SOME INGREDIENT 02
GARLIC 





Garlic (Allium sativum) is the name of the plant of the genus Allium as well as the name of the resulting bulb. Has a history of human use for over 7,000 years, mainly grown in Central Asia, and has long been a foodstuff in the area around the Mediterranean Sea, as well as general spices in Asia, Africa and Europe. Known in ancient Egyptian records, it is used both as a mixture of cuisine and medicine. Tubers from garlic plants are the main ingredients for the basic ingredients of Indonesian cuisine. Raw onions are full of sulfur compounds, including a chemical called alliin that makes raw garlic feel bitter or angur. 

Garlic is used as a spice used in almost every food and Indonesian cuisine. Before being used as a spice, garlic is crushed by pressing with a knife side (fined) before finely chopped and sauteed in a frying pan with a little cooking oil. Garlic can also be smoothed with various types of other ingredients. And can also be used as a medicine for warts disease, how garlic keprek (not to smooth) then paste on strong warts and tie with cloth or plaster wait until 30 minutes, do not Too much movement, then the skin will be hot and the wart will blacken. the nex day you are free from warts.Garlic has properties as a natural antibiotic in the human body. And Garlic play an important role for the health of our body and can cure various diseases.

Source : https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bawang_putih 


SHALLOT


Shallots are used in fresh cooking in addition to being pickled. Finely sliced, deep-fried shallots are used as a condiment in Asian cuisine, often served with porridge. As a species of Allium, shallots taste somewhat like a common onion, but have a milder flavor. Like onions, when sliced, raw shallots release substances that irritate the human eye, resulting in production of tears.

Like garlic, shallots are formed in clusters of offsets with a head composed of multiple cloves. The skin colour of shallots can vary from golden brown to gray to rose red, and their off-white flesh is usually tinged with green or magenta.
Shallots on sale in India

Shallots are extensively cultivated for culinary uses, propagated by offsets. In some regions ("long-season areas"), the offsets are usually planted in autumn (September or October in the Northern Hemisphere). In some other regions, the suggested planting time for the principal crop is early spring (typically in February or the beginning of March in the Northern Hemisphere).

In planting, the tops of the bulbs should be kept a little above ground, and the soil surrounding the bulbs is often drawn away when the roots have taken hold. They come to maturity in summer, although fresh shallots can now be found year-round in supermarkets. Shallots should not be planted on ground recently manured. In Africa, shallots are grown in the area around Anloga in southeastern Ghana.
Name In Another Country

In most Indian cuisines, the distinction between onions and shallots is weak larger varieties of shallot are sometimes confused with small red onions and used interchangeably. Indeed, most parts of India use the regional name for onion interchangeably with shallot (Maharashtra, for instance, where both are called kanda). The southern regions of India distinguish shallots from onions in recipes more often, especially the much loved tiny varieties (about the width of a finger); these are widely used in curries and different types of sambar, a lentil-based dish. Shallots pickled in red vinegar are common in many Indian restaurants, served along with sauces and papad on the condiments tray. Indians also use it [clarification needed] as a home remedy for sore throats, mixed with jaggery or sugar. In Nepal, shallots are used as one of the ingredients for making momo. In Kashmir shallots are widely used in preparation of Wazwan Kashmiri cuisine, as they add distinct flavor and prevent curry from getting black which is a common problem with onions.

In Iran, shallots, called mousir , are used in various ways, the most common being grated shallot mixed into dense yogurt, a combination served in almost every restaurant when one orders grills or kebabs. Shallots are also used to make different types of torshi , a sour Iranian side dish consisting of a variety of vegetables under vinegar, eaten with main dishes in small quantities. Shallot is also pickled -called shour  in Persian- along with other vegetables to be served as torshi.

In Southeast Asian cuisines, such as those of Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines,Singapore and Brunei, both shallots and garlic (bawang putih, white onions) are often used as elementary spices. Raw shallot can also accompany cucumbers when pickled in mild vinegar solution. It is also often chopped finely, then fried until golden brown, resulting in tiny crispy shallot chips called bawang goreng (fried onions) in Indonesian language, which can be bought ready-made from groceries and supermarkets. Shallots enhance the flavor of many Southeast Asian dishes, such as fried rice variants. Crispy shallot chips are also used in southern Chinese cuisine. In Indonesia, shallots are sometimes made into pickles that are added to several traditional foods the pickles' sourness is thought to increase one's appetite.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shallot
https://www.google.co.id/search?q=shallot&rlz=1C1CHBF_enID752ID752&biw=1920&bih=925&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi3_9bI_5TWAhXLMo8KHQVNBqYQ_AUICigB


TOMATO


The tomato is the fruit of the plant Lycopersicon esculentum. (Botanically speaking, tomato is not only a fruit, but also a berry since it is formed from a single ovary.) Originally, tomato was named after the food family to which it belongs - the Solanaceae (sometimes called "solanoid" or "nightshade") family. The botanical name Solanum lycopersicum for tomatoes has now largely been replaced by the name Lycopersicon esculentum. (The genus/species name Lycopersicon esculentum is also sometimes used to refer to tomatoes.)

