Posted on March 24th, 2009 by admin
Potatoes are the world’s fourth largest food crop, following rice, wheat, and corn. The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes are used to brew alcoholic beverages such as vodka and as food for domestic animals; potato starch is used to produce organic chemicals, in the textile industry, and in the manufacture of papers and boards. Potatoes are prepared in many ways: skin-on or peeled, whole or cut up, with seasonings or without. The only requirement involves cooking to break down the starch. Most potato dishes are served hot, but some are first cooked then served cold, notably potato salad and potato chips/crisps.
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Posted on March 24th, 2009 by admin
Bell pepper is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, green and orange. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as “sweet peppers”. Peppers are native to Mexico, Central America and northern South America. In the UK the sweet varieties are called peppers and the hot varieties chillies, whereas in Australian and Indian English the name capsicum is commonly used for bell peppers exclusively and chilli is often used to encompass the hotter varieties. Peppers are used to add flavour to stews, particularly Hungarian Goulash, and may be added to salads and eaten raw. They are suitable for stuffing with fillings such as cheese, meat or rice.
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Posted on March 19th, 2009 by admin
Sweet corn, also called Indian corn, is a variety of maize with high sugar content. Sweet corn is the result of a naturally occurring recessive mutation in the genes, which control conversion of sugar to starch inside the endosperm of the corn kernel. The kernels are boiled or steamed, and usually served with butter and salt. In Europe, China, Korea, and Japan, they are often used as a pizza topping, or in salads. Corn on the cob is a sweet corn cob that has been boiled, steamed, or grilled whole; the kernels are then eaten directly off the cob or cut off. Creamed corn is sweet corn served in a milk or cream sauce. Sweet corn can also be eaten as baby corn.
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Posted on March 19th, 2009 by admin
Fresh peas are often eaten boiled and flavoured with butter and/or spearmint as a side dish vegetable. Salt and pepper are also commonly added to peas when served. Fresh peas are also used in pot pies, salads and casseroles. Pod peas (particularly sweet cultivars called mange tout and sugar peas, or the flatter “snow peas,”) are used in stir-fried dishes, particularly those in American Chinese cuisine. Pea pods do not keep well once picked, and if not used quickly are best preserved by drying, canning or freezing within a few hours of harvest. In Chinese cuisine, pea sprouts are commonly used in stir-fries and its price is relatively high due to its agreeable taste. Pea leaves are often considered a delicacy as well.
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Posted on March 19th, 2009 by admin
The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange or white, or red-white blend in colour, with a crisp texture when fresh. The edible part of a carrot is a taproot. It is a domesticated form of the wild carrot, native to Europe and southwestern Asia. It has been bred for its greatly enlarged and more palatable, less woody-textured edible taproot, but is still the same species. Carrots can be eaten in a variety of ways. The simplest way is raw as carrots are perfectly digestible without requiring cooking. Alternatively they may be chopped and boiled, fried or steamed, and cooked in soups and stews, as well as baby and pet foods.
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