Archive

Posts Tagged ‘diet’

You Can Buy Wholesale Gourmet Coffee Online

November 4th, 2009 No comments

Essentially coffee is a commodity which is grown in many countries throughout the world. The reason why this tiny bean is considered to be a commodity is because there are so many coffee lovers all over the world and to them it is worth its weight in gold. Wholesale gourmet coffee acquired from all these different regions have to go through a similar process before it is exported and lands up in your home espresso machine.

Coffee beans are grown throughout the world, with a few major coffee producing countries bearing the bulk of production. Various agricultural factor influence the flavor of the coffee, but the most essential influence over the flavor of any gourmet coffee is the roasting process. Gourmet coffee must be roasted and ground fresh if it is to be at its absolute best.

It is not always possible, nor feasible to roast your own coffee at home, but it is possible to grind it and brew it fresh and this is what keeps the flavor at its best. Specialty shops are available that will roast your coffee fresh for you, if it is under roasted the coffee will be weak, whereas if it is over-roasted, it will taste burnt, so this is best left to the professionals.

One of the most sought after types of gourmet coffee bean in the world is the “Jamaican Blue Mountain”, it is difficult to get hold of because of the hurricane season typically experienced in the Gulf of Mexico. This makes this particular cultivar, supposedly the best in the world, incredibly expensive and hard to come by.

It has become more difficult to decide which wholesale gourmet coffee beans to buy, and this is because there are such a wide range of coffee varieties available. As far as we know, there are over 6 000 coffee variations known throughout the world. These are all blended from a pool of 25 different varieties of coffee bean with the most commercially imported types being Robusta and Arabica.

Arabica coffee beans are the most prominently grown and provide approximately 60% of world coffee production. However the beans are expensive as the Arabica plant is very sensitive to unfavorable conditions such as frost, pests and disease. Arabica provides an excellent base for blends of gourmet coffee and can be used alone. It is a full bodied brew with a delicate flavor.

Approximately 40% of the world coffee production is gleaned from the Robusta coffee plant. This is a plant which may be grown in many different countries and climates due to its hardier nature. The very best wholesale gourmet coffee is produced from beans grown in Java and Sumatra, Indonesia. The Robusta beans from Indonesia are highly prized as it has a delicate flavor and will produce the most full bodied gourmet coffee.

If you are looking at gaggia platinum vision you should start to think if you will use them at home. Like any shiny new toy it may seem like a great idea but if you aren’t going to use them then dont buy. Home coffee machines

The Most Important Mexican Spices

November 2nd, 2009 No comments

Mexican cuisine makes most of us think of assertive spices; mostly chilies and cumin. This combination of spices is one, which is a perfect representative of the country’s culinary history; an ingredient, which came from the old world with the Spanish and one, which has been a central part of Mexican food for thousands of years.

Chilies are the Mexican spices with the longest history, having been used by the Aztecs for many centuries before the arrival of Europeans. Like tomatoes and potatoes, peppers are new world natives and remain one of the most important ingredients in Mexican recipes just as they always have been.

Jalapenos are the most familiar of these peppers to people in the US. They are commonly used in salsas and pickled for use as a condiment as well as diced for use fresh. The Serrano pepper, a smaller, slightly hotter pepper is also seen relatively often in the US. Many Mexican food recipe are nearly unthinkable without these fiery vegetables. Other peppers such as pasillas and anchos are commonly dried and then ground; others are smoked, such as chipotle peppers (which are actually smoked jalapenos).

Culantro, Mexican oregano and epazote are three common herbs used in Mexican cooking which are native to the Americas. Culantro is used widely in Central America and the Caribbean, but is largely unknown outside of the region. Like many other Mexican spices, it is easier to find in the US than it once was, but it has a flavor which is similar enough to cilantro that cilantro can safely be substituted if cilantro is unavailable.

Do not let the name fool you – Mexican oregano may taste something like a more assertive version of the familiar Greek oregano, but this herb is actually a close relative of lemon verbena. Its flavor is an important component in a number of Mexican dishes, but you can substitute the old world herb if needed. However, Mexican oregano is becoming easier to find. You can usually purchase this herb from specialty spice shops as well as Mexican groceries. It is usually used dried, just like Greek oregano.

Epazote, however, has no real substitute. It tastes a little like tarragon, but its flavor is uniquely its own. This herb is commonly used when cooking Mexican bean recipes, especially black beans. However, you can safely omit this herb in your Mexican recipes if it is not available. Look for epazote in the produce aisle of Mexican groceries; if you cannot find fresh epazote, you may be able to find it dried in the spice section.

Cumin is one of the spices, which we think of the most in connection to Mexican food. This spice is also a staple of Turkish and other Mediterranean cuisines; introduced to Mexico by the Spanish (who themselves were introduced to it by Arabs during the Moorish period in Spain), this ingredient was adopted by Mexican cooks with enthusiasm. This newcomer quickly became an important ingredient in a great many Mexican dishes.

You might say that Mexican food is among the world’s first fusion cuisines, with its blending of old world and new world flavors. Using ingredients from both Europe and the Americas, Mexican cooks created something unique, new and distinctively Mexican. It is a cuisine which has a flavor all its own and thanks in part to Mexican spices, it has become popular in nearly every part of the world.

If you thought all Mexican meals had to be tacos, burritos, nachos or fajitas, there is an eye opening world of incredibly good Mexican food ready to greet you! This tasty cuisine includes such delights as Mexican beef casserole, tricolor vegetarian fajitas and beef taco skillet, amongst many other dishes.