The French sometimes refer to the tomato as pomme d'amour, meaning "love apple," and in Italy, tomato is sometimes referred to as "pomodoro" or "golden apple," probably referring to tomato varieties that were yellow/orange/tangerine in color.

Regardless of its name, the tomato is a wonderfully popular and versatile food that comes in over a thousand different varieties that vary in shape, size, and color. There are small cherry tomatoes, bright yellow tomatoes, Italian pear-shaped tomatoes, and the green tomato, famous for its fried preparation in Southern American cuisine.

Only the fruits of this plant are eaten since the leaves often contain potentially problematic concentrations of certain alkaloids (see Individual Concerns section below). Tomatoes have fleshy internal segments filled with slippery seeds surrounded by a watery matrix. They can be red, pink, yellow, orange/tangerine, green, purple, brown, or black in color.

Beefsteak and beef master tomatoes are among the largest-sized varieties. Roma tomatoes are more of an intermediate size, while cherry and grape tomatoes are small and rounded. The term "heirloom tomatoes" has become somewhat confusing as it can have a variety of different meanings. In the most traditional sense, "heirloom" refers to seeds from tomato cultivars that get handed down over time from family to family. Obviously, seeds handed down in this way do not make it possible for tomato production on a very large commercial scale. Yet there are definitely "commercial heirloom" tomatoes in the marketplace (sometimes produced from cross-breeding and sometimes produced through open pollination.)

Although tomatoes are fruits in a botanical sense, they don't have the dessert quality sweetness of other fruits. Instead they have a subtle sweetness that is complemented by a slightly bitter and acidic taste. They are prepared and served like other vegetables, which is why they are often categorized as such, including in our A-Z List of the World's Healthiest Foods. Cooking tempers the acid and bitter qualities in tomatoes and brings out their warm, rich sweetness.

There are few food sensations that better mark the summer and early fall months than the sweet juiciness of a vine-ripened tomato. Although tomatoes are available year-round across the U.S., some of the most delicious tomato flavors come from fresh tomatoes that have been planted in late spring or early summer and ripen from July through September.

History

Although tomatoes are often closely associated with Italian cuisine, they are actually originally native to the western side of South America, in the region occupied by Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and the western half of Bolivia. The Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador are also believed to be part of tomatoes' native area. The first type of tomato grown is thought to have more resembled the smaller-sized cherry tomato than the larger varieties.

The tomato does not appear to have been first cultivated in South America, however, but rather in Mexico, most likely in Aztec civilizations and probably in the form of small yellow fruits. The word "tomato" may actually originate from the Nahautl (Aztecan) word "tomatl " meaning "the swelling fruit." It wasn't until the 1500's that Spanish explorers and colonizers brought tomato seeds from Mexico back to Spain and introduced this food to European populations.

Although the use of tomatoes spread throughout Europe (including Italy) over the course of the 1500's, tomatoes did not enjoy full popularity then and were seen by many people as unfit to eat. Part of this "food inappropriateness" was associated with the status of the tomato plant as a nightshade plant and its potential poisonousness in this regard. (It's true, of course, that tomatoes belong to the Solanaceae or nightshade family of plants, along with potatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, tamarios, pepinos, pimentos, paprika, and cayenne. It's also true that tomatoes contain alkaloids —substances that even in small doses can be associated with adverse reactions in sensitive individuals. But it's also true that the levels of alkaloids found in nightshade foods are well-tolerated by many individuals in diets worldwide. For more on nightshades, please see our article "What are nightshades and in which foods are they found?")

Today tomatoes are enjoyed worldwide—to the tune of about 130 million tons per year. The largest tomato-producing country is China (with approximately 34 million tons of production), followed by the United States, Turkey, India, and Italy.

