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Guess what the world’s hottest chile is called? Bhut (Ghost!) Jolokia. It is aptly called so, as the fiery spice is sure to haunt you and tease you till you literally fall on your knees and pray!

The fiery ‘Ghost Chile‘ originates in the in the Northeast of India, particularly Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and measures about 4′’ to 6′’.

How hot is this? A scientific way of measuring the spiciness of a chili is by calculating its content of capsaicin, the chemical that gives a pepper its bite, and counting its Scoville units. The basic jalepeno measures any where between 2,500 to 8000 SU. Red Savina habanero, considered the hottest till now measures 580,000 Scovilles units and our own
Bhut Jalokia beats its nearest contender by double the points ie. 1,001,304 Scoville units.

Compare the basic and the hottest chili; Bhut jolokia is nearly 10 times hotter than the basic chile. Just enough to raise a fire in your tummy!

Hall of fame: Bhut jolokia is now officially declared as the hottest chili in the Guinness book of world records.

If AP reporter Tim Sullivan literally cried when he gave bhut jolokia a try, then Jayanta Lahan, a 17 month old toddler is addicted to it and can eat about 50 at a time!

Try the Super Hot Assam Curry Paste using bhut jolokias if you are really adventurous enough.Just be ready to expect the unexpected!

Hopefully you don’t turn a ghost when you give it a try :p!

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A cup of tea refreshes you and if you have crispy biscuits to go with the tea then you feel as if you are in heaven. Biscuits are a favorite accompaniment with tea or coffee or any beverage that goes well with a crunchy munch. Generally, biscuits are prepared as sweet or savory items but a particular type of biscuits called pfeffernusse are prepared with an additional dash of spice.

Pfeffernusse are given a round shape and are usually small and hard. Traditionally prepared during the festive Christmas season, many pfeffernusse recipes call for the use of black pepper. Many variations to this recipe exist whereby spices as diverse as white pepper, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, anise, nutmeg or cardamom may be used to add the spicy flavor. In Germany, pfeffernusse also are referred to as eiwei�geback or pimpernusse depending on which region you are traveling in Germany while in Denmark they are called pebern�dder.

Now, do you want to know the exact recipe for preparing these pfeffernusse for yourself? Well, given below is the recipe to help you out with your wish. It is indeed worth the try if you are the kind of person who likes to experiment with food after all not everyday you have an unusual biscuit with a cup of tea.

Ingredients:
All-purpose flour - 1 � cups
Brown sugar - 1 cup
Butter (softened) - 1/2 cup
Eggs (whole) - 2 nos.
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Lemon essence - 1/2 tsp
Anise Extract - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Black pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
A pinch of nutmeg and clove powders
Sugar (coarsely powdered) - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp

Method:
1.) In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar together. To this add the eggs, essences and anise extract and blend thoroughly.
2.) Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and spice powders. Add these to the egg-butter mixture. Mix well to get dough.
3.) Refrigerate this for 2 hours.
4.) Preheat oven to 185°C. Make small rounded balls of the dough and place them on a greased baking tray and bake for 10 minutes.
5.) Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar while the biscuits are still warm.
6.) Cool the biscuits completely before storing them in airtight containers.

(Servings: 25)

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Source: Allrecipes, Wikipedia

However hard we try, the fried rice cooked at home just simply does not taste like the one offered at the restaurants.

It is indeed a little confusing, that a rice dish which looks so simple and easy to make, just does not turn out the desired way. And, yet we keep trying at home hoping that one day we would succeed.

Well, the secret is out, ‘You must chill the rice’. So cook the rice a day ahead and refrigerate. This allows the surface of the rice to harden so the grains stay separate when cooked a second time, instead of clumping.

Here’s a no-frills recipe which you would definitely want to try.

INGREDIENTS:
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
2 to 2 1/2 cups cooked white rice, cold
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce, optional
1/3 cup frozen peas
1 cup cooked, chopped chicken meat
2 scallions, sliced
DIRECTIONS:

In a large skillet, heat oil and then reduce heat to medium and saute onion until soft and halfway through cooking time, add the garlic.

Add rice, soy sauce, hoisin if using, peas and chicken to skillet. Stir well, then spread in even layer, pressing down with spatula. Cook over medium heat until rice starts to brown, then stir, scraping pan, press flat again, and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add scallions and egg (which is beaten with water and cooked on a flat pan and cut into thin strips), stir, and serve hot.
Easy, simple and tasty in no time!

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If you are a health freak, and tend to keep yourself fit with a bracing diet, am sure those ready-made salads, sandwiches and pastas rank the priority in your nutrition-food list.

But, if you are one of those people who often think that having a salad is the healthier option, then be aware! A recent finding has some thing different to say - it is rather that Big Mac and fries, which might be healthier than those apparently wholesome fresh salad-diets!

