by Bill McLain
Coffee cherries are red and are a delicious fruit that cannot be sold because it spoils quickly after picking. It’s the only fruit that is discarded while the seed (the coffee bean) is used.
Coffee is the second largest internationally traded commodity in the world, right behind oil.
Hawaii is the only state in the United States that grows coffee.
Coffee was usually roasted at home up until the 1870s. The coffee beans were put in a frying pan and roasted over a charcoal fire.
DID YOU KNOW?
Although the first coffee plants were found in Ethiopia, they soon spread to Arabia and other parts of the world. Some legends trace the discovery of coffee to the third century, but most authorities believed it was discovered around A.D. 900 or 1000 by Arabs who used it for medicinal or religious purposes.
Coffee was part of the Arab culture for hundreds of years but it was virtually unknown in Europe. Venetian ships sailed the known world trading in spices, silks, and perfumes they had procured in the East. This is how coffee eventually reached Rome. Roman priests, however, believed that coffee was invented by Satan as a substitute for the wine that Muslims were not allowed to drink, and forbade the consumption of coffee.
Finally, in the late 1500s, Pope Clement VIII asked that coffee be brought to him. He was intrigued by the aroma, sipped the brew, and said it was delicious. He blessed the coffee. With the Pope’s blessing, imports of coffee came flooding into the Western world. It was not until 150 years later that coffee was introduced in England and North America.
It took another hundred years before coffee drinking became popular in the United States. When King George of England levied a tax on tea, the American colonists not only staged the Boston Tea Party but also started drinking coffee instead of tea. Later, during the Mexican War and the Civil War, U.S. soldiers considered coffee beans to be their most precious ration.
Today the United States consumes one third of the world’s coffee, or over 4 billion cups of coffee each day. Slightly more than 50 percent of coffee is drunk at breakfast. Perhaps we Americans just have trouble waking up in the morning.
What makes peppers so hot? (Add a little spice to your life.)
Not all peppers are hot. For example, paprika, pimiento, and bell peppers are not hot. However, peppers such as chili, jalapeño, and habanera are very hot. These peppers contain capsaicin, which stimulates the nerve endings in the mouth and makes the brain believe it is experiencing true heat. Eating a hot pepper can also make the eyes water and the nose run, and can induce perspiration.
To counteract the pain, the brain releases morphinelike endorphins that create a mild euphoria, similar to a “runner’s high.” Because of this, peppers can be slightly addictive.
Pure capsaicin is so hot that if you dilute a single drop in 100,000 drops of water and then sip the water, it will blister your tongue.
Another interesting trait of capsaicin is that, unlike ginger or mustard, it can desensitize one to pain if small amounts are eaten repeatedly or if a large amount is eaten all at once. This is why chili lovers can eat progressively hotter peppers and foods.
When you burn your mouth by eating a hot pepper, the typical reaction is to drink water or milk. This won’t help at all. Capsaicin will not dissolve in water and drinking a liquid only spreads the capsaicin more until your whole mouth is burning.
To alleviate the burning, many people recommend sour cream or yogurt because the casein in these products breaks down the bond between the capsaicin and the pain receptors in your mouth. The most effective method we’ve found to relieve the burning sensation is to take a level spoonful of sugar, moisten it with some water, and then roll it around in your mouth for a half minute or so.
In 1912, Wilber Scoville devised a method of measuring the “hotness” of peppers. Although much more modern methods are used today to actually measure the capsaicin in a pepper, the relative hotness is still measured in “Scoville Units.”
Here are some measurements of a few typical hot peppers:
Scoville Units Pepper Comment
100,000 to 350,000 Habanero Blistering
50,000 to 100,000 Chiltepin, Thai Scorching
30,000 to 50,000 Cayenne, Tabasco Fiery
15,000 to 30,000 Chile de Arbol Super hot
5,000 to 15,000 Serrano Very hot
2,500 to 5,000 Jalapeño Hot to very hot
1,500 to 2,500 Cascabel Hot
1,000 to 1,500 Poblano (Ancho when dried) Warm
500 to 1,000 Anaheim, New Mexico Mild to warm
100 to 500 Cherry pepper Sweet to warm
0 to 100 Bell pepper, pimiento Sweet
FACTOIDS
The hottest pepper ever tested was a Red Savin habanero grown in 1994. It was an amazing 577,000 Scoville Units, almost double that of a typical habanero.
Next to salt, peppers are the most popular seasoning in the world.
Cancer patients often suffer painful mouth sores when undergoing chemotherapy. Researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine have found that a candy made of hot peppers and taffy relieves the pain.
The capsaicin found in peppers has been found to be an anticoagulant. Anticoagulants tend to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes caused by blood clots.
Peppers are a rich source of vitamin C. Green bell peppers have twice as much vitamin C as citrus. A hot pepper contains 3.5 times as much vitamin C as an orange.
Residents of the U.S. Territory of Guam consume more Tabasco sauce per capita than any other group of people in the world.
Capsaicin is not evenly distributed throughout a pepper so it’s quite likely that one part of the pepper might be hotter than another part.