In the U.S., cultivation of tomato varieties is usually determined by their final destination: (1) consumption in fresh form by consumers or (2) use in processing by manufacturers of tomato products. Tomato processors need varieties that have a greater proportion of soluble solids in order to make products like tomato paste more efficiently. Between 80-90% of all commercial tomato cultivation in the U.S. is cultivation for eventual use in processing. (Processing tomatoes are needed for the manufacturing of pasta sauces, pizza sauces, and tomato pastes. Both processing and fresh market tomatoes may be used in the production of salsa—although fresh market tomato salsas or homemade salsas—like our Fresh Tomato Salsa—are the salsas that we like best on account of their minimal processing.) California and Florida produce about two-thirds of all commercially grown fresh market tomatoes in the U.S. During the winter months, because Florida tomatoes are generally shipped to other states along the east coast of the U.S., imported Mexican tomatoes make up a high percentage of commercially grown fresh tomatoes along the west coast.


Source : http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=44
https://www.google.co.id/search?q=tomato&rlz=1C1CHBF_enID752ID752&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjHzcXG5KPWAhUK04MKHcDjCzsQ_AUICigB#imgrc=S7qWcfkSZWtAsM:

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KITCHEN TOOLS 02
Measuring Spoon

Measuring spoons are special, standardized spoons used to measure very small quantities of ingredients by volume quickly and accurately.


Even in metric countries, many small quantities of ingredients are measured with measuring spoons rather than by weight, because it's too much bother to weigh them out. In metric countries, they are even referred to as teaspoons, rather than by referring to their metric volume in millilitres. A French recipe wouldn't call for 15 ml of dried sage; it would call for "une cuillère" (a teaspoon.)



That being said, most Europeans "don't sweat the small stuff" when it comes to measuring spoons. They just whip a spoon out of the drawer. If pulling any old spoon out of the drawer seems shocking, bear in mind that there are no official standards-checkers for North American measuring spoons: it's not uncommon that one set can vary from another by as much as 25%.



Teaspoons and tablespoons are unofficial measurements. They're not legally defined because they aren't used in commerce or in science, so they never seemed to merit the attention of government. In North America, compliance in measurement accuracy for any measuring utensils isn't enforced. For the purpose of metric conversion in nutrition labelling, though, U.S. federal law (21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii))) says that a tablespoon is 15 ml (by convention, for kitchen use, it's thought of as 1/2 oz, though it isn't quite exactly), and that a teaspoon is 5 ml.



Measuring spoons can be made of stainless steel, plastic, wood, copper, ceramic, even Jadeite glass. If you get metal ones, make sure they are dishwasher safe. Stainless steel ones can bend if you're using them to dig out something like hardened brown sugar -- just gently bend them back into shape as much as you can. Many plastic ones in North America meet their end after being carried out of the cutlery basket in the dishwasher by a jet of water, and landing on the heating coils that North American dishwashers have at the bottom, where they get melted into something unrecognizable.



Metal and plastic ones usually have holes in the end of the handles, and are joined together by a ring passing through the holes. The rings keep the sets together; the spoons in the set nestle together (in theory) for storage into each other's bowls. Some plastic ones detach easily from their rings for separate use, then snap back on for storage (though eventually, of course, one snap gets forgotten, then another, and eventually you have just this ring floating by itself about your drawer.) Thus starts the great debate everyone has with themselves: do I leave my set of Measuring Spoons all together, so that they're easier to find and one of them doesn't go astray, or do I take them apart, so that when one is dirty, only one has to be washed, and so that when I'm using them, I'm not trying to keep the dirty one that has butter on it from flopping into the baking powder that I'm measuring with another of them? Some people take them all apart, and solve the "storing together" problem by dedicating a slot in their drawer divider to them.


Most measuring spoons have rounded bottoms. Some have bent handles allowing them to rest on the counter without tipping out the contents of their measuring bowls; some allow the resting to happen by dint of flat-bottomed bowls.



Meat Thermometer


Thermometer function


Our Thermometer preset cooking temperature for many kinds of meat: beef, pork, chick, turkey, veal, lamb, ham, fish. 



Timer function 



You can set an alarm to remind you when your food is done. Max set to 99minutes 59 seconds, never worry about overcooking your food. 



Fast readout 



Our thermometer can get the readings fast, and show large digits on the screen, you can make correct decision about your food after get the exact readings. The readings can display as °C or °F, the range is 0°C to 300°C. (32°F to 572°F)



2 way stand 



stand on kickstand or attched to metal surface with back magnets, It is convenient for you to see the temperature outcome. 



Easy to use 



With touchscreen design, save a space for the button and the screen can accommodate more information about the temperature.



Use Indoor or Outdoor



whether your cooking up a storm in the kitchen, outside on the bbq and smoker, even if you're using the programmable setting to make candy, temper chocolate or make that perfect desert.



The digital reading complete with an alarm when the perfect setting is reached makes cooking a breeze. 



