Category — Culinary

For the average wine consumer, there is a plethora of intimidation associated with wine buying. This is a feeling that is most often associated with not understanding wine labels. New world wines tend to make it easier – wines bottled in Australia, South America and the United States are often more direct in their presentation of the type of wine and the name of the vineyard. On the other hand, old world wine labels like those from France, Italy, Spain and Germany carry with them loads of classifications, harvest-types, town names, vineyard titles and producer idiosyncrasies – all in a foreign language. While these labels embody the wonderfully classic aesthetic associated with a good looking wine label, [Read more →]

For awhile now, my wife has been asking me to learn how to cook. I’ve been hesitant to do so because my wife is a wonderful cook and I know as much about cooking as Christopher Lowell does about the NFL. So in my mind I’d never had the need or desire to become the next Bobby Flay.

But after some loving nagginng, errr encouragement from my wife, and almost burning down my kitchen trying to boil a pot of water, I decided it was time to learn how to do this cooking thing.

But if I was going to do this, I wanted to find MY kind of recipe book online. The online recipe book I was after had to meet the following 3 important criteria:

1. The recipe book had to be easy to follow. A must, [Read more →]

Dedicated Chili cooks always seem to be looking for an amazing recipe for a blow-you-out-of-the-water chili. Wouldn’t it be exciting to UNLEASH your chili and rock your family and friends’ worlds, save money and have a great time preparing it?

Searching the Internet, I found so many of you looking for new chili recipes. My husband, Coach, is a gourmet cook who has developed chili recipes that are easy, time and money saving and make your body tingle from the first taste right down to your toes.

Slow cooking is the key to this dynamic recipe. Due to this cooking process, less expensive cuts of meat can be used. Actually, they are more flavorful and tender using this process. We have found a sultry [Read more →]

Looking for great coffee? Check out some international coffee reviews before you pick you next cup.

Coffee from Brazil is a known throughout the world because it is fabulous. Brazil Bourbon Santos is the pick of the litter.

Brazil is the number one producer of coffee beans. Even so is has not always been thought of as the best. However, if this blend of coffee finds its way into more mouths, all of that could be changing. It is named after the place in which it was born, an island that was once named Bourbon but now is called Reunion. It is aromatic and has [Read more →]

If you are one of those individuals that like to eat food because they enjoy trying something new from time to time, I’m sure you can understand the importance of using the right ingredients. Any good cook will tell you that using the right blend of chili peppers is the key difference between an amazing dish and just another ordinary one. There is no real secret in the way that certain dishes are prepared. At most it is the little things that we add like chili peppers that make all the difference. The usage of peppers in food is one element that is practised all around the world. Some cultures are known to make more use of them in comparison to others. Generally the sub continental countries are known to use a lot of peppers in their food in comparison to western foods.

There are a number of different types of [Read more →]

With over 3000 different varieties of tea in the world, how do you choose? Do you choose by the particular type of tea, or do you choose by the taste you like best?

Surprisingly, all tea comes from the same evergreen plant — Thea sinensis, of which two varieties are the most common — Camellia sinensis and Camellia assamica. The type and taste characteristics of each tea are determined by the growing region — climate, soil, and altitude — as well as how the tea is processed.

The first step in any tea production occurs when the tea is harvested or “plucked,” by hand, once the top two leaves and bud have sprouted. The leaves are then spread out on long trays in warm temperatures, to promote moisture loss of about 50%. This is known as withering. The withered leaves are then sometimes rolled, by machine, to help release the leaves’ oils and juices and then they are left out in the open air for several hours. This open air process is known as “fermentation.” It’s not really a “fermenting” process per say — it’s actually an oxidation process that occurs in the tea leaves, whereby the leaves absorb oxygen, which changes their chemistry, and therefore affects both the taste and color of the tea. After the fermentation stage, the leaves are then passed through a dryer to stop the oxidation process. Once thoroughly dried, the tea is then ready to be sorted, and taste-tested.

Based on the methods used in production, tea can be divided into four different types: black, oolong, green and white tea.

Black Tea
Black tea is withered, fully fermented and dried. Black tea least resembles the natural tea leaf. The manufacturing processes and [Read more →]

Trends in gourmet foods seem to be changing each year, but the basic premise is to find the best quality ingredients for a sensory explosion that tickles the palate and makes the mouth water just thinking of the exotic flavors. Consumers who purchase their favorite foods from all across the world aren’t worried about paying more; rather, their concern is having the most enjoyable culinary experiences possible.

According to Mintel new product expert Lynn Dornblaster, there will be many new gourmet tastes and smells expanding globally through 2009. Persimmon, an exotic fruit, has been a key ingredient in Japanese yogurt and beverages, which will likely be blended with peaches, apricots and other familiar fruits this year. The Brazilian starfruit makes a delicious addition to Flor De Hibiscus’s Chutney, while Latin [Read more →]

We interrupt our series on the wines of Italy’s twenty regions to present a very timely subject, Vino Novello, Italy’s version of New Wine. Once a year, starting in early November, Italy releases Vino Novello, to the delight of many, and to the eternal disappointment of many others. We describe New Wine, in particular the Italian version, and then taste locally available samples. Will you be delighted or disappointed with the 2006 offering? After reading this article, rush to your favorite wine store and sample the wines. Whether you are delighted or not, you probably will have fun.

What is exactly is new wine (vino novello in Italy; vin nouveau, often Beaujolais nouveau in France)? New wine is the first of the crop, released in early November. The exact date depends on the country. In 2006, Italy permitted the sale of Vino Novello on [Read more →]