Exploring Pizza Around the World

Whether you are visiting Japan or Australia, you will be able to find pizza in the country, but it might be a little different than American style pizzas. So if you visit another country you might be pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised if you are expecting cheesy pepperoni pizzas.

You may not have ever thought that they would serve pizza in India. They do, but it is quite different. Normal toppings for pizzas in India could include paneer which is a type of cottage cheese, pickled ginger, and mutton or sheep meat that is minced. This may sound strange, but if you were used to the flavors of India, perhaps these flavors would appeal to you.

A French style pizza sounds very fancy. It actually is topped with something called flambee which is actually fresh cream, onions, and bacon. As Americans you are probably accustomed to onions and bacon on pizzas, but the fresh cream is a little different unless you like Alfredo pizzas.

If you were to visit Japan, you might find the tastes quite different than what you are used to, but if you enjoy sushi rolls, you might enjoy the taste of Japanese pizzas. The toppings on these pizzas are Mayo Jaga which is a combination of mayonnaise, potatoes, and bacon, and then they also have eel and squid as toppings.

Russian pizzas are quite a bit different than American style. They enjoy red herring as a topping, but they also enjoy mockba which is a combination of ingredients. Mockba is tuna, mackerel, onions, sardines, salmon, as well as onions put together. If you like these fishier flavors, you might enjoy this Russian-style pizza.

Australia has another interesting pizza. It is a little more similar to what you may be used to if you eat American pizzas. Common ingredients on Australian pizzas are shrimp, barbeque sauce, and pineapple. Perhaps you have had the ham and pineapple combination that is popular in America. This type might remind you of it.

Other unique toppings for pizzas from around the world include curry on pizzas in Pakistan and coconut in Costa Rica. There are likely even more flavors around the world on pizzas, but these are just a few.

Sometimes if you go to another country you do expect different foods, but perhaps you do not expect a familiar food like pizzas to be different than what you know. If you visit these countries, you will likely have an option to perhaps have an American style, but you will also probably have the option to try pizzas with the specific country's style of toppings.

So while you are in America enjoy pizzas the way you are used to, but if you do some travel, be sure and try out another country's fair. It is important to remember that making pizzas did not start in America, so America really has no claim on the toppings. The main thing is that everyone enjoys what they like on their pizzas.

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Posted in: Around,Exploring,Pizza,World

An Apple for Every Taste

Eat a sweet, juicy Red Delicious today and a crisp, tart Winesap tomorrow. Enjoy them both while knowing that there are many more apple delights ahead.

There are over 7,500 varieties available throughout the world. Some are commercially grown and widely distributed, some are specific to a region and maybe even to a singular orchard.

Apples are easily developed and refined into new, exciting varieties.

Farmers have been grafting trees since the 6th century BC. Commercially popular varieties range in color from yellow to green to red. Displaying multifaceted tastes and textures, apples are perfect for eating, baking and making cider.

Every climate creates its own specific variety which can be found in local farmers markets and fruit stands. These locally grown cultivars may not be as beautiful as the fruits on your supermarket shelf, but they may offer a unique taste sensation when in season.

Selecting and Storing Apples

Selecting a ripe apple is easy as pie!

Supermarkets offer a vast selection of apples. Large grocery stores display hundreds of apples and are continually rotating stock. So how do you know the correct way for choosing a ripe fruit?
First, check the apple skin for obvious nicks, cuts or bruises. Damaged fruit will spoil quickly so stay away from these.Second, look at the top and bottom of the apple for any brown coloring. A browning apple indicates over ripeness.Third, feel for any soft areas. A spoiled apple loses firmness quickly.Lastly, does the apple have a good weight? Dense fruit is frequently at their most ripe.

Place your apples in the refrigerator when you get home. Apples like coolness to preserve freshness. Even so, you should eat a ripe apple within three days.

Now you can confidently pick the "apple of your eye."

Baked Apple Recipe

Delicious baked apples bring warmth and comfort.

Flavorful ingredients blend beautifully with apples.

Enjoy baked apples one crisp autumn evening. Treat yourself to an easily made delectable, treat.

INGREDIENTS
4 baking apples such as Golden Delicious and Rome Beautybrown sugar, 1/3 cupcinnamon, to tastechopped nuts (pecans or walnuts are tasty)butter, 1 Tbspraisins, to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Core the apples from the top. Remove all the seeds, but leave the bottom untouched.In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, nuts and raisins.Stuff your apples with your delicious mixture.Place the apples in a 8 x 8 baking pan.Boil 3/4 cup of water and add to the baking pan.Bake for 30-45 minutes. Remove from oven when apples are soft but not squishy.

