Posted on March 20th, 2009 by admin
The term shallot is used to describe two different Allium species of plant. The French grey challot or griselle, which has been considered to be the “true shallot” by many, is Allium oschaninii, a species that grows wild from Central to Southwest Asia. Shallots probably originated in Asia, travelling from there to India and the eastern Mediterranean. The name “shallot” comes from Ashkelon, a city of ancient Israel, where people in classical Greek times believed shallots originated. Shallots are much favoured by chefs because of their firm texture and sweet, aromatic, yet pungent, flavour. The shallot is a relative of the onion, and tastes a bit like an onion but has a sweeter, milder flavour.
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Posted on March 20th, 2009 by admin
The chickpea is an edible legume of the family Fabaceae. Chickpeas are high in protein and one of the earliest cultivated vegetables. 7,500-year-old remains have been found in the Middle East. Mature chickpeas can be cooked and eaten cold in salads, cooked in stews, ground into a flour called gram flour (also known as besan and used primarily in Indian cuisine), ground and shaped in balls and fried as falafel, fermented to make an alcoholic drink similar to sake, stirred into a batter and baked to make farinata, cooked and ground into a paste called hummus or roasted, spiced and eaten as a snack. Dried chick peas need a long cooking time (1-2 hours) but will not easily fall apart when cooked longer. If soaked for 12-24 hours before use, cooking time can be considerably shortened (30 mins). Chickpeas are a helpful source of zinc, folate and protein. They are also very high in dietary fibre and hence a healthy source of carbohydrates for persons with insulin sensitivity or diabetes. Chickpeas are low in fat and most of this is polyunsaturated.
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Posted on March 20th, 2009 by admin
Rocket or Arugula, is an edible plant. It is a species of Eruca native to the Mediterranean region, from Morocco and Portugal to Jordan and Turkey. It is used as a leaf vegetable, which looks like a longer leaved and open lettuce. It is rich in vitamin C and potassium. Rocket has been grown in the Mediterranean area since Roman times, and is considered an aphrodisiac. Before the 1990s it was usually collected in the wild and was not cultivated on a large scale or researched. In addition to the leaves, the flowers (often used in salads as an edible garnish), young seedpods and mature seeds are all edible. It has a rich, peppery taste, and has an exceptionally strong flavour for a leafy green. It is generally used in salads but also cooked as a vegetable with pastas or meats.
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Posted on March 20th, 2009 by admin
The Spring Onion is a member of the onion family, Alliaceae. The species is very similar in taste and odour to the related garden onion. The Welsh onion is widely used in cooking. It is a particularly important ingredient in Asian cuisine, especially in East and Southeast Asia. It is used in Russia in the spring for adding green leaves to salads. In Japan it is used in miso soup, negimaki (beef and scallion rolls) and in the takoyaki dumpling dish, among others. This vegetable is frequently used raw in salads.
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Posted on March 20th, 2009 by admin
Apios americana, sometimes called the potato bean, hopniss, Indian potato or groundnut (but not to be confused with other plants sometimes known by the name groundnut) is a perennial vine native to eastern North America, and bears edible beans and large edible tubers. The fruit is a legume (pod) 6-12 cm long. The tubers are crunchy and nutritious, with a high content of starch and especially protein. The plant was one of the most important food plants of pre-European North America, and is now being developed for domestication.
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