Yes, many of the ready-made bowls of salads in the market shelves are found to contain more salt than the well-known unhealthy fries. And this is proving to be more harmful, as unaware of the damage you are doing to your health, you are actually over-dosing yourself with fat hidden salt, and that too on a daily basis.

It is perhaps a better option for you to choose that deep fired salmon for your lunch than a bowl full of pasta and fresh ready-made salads.

Can we blame these apparently beneficial diets as one of the major factors responsible for the increasing cases of high blood pressure, strokes, heart attacks and tens of thousands of early related-deaths every year?

An immediate solution is needed to be muted! - All such foods carrying a ‘health warning’ is perhaps the immediate feasible solution, as rooting out the networks of such unhealthy food staffs is not possible in a day.

To save more than 6,500 lives each year in UK alone, such ‘health warnings’ would be the best and effective step towards healthy diet in a real sense.

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Yesterday, we were talking about the food regulations the South African government was planning in order to prevent food manufacturers from enticing kids with freebies. Well, like I said, the manufacturers always find a way out to lure kids their way and this time they are cashing in on the popularity of social networks and using internet as a medium to attract them.

Media regulator Ofcom has banned the advertisements of food products that are high in fat, salt or sugar ie. junk food, from being aired in the prime time especially during programs that appeal to kids aged between four and nine. This ban will be extended to programs aimed for children up to fifteen year old next January.

So, leading brands like McDonalds, Starburst and Skittles have found social networking sites and chat programs as a route to reach their target - kids. So, popular sites such as Bebo and Chat programs like Widows live messenger are the new brand building platforms for these manufacturers.

� Skittles spent a six figure sum to create a profile on the popular social networking site Bebo and the profile seems to be quite popular attracting more than 3,500 friends and 50,000 profile views.

� McDonalds own website has games especially for kids enticing them to return more often. The idea here is to let kids know about the latest offerings by the manufacturer.

� Some manufacturers have created virtual ‘branded buddies’ and kids are urged to add them in their friends list on chat messengers. The virtual buddies are used to update the kids about the brand’s latest activity.

While advertising to kids on the television is regulated, the internet is still an unregulated area making it easier for the manufacturers to exploit this un-policed area. In fact, kids are spending more time online rather than the television these days and the food brands are laughing all the way to the banks.

So, the so-called ban on junk-food advertising on television has only boomeranged and the authorities better wake up and do something before things go out of hands!

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Your kids want to go to McDonalds only and nowhere else for a burger - reason, they offer a toy with every burger you order. Their preferences for beverage based malts change every time a new ad is shown on the TV enticing kids with freebies. So, in short, everything you buy for kids depends on the freebies the food products offer rather than the nutritional value.

Well, parents of South African kids can heave a sigh and be relieved if the proposed food regulations regarding the marketing of food products are passed.

Some of the recommendations made are:

1) Freebies not to be offered with food products for kids.

2) Child actors and models, and cartoon characters should not be used to promote any junk food.

3) All fake nutritional claims to be stopped; for example beverages that claim to make your kids taller, smarter, etc. especially for kids under 16.

4) These food products may not be advertised in pre-schools or schools.

5) All junk food must have a warning saying the product makes consumers fat and is unhealthy (which manufacturer would do that!)

6) Foods that use products triggering allergy must be mentioned on the label. For eg. peanuts, milk, fish, etc so that people with specific allergy do not consume them.

The list of foods that are considered unhealthy and “not essential” include sweets, pastries, fizzy and sports drinks, sweetened cereals, chewing gum, flavored fat spreads like mayonnaise, energy bars, etc. So, all advertisements and marketing of these related food products must follow the above proposed rules.

The idea behind this is not to term the ‘not essential’ foods as bad foods, but to offer people a choice of healthy eating. But, manufacturers of such food products are unlikely to sit quite while these regulations are being passed given the enormous demand for such products.

Such a move may in fact not tempt the kids, as ‘out of sight is out of mind’, but do you think it really stops kids going to McDonalds or Pizza Hut?

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Ketchup comes in handy with various food items. Fries go with ketchup. Burgers can be made more tasty with ketchup. Even meatloaf tastes delicious with this condiment. But, people who like ketchup were not quit ready for this big daddy of ketchup bottles.

Exactly how big is it? Well try 8 foot tall and 4 foot wide plastic ketchup bottle.This was recently made in the Southern Illinois community in collaboration with the H.J. Heinz Co. Wow! I never heard anything like this before. Wonder where all the ketchup is going to go. A Heinz spokeswoman was rather shocked when she heard about this project. Tracey Parson said:

That’s a lot of ketchup!

In order to make this thing, the Heinz ketchup company donated about 4000 glass bottles. These were made available for a dollar.The idea behind this: To let people by these bottles and pour it in the huge plastic structure.

