Tea the true story by Chris Rawstern

Do all over the world know that tea is, right? Tea, technically, comes from the leaves of a plant, camellia sinensis. Anything other than the leaves of this plant isn't really tea, but tea is often used as a Word from the word to include all beverages of different herbs used these days.

The legend says that tea was discovered long ago in China almost by accident. Some leaves from a nearby plant blew into a cup of hot water; a pleasant drink Brown, was found to have a refreshing taste, and born tea. However it was discovered, the tea is very refreshing, if it is black, green, oolong, or white. Tea has shown in recent times to have wonderful health benefits. We have all heard of antioxidants in tea, helping to fight the free radicals that can cause damage to the body. Tea is much lower in caffeine coffee. It's refreshing to use it hot or cold.

There are various types of tea, all beginning with the same leaves. Black tea is created by bruising or crushing the green leaves to expose them to the oxidation and allowing them to ferment, then rolling and drying leaves. This produces a beautifully colored drink and has the strongest of all varieties of tea flavor. Oolong tea (pronounced OH long) is oxidized and the same as fermented black tea, but only for about half of the time and the resulting product is a lighter, more reddish drink with one flavor all its own, somewhere in between the black and green tea tea. For green tea, the leaves are immediately, heated then completely stop the fermentation process, dried and rolled. Occurs one drink color beautiful light and it says that the greatest health benefits. The process of white tea is similar to green tea, but only unopened leaf buds are used. It has the same properties of green tea health, but the flavor is the lightest and most delicate.

Good quality tea is a wonderful drink. All rolled or twisted sheets are the best quality; the lower the blade, the higher the quality of the tea. The upper grades are called flowery, flowery gold or Tippy. Second, so-called choppy, are sheets which have broken into smaller pieces. Make a large tea and are usually less expensive. Surplus smaller particles of tea, Fannings, called process are what is used in tea bags. He prepares tea, of course, but once you taste a prepared a wonderful full leaf black tea-Darjeeling tea, for example, it is difficult to return to a bag of tea for optimum flavor.

Orange Pekoe (rhyme with gecko) is a Western terminology applied to a degree of black tea; the Orange word in the name has nothing to do with the flavor, but could be a reference to the Dutch House of Orange using the Orange known as an implicit sea "of some sort. Tea may be an interpretation Westernized for a Chinese word meaning white hairs, referring to the fine white down in tea leaves.

Therefore, whatever are called herbal drinks? Herbal beverages are called herbal teas and can be prepared by various methods, usually infusion or decoction. It is incorrect to term tea is applied to anything infused or cooked, although really is infused tea. The infusion is the method of preparation of the election leaves, flowers or buds; plant material that will release their properties easily into a potable beverage. Placed in hot or water boiled and allowed to soak, the herbs release their goodness in water and then filter out. Decoction is the method used for materials harder or denser plant, such as roots or bark that take longer to release their flavors or health benefits. With cooking, the plant materials are brought to the boil, simmer gently for 15 minutes or more allowing the liquid to reduce and then filter.

No matter which you prefer, tea or herbal tea, pure enjoyment or for health benefits, look for the best quality. Discover your favorites among the different types of loose tea. Infusions of different herbal taste and discover new flavours. Above all, enjoy.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I hope it was informative and helped him along his own culinary journey. You'll find many more recipes and useful tips on my website. I'm on Facebook in a harmony of flavors and share a recipe or tip each day to the fans who liked my site. I hope to see you soon.

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Gluten free baking, a journey in the new territory by Chris Rawstern

Gluten-free foods are taking their place in the world these days. We are becoming more aware of the gluten intolerance to gluten, celiac disease (celiac), and what this means for many people. Although I am not gluten intolerant, often cooking and baking for functions, locally. Last year asked me that they provide little treats for a party Princess, by the Dacotah Prairie Museum. Accompanied by a Queen, were invited children from tots to teenagers, to learn about the lives of real princesses. Taught how wave correctly and curtsey.

Girls hear the Princess from the word and are dreamy eyes. The program is sold out. I've done a lot of goodies, but he discovered one of the Princesses and Queen were gluten intolerant and could not participate in many of the treats little. It was an intolerable situation. I needed to learn about this disease, be aware of what was involved and provide alternatives that would be exciting and tasty.

