Originated in China and known as Yiang Yong, soy sauce has been a staple in China for thousands of years. When it comes to cooking Chinese food, it is by far the most widely used ingredient. As a result of travel, and broadened trading routes, soy sauce is now widely used in Japan, Korea, and [...]
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Outlook report published a couple of days ago confirms that wheat prices should decline in the new season. I thought to myself: Wow! That’s great news! I promptly logged onto the FAO site (I’m a regular there) and I got this: International prices of most agricultural commodities have [...]
In the old days, in spring, on the mountain, the medicine men had meetings in the forest. They shared information about new medicines to heal people from sicknesses. Yellow root heals colds. Cherry bark aids sore throats. Touch-me-not helps poison ivy sores. Bloodroot helps diarrhea. Tobacco and sassafras leaf help bee stings. And ginseng? It [...]
My very favorite dessert is poached white peach with fresh raspberries, a little vanilla ice-cream on the side and topped with raspberry coulis. As a kid I knew where all the white peach orchards stood by heart and quite often made myself sick with overeating them right off the trees. Same with cherries and apricots. [...]
Much has been written about the origins of the humble noodle. WHO invented the noodle is a hotly contested topic – with the Chinese, Italians and Arabs all staking a claim. But the discovery of a pot of thin yellow noodles preserved for 4000 years in Yellow River silt may have tipped the bowl in [...]