Measuring Jug


A measuring cup or measuring jug is a kitchen utensil used primarily to measure the volume of liquid or bulk solid cooking ingredients such as flour and sugar, especially for volumes from about 50 mL (2 fl oz) upwards. Measuring cups are also used to measure washing powder, liquid detergents and bleach for clothes washing. The cup will usually have a scale marked in cups and fractions of a cup, and often with fluid measure and weight of a selection of dry foodstuffs.

Measuring cups may be made of plastic, glass, or metal. Transparent (or translucent) cups can be read from an external scale; metal ones only from a dipstick or scale marked on the inside.

Source :
http://www.cooksinfo.com/measuring-spoons
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measuring_cup
https://www.amazon.com/LEBE-Cooking-Thermometer/dp/B072Q6CNV1
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SOME FOOD 01


RUJAK


                    Rojak (Malaysian and Singaporean spelling) or Rujak (Indonesian spelling) is a traditional fruit and vegetable salad dish commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Other than referring to this fruit salad dish, the term rojak also means "mixture" or "eclectic mix" in colloquial Malay.

                    Rujak is available everywhere across Indonesia, and there are rich variations within the country. However, the most popular rujak variant is rujak buah (fruit rujak), which is mixed sliced fruit and vegetables served with spicy palm sugar dressing. Unlike common fruit salads, rujak is often described as tangy and spicy fruit salad, due to its sweet, hot and spicy dressing made from ground chili pepper, palm sugar and peanuts. It is a popular street fare in Bali.

                    Indonesian rujak is usually made from fresh ingredients, especially fruits and vegetables. Rojak in Malaysia and Singapore, however, is mostly of Indian influence, mixed with fried tofu, cracker, cruller and fritter. Rujak is usually a vegetarian dish which does not contain any animal products, except the sweet and tangy dressing that might contain shrimp paste. Nevertheless, some recipes may contain seafood or meat. Rojak in Malaysia and Singapore usually contains sotong (cuttlefish), while certain rujak recipes in Indonesia may contain seafood or meat.

Origin

                    The origin of rujak is unclear, and there are numbers of rujak variants in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia. It is possible that since ancient times, the natives of the Malay archipelago have consumed sour-tasting seasonal tropical fruits especially Java apple, kedondong and young mango together with palm sugar and salt, to ease its sourness. In Indonesia, certain fruit plants have their own fruit-bearing season, usually within late dry season to the wet season, thus the time of fruit harvest usually coincides with the time of having rujak in Indonesian villages. The fruit species seasonally anticipated for rujak feasts are mango, Java apple and kedondong.

                    The Javanese in Indonesia have incorporated rujak into their prenatal ceremony called Naloni Mitoni. According to local traditions, young mango and other sour-tasting fruits are craved by pregnant women, apparently as the counterpart of pickles in the West.

                    The introduction of hot and spicy chili pepper and peanuts may have taken place during the early colonial era in the 16th century, since these products were brought by Spanish and Portuguese traders from the Americas. It's suggested that rujak might be related to Indonesian gado-gado, while the rojak in Malaysia and Singapore demonstrate Indian influences with orange-colored peanut sauce as a dip for fried dough and potatoes.

Rojak stall in Singapore hawker center.

                    In Indonesia, rujak is a traditional fare, sold in traditional marketplaces, warungs or travelling gerobak pushcart by locals; especially Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese people. In Malaysia, rojak is associated with Mamak stall, which is a Muslim Malaysian Indian foodstall, where Mamak rojak is one of its popular fares. In Singapore, rojak is typically sold by Chinese hawkers. Today, they are sold in most hawker centre in the city.


Source : 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rojak
https://www.google.co.id/search?q=rujak&safe=active&dcr=0&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjij_nb6ezXAhUEjpQKHa0pCAQQ_AUICigB#imgrc=8XSxYYthMhv4bM:


NASI UDUK

 

        
Nasi uduk is an Indonesian Betawi style steamed rice cooked in coconut milk dish originally from Jakarta, which can be widely found across the country.

Preparation
                
Nasi uduk is made by cooking rice soaked in coconut milk instead of water, along with clove, cassia bark, and lemongrass to add aroma. Sometimes knotted pandan leaves are thrown into the rice while steaming to give it more fragrance. The coconut milk and spices imparts an oily, rich taste to the cooked rice. Bawang goreng (fried shallots) is sprinkled on top of the rice prior to serving. Various other dishes are usually served as side dishes. Pre-packed nasi uduk are commonly wrapped in a cone-shaped banana leaf.