Enjoy your baked apples. Why don't you be a bit sinful and serve with ice cream? "Yum" is the only way to describe that situation.

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Posted in: Apple,Every,Taste

Online Cake Delivery - Does Gourmet Make a Difference?

There are many ways to get cake. You can go to a local market and pick up a cake that has already been prepared, but that includes hoping that it is fresh and moist at the time of purchase. You can hire someone to make you a fresh, moist cake, but many local cake makers are far from creative, so you will end up with the same ordinary flavors that you have always eaten.

Then there is the option to go online and order cakes that are more creative. Many of these cakes will come from gourmet food and catering services, and they might be a bit more expensive than the cakes you buy at the local market. This may have you wondering whether gourmet is really worth the extra money.

What Qualifies as Gourmet Cake?

You will find different ideas of what "gourmet" cake is when you look around online, because it is kind of a subjective label. Gourmet typically means higher quality. Rather than getting cheap steak on a plate, a gourmet food and catering service may offer filet mignon and very expensive cuts of steak. Those dishes would be complimented with higher quality sides that blend flavors in more unique ways.

When you are talking about cake, a gourmet food and catering service may offer flavor combination and designs that are unique to their particular service. These cakes will typically be more creative and the flavors may be far more adventurous than what you find at the local market or a local bakery.

For example, you can get strawberry shortcake type cakes at almost any local market from time to time, but how often do you see a mango flavored cake with piles of fresh mango on top? There are many cakes with fresh strawberries on top, but mango is a more unique flavor that may only be found through gourmet bakeries and delivery services. That is just one idea of the type of cake you can find through gourmet online cake delivery services.

When trying to picture gourmet cake in your mind, simply think of higher quality cakes that are made with fresh ingredients. Imagine original flavor combination and unique toppings that you cannot pick up anywhere else.

Is Gourmet Cake Better?

When you consider that a cake from a gourmet food and catering service should be made with fresh ingredients from scratch, you can see how it could taste quite a bit better than cakes that are not made from fresh ingredients. For example, there would be no fair way to compare a cake made from boxed mix to a cake made from a gourmet catering service. The fresh ingredients versus the mixed ingredients simply do not compare, and it shows in the flavor.

If you want unique flavors that are not offered other places, then you definitely have to go with a catering service. The availability of these unique flavor combination is one of the big perks to ordering from an online cake delivery service in Singapore.

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Posted in: Delivery,Difference,Gourmet,Online

Organic Food Preserving - How To Sterilize Your Canning Jars

Firstly, I always sterilize my kitchen counters and sinks. Clean hands always a must. Clean dish cloth, dish towel. All tools out. All food prepped. Oh and prior to all of that, I take a loaf of French bread and make the most humungous sandwich. That way when my three teenagers are hungry, they are allowed to take that submarine sandwich to a spot away from my sterilized jarring area and and slice a piece off to eat while I jam or pickle.

Secondly, and I know that was a long firstly, make sure you are using the right jar for the right job, 250ml jars are for jams, jellies, antipasto, etc. I use the 500ml jars for my bread and butter pickles (which are the absolute best bar none) and I use the larger 1 litre jars for dill pickles.

Thirdly, put a large stock pot filled with water, not to the brim but full enough to cover your jars, lids and screw tabs. I know you don't need to sterilize the screw tabs but I like to - I mean it does not hurt to sterilize them as well. The lids must be sterilized in boiling water to soften the lid and make that seal airtight.

Generally, I boil my jars, lids and screw tabs about 10 minutes. I remove everything with tongs in one hand and oven mitt on the other. Please do not put the oven mitt into the inside of the jar. It wouldn't be sterile then. As well, I have my pickling dish towels laid out and that is where I set the jars, lids and screw tabs. Set the jars upright. And yes, I have designated pickling dish towels because for my bread and butter pickles, I use turmeric in that recipe and it stains big time. So all my pickling dish towels are stained yellow - a small price to pay (and its only two dish towels that are so designated).

Now you are ready to fill those jars with your fresh organic fruits and vegetables. This is when you make your jam or your pickling vegetable.

When filling your jars leave 1/4" from the top for everything you jam or pickle. When I made my organic jams and pickles this summer (2011), you need to remove the air from the jars after you have filled them. This does not need to be done with dill pickles. So what I do to ensure that there is no spillage, I initially fill my jars to 1/2" from the top. Then I take my rubber spatula and slowly and carefully insert it into the jar and right up against the glass. Then pull up slowly. I do this on average in three different spots along the inside wall of the jar. Voila the air is removed. Then I gently top the jars to within 1/4" of the top.

