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2007-11-21T13:55:00.000+07:00

A Look At Some Of The Dining Habits Of Ancient Romans

2007-10-06T08:08:00.000+07:00

By Gregg Hall

Modern society is quick to lay claim to inventing things that were actually introduced to society, many generations ago. We may take credit for wireless communication; however, from the beginning of time, this type of communication has been in existence. Tribes would communicate with other tribes by beating a code out on drums. Others used smoke signals. This is also true in terms of meals. It is only recently that the term brunch, referring to the time period between lunch and breakfast, came into fashion. This popular pastime was actually begun in Rome. The only difference is, is that they called it dinner.

Dinner for the ancient Romans was simple as compared to the late morning meal. It consisted primarily of vegetables. This meal was prepared by the wife or mother of the family, or by servants, as directed by the wife, if the family was affluent. The family would gather and dine in a room called the atrium and sit on stools at tables, once dinner was served. When it came to utensils, forks and knives were viewed as being very cryptic, and so the ancient Romans preferred to eat with spoons. They would also eat things like meat, cut into small, thin slices, with their hands. However, by the time there were councils in the senate, in the last two centuries of the Republic, the dining style had changed to some extent. During the time of industrialization, further changes took place. These changes included separate areas in which people of different classes would feast. The people no longer sat on benches during meals, but instead sat on couches.

The lowest class in society was that of the plebeians. They survived almost entirely on porridge that was made from vegetables. When they were able to afford it, they would enjoy eating olives, fish, meat, bread and wine. The government helped the plebeians under a program that was similar to a welfare system, called the "annona". In the early 2C AD, a separate but similar system was established for children, called the "alimenta". This involved giving little tokens to each child, called "tessarae". The children had special containers in which to carry wheat and flour, which were filled in exchange for their tokens. Meat was given to the children on special occasions.

In contrast to the plebians, the upper class patricians of ancient Rome dined on much more extravagant cuisine. Separate parties were held for men, while others were held for the women and children. These parties went on for many hours; they were spent socializing and drinking plenty of wine. The party also included music. Some of the guests played instruments, while the others danced. Each party was a celebration, filled with entertainment.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida.

Antioxidants - Foods High In Antioxidants Include Loose Leaf Tea

2007-10-06T07:35:00.000+07:00

By Connie Bednar

We know that antioxidants fight the oxidative damage done to our body cells by free radicals. This is all very scientific. Not being a scientist, I can not go into great detail to explain how our bodies come to have free radicals. I can tell you that in most cases they are not good for our bodies.

You may understand this as an example, smoking causes free radicals in our bodies. We know that smoking can lead to lung cancer and heart disease. (in the case of smoking, just say no to smoking)

To protect ourselves it is a good idea to find something that can fight the free radicals in our bodies. Enter antioxidants, they can prevent free radical damage and even sometimes reverse damage done by them. Some researchers have found that drinking green tea may help reverse some, but definitely not all damage done by smoking.

Foods high in anti oxidants

We are told that many fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants. Three color groups of fruits and vegetables fall into this group. They are red, yellow and orange. Here are some examples red is a good color so lets buy some red peppers and tomatoes. Yellow is a good color so lets buy some mangoes or sweet potatoes. Orange is a good color so lets buy some carrots and nice juicy oranges. There are many other fruits and vegetables to list.

What else can we find these free radical fighters?

Loose leaf tea. black tea, oolong tea, green tea and white tea all have antioxidants. All loose leaf teas have more free radical enemies than are found in fruits and vegetables. Each type of tea has a different amount of anti oxidants. White tea has the most (up to 5 times more than green tea) because it is not considered a processed tea. Green tea would be next in line because it is processed a short period of time. Next would be oolong tea and finally black tea has the least antioxidants.

The question now would be which tea would be the best tea to choose. I am reminded of an exercise guru who once said "The best exercise is the one you will do." In the same regard the best tea for you is the one you enjoy drinking the most.

With all things balance is important. Don't rely on fruit alone. Don't rely on vegetables alone. Don't rely on loose leaf tea alone. We need a balanced diet and exercise to maintain health. Choose a tea to help benefit your life and health. Then make it your cup of tea.

This information is not intended to be medical advise. Please consult a physician before starting any diet routine.

Connie Bednar writes about tea at http://www.your-cup-of-tea.com

World's Hottest Hot Sauce is a Pepper Extract That Can Kill

2007-10-06T07:30:00.000+07:00

By Chris McCarthy

This Hot Sauce is so hot, you'd have to gulp 250,000 gallons of water just to put out the fire.