Popularity and Variant
                       
Nasi uduk is a popular dish for the busy commuters in Jakarta, mainly because it is affordable (one serving costs on average Rp10000,- or about US$ 0.77). It can be found throughout the day, some roadside stalls open exclusively in the morning, noon, or night, depending on the demographics of the surrounding areas. Stalls located near residential area, marketplaces, train stations and schools usually open at morning to the noon, while the ones near offices and street-side usually opens at afternoon to midnight.
                       
Each neighbourhood in Jakarta has its own variant of the dish, the most notable being Nasi uduk Slipi from West Jakarta. While Kebon Kacang area near Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta is also renowned for its nasi uduk.
                       
The dish is known as berkat (literally: "blessing") in Suriname. There are similar dishes in Riau and Riau islands (Sumatera), Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and Southern Thailand called nasi lemak. Another slightly different dish is nasi ulam.


Source : 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasi_uduk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3ANasi_uduk
https://www.google.co.id/search?q=nasi+uduk+wikipedia&safe=active&dcr=0&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj669f16-zXAhXCNJQKHRElB-0Q_AUICigB#imgrc=NtOi6YJq5yfwdM:

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VISIT TRADITIONAL MARKET 02
Halo, Hari ini adalah hari kemerdekaan Indonesia yang ke-73. karena hari ini adalah hari jumat maka kami kembali mengunjungi pasar tradisional yang ada di makassar, pasar tujuan kami kali ini adalah pasar Pa' Baeng-baeng. Hari ini saya mengunjungi pasar bersama beberapa teman saya.




Kali ini kami bukan hanya mensurvei harga saja, tetapi karena kami akan membuat kapurung maka kami sekalian membeli bahan-bahan yang akan kami gunakan membuat kapurung. berikut harga bahan makanan atau sembako yang ada di pasar pa baeng-baeng :









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VISIT TRADITIONAL MARKET 01
Halo, hari ini adalah hari pertama saya mengunjungi pasar tradisional di makassar, pasar pertama yang saya kunjungi adalah pasar Maricaya yang terletak di jalan Veteran Selatan. Tujuan utama kami kepasar adalah mensurvei harga bahan makanan yang ada di pasar tersebut.



Ada beberapa penjual sembako yang saya datangi, harga yang mereka tawarkan rata-rata memiliki harga yang sama. berikut harga beberapa bahan makanan yang ada di pasar Maricaya :

 



Itulah hasil survei kami di pasar maricaya, harganya masih harga normal.






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DAILY ACTIVITY 01 (ENGLISH VERSION)
Hi, today is the first day I entered kitchen for practice after training for 6 months in Jakarta. The materials praktice today is How to make croissant and danish. I made croissant dough with my two friends, namely alkiswan and dedy.

The first i prepare all ingredients to make croissant and danish. After all the ingredients are ready, we begin to mix the ingredients and make the mixture. After the dough is almost , we roll the mixture and then store it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, the dough is rolled back, then added fat / butter or often called the lamination process, which is the insertion of fat into the dough. After that the dough is rolled again, then folded and then rested back in the freezer.



And then repeated for 3 times, then the mixture is rolled and then divided into two for croissants and danish. After dividing in half, I finished the croissant dough, while dedy made danish.


After the mixture is finished, then the croissant and danish are proofed at room temperature for 1 hour. After proofing the croissant and danish are ready to be burned.
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SOME INGREDIENT 01
SPINACH

Description

While clearly visible as a green leafy vegetable, spinach actually falls into a different food family than many other well-known green leafy vegetables. In the cruciferous vegetable family you will find collard greens, kale, mustard and turnip greens, bok choy and arugula. Spinach, however, is not a cruciferous vegetable but belongs to a food family known as the chenopod or amaranth family. (The science names here are Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthaceae.) Among other green leafy vegetables in this chenopod group, beet greens and Swiss chard are perhaps the best-known (and of course beets themselves are also members of this food family). Yet foods in the chenopod family also extend outside of the vegetable group. The grains amaranth and quinoa are also members of this same food family that contains spinach and Swiss chard.

The genus/species name for spinach is Spinacia oleracea, and within this genus/species can be found many different varieties of spinach. Most popular descriptions of spinach varieties include three groups: savoy, semi-savoy, and flat-leafed. Savoy varieties of spinach typically feature leaves that are more curly and crinkly, and "springy" to the touch. Flat-leafed varieties are much more flat just like their name suggests, as well as smoother and often more broad. Some of the flat-leafed varieties of spinach are quite famous for their spade-shaped leaves. Semi-savoy varieties fall somewhere in the middle of this curly versus flat spectrum. Some people consider the flat-leafed varieties of spinach as easier to clean, but we have not found spinach cleaning to be difficult in the case of any varieties. It's worth noting here that you will often hear flat-leafed spinach also being referred to as smooth-leafed spinach.