DID YOU KNOW?
Peppers have probably been around for hundreds of thousands of years, if not more. Archeologists have found pepper seed remains in prehistoric caves in Peru.
Although peppers were in common use in pre-Columbian Central and South America, they were unknown in Europe until introduced by Columbus. Columbus was looking for more efficient spice trade routes when he bumped into Haiti and the Dominican Republic (then known as the island of Hispaniola). He noticed that the natives grew a vegetable that had a sharp taste that reminded him of black pepper from the East Indies. Thinking he had discovered a new type of black pepper, Columbus named the new vegetable “pepper” and it’s been called that ever since.
When Columbus brought peppers back to Spain they were an instant hit, and their popularity soon spread throughout Europe. Early colonists brought pepper seeds with them and introduced the new vegetable in New England. Peppers have enjoyed worldwide popularity for some time and are now steadily gaining popularity in the United States.
People still argue whether it is spelled “chile” or “chili” but either way it’s a tasty food.
What is the difference between apple juice and apple cider? (Where does applejack fit in?)
Typically apple juice is simply the juice of apples, while cider is fermented apple juice. Cider is often made sparkling by carbonation or by fermentation in a sealed container.
In the United States apple juice can also be called apple cider, hence the confusion between the two. In Europe the name “cider” is reserved for fermented juice. In the United States apple juice is generally called “sweet cider,” while apple juice that has been allowed to ferment is called “hard cider.”
When apples are crushed (or “pressed”) and allowed to ferment, the wild yeast on their skins converts the sugars in the juice into alcohol. At some point in history, someone discovered that drinking this fermented juice produced a soothing warmth and had a pleasant effect on the disposition.
Hard cider can be distilled to produce an alcoholic beverage called applejack. Applejack is a brandy made by first freezing hard cider and then siphoning off the concentrated liquor.
True cider can have an alcohol content ranging from 2 percent to 12 percent. Apple wine is a fermented apple drink to which sugars have been added. The al
cohol content of apple wine exceeds 12 percent.
FACTOIDS
Throughout the centuries, over 350 varieties of apples have been grown expressly for cider making.
During the eighteenth century, farm workers were given cider as part of their wages.
In England juice for cider is often made from imported apple concentrate and is full of sweeteners and preservatives. For those who want real cider made from nothing but fermented apple juice, the Apple and Pear Produce Liaison Executive (APPLE) publishes a guide listing the pubs in England that serve real cider.
All apples are one of three colors: red, green, or yellow.
Although cider was probably the most popular drink in the United States in colonial times and later, it all but disappeared by the late 1800s. In fact, most people in the United States have never tasted hard cider and for some time only expensive English imports were available in this country. However, cider is now making a strong comeback.
DID YOU KNOW?
Although it is believed that apples were eaten around 750,000 years ago because of remnants found in prehistoric caves, and were planted extensively in the Nile River Delta in 1300 B.C., the earliest known cider didn’t appear until around 55 B.C At that time two of Julius Caesar’s legions arrived in England and discovered that alcoholic cider was a common drink. Some historians believe that the Romans later introduced cider into France.
Early presidents, such as George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, were cider drinkers. Later, William Henry Harrison used a barrel of cider as his logo during the 1840 presidential campaign. He said that on election day his party would serve cider to everyone who voted for him. He won the election.
For some reason, cider was an accepted drink and didn’t carry the stigma of whiskey and ale. Clergy and deacons who would never dream of drinking whiskey had no qualms about drinking cider.
What is the difference between jelly, jam, preserves, and marmalade? (Don’t get in a jam with this very sticky question.)
The difference between jelly, jam, preserves, and marmalade is primarily the proportion of whole fruit that remains after processing.
Jelly has no fruit pieces. The fruit is pureed, sweetened, boiled, and then strained to separate the fruit from the juice. The juice jells when it cools to produce a smooth, clear, brightly colored jelly. Pectin or gelatin is often used to aid congealing. The word “jelly” comes from the French word gelé meaning “frozen,” or “congealed.”
Although fruit jellies are the most common, jellies can also be made from cooked peppers, tomatoes, mint, and other produce. These are traditionally used to complement meat dishes such as lamb, which is typically served with mint jelly.
Jam has crushed fruit pieces. The fruit is finely chopped or pureed and then mixed with sugar and boiled. Unlike jelly, which is only the juice, jam contains both the juice and the pulp of the pureed fruit.
Jams and jellies are typically eaten on toast, scones, English muffins, or some similar type of breakfast bread. They are also one half of the famous peanut butter and jelly sandwich team.
Preserves have large pieces of fruit. Preserves are basically jellies containing large pieces of fruit and are much chunkier than jelly or jam.
Marmalade, almost always made from citrus fruit, is actually a clear jelly that has pieces of both the fruit and rind suspended in it. Although we tend to think of marmalade as “orange,” other fruits such as lemons and quinces are also used.
FACTOIDS
Centuries ago Arabs in southern Spain called oranges “sours” and grew them primarily because they believed the skin had medicinal qualities.