"We live in an extreme world," describes Blair Lazar, a hot sauce inventor. "And I make extreme foods. ' In his palm of his hand is the most blistering pepper extract in the world, an over-the-top version of pepper concentrate so blistering that customers must sign a waiver clearing him of any liability if they are crazy enough to try it.

Locked in a crystal bottle sealed with wax and a tiny skull, Mr Lazar's lip-scorching concoction is pure capsaicin - the chemical that gives habanero and jalapeno peppers their atomic heat. Blair Lazar claims to try his sauce is to encounter ‘pure heat’ His "16 Million Reserve", which is released to the public in 2006, is the brass ring of hot sauces, the most blistering pepper extract that chemistry can create. It is 30 times hotter than the hottest pepper, the Red Savina from Mexico, and 8,000 times more powerful than Tabasco sauce.

To put the smallest dot on the tip of your tongue is to encounter "pure heat", Mr Lazar says. Although capsaicin does not actually burn - it tricks your brain into thinking that you are in pain by exciting nerve endings in your mouth - some health specialists think that it might kill an asthmatic or hospitalize a user who touched his eyes or different susceptible parts of the anatomy. Mr Lazar has trained his taste buds to endure the feeling, but he remembers the instant he decided to try his "16 Million Reserve" himself. "The pain was exquisite," he said. "It was like having your tongue hit with a hammer. Man, it hurt. My tongue swelled up and it hurt like hell for days. " The Scoville Scale measures the heat of peppers. The eye-watering merits of peppers are measured in globally Scoville units, established by Wilbur Scoville, an American chemist who, in 1912, asked panelists to evaluate how many parts of sugar water it took to remove the heat.

Today, capsaicin content is measured in parts per million, using a procedure recognized as high-performance liquid chromatography; one part being equivalent to 15 Scoville units. Benign bell peppers rate zero Scoville units and the Red Savina joined Guinness World Records at 570,000 units. Pure capsaicin, meanwhile, has a heat score of 16 million units - moving the name for Mr Lazar's latest innovation. Each of the 999 limited-issue bottles, priced at $289, comprises of just a few crystals. The concentrate is so strong, though, that Mr Lazar approximates that it would have to be dissipated in 250,000 gallons of water before it might no longer be tasted.

His calling as a hot sauce inventor began when he established that the best way to remove people under the influence out of his seaside bar was to give them free chicken wings immersed in an eye-watering home-made hot sauce. Now he owns and manages Extreme Foods in New Jersey, marketing his existing assortment of sauces, including "Mega Death" and "Jersey Death", the second, according to Mr Lazar, being the world's most blistering usable hot sauce. He maintains a refrigerator full of purified water in his headquarters for those courageous enough to try some of the sauces. Most testers sweat severely and are powerless to see through their tears for up to half an hour. It takes many tons of crisp peppers to produce 1lb of capsaicin for the 16 Million Reserve, and the work takes months. First, wetness is separated from the crisp peppers until a thick tar-like substance is left. The process by which all additional impurities are removed, leaving pure capsaicin concentrate, is classified, but the work takes place in a research laboratory where Mr Lazar and his team wear sealed outfits with masks to steer clear of inhaling the dust. Several years ago Mr Lazar developed "2am Reserve" in of the hour at which he once closed his bar. It was hotter than any other hot sauce creation on the market, measuring up to 900,000 Scoville units. He then distilled even more powerful extracts, including the scorching "6am Reserve" at 10 million units. Most of the signed and numbered bottles of "16 Million Reserve" will be purchased by hot sauce addicts recognized as chile heads.

Buyers have to agree to a rider cautioning that any handling "must be under a controlled environment using protective and protective eye wear". "It can’t be used for flavor," says Mr Lazar. "The only purpose is its heat value." He prefers not to guess on what might happen should anyone be crazy enough to down a whole flask. Rinsing the mouth with milk is among the best cures as it binds to fat molecules; it will also dissipate in alcohol.

picture from www.insanechicken.com

Food - How Good Is It Really?

2007-10-06T07:26:00.000+07:00

by Michael Russell

Today, everyone is health conscious. Because of the rising costs of healthcare and the ever increasing number of people who are becoming ill younger in life, we have finally decided that it's time to start eating right. But is the food we eat, that is considered "healthy" really all that good for us? We take a look at some of the issues concerning the food that we eat.