Alongside of these distinctions between savoy, semi-savoy and flat-leafed, you will also hear spinach varieties being referred to by color. For example, purple passion spinach and red mountain spinach are terms that you might hear in this context. While these varieties still belong to the chenopod family of foods, but they do not belong to the same genus/species of spinach as has been included at WHFoods (Spinacia oleraceae. Purple passion spinach and red mountain spinach actually belong to the genus/species Atriplex hortensis and are often described as being members of the orach subgroup within the chenopod family.

You may also hear spinach being referred to as Malabar or New Zealand spinach. In this case, we have left the chenopod family entirely, and we have shifted over into a different family of foods known as the Basellaceaefamily. While the leaves of Malabar/New Zealand spinach may appear similar to the spinach leaves that we are familiar with in the supermarket, these leaves actually grown on a vine and they have their own unique nutrient composition.

In general, spinach is a cool season crop and sensitive to excessive heat. It is also fairly fast-growing. Given its fast growth rage and susceptibility to heat, spinach can quickly form flowers and seeds and put more energy into this flower/seed development than into leaf growth. The emergence of flowering and seed development in plants is called bolting. Because spinach can be quick to bolt (thus producing fewer large-sized leaves), spinach growers often talk about spinach varieties as either "slow-bolting" or "fast-bolting." Slow-bolting spinach is more heat resistant and thus slower to form flowers/seeds. Slow-bolting is not necessary the same as highly productive, however, and growers often look for trade-offs between rate of bolting and rate of growth/leaf formation.

Some popular varieties of savoy spinach include Bloomsdale, Harmony, and Avon. Popular flat-leafed varieties include Red Kitten, Corvair, Bordeaux, and Space. Semi-savoy varieties include Indian Summer, Tyee, and Melody.

History

Spinach is generally regarded as being native to the Middle East, and appears to have been cultivated there for well over a thousand years. Trading between the Middle East and Asia is believed to have been responsible for the migration of spinach to several Asian countries, and today there are few places in the world where spinach is not found as a cultivated food.

Within the United States, the average adult consumed 1.7 pounds of spinach in 2014, and California served as the largest spinach-producing state with about 45,000 harvested acres. Arizona, New Jersey, and Texas combined with California to account for 98% of all commercially grown spinach in the U.S.
On a global level, China currently produces the greatest amount of commercially grown spinach, with the United States, Japan, and Turkey also falling into the Top 10 countries for spinach production.

How to Select and Store

Choose spinach that has vibrant deep green leaves and stems with no signs of yellowing. The leaves should look fresh and tender, and not be wilted or bruised. Avoid those that have a slimy coating as this is an indication of decay.

At WHFoods, we encourage the purchase of certified organically grown foods, and spinach no exception. Repeated research studies on organic foods as a group show that your likelihood of exposure to contaminants such as pesticides and heavy metals can be greatly reduced through the purchased of certified organic foods, including spinach. In many cases, you may be able to find a local organic grower who sells spinach but has not applied for formal organic certification either through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) or through a state agency. (Examples of states offering state-certified organic foods include California, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.) However, if you are shopping in a large supermarket, your most reliable source of organically grown spinach is very likely to be spinach that displays the USDA organic logo.

Do not wash spinach before storing as the exposure to water encourages spoilage. Place spinach in a plastic storage bag and wrap the bag tightly around the spinach, squeezing out as much of the air as possible. Place in refrigerator where it will keep fresh for up to 5 days.

Here is some background on why we recommend refrigerating spinach. Whenever food is stored, four basic factors affect its nutrient composition: exposure to air, exposure to light, exposure to heat, and length of time in storage. Vitamin C, vitamin B6, and carotenoids are good examples of nutrients highly susceptible to heat, and for this reason, their loss from food is very likely to be slowed down through refrigeration.
Avoid storing cooked spinach as it will not keep very well.

Tips for Preparing and Cooking

Spinach should be washed very well since the leaves and stems tend to collect sand and soil. Before washing, trim off the roots and separate the leaves. Place the spinach in a large bowl of tepid water and swish the leaves around with your hands as this will allow any dirt to become dislodged. Remove the leaves from the water, empty the bowl, refill with clean water and repeat this process until no dirt remains in the water (usually two to three times will do the trick). Spinach sold in bags has been pre-washed and only needs to be rinsed. If you are going to use it in a salad, dry it using a salad spinner or by shaking it in a colander.