Before sealing, I run my finger around the top of the jar to ensure there is no spillage. Your jar will not seal properly if you have product on the jar. Put your sterilized lid on and place the screw tab on top. With one hand using your index finger hold that lid in place. With your other hand screw the screw tab on and not too tight. I give it one good turn at the end and that's that. Set them aside and when they are cooled down store them somewhere dark and cool. Like under your basement stairs.

Now as you are cleaning up your kitchen and admiring your accomplishments you will hear your lids make a "ping" sound. That is normal. It simply means your jars are sealing airtight. When you reward yourself and open your jar filled with yumminess and organicness there is a sound you must hear upon opening. It is said that the screw tabs can be removed 24 hours after processing, but I leave them on for esthetic purposes and I never tighten them unless I am gifting them, which I always do each Christmas. Once you have removed the screw tab, take a butter knife and using the side of the blade, position is between the lip of the jar and the lid. Pull up and you should hear a "pop" when it opens. That means you had an absolute seal and your product is safe to eat. If the sealing lid removes easily or moves itself, that means "don't eat", the seal was not accomplished and your product is compromised. Refrigerate after opening and that is where those screw tabs really assist in keeping freshness in the fridge and another reason I leave them on.

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Posted in: Canning,Organic,Preserving,Sterilize

Eat Like a Kazakh, If You Dare

A light hearted, but not derogatory look at some interesting overseas cuisine. Traditionally, Kazakhstan has been a nation of animal keepers and sheep, camels and horses have all figured in the country's cuisine. Over the centuries, little has changed.

With outside influences creeping into many countries' dishes across the world, the idea of true national cuisine has become a little blurred over the years. This isn't the case however in Kazakhstan, where the locals stay committed to their culinary heritage.

Traditionally, Kazakh people worked on the land and they relied heavily on their animals for transport and for food. As a result, sheep, horses and even camels provided part of the nation's diet.

Moving through the centuries, other than the fact that camel meat has all but disappeared from the average Kazakh family table, little has changed.

The national dish of Kazakhstan is Besbarmark: This uses either horse meat or mutton and it is boiled and served with pasta sheets and a meat broth. The dish is known locally as five fingers as, in keeping with tradition, you use your hands to shovel it down, rather than have to mess around with niceties such as cutlery.

In ancient times, Kazakh farmers and herders couldn't afford to waste any part of an animal that had been slaughtered and that tradition has survived to the present day, where it is evident in the many offal dishes that the country produces.

Perhaps the one dish that would fill western stomachs with unease is 'Zhal', whose main ingredient is lard, taken from the neck of a horse. Ulpershek would run that claim pretty close however: Western tastes have evolved to turn away from the use of horse meat in general but this dish uses parts of the horse that would be particularly hard to stomach. Essentially, Ulpershek is made with the aorta and heart, added to a liberal dose of fat.

The whole thing is made in a kettle and although it's widely eaten across Kazakhstan, traditionally, it's known to be shared between sisters in law as a sign of friendship. Kazakh animals have also been important through the years for their milk production and the milk products that the locals consume are no less esoteric.

A fermented mare's milk drink known as Kumys is arguably the most popular among the locals while sheep and camel's milk are also widely consumed.

Moving on to dessert, the rustic theme continues and you would expect to find fried dough pieces being served with nuts and dried fruit at the end of a meal.

Western readers may have studied this with some distaste and if you were about to have your lunch then I apologise. However, Kazakhstan as a whole has largely resisted outside influences and in sticking rigidly to their own culture and tradition, perhaps they should be roundly applauded?

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Posted in: Kazakh

Office Catering for Businesses

For many people in our society today, their office is a home away from home. Most people stay at their offices at least 8 hours a day. They exhaust all their energies in doing their office-related jobs. Many important events, such as meetings, trainings, and seminars, take place in the offices that we work in. With many things that need to be done in the office, company officials rely on office catering service providers to help them organize in-office events.

Most companies choose catering services from food companies for buffets and luncheons during office events. An office catering business is one of the most innovative and most popular small businesses that you can start at your own home. It yields a huge income especially if your customers loved your catering. If you love cooking, can work under pressure, have good marketing skills, and are creative, then entering the office catering business may prove to be a very wise decision.