For people who are concerned with eating healthy, one of the main things that we are told to do is to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. While this is certainly a good idea, it may not be as beneficial as it was about 40 years ago. The question is why? The answer may not be so obvious unless you understand how food is grown today and why.

Years ago, it didn't cost all that much to grow fresh fruits and vegetables. So if some of it was destroyed by pests or weather it wasn't such a hardship. Farmers still did well. But today it's a totally different story. Farm costs make it very difficult, especially for the small farmer. So to keep costs as low as possible and to preserve as much of the food they grow as possible, they need to use chemicals to keep pests away. While this is great for keeping away bugs, it's not so great for the food itself. When you combine this with the depleted soil that we have to deal with today, what happens is that the same apple that we grown today when compared to the same apple grown 40 years ago simply doesn't compare. The apple of today doesn't have anywhere near the same level of vitamins and minerals as the apple of 40 years ago. As a result, it just isn't as healthy for us. And this problem extends to all freshly grown foods.

But this problem extends beyond freshly made foods. It also extends to meats and processed foods as well.

With meats, the problem is that many animals are fed steroids in order to fatten them up for sale. This was something that was unheard of 40 years ago. As a result, the meats that someone gets today do not compare in nutrition to the meats of yesterday because of what these steroids do to the quality of the meat.

With processed foods, the kind you get in a box, this problem is even more compounded. While processed foods were never exactly the healthiest in any era, at least back in the good old days all the ingredients were natural. There were no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Today, you can't look at a box of anything without finding at least a half a dozen unnatural elements inside of it. This certainly makes these food worse than their counterparts of yesteryear.

Unfortunately, because of the rising costs of food and the necessity of keeping everything fresh as long as possible, it is unlikely that this trend is going to reverse or even slow down. Therefore it can't help but make you ask the question, "How good is your food, really?"

Most people would say it's not too good.

Soldotna To Host Alaska's First Global Food Trades

2007-10-06T07:20:00.000+07:00

By Michael Russell

Alaska will finally have a chance to show her wares to the world. She can especially show off her exceptional Last Frontier only cuisine. This summer Soldotna, Alaska is the strategically chosen host for the first Alaska food buyers' conference, The Global Food Alaska 2007 Conference and Tradeshow. Everyone even remotely involved in the Alaskan food industry will be there. Even Mom and Pop Operations, of which Alaska has many, will be among those showing off their various food products. Many in the industry have waited for this day.

Alaskans have always known that they have fantastic food. And the tourists that have had a chance to experience and taste the various food products have discovered it too. The problem is that aside from those who dare to venture a visit to Alaska, it still leaves many who live in the lower 48 states with that common misconception that Alaska and Alaska's products are out of their reach. Although nothing could be further from the truth, convincing others of that fact is quite another thing. Some myths, especially Alaskan myths are tough to change.

Granted, for a good many decades the idea of transporting any type of products to and from Alaska was pretty hopeless. The dangerous and often treacherous terrain was enough to keep visitors and freight both away. Even airlines and their pilots gave pause when considering Alaska as a travel destination for a good many years. The post office or at least some form of a postal service or pony express was probably the only savior for those trying to get goods even around Alaska itself much less the lower 48 states or the rest of the world.

Today it's no big deal to get mail in and out of Alaska. Alaska has you might say come out of the Stone Age; at least where mail is concerned. She's made some concessions. There are now U.S. post offices all over the state, which are quite efficient. Alaskans regularly receive mail and packages of all sorts and sizes from all over the world. They are no different in their buying habits from the rest of the world. And big business knows it even if others haven't caught on. Alaska isn't far enough to keep eBay, Amazon and other online businesses from delivering their products.

This summer a lot could change for the Alaska food industry. Usually those in the Alaska food industry are the ones who travel to the various food conferences, fairs and tradeshows around the world. This year those in the Alaska food business can stay home and just get ready for company because in June the world is coming to Alaska. The very first Global Food Alaska 2007 Conference and Tradeshow will be held in the Soldotna Sport Center on June 13th and 14th and will feature various food industry businesses. Meat and fish processors, farmers, gardeners and anyone at all associated with growing, preparing, harvesting, marketing or any other aspect of the food industry will be on hand to give buyers an earful and mouthful of Alaska's best cuisine. The hope is that some fortunate Alaska food businesses will make some new friends and a whole lot of new customers too.