Nutrient-Rich Way of Cooking Spinach
Spinach is only one of three vegetables we recommend boiling to free up acids and allow them to leach into the boiling water; this brings out a sweeter taste from the spinach. Discard the boiling water after cooking; do not drink it or use it for stock because of its acid content.
Quick Boiling—similar to Quick Steaming and Healthy Sauté, our other recommended cooking methods—follows three basic cooking guidelines that are generally associated in food science research with improved nutrient retention. These three guidelines are: (1) minimal necessary heat exposure; (2) minimal necessary cooking duration; (3) minimal necessary food surface contact with cooking liquid.
Use a large pot (3 quart) with lots of water and bring to a rapid boil. Add spinach to the boiling water. Bring water back to boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove spinach from pot, press out liquid with a fork, place in a bowl, toss with our Mediterranean Dressing, and top with your favorite optional ingredients. For details see 1-Minute Spinach.


Health Benefits

Outstanding Broad-Based Nourishment

Spinach is already widely-enjoyed as a food, and its commonplace appearance in salad bars as well as many different types of cuisine may lead us to forget just how impressive this leafy is in terms of nourishment. 

We've created the chart below using our WHFoods Rating System to summarize the unique status of spinach as a nutrient-rich food:
Nutrient
Nutrient Type
Spinach Ranking Among All 100 WHFoods
Spinach Rating Using Our WHFoods Rating System
Magnesium
Mineral
1st
Excellent
Iron
Mineral
1st
Excellent
Vitamin B2
Water-Soluble Vitamin
2nd
Excellent
Vitamin B6
Water-Soluble Vitamin
2nd
Excellent
Vitamin K
Fat-Soluble Vitamin
2nd
Excellent
Vitamin E
Fat-Soluble Vitamin
2nd
Excellent
Vitamin A
Fat-Soluble Vitamin
2nd
Excellent
Folate
Water-Soluble Vitamin
3rd
Excellent
Calcium
Mineral
3rd
Excellent
Potassium
Mineral
3rd
Excellent
Manganese
Mineral
5th
Excellent
Copper
Mineral
8th
Excellent

It's also worth noting in this context that spinach also serves as a very good source of 6 additional nutrients, including fiber, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc, protein, and choline, and as a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B3, pantothenic acid, and selenium.


EGGPLANT

Description

Eggplant, or aubergine as it is called in France, is a vegetable long prized for its beauty as well as its unique taste and texture. Eggplants belong to the plant family of Solanaceae, also commonly known as nightshades, and are kin to the tomato, bell pepper and potato. Eggplants grow in a manner much like tomatoes, hanging from the vines of a plant that grows several feet in height.

One of the most popular varieties of eggplant in North America looks like a pear-shaped egg, a characteristic from which its name is derived. The skin is glossy and deep purple in color, while the flesh is cream colored and spongy in consistency. Contained within the flesh are seeds arranged in a conical pattern.
In addition to this variety, eggplant is also available in a cornucopia of other colors including lavender, jade green, orange, and yellow-white, as well as in sizes and shapes that range from that of a small tomato to a large zucchini.

While the different varieties do vary slightly in taste and texture, one can generally describe the eggplant as having a pleasantly bitter taste and spongy texture. In many recipes, eggplant fulfills the role of being a complementary ingredient that balances the surrounding flavors of the other more pronounced ingredients.

History

The ancient ancestors of eggplant grew wild in India and were first cultivated in China in the 5th century B.C. Eggplant was introduced to Africa before the Middle Ages and then into Italy, the country with which it has long been associated, in the 14th century. It subsequently spread throughout Europe and the Middle East and, centuries later, was brought to the Western Hemisphere by European explorers. Today, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, China and Japan are the leading growers of eggplant.

Although it has a long and rich history, eggplant did not always hold the revered place in food culture that it does today, especially in European cuisines. As a result of the overly bitter taste of the early varieties, it seems that people also felt that it had a bitter disposition—eggplant held the undeserved and inauspicious reputation of being able to cause insanity, leprosy and cancer.

For centuries after its introduction into Europe, eggplant was used more as a decorative garden plant than as a food. Not until new varieties were developed in the 18th century, did eggplant lose its bitter taste and bitter reputation, and take its now esteemed place in the cuisines of many European countries, including Italy, Greece, Turkey and France.

Tips for Preparing and Cooking

Tips for Preparing Eggplant

When cutting an eggplant, use a stainless steel knife as carbon steel will react with its phytonutrients and cause it to turn black. Wash the eggplant first and then cut off the ends.

