Basil
Basil is part of the (Ocimum basilicum) family also known as sweet basil. Basil is originally a native of India and other tropical regions of Asia; it has been cultivated for about 5000 years. It is featured in various cuisines such as Italian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Laotian. The plant tastes somewhat like anises, with a strong, pungent, sweet smell. Basil is very sensitive to the cold it grows best in hot dry conditions. While most common varieties are treated as annual and some perennial, including African Blue and Holy Thai Basil.
Culinary Uses
Basil is commonly recommended to be used fresh, and in cooked recipes it is added at the last moment, as cooking destroys the flavor quickly. Fresh herbs can be kept for a short time in stored in the refrigerator or in the freezer for a longer period after being blanched quickly in boiling water. Dried herb loses it flavor and what flavor it has tastes very different flavor almost like hay. Basil is one of the main ingredients in Pesto light green Italian oil and herb sauce from the city of Genoa its other ingredients are olive oil and pine nuts. Chinese cuisine used basil fresh or dried in soups and other foods. In Taiwan they use fresh basil in thick soups they also eat fried chicken and fried basil leaves. Mediterranean cuisine use basil with combining it with tomatoes. Basil is sometimes used in fresh fruit and jams in particular with strawberries, raspberries and plums. When several varieties of basil seeds are soaked in water they become gelatinous and are used in some Asian drinks and desserts such as sherbets.
Cultivation
Basil likes hot weather it will not survive if there is any chance of frost. It grows best in soft peat pots when starting out indoors then planted in the late spring early summer; it fairs best in a well drained sunny spot. If the basil leaves are wilting it is from a lack of water. It will recover once it is watered and places in a sunny spot. Yellow leaves near the bottom of the plant means it needs more sunny light and less fertilizer.
In sunnier climates in Southern Europe and the Southern United States it thrives outside in the summertime but it dies out in when the temperatures reach a freezing point, to go again next year let it go to seed. It will need regular watering but not as much attention as needed in other climates. If the plant goes to flower it will slow its leaf production, and the stems become woody and the essential oils production declines, to prevent this pinch off any flower stems before them fully mature.
Cultural aspects
There so many rituals and beliefs associated with basil. Jewish folklore suggests it adds strength while fasting. In France it called the herb royal. It is a symbol of love in Italy but quite the opposite in Greek it is the symbol of hatred. In African legend basil was used to protect against scorpions. In the Greek Orthodox Church basil is used to prepare the holy water. It is also said to be found around Christ’s tomb after his resurrection. In Europe they place basil in the hands of the dead for a safe journey and in India they place it the mouths of the dead to make sure that they reach God.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Blueberries
Blueberries
Blueberries are a flowering plant which flowers is a bell shaped, white, pink or red and sometimes green. They grow in shrubs that vary in size from 10cm to 4 m in height, the smaller species are called lowbush blueberries and the larger species are called highbush blueberries. The fruit is called a berry and is 5-66 mm in diameter with a flared crown at the end they start as a pale green color and then they turn a reddish-purple color and finally a dark purple when ripe. They have a sweet taste when mature; the blueberry season is from May to October peaking in July.
Although blueberries are native to North America but now they are grown in Australia, New Zealand, and South American countries and can be air shipped as fresh produce all around the world. The blueberry is one of the few human foods that are naturally colored blue.
In 2005 the blueberry was categorized as a functional food called superfruits having a favorable combination of nutrient richness, antioxidant strength and versatility for manufacturing novel consumer products.
Cultivation
Blueberries are either cultivated or wild. The wild blueberries are smaller and much more expensive then the cultivated ones. They are also prized for their intense flavor and color. Low bush species are fire-tolerant and blueberry production often increases following a forest fire as the plants regenerate rapidly and benefit from removal of competing vegetation.
The Starkleberry is a common wild species on sandy soil in the Southeastern US, its fruit is important to the wildlife and the flowers are important to the beekeepers.
Growing Areas
Maine produces about 25% of all of the blueberries for North America making it the largest producer in the world. Maine’s 60, 000 acres were spread from native plants that occur naturally in the under storey of its coastal forest. The Maine crop requires about 50,000 beehives to pollinate the crops with most of the beehives being trucked in from other states. Quebec and Nova Scotia are also major producers of wild blueberries. The town of Oxford in Nova Scotia is known as the Wild Blueberry capital of Canada.
Blueberries were first introduced to Australia in the 1950s, but the effort was unsuccessful. "In the early 1970's David Jones from the Victorian Department of Agriculture imported seed from the U.S. and a selection trial was started. This work was continued by Ridley Bell" who imported more American varieties. In the mid-1970s the Australian Blueberry Growers Association (ABGA) was formed.
Blueberries especially the wild ones contain antioxidant pigments and other phytochemicals (promotes the function of the immune system) which may have a role in reducing some cancer. In 2004 the International Conference of Longvity has reported that eating blueberries and cranberries may have alleviated the cognitive decline in Alzehimer’s and other conditions of aging. Also feeding blueberries to animals lower stroke damage. The also have been known in helping prevent uninary tract infections
140 grams of fresh blueberries contain about 3g of fiber and also they are high in manganses and well as vitamin K.
Blueberries are a flowering plant which flowers is a bell shaped, white, pink or red and sometimes green. They grow in shrubs that vary in size from 10cm to 4 m in height, the smaller species are called lowbush blueberries and the larger species are called highbush blueberries. The fruit is called a berry and is 5-66 mm in diameter with a flared crown at the end they start as a pale green color and then they turn a reddish-purple color and finally a dark purple when ripe. They have a sweet taste when mature; the blueberry season is from May to October peaking in July.
Although blueberries are native to North America but now they are grown in Australia, New Zealand, and South American countries and can be air shipped as fresh produce all around the world. The blueberry is one of the few human foods that are naturally colored blue.
In 2005 the blueberry was categorized as a functional food called superfruits having a favorable combination of nutrient richness, antioxidant strength and versatility for manufacturing novel consumer products.
Cultivation
Blueberries are either cultivated or wild. The wild blueberries are smaller and much more expensive then the cultivated ones. They are also prized for their intense flavor and color. Low bush species are fire-tolerant and blueberry production often increases following a forest fire as the plants regenerate rapidly and benefit from removal of competing vegetation.
The Starkleberry is a common wild species on sandy soil in the Southeastern US, its fruit is important to the wildlife and the flowers are important to the beekeepers.
Growing Areas
Maine produces about 25% of all of the blueberries for North America making it the largest producer in the world. Maine’s 60, 000 acres were spread from native plants that occur naturally in the under storey of its coastal forest. The Maine crop requires about 50,000 beehives to pollinate the crops with most of the beehives being trucked in from other states. Quebec and Nova Scotia are also major producers of wild blueberries. The town of Oxford in Nova Scotia is known as the Wild Blueberry capital of Canada.
Blueberries were first introduced to Australia in the 1950s, but the effort was unsuccessful. "In the early 1970's David Jones from the Victorian Department of Agriculture imported seed from the U.S. and a selection trial was started. This work was continued by Ridley Bell" who imported more American varieties. In the mid-1970s the Australian Blueberry Growers Association (ABGA) was formed.
Blueberries especially the wild ones contain antioxidant pigments and other phytochemicals (promotes the function of the immune system) which may have a role in reducing some cancer. In 2004 the International Conference of Longvity has reported that eating blueberries and cranberries may have alleviated the cognitive decline in Alzehimer’s and other conditions of aging. Also feeding blueberries to animals lower stroke damage. The also have been known in helping prevent uninary tract infections
140 grams of fresh blueberries contain about 3g of fiber and also they are high in manganses and well as vitamin K.
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