grill That Is!

When it comes to cooking meat on a gas grill most folks just can't seem to get it right. For most of us, gas grill cooking is nothing but guesswork. I am sure you have often wondered just how your favorite steak house manages to serve up such mouth-watering, tender steaks that always seem to be cooked to perfection. We will attempt here to provide you with the tips and tricks to cooking steak on a gas grill that will have your friends and family begging for more.

Before you begin, you want to determine how the people in your family or party like their steaks cooked. Some like their steak cooked medium-rare to rare and some are going to opt for a steak that is medium to well-done. Now, I am going to tell you something that may seem completely counter intuitive to what you may be thinking but stay with me.

Question. If cooking a rare or medium-rare steak do you think the gas grill heat should be high or medium. Is that your final answer?

If you said medium heat, you would be incorrect. When cooking a rare to medium-rare steak you want your temperature high in order to sear your steak and cook it quickly on the outside. This process traps the juices inside and results in a steak that is super juicy. The medium to well-done steak on the other hand should be cooked over a medium heat to give the inside a chance to cook without burning the outside.

Preparing the cooking grate is important as well. I use a Weber gas grill that incorporates heavy cast iron grates as opposed to the thinner wire grates. These grates heat up evenly and hold the heat much better. You want to brush a bit of cooking oil on the grates before you fire the gas grill up. This keeps the steak from sticking to the grates and tearing the outside sear when flipping or removing.

The steaks themselves should have been removed from the refrigerator about an hour ago and allowed to come to room temperature. While the grill is heating up and before placing on the grill, you want to brush your steaks with a light coat of cooking oil as you did with the grates. This keeps the steaks tender and moist. Now rub in a little salt and pepper or a seasoning of your choice such as perhaps a bit of garlic powder or maybe a bit of cayenne pepper if you can stand the heat.

Most folks are not sure about when to flip a steak over. Here a bit of trial and error is in order but as a general rule of thumb, look for moisture beginning to seep out of the side that is facing you. Now cook the steak for about 1/2 the time you cooked it on the first side.

You can flip your steak multiple times if you are looking for those criss-cross grill marks that you see at the restaurant. Just angle the steak at a 45 degree angle to the original grill marks if you want to get all fancy.

Although it is not necessary to cook a steak all the way through as is necessary with poultry and pork, some guidelines are helpful to determine when your steak is done to perfection. You do want to avoid cutting your steak to check its doneness, especially if you plan on putting it back on the grill. This will cause the juices to run out and may result in a dried out piece of shoe leather.

1" Thick Steaks - Rare 8-10 minutes, Medium 12-14 minutes, Well 16-20 minutes
1 1/2" Thick Steaks - Rare 10-16 minutes, Medium 16-20 minutes, Well 22-26 minutes
2" Thick Steaks - Rare 12-16 minutes, Medium 18-22 minutes, Well 24-28 minutes

What you may want to invest in is a good meat thermometer or meat fork. The meat thermometer is longer and will enable you to get deep inside a roaster chicken to check temperature but the meat fork having shorter tongs, is ideal for cuts such as steak and pork chops.

Now don't think that your steak is ready to eat as soon a you remove it from the grill. The steak continues to cook for about 5 minutes after you remove it from the grill. Do let the steaks rest for 5 minutes before eating.

Don't let the challenge of cooking the perfect steak scare you. With just these few tips and a bit of preparation, you will have soon earned that "Kiss Me I'm the Cook" chef apron!

 

Shrimp Sauces That Swing

Ever felt that shrimp are no longer a great tasting dish even when the chef has performed several tricks to enhance their taste? Shrimp on their own can taste great and there are indeed many ways of food preparation, cooking and blending that can make them taste better or different. But shrimp flavoring and texture can only go so far. One of the more effective ways to make shrimp taste really different and delicious is through the use of shrimp sauces.

There are many shrimp sauces that can be used with shrimp. There are sauces that are commercially made by food companies as well as sauces made by restaurants, and of course there are also home-made shrimp sauces.

So what is an ideal sauce to use with shrimp? One could look to Japan, a nation that has lots of unique tastes that are simply incomparable to others. Japan is well-known for its own expertise with shrimp sauce and serious food enthusiasts who have tasted any of them often have very positive feedback.

One way to prepare a Japanese sauce at home is to have the following: melted butter, granulate sugar, water, ketchup, garlic powder, mayonnaise and rice vinegar. These can be mixed together in a medium-sized bowl to taste. Mix all ingredients together well until they become completely smooth. If you want your Japanese sauce to taste even more tangy, add either ketchup or vinegar.

Another homemade shrimp sauce worth considering is cocktail sauce, which is widely known to be convenient and inexpensive to make. All it takes is lemon juice combined with horseradish ketchup. These three only need to be mixed together by using either a whisk or a spoon. Once the mix has been done, it is optional to add a twig of fresh parsley. Once finished, this sauce can be served or stored for use later.

For those who have neither the time nor the ingredients required, there are shrimp sauces that are available on the local market as well. For about $20, one can buy Dinni's Select Spicy Sauce which comes in 12-ounce bottles. It is formulated to taste great on fried shrimp and has been a favorite of families for many years.. Dinni's Select Spicy Sauce is also great with crab cakes.

There is also Crosse & Blackwell Zest Sauce which piques the eater's senses to make eating shrimp a joy It has a nice mix of red chili and horseradish balanced with a sweet tomato flavor.

From the market to the kitchen at home, there are indeed, lots of great tasting shrimp sauces anyone can easily find and enjoy.