Most eggplants can be eaten either with or without their skin. However, the larger ones and those that are white in color generally have tough skins that may not be palatable. To remove skin, you can peel it before cutting or if you are baking it, you can scoop out the flesh once it is cooked.

To tenderize the flesh's texture and reduce some of its naturally occurring bitter taste, you can sweat the eggplant by salting it. After cutting the eggplant into the desired size and shape, sprinkle it with salt and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes. This process will pull out some of its water content and make it less permeable to absorbing any oil used in cooking.

Rinsing the eggplant after "sweating" will remove most of the salt.

Eggplant can be baked, roasted in the oven, or steamed. If baking it whole, pierce the eggplant several times with a fork to make small holes for the steam to escape. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (about 177 degrees Celsius) for 15 to 25 minutes, depending upon size. You can test for its readiness by gently inserting a knife or fork to see if it passes through easily.


GREEN BEANS

Description

Legumes are plants that bear fruit in the form of pods enclosing the fleshy seeds we know as beans. Peas are one of the few members of the legume family that are commonly sold and cooked as fresh vegetables. Other members of the legume family, including lentils, chickpeas, and beans of all colors are most often sold in dried form. There are generally three types of peas that are commonly eaten: garden or green peas (Pisum sativum), snow peas (Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon) and snap peas (Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon ser. cv.). Garden peas have rounded pods that are usually slightly curved in shape with a smooth texture and vibrant green color. Inside of them are green rounded pea seeds that are sweet and starchy in taste. Snow peas are flatter than garden peas, and since they are not fully opaque, you can usually see the shadows of the flat peas seeds within. Snap peas, a cross between the garden and snow pea, have plump pods with a crisp, snappy texture. The pods of both snow peas and snap peas are edible, and both feature a slightly sweeter and cooler taste than the garden pea. Peas and other legumes belong to the plant family known as the Fabaceae, which is also commonly called the bean family or the pulse family. In fact, commercial production of peas is commonly placed within the category of pulse production, and like its fellow legumes, peas are often referred to as "pulses."

History

The modern-day garden pea is thought to have originated from the field pea that was native to central Asia and the Middle East. Because its cultivation dates back thousands and thousands of years, the green pea is widely recognized as one of the first food crops to be cultivated by humans. Peas were apparently consumed in dry form throughout much of their early history, and did not become widely popular as a fresh food until changes in cultivation techniques that took place in Europe in the 16th century. Peas are now grown throughout the world in nearly every climatic zone, and are widely consumed in both fresh and dried form.
While growing approximately 3 million tons of peas per year, Canada is currently the largest world producer and exporter of peas. France, China, Russia, and India are also large-scale producers of this legume. 

Despite being a large-scale producer of peas, India is also the world's largest importer of this food due to its great popularity in that country.

Tips for Preparing and Cooking

Tips for Preparing Green Peas
Before you remove the peas from the pod, rinse them briefly under running water. To easily shell them, snap off the top and bottom of the pod and then gently pull off the "thread" that lines the seam of most peapods. For those that do not have "threads," carefully cut through the seam, making sure not to cut into the peas. Gently open the pods to remove the seeds, which do not need to be washed since they have been encased in the pod.

The classic way of cooking garden peas is to line a saucepan with several leaves of washed Boston or Bibb lettuce and then place the peas on the lettuce. You can then add fresh herbs and spices if you desire. Cover the peas with more lettuce leaves, add one or two tablespoons of water, and cover the pan. Cook the peas for about 15 to 20 minutes, after which they should be tender and flavorful.

Snow peas and snap peas can be eaten raw, although the cooking process will cause them to become sweeter. Either way, they should be rinsed beforehand. Healthy Sautéeing is one of the best ways to cook these types of peas.

The Nutrient-Rich Way of Cooking
Of all of the cooking methods we tried when cooking green peas, our favorite is Healthy Sauté. We think that this method provides green peas with the greatest flavor.

Healthy Sauté—similar to Quick Boiling and Quick Steaming, our other recommended cooking methods—follows three basic cooking guidelines that are generally associated in food science research with improved nutrient retention. These three guidelines are: (1) minimal necessary heat exposure; (2) minimal necessary cooking duration; (3) minimal necessary food surface contact with cooking liquid.

To Healthy Sauté green peas, heat 3 TBS of broth (vegetable or chicken) or water in a stainless steel skillet. Once bubbles begin to form add green peas, cover, and Healthy Sauté for 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and toss with our Mediterranean Dressing.


Source :
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270609.php
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=22&tname=foodspice
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=55
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