During the past year, I have state testing different gluten-free flour mixes and doing a lot of treats, mainly from my own normal recipes, simply substituting gluten-free flour and adding xanthan gum. In general, they have been a huge success. In my honest opinion, as someone who has been baking for 42 years, some cakes, fruit or nut breads are more moist and tender than when it is made with wheat flour, a very happy discovery, no doubt. The Queen mentioned above, works in the Museum, so I took an afternoon to talk to this young man and learn more about what was involved. Also had baked one of my favorite recipes for coffeecake, gluten-free and took for herself and the staff of the Museum prove. All of them loved it, moist and tender and full of flavor. The young woman was happy with my experiment, as I do.

Another great help on the road was Shauna Aherns Gluten-Free girl web site. I have extensively studied your website and learned all kinds of things there. You get confused with its blend of gluten-free flour to experiment as well try one of your recipes for bread; another success. I took some bread to the woman at the Museum to sample, as well as a piece of cover with cheese and pesto home and roast on the grill. He exclaimed, this is the best bread I have ever tasted since going gluten-free.

This coffeecake recipe was given to me by my best friend of 54 years and is an excellent recipe, no matter which meal you choose. This is the original, longer gluten-free recipe, substitute a mixture of gluten-free flour composed of 6 cups of rice flour and 2 cups of potato starch, starch tapioca 1 Cup. I used this mixture measure for measure in this recipe and added 1 teaspoon of paste xanthan gum to the sieved dry ingredients. Be sure to check labels for hidden wheat ingredients to make this Gluten-free.

Bundt Coffeecake

1 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 eggs
1 cup of sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts; walnuts or Pecans are good
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar until light. Add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla and mix well. Cierna flour, soda, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well. Grease a 10-inch bundt or tube.

Mix the chopped Pecans, 2 teaspoons of sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle 1/2 of the roof into the greased pan. In the middle of the mass - this requires plopping teaspoons of batter into the Pan as the mixture is very thick. Then with gentle care to fill the gaps. Tapping the pan on the help desk. Pour over the rest of the cover and again plop tablespoons in the skillet until all the dough is used.

Bake for 1 hour or until a knife inserted in the Center comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Sprinkle sugar over the cake, if desired. It serves 12 to 16.

GLUTEN-free option: replace the flour with gluten-free flour mix preferred and add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum. Mix and bake as directed. Bake at times is a little longer than normal, but the texture and moisture is so wonderful, I can't wait those few minutes more.
Try this recipe, in any way, and don't feel it is.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I hope it was informative and helped him along his own culinary journey. You'll find many more recipes and useful tips on my website. I'm on Facebook in a harmony of flavors and share a recipe or tip each day to the fans who liked my site. I hope to see you soon.

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Manufacture of biscuits provided my mom method occupied by Chris Rawstern

In the 1970s, when I was very young and with small children to care for, I had some recipes of cookies that would make very often, because they were simple recipes, with ingredients they had usually handmade. Cookies are an excellent snack, don't require utensils to eat and pick up and can be made later for a party. However, even with all this, simply aren't my favorite things to do, because they need to make up falling individually in the tray for baking, deploying and cut (get dirty on the counter and cleaning more) or the passage often added to cool the mass before work. I like the immediacy. I want to mix a recipe, bake, clean and make.

One morning I made a batch of these "cookies", finally appeared the last bread in the oven and set the timer. Wanting to get out for a bit and see what the children were doing, I went out and got distracted. By the time I remembered the cookies in the oven, they had burned and shrunk down to small disks of black hockey little - or dogs had some interest in them! It is important not to get distracted when baking. This was high. I had to think of a better way.

I thought a great idea I call me one busy-mom-method that I use to date. Rather than take the time to do all the individual cookies in batches, with times of baking independent (and time to relax), roll the cookie dough directly onto a tray greased baking, work it evenly to the edges, and bake it like a big cookie. It is best to use a plate to oven which has three open sides, since it is easy to maneuver the rolling pin and get the cookie rolled evenly. Note also, that a little more than flour may be necessary in the mass to allow lifting it out and form a rough rectangle for rolling. Also, a little extra flour on the surface while wheel helps non-stick with the roller. Try not to add more flour than absolutely necessary, or cookies will be thicker and harder.