This bottle is mounted on a 170ft. tall water tower. This water tower was built back in 1949 by W.E.Caldwell company, and mostly meant for G.S. Suppiger catsup bottling plant.

The giant ketchup bottle will be left in the Southern Illinois town. This was once home to the Ketchup factory. The very interesting piece of roadside creation sort of looms over the entire town of Colinsville, making the contributors proud.

Image Credits: Wikimedia

Of most of the food items, peanuts are one such item that many of the people find themselves allergic to. Peanut oil or peanuts is used on a large scale in many of the food items and especially in restaurants. Moreover, the allergies are life threatening and affect the respective person on a huge scale. However, science hopefully will soon have an answer to this too. The latest buzz is that the people who are allergic to peanuts might be able to grab these.

Mohamed Ahmedna, a researcher from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has developed whole, roasted peanuts which won’t cause a reaction. The allergen in the peanuts that causes reactions has been completely made dysfunctional. Where the university paper doesn’t brief about the process at all, it certainly promises that the technique doesn’t degrade the taste or quality of peanuts at all.

As per figures, of all the Americans almost 1.5 million to 3 million suffer from peanut allergies. Also, peanut allergies account for about 80% of the fatal, non-fatal allergic reactions in a year. The institute also plans to commercialize these allergy free peanuts. If the research does get successful, it will be certainly good news or all those who are allergic to peanuts.

Source: News

Image credit: Maztalk

Cheese is something that can add flavor to anything. Yeah! I am kind of addicted to cheese. Whenever I see it, how much ever I try to control myself, in the end, I find myself eating it. When I read about a cheese slice costing more than $700, I was surprised. That is the reason I had to look deeper into it. But there is a genuine reason for such high price and what’s that, I am going to tell you.

The cheese toast was created at the eve of National Cheese on Toast Day, which was celebrated on April 27th in Lancashire. It was made by chef, Tom Bridge from Newburgh. When I researched about it, I came to know that the price of the slice was less then what it cost Tom to make it. The ingredients that were used were Gourmet Cheese, L’Aquila White Umbrian truffles and Matsutake Chinese mushrooms. These ingredients whose names sound unique and sumptuous are quite expensive too. The truffles cost about $2400 per kilo and the mushrooms cost $500 per lb. So, I guess we have a reason genuine enough to taste the delicacy if we ever get a chance.

Source: Delud

As a person who has a fondness for peppery foods particularly highly spiced sauces and curries, I just love to experiment with different fiery chili peppers available in the market. What intrigues me is how each of the chili peppers differs from the other in piquancy. Do you know that there actually exist methods to inform you how spicy your preferred chili pepper in food is?

Devised by Wilbur Scoville, the Scoville heat scale informs you about the tanginess each chili contains owing to its content of a particular chemical compound called capsaicin (8-methyl N-vanillyl 6-nonenamide). Following the Scoville Organoleptic Test formulated in 1912, which determines the pungency of a chili pepper, this Scoville scale is developed. In the test, the pungency is estimated by diluting a chili pepper solution with sugar water until the chili loses all its spiciness and an individual’s palate no longer registers any piquancy. A panel of tasters performs the tasting in the test where usually five tasters are employed.

However, the biggest drawback of the Scoville scale is its dependence on an individual’s palate that can be a source of error and imprecision. Nevertheless, it gives you an idea of how hot the commonly consumed chili peppers are. These sources of errors have to be borne in mind while determining the Scoville heat units (SHU) for each type of chili. Listed below are Scoville heat units (SHU) after determining the millions of drops of water-sugar solution required to subside the hotness of some well-known chili peppers.

From the table it is clear that the fieriest of them all is the Tezpur chili also known as Naga Jolokia whereas the sweet bell, cherry and pepperoncini chili peppers have no piquancy at all. The units are indicative of how much the chili pepper solution has to be diluted with sugar solution so that its spiciness is no longer detectable. This means the Tezpur chili has to be subjected to 855,000-fold sugar dilution so that it is no longer registering any hint or trace of spiciness.

However, to get a precise measurement of a chili’s spiciness, the method of High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is used. In this method, the compounds that impart piquancy to the chili pepper are extracted and analyzed in the HPLC device. In this method, the pungency is reported not in Scoville units but in ASTA pungency units where one part capsaicin per million is equivalent to about 15 Scoville units. ASTA pungency units can be converted into Scoville units by multiplying them by 15. The method not only tells you total “heat” present but also individual capsaicinoids present in a chili pepper. However, this method is very expensive as compared to the Scoville Organoleptic Test.

After learning about this all I can say is that it is indeed wonderful to know the intricacies simple food elements we consume can hold.

Image: Satansbreath, Jupiterimages
Via: Egconsult, Wikipedia