The good thing about starting your own office catering business is that you only have to work doubly hard when you have an event to organize. After your stint, you may do other stuff during your vacant time. It is important to have a wide social network in order to effectively market your catering business. Once you have already marketed your business and already have a prospective client, it is important to keep in mind the following reminders for a safe and smooth-sailing event:

Creative menu. Creativity is key for your office catering business. You must offer your client a diverse menu to choose from. You should be versatile in making your menu. It is imperative that you provide them with a good combination of food choices and remember to make your suggestions to help the client decide better.
Ingredients. In order to provide outstanding dishes, it is also imperative that you use the right kinds of ingredients. Ask your client what they want. Make it your business to know if there are people who are allergic to certain types of ingredients so that you can find alternatives. Choosing the wrong ingredients may jeopardize your office catering business.
Theme. Knowing that you will be catering a business event may not be sufficient. You have to make sure what type of business event it is. Is it a meeting, a seminar, a fundraiser? Will executives be attending the event or the rank-and-file employees? Is it a formal or an informal gathering? Knowing all these will help you in setting-up your presentation.

Office catering has great potential. It allows you to earn rewarding profits while doing what you love: cooking. Lavish and exotic dishes may not always win your clients' hearts. Instead, prepare something that is healthy and delectable. It may be helpful to have a large social network wherein you can market your office catering business. Friends might know others who might want to avail your services during their office meetings. Office catering will allow you to have more income than other do-it-yourself businesses.

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Posted in: Businesses,Catering,Office

Asian Foods You Must Try

Are Asian foods healthier and less caloric than Western foods? It depends. Certainly, a bowl of dashi garnished with cubes of tofu and chopped scallions isn't very caloric, but a similar bowl of chicken soup isn't either. But here are some Asian foods you must try before the bucket is kicked.

Sushi and Sashimi

Yes, some people are a bit revolted by the idea of eating raw fish, but these two Japanese dishes are oh so good, especially when the vinegared rice is prepared just right and the fish is so fresh that it's still in rigor mortis. Fish and seafood used for sushi include salmon, tuna, though not the overfished bluefin, eel, flounder, octopus, shrimp, abalone and salmon roe. If the dieter really can't bear raw fish, they can have sushi made with avocado, sweetened egg, or cucumber.

Dashi

Dashi is a broth made with a sheet of kombu seaweed and dried bonito flakes, bonito being a fish. It has a delicate taste and aroma and is the basis for many Japanese soups. It is wonderful to drink with nothing in it on cold winter nights.

Tempura

The calorie count with this dish might be fairly high because it involves dipping food in batter and deep frying it. The great thing about tempura is that it can be made out of anything, including chunks of seafood, sliced Japanese eggplant, carrots, tofu, green squash, slices of lotus root and green onions. It should be drained and eaten while it's hot, for cold or left over tempura has lost much of its appeal.

Hot and Sour Soup

This delicious soup is made from tree fungus, dried tiger lilies, dried shiitake mushrooms and tofu in beef stock. All of the ingredients can be found easily in an Asian market and they're inexpensive. The dieter shouldn't worry about the tree fungus. It's also called cloud ears and is a black mushroom that's grown on logs. It's dried and when it's rehydrated it seems to grow ten times its size, then it's sliced and added to the soup. The soup only needs one or two to suffice.

Peking Dust

This dessert is a bit fussy to make, but it's heavenly. It uses raw chestnuts, sugar, a pinch of salt, heavy cream, one orange and glaceéd walnuts. The chestnuts are pureed, then garnished with the orange and walnuts and slathered with whipped cream in a mold.

Lamb Korma

This is an Indian dish where chunks of lamb are cooked in a creamy curry sauce and served with rice, chutney, raita or onion sambal. Made with coriander, cumin, cardamom seeds, ginger, cloves, red pepper and garlic, it smells as good as it tastes.

Wontons Stuffed with Pork, Cabbage, Scallions and Ginger

Though a lot of people may have bought wontons at their take-out place, there's nothing like making some at home. They're not that hard to make, and practice makes perfect.

Onigiri

These are rice balls and are very popular in Japanese picnic boxes. The ingredients include fresh salmon fillet, one sheet of dried nori, which is also used for wrapping sushi, bonito flakes and umeboshi, pickled and salted plums. Onigiri are a bit labor intensive to make, but, again, worth it.

Miso Soup with Oysters and Bean Curd

Miso is soy bean paste and this dashi-based soup uses red and white miso, fried bean curd, regular bean curd, about 16 oysters, Japanese parsley, fresh ginger root and sansho powder. It's very, very delicious indeed.

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Posted in: Asian,Foods