Content tagged with “food” under “Stuff I Looked Up”

“Nitrates are all over the place – especially in vegetables. However, we’re warned to stay away from processed meat because it contains nitrates. Why this particular warning? Nitrates are generally used as a preservative in meat. This is why ‘processed meat’ – like sliced deli meat – tends to be…”

“Yes, calling a beer ‘an Oktoberfest’ denotes a style of beer usually served during the traditional German Oktoberfest season. Outside of Germany itself (where the term is interpreted very specifically and with great debate), the Oktoberfest is a type of Märzen beer, which is beer brewed in March…”

“ This is just raw vegetables served as an appetizer. Things like carrot sticks, celery, radishes, etc. It’s French for ‘raw things.’ ”

“ Not surprisingly, it’s beef. Specifically, it’s ‘cube steak,’ which is round or sirloin that’s flattened by pounding it with a meat tenderizer. So it’s not a ‘natural’ cut of beef – it’s processed a bit (and then, of course, it’s breaded…). ”

“ This is just a submarine sandwich by another name, it turns out. This seems to be a regional New York term, dating from the 1930s (the same thing is referred to as a ‘Hoagie’ in Philadelphia). It’s not related to what’s in the sandwich, just the general concept of a long, cylindrical roll. ”

“ This specifically refers to the mix of spices in Indian food. However, there is also idiomatic usage meaning ‘mixture’ or ‘co-mingling.’ ”

“ This is a Middle Eastern dish consisting of eggs poached in a tomato sauce. The word comes from Arabic for ‘mixture.’ ”

“Absinthe is a spirit derived from several plants and herbs, one of which is wormwood. This results in trace amounts of a chemical called ‘thujone.’ This chemical has historically been blamed for psychosis and hallucinations. However, over the years, its effects were determined to be largely…”

“I saw this on two different menus as the name of a drink. On one, the ingredients were pomegranate (it was called a ‘Poma Paloma’), tequila, mezcal, grapefruit, and pink peppercorn. On the other it was Hornitos Reposada (a brand of tequila), lime and grapefruit juice, with salt. Clearly, one of the…”

“In the American usage, it’s a layered dish, served in a tall glass, so the layers are visible. A yogurt parfait is usually layers of yogurt, fruit, and granola An ice cream parfait is ice cream, fruit, and whipped cream In France, there’s another usage for a frozen custard dessert (no layering)….”

“It has nothing to do with love, it turns out. From Wikipedia : Around 1700, the name was given by missionaries in Brazil as an educational aid while trying to convert the indigenous inhabitants to Christianity; its name was flor das cinco chagas or ‘flower of the five wounds’ to illustrate the…”

“A family of vegetables. The most common members are: Cauliflower Cabbage Kale Broccoli Brussels sprouts Arugula These are ‘true vegetables,’ unlike other foods such as corn, potatoes, and peas which people think are vegetables but actually fall into other categories (grains, tubers, and legumes,…”

“This is an organ found in birds and some other creatures. It’s a type of ‘pre-stomach’ that grinds food, since birds don’t have teeth. Some birds actually swallow stones which stay resident in their gizzards to help break food down. They are prepared as food all around the world. They are a tough,…”

“ A Lebanese food, which is essentially hummus made with eggplant, rather than chickpeas. Common ingredients are mashed eggplant, olive oil, lemon juice, and other seasonings. It is consumed in a similar way as hummus – as a dip, or spread on bread. ”

“This is the process of combing two fluid substances of different thicknesses together my inserting a spoon into the bottom of the heavier mixture, pulling some to the top and over the lighter mixture. I found an article which explained it: Folding is a very precise term in cooking and baking. It…”

“ It’s a ‘pasta pellet’ – pasta, shaped into what looks like a large grain of rice. ”

“ This seems to be another word for ‘carnivorism.’ A carnivore is a ‘zoophagist.’ ”