It takes a few minutes in the oven with a large biscuit, but comes out perfectly. Simply look at the edges to be gold, and the Center to be established. With these cookies, also do a simple icing which is only 1 1/2 cups of sugar, a pinch of salt, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and enough water or milk to make a thick consistency (very slow fall from the spoon). Spread over hot cookies directly from the oven. Hot biscuit heated the icing, making it melt and spread easily, using the back of the same spoon used to mix the icing. I'm less cleaning! Once the cookie is cooled, the icing dries and hardens and I only cut the large square and ready forms or small bar cookie, "cookies" in half the time. Two of my favorite recipes for this method were hermits and Simple vanilla cookies. If you're a busy mother, try this method with any simple cookie dough. The hermit cookies was raisins in them, but the bulk of the mass was not less than the thickness of the raisins, and still worked fine.
Simple vanilla cookies

Makes about 7 dozen

1 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

Cream butter, shortening and sugar. Add the vanilla and salt. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add the flour, mixing well. Drop from teaspoon 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Flatten with floured glass, flat bottom. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Unmold immediately.

These Simple vanilla cookies are incredibly good, simple recipe. Don't take my word - test them, as individual cookies, or with my busy-mom-method.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I hope it was informative and helped him along his own culinary journey. You'll find many more recipes and useful tips on my website. I'm on Facebook in a harmony of flavors and share a recipe or tip each day to the fans who liked my site. I hope to see you soon.

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Cinnamon in the Cupboard Real or Imposter By Chris Rawstern

I have a bone to pick about cinnamon. How many of you really know what spice you have in your cupboards. Are you sure it really is cinnamon.

We in the U.S. are having the wool pulled over our eyes about cinnamon. What we commonly know in the U.S. as cinnamon is actually Cassia (cinnamomum aromaticum). It is a relative of true cinnamon, but not the real thing. The rest of the world uses true cinnamon (cinnamomum verum), in their cooking or baking, yet here we are sold something completely different.

As background, I first found out how much difference there was between these two spices when I lived in Guatemala. The cinnamon there tasted very different from what I knew growing up in Ohio; making things like an apple pie or apple crisp just tasted different. They were very good, but didn?t taste like what had known. I chalked it up to differences in quality of product, or maybe my baking skill was inadequate. Any typical Guatemalan foods I ate or made with cinnamon tasted just fine of course, with nothing to compare.

That was back in the 1970s, and it wasn?t until much later, when once again living in the U.S., I tried making a Guatemalan dish, Platanos en Mole (Plantains in Mole Sauce), using the cassia available. The dish just tasted wrong. I couldn?t understand it. I had made this dish many times in Guatemala. I had a lot more cooking and baking skill by this time. What was wrong? I started checking into spices in general, with an eye to those things I knew were different, and discovered that we in the U.S. are being marketed a completely different product.

Cassia cinnamon is a very good spice, of course. I do not for a second propose we do away with it! What would our apple pies taste like without it. It is a wonderful spice, worthy of the space in our cupboards. However, I propose that true cinnamon have an equal place.

Cinnamon of either kind is the bark of the tree. The bark is peeled off and dried, curling into what are known as quills or ground into powder. This is where the similarity ends. Cassia quills are very thick curls, strong and sometimes even hard to break. It has a stronger taste, warmer and more potent. There is some very good quality cassia to be found these days, such as Korintje AA. A lovely spice to perk up anything you commonly make with cinnamon here.

For my cooking classes I always take both types of cinnamon: a high quality cassia quill and ground Korintje AA cassia, alongside true cinnamon quills and ground cinnamon. True cinnamon quills are curled and layered together in a tight roll, are very thin and easily crushed. The flavor is lighter and more delicate, with a somewhat lemony quality. I set the quills side by side and demonstrate the differences, first breaking a cassia quill, with the ensuing loud snap when it breaks. Then I show the cinnamon quill, layered together, and how very easily it breaks and crumbles. With the ground version of each side by side, I ask the class members to smell the two; first the cassia that is the most familiar, and then the cinnamon. The startled reactions when they realize exactly how big a difference exists between these two spices, is quite rewarding.

I would liken this before the U.S woke up and smelled really good Arabica coffee. Once we found out about good coffee, the tide turned. I believe this country is in the process of bringing true cinnamon into the light. It is found in most any Mexican grocery section these days. Good quality spice shops carry excellent quality cinnamon and also excellent quality cassia. If you want to make any ethnic food from anywhere else in the world, or just become familiar with a new flavor go for true cinnamon. It?s worth the effort.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I hope it was informative and helped you along your own culinary journey. You will find many more recipes and helpful tips on my web site. I am on Facebook at A Harmony of Flavors and share a recipe or tip each day to the fans that have liked my site. I hope to see you there soon.

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