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How To Buy And Store Potatoes

Potatoes intended for storage are left in the ground until fully matured. As the tuber matures underground, the plants wither and the potatoes can be left in the ground for up to 6 weeks after that. Ideal storage conditions are humid, cool but frost-free and in the dark at a temperature between 45?F/7?C to 50?F/10?C. Storing them at temperatures below 40?F/5?C causes some of the potato's starch to turn to sugar which spoils its flavor. This can be reversed by keeping the potatoes at room temperature for several days. Potatoes do not freeze well. Raw potatoes soften when frozen and cooked potatoes become grainy and mushy. Part- cooked chips and other fried potatoes can be successfully frozen and should be finished off in the oven.

Properly stored, potatoes can be kept for months. On a national level there is absolutely no excuse for dying and discarding (as happens regularly) one season's crop to make way for the next. Unlikely though it seems, potatoes bruise easily and should be handled as little as possible. These bruises manifest themselves as black cooked potatoes. Potatoes go moldy and rotten if they are kept in the damp. If you buy potatoes in polyethylene bags, they should be decanted as soon as you get home. Rotting and sprouting will happen if they are kept in the bag. They will also sprout if they are stored in a warm place. Light turns them green and this can be poisonous. Potatoes must not be stored anywhere near strong smell foodstuffs or chemicals. They are best stored in a vegetable rack so that air can circulate around them.

Varying The Mash

Basic mashed potatoes can be changed quite dramatically with a few additional ingredients and it can be tailored exactly to fit its many roles. With no liquid it is used in souffl?s, as a proving agent for bread, in cakes, doughnuts and sticky puddings. It forms the basic ingredient for many stuffing, sauces, bakes and gratins and combined with meat juices, cream, yoghurt, cheese, eggs, fresh herbs and aromatic spices, other pur?ed vegetables and fruits or fruit juices its origins are almost unrecognizable. It turns up, too, in sweet as well as savory potato cakes, balls, gnocchi, in potato wine and even in Christmas pudding. Good mashed potato is one of the great luxuries of life and I don't blame. Elvis for eating it every night for the last year of his life. What follows are some of the finest mashed potato recipes known to man; some classic, some involving unexpected additional ingredients but all delicious. Recipes that incorporate mashed potato as part of a separate cooking method or as an ingredient of a recipe appear in most other sections within the book. These dishes are all indexed at the end of the book.

Best Varieties For Mashing

The whole point of mashing potatoes or creating a pommes puree is to incorporate liquid, fat or oil and air into the potato. Dense-fleshed waxy varieties don't make good mash. I don't consider that pommes pur?e made with new potatoes, cream and olive oil is comparable to the sort of mash or pur?e that most people expect of a dish by that name. Fluffy mash is made with varieties such as Golden Wonder, King Edward, Willa and Maris Piper. There are approximately 140 calories in a portion of mashed potato with milk and butter.

 

An Introduction to Hard Candy Making - With an Easy To Follow Recipe

The term "hard and crunchy candies" is reserved for candies whose predominant ingredient is cooked sugar. The best example of hard and crunchy candy is the rock candy, and people who want to start crafting candies usually begin making this sort first. This candy is also in the same category as mint twists, cinnamon heart pops, toffee, candy apples, glazed strawberries and lollipops.

For those of you who would like to know how to make one of these delicious candies I have put together a fairly simple recipe for mint twists, which is the most popular of the hard candies. Stock up on your sugar and let's get ready to make these delectable and sugary hard candies!

Making rock candy at home always begins with making the sugar syrup, and to make it, you need a candy thermometer because the sugar syrup needs to be heated to a specific temperature.

Mint twists are refreshing chewy candies with fun and cute striped appearance. To make these, we need 2 cups of granulated sugar, 1.5 cups of light corn syrup, 1 cup water, ? tsp peppermint extract and 3-4 drops of green food coloring.

Prepare two cookie trays by coating them with a nonstick cooking spray. Then, preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

Mix the sugar, corn syrup and water altogether in a large saucepan. Bring it to boil, while stirring continuously until the sugar dissolves.

Continue heating without stirring until candy reaches 260 degrees. At this moment, the mixture has reached the "hard-ball" stage.

Remove the mixture from heat immediately, and stir in the mint extract. Pour half of the mixture onto your cookie tray and place it in the preheated oven to keep it warm.

Add the green food coloring to the other half of the mixture. Pour onto a heat-safe cutting board and allow it to sit there for a few minutes until the color forms.

Using a heat-safe spatula, spread the candy out and then mix it back together. Finally work it across the board and allow it to cool.

When the candy has cooled enough, pull it in long thin strands, bring the strands together and then repeat it again. Twist and pull it until it has a satin-like finish and its color turns opaque. Pull it into a long rope about one inch thick. Place it back on the cookie tray and put it in the oven, having reduced the temperature to low.

Remove the uncolored candy from the oven and repeat the stretching and twisting process. Bring back the colored candy and twist the green and white strands together, barber-shop style, until they do not separate. (If the green is too hard that you cannot twist it together with the white strand, you may need to re-warm it but be carefully not to melt it.)

Finally, pull the twisted candy into long strips, about half inch in diameter, and cut it into pieces about 4 inches long. Allow them to cool completely before wrapping them individually!

This is a great treat for your kids and you can be sure they'll keep tagging at your skirt for more. I hope you enjoy making these candies as much as I do. They are great fun to make and your kids will love watching you produce these colorful and mouth-watering candy sensations.

Janine Rose Lumanag lives in the Philippines. She is a college graduate, and is passionate about researching and writing articles regarding a wide range of topics which are close to her heart. Janine has a unique talent for research and physical investigation, which results in articles that offer her readers a very honest, entertaining and personal view of the subject. Her love of candy and how to make it has always been a passion of hers, and she is currently writing a series of articles on this topic. If you want to more about making rock candy, visit our website at http://www.bestcandymakingsecrets.com/ for helpful tips and information about all aspects of candy making.

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