Fun Facts About Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese is not usually associated with boycotts, but in the summer of 2011, that produced by the Elite company was boycotted in Israel because of its high cost, in comparison to its cost in the US. Elite is an Israeli company, so it didn't seem fair that the price of its cottage cheese was higher in Israel than it was in other countries. The boycott was successful and the price was eventually lowered.

In the Indian subcontinent cottage cheese or 'paneer' is used in many savoury dishes, and goes well in a spicy dish with spinach. It is used to tame the hot spices used in traditional dishes, and these are very tasty.

Little Miss Muffet was clearly greedy and impatient. She sat on her "tuffet, eating her curds and whey" which are the precursors of cottage cheese. If she had waited a little longer she may not have had that traumatic encounter with the spider.

Cottage cheese is made by curdling pasteurized milk and draining off most of the liquid or whey, so that the only the curds are left in squishy lumps. You can curdle the milk with lemon juice, and make it from low-fat milk, so that it has fewer calories.

This type of cheese has been made for millennia and was made by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. It gets its English name because it can so easily be made at home, and can be pressed into a thicker consistency to make a creamy white cheese with all the whey removed, until it becomes what is known as farmer's cheese, which is solid but crumbly rather like feta cheese.

It was a favourite of former US President, Richard Nixon, whose last meal as president was cottage cheese with a slice of pineapple. Doubtless the fresh pineapple makes for a better gourmet experience than the cottage cheese and pineapple you can buy in local supermarkets.

This type of cheese is ideal for dieters as its bland taste can be mixed with tastier things such as paprika or chilies, and eaten as a snack or in a main meal as it has only 98 calories per 100 grams, and this contains 11.1.grams of protein, and very little fat. It also contains high levels of selenium which is great for healthy skin and a general feel-good factor. It also contains vitamin D - the sunshine vitamin, and calcium, which is essential for healthy bones.

According to a USFDA report, Americans buy around 600 million pounds in weight of cottage cheese a year, although I suppose that doesn't mean they eat all that as it doesn't have a very long shelf-life. It is worth noting though that it takes a hundred pounds (weight) of milk to produce only fifteen pounds of cottage cheese.

It seems to be a favourite food, although I can't say I am a great fan, unless it is mixed into sweet pancakes or a spicy meat dish, as it tastes bland to me. However, it is this that makes it so versatile.

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8 Facts About Fruits You May Not Know About

You should consume a variety of fruits is what you always get to hear from several people like dietitians, doctors and your family. Of course, because it is necessary for your body to get the essential quantity of vitamins, minerals, fiber, sugar and even water. Fruits provide these nutrients to your body and form a very significant part of your diet. But do you know all the facts about fruits? Below are given some of the facts about fruits you may not know about.

1. Fruits have low calories

Fruits are filling but they don't have excessive calories or fats in them. They contain vitamins, fiber and sugar - all of which are required to keep us in the best of health.

2. Fruits reduce cardiovascular diseases

Many fruits have the capability to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, stroke as well as cancer. So those who have heart problems can gorge on fruits as they are known to be naturally reducing the risk of heart strokes and other related diseases.

3. Fruits don't have any cholesterol

Many people have high cholesterol in their systems due to the intake of unhealthy products. This makes them vulnerable to heart diseases and other illnesses. But fruits can easily avoid that as they are 100% cholesterol free.

4. Fruits aid in digestion

Fruits have natural fiber present in them. This fiber is very essential to ward off the cholesterol and fats from the body, thus making the body more fit. It also helps in digestion and reduces the chances of constipation as well.

5. Fruits build immunity level

Fruits are very high in antioxidants like vitamin C and anthocyanins. These when combined reduce the risks of oxidant stress, diseases and cancer. Moreover, they also help in building the immunity levels of the body and thus protect it from such diseases.

6. Fruits prevent aging

Many fruits like mulberries, blueberries, blackberries and other such blue fruits have properties to prevent the signs of aging too. Thus, the lines and the pigmentation on the face can be avoided by eating such fruits. They protect and rejuvenate the body cells, tissues as well as organs.

7. Fruits regulate blood pressure

Fruits such as avocados and apples are known to be helpful in balancing the blood pressure levels of the body.

8. Fruits help us live longer

Lastly, and the most important fruits benefit is that they can prolong life. Fruits like bitter gourd and coconut have medicinal properties. Bitter gourd has anticancer, antiviral, antimalarial and many such properties. Coconut water on the other hand can be used for blood transfusion as it is very similar to blood plasma. It has also helped save lives in World War 2 where the soldiers got emergency blood transfusion.

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Interesting facts about the common potato

The potato is a common vegetable choice these days who appears in at least one meal per day in the Western Hemisphere, especially in winter, when baked and mashed potatoes are great comfort food. However, the potato was once an object of disgust and suspicion. Is a member of the family Solanaceae that is a nightshade, then some toxins in its stems and leaves, and really shouldn't eat one that has a green tings to it. Its Latin name, Solanum tuberosum, means the root soothing while the potato Word has its origins in Peruvian Quechua-batata name now given to a kind of sweet potato and potato. Our source potato Andean South America about 8,000 years ago and was cultivated by the people remains of 6,000 years ago according to archaeology. They were "discovered" by Spanish explorers in the 16th century and were filmed in Spain, where they had a mixed reception.

English Buccaneer Sir Walter Raleigh is credited with taking them to Britain in 1589 and grew up on his estate near Cork, Ireland. Has a story that introduced the calming root of Elizabeth I and she ordered a banquet to be ready with the new plant in each course. Unfortunately no one bothered to tell the chef how to cook them so they threw away the tuber and fed guests stems and inflorescences, which contain toxins. Courtiers fell ill, some fatally, and the potato has been banned from the Royal Court.

They didn't fare much better in France as they were thought to be the root of all disease and the cause of premature deaths. An edict decreed that as they were the cause of leprosy was forbidden to be cultivated on "the pain of a fine". However, the potato came into its own in France when Auguste Antoine Parmentier (his name lives on in culinary circles as the description for almost thin potato sticks), who had been imprisoned in Germany and fed a diet of potatoes only returned to France. Has created a feast that has had more success than the English and popularized the potato in the Court of Louis XIV. The peasants, who had little to eat at the moment would not touch the potato, until Louis guards surrounding his potato patch-a clever ploy as peasants, thinking that they were very valuable that stole them. After this the tuber became popular. Marie Antoinette and the ladies of his Court brought the potato plants flowers in their hair as decoration.

Writing at the end of the 19th century, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844- -1900) the German philosopher wrote that "a diet composed mainly of rice to opium use." just as a diet that consists mainly of potatoes, leads to the use of liquor, this could be a radical generalization, but it is worth mentioning, perhaps, that the Russians used potatoes for their vodka, while the Irish, who cultivated potatoes for centuries made moonshine called Potcheen with potatoes.

Potatoes have certainly had an interesting history in the West don't you think?

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