The main reason for making jellies, jams, and preserves was to find a use for blemished, bruised, or inferior fruit that was not suitable for eating fresh.
The pectin that causes jelly, jam, preserves, and marmalade to thicken is found primarily in the peels of citrus fruits and to a lesser degree in apple pomace (the pulp left after apples have been pressed to obtain the juice). Pectin is also used commercially in the candy, pharmaceutical, and textile industries.
Some jellies are made from seaweed (agar-agar) extract and are noted for their clarity and body. These jellies are often used to coat candy centers or candied fruit slices.
DID YOU KNOW?
For those of us who have a sweet tooth, the word “jelly” reminds us of jelly bean, which is not really a bean at all.
A candy known as “Turkish delight” originated in biblical times. Most experts today believe that the jelly center of the jelly bean is a descendant of that candy. Turkish delight consists of rose water and sugar which is jelled and then cut into cubes. Turkish delight was well known in ancient Rome.
The coating on the outside of the jelly bean is put on the jelly center by a process called “panning,” which was invented in seventeenth-century France to coat almonds. Almonds, sugar, and syrup were put into a shallow pan, which was rocked until the almonds were coated with a candy shell. Panning today is done with large rotating pans. The jelly center consists of sugar, syrup, and various grain starches. It is patterned after the Turkish delight; it was eventually combined with this panning process to coat it and the jelly bean was born.
The jelly bean made its first appearance in the United States in 1861 when William Schrafft of Boston suggested sending jelly beans to the Union soldiers during the Civil War. The late 1800s saw a “penny candy” craze with candy makers using the panning process to produce gumdrops, jelly beans, and jawbreakers. Although popular as “penny candy,” jelly beans did not become a part of the Easter tradition until the 1930s.
For many years only the jelly bean coating was flavored, not the center. In 1976 the “Jelly Belly” jelly bean was introduced with natural flavors blended into the center of the bean. These beans were also smaller and had a deeper color than traditional jelly beans.
When Ronald Reagan became governor of California in 1967 he started eating jelly beans to help him break the habit of smoking a pipe. When he became president of the United States, three and one-half tons of beans were shipped to the White House for the inauguration celebrations. The blueberry-flavored bean was invented in honor of Reagan’s inauguration. Along with existing flavors, the president now had red, white, and blue jelly beans for the festivities.
More questions? Try these websites.
THE KITCHEN LINK
http://www.kitchenlink.com/companies.html
If you want to know about a particular food product, this site lists all the food products and companies that have websites. Over 193 products are included, ranging from A.1. steak sauce to Welch’s grape products. Just click on the name of a company to automatically go to that website.
In the upper left-hand comer is a pull-down menu called TKL Hot Spots. Simply select a subject, such as Healthy Cooking, Cookbooks, Recipe Archives, or Grocery Coupons, and click on Go to enter that site.
If you go to the Grocery Coupons area and enter your zip code, you’ll see a list of supermarkets in your area. Click on the supermarket you like, and follow the instructions to print out a page of coupons that you can redeem at that supermarket.
EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT FRENCH FRIES
http://www.select-ware.com/fries/
A wonderful site dedicated to one of our favorite foods. It has a wealth of french fry information, including a history of the french fry, answers to questions, interesting facts, how to make your own french fries, and information on french fries around the world.
THE INCREDIBLE EDIBLE EGG
http://www.aeb.org/
This site has just about anything you’d like to know about eggs, from basic egg facts to an eggcyclopedia. You can even fill out a form to receive a free copy of the “Most Loved Morning Meals” pamphlet, compliments of the American Egg Board.
OVER 30 RECIPES FOR BUFFALO WINGS
http://www.bababooey.com/monkey/wings.html
For those of you hooked on Buffalo wings, here are over 30 different recipes you can
try.
Geography
What is the lowest point on earth? (How low can you get?)
The lowest point on land is the shoreline of the Dead Sea in Israel, which is 1,310 feet below sea level. The southern shore of the Dead Sea has salt caves purported to be in the area where the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were once located.
The salt water of the Dead Sea has a higher concentration of minerals than other bodies of water and contains more than 25 minerals. The water has been recognized for its therapeutic value since ancient times. In addition, the air is pure and dry and has the richest oxygen content in the world. It is claimed that Aristotle and Cleopatra, among others, went there to be cured. Even today people go to the Dead Sea to relieve arthritis, rheumatism, psoriasis, eczema, foot aches, and other maladies. Various Dead Sea products are sold in local pharmacies.
The rocky cliffs that rise steeply 400 feet above the Dead Sea hold the remnants of Massada, the impregnable fortress built by King Herod. During the rebellion against Rome, Jewish zealots took over the fortress. When the two-year Roman siege ended, the Jewish defenders chose to kill themselves and their families rather than become Roman slaves.
FACTOIDS
Israel has only two major exports, potash and magnesium. Both come from the Dead Sea.
The salt content of the world’s oceans is around 3 percent, while the salt content of the Dead Sea is 39 percent.
The area around the Dead Sea has over 300 days of sun per year but rarely more than 2 inches of rain annually.
