Articles in Home | Food & Beverage

  • 16 Quick Tips for Eating at Restaurants or Work  By : Paul M. Jerard Jr.
    Most of us eat at restaurants for a variety of reasons; time and convenience are the most common motives. Here is a prepared list of quick tips for eating out of your home.
  • Supporting Local Flavors  By : Scott Schirkofsky
    In the last 10 years Americans have seen a boom in local food markets and for good reason. While Americans continue to buy more fast food, they still expect perfect ingredients and they are finding them.

    So why are they turning to their local markets more and more? In a nutshell they want fresh, healthy produce with great flavor. There are numerous other benefits to buying local products and it would seem Americans are now rediscovering what their local growers have to off...
  • Does The Sloppy Joe Have An Origin?  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    In most of the United States, the sloppy Joe sandwich is a lunchroom staple, consisting of skillet-cooked ground meat, usually beef, spicy tomato sauce or tomato paste, and bread or a bun. Sometimes greasy and oversweet, the sloppy Joe has been served in school cafeterias for years. Certainly, when one considers the commercially available versions of the sandwich, this is what comes to mind; the manwich, for example, which is seasoned beef and sauce in a can, ready to be heat...
  • Food Allergies  By : Steve Wilcott
    An allergy can be described as a malfunction of the immune system, an exaggerated response to certain substances. Your body mistakenly believes that something it has touched, smelled or eaten is harmful to it and your body releases massive amounts of chemicals, such as histamine to protect itself.

    It is believed that 11 million Americans suffer from food allergies. These allergies are as varied as food itself is. Some people suffer from an allergy to one food, some to many...
  • Cantonese Regional Cuisine  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    Easily the most well-known of the Chinese regional cuisines, Cantonese cuisine comes from the region around Canton in Southern China. Simple spices and a wide variety of foods used in cooking characterize Cantonese cuisine. Of all the Chinese regions, Canton (Guangdong province) has the most available food resources. Its proximity to the sea offers a veritable marine cornucopia to be added to its dishes, making possible such delicate matings as Seven Happiness, a dish that in...
  • Brazilian Cuisine  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    It began as most ‘ethnic food movements’ do – with small restaurants in the neighborhoods where immigrants settled, diners and lunchrooms and tea rooms opened by those who wanted to offer a taste of home to their fellow émigrés. Chinese, Italian, Middle Eastern, Thai – from family run bistros, the cuisine spread as those outside the cultures of the ‘neighborhood’ learned of the good food and the word spread. The latest ‘new cuisine’ that is spreading like wildfire is Brazilia...
  • Italian Sweets  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    The regional cuisine of Italy is surely a delight to the senses. With the pasta, seafood, savory meats and cheeses, and delicious crusty breads, it is hard to stop yourself from eating until you are packed full. However, if you do not remember to save a little room, you may miss out on the best part: dessert. No one does desserts quite like the Italians. From simple fruity finger foods to savory layered tortes, the Italian’s make desserts for every palette. From the chocolate...
  • Pizza  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    The pizza pie is an ubiquitous symbol of both Italian cooking and Americana. Oven-baked, thin-crust or deep-dish, round or square, it is a common favorite throughout the United States, with a wide number of regional variations.

    The most traditional pie is the pizza Napolitano, or Neapolitan pizza. Made of strong flour, the dough is often kneaded by hand and then rolled flat and thin without a rolling pin. The pizza is cooked in an extremely hot wood-fired stone oven for on...
  • Puerto Rican Cuisine  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    Puerto Rico is an island nation that is officially a territory of the United States. Puerto Rican cuisine has evolved from several strong influences, including those of the original peoples, such as the Tainos, and the Spanish conquerors that drove most of the natives out and enslaved the remaining. African and Caribbean influence is also reflected in the cuisine of the island, which has also been shaped significantly by its climate and geology.

    Cocina criolla, one of the ...
  • Regional Cuisine Of Mexico  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    Just south of the United States and bordering the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, Mexico is quickly advancing both culturally and economically. The devaluation of the peso in 1994 threw the Mexican economy into a frenzy, lowering their per capita income to a mere quarter of that of the United States. Through repeated social and economic turmoil, the rich cultures of the original Yucatan civilizations has remained, though somewhat jaded after their emersion from under Sp...
  • Fast Food Takes Its Place  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    What if someone asked you to name the great cuisines of the world? What would you say? French food, of course, is famous. Italians are world-renowned. Greek food has its own following. What about America?

    Well, what comes to mind when you hear the words "American cuisine"? Personally, I think of the 1950's drive-up restaurants, with milkshakes and old-fashioned hamburgers and Coney Islands dripping in mustard. That's probably not the typical definition for the word "cuisin...
  • Middle Eastern Cuisine  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    ‘Middle eastern cuisine’ is a broad term that encompasses many different cooking styles from a number of different countries. Moroccan, Syrian, Greek, Arabian – the various cuisines of the middle east share a great deal – and have many differences.

    The food of the Middle East is a celebration of life. No matter which country, the staples are the fresh fruits and vegetables that grow in the hills. The spices and flavorings of Middle Eastern food are those that awaken the se...
  • Regional Cuisines Of China  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    It’s easily one of the world’s favorite foods. No matter where you are, someone you know is bound to suggest, “Hey, let’s do Chinese.” For decades, Chinese food meant one thing – Cantonese cuisine. It was the style of Chinese cooking with which most of the world was familiar – the appetizers and roasted meats and delicate sauces that blend vegetables and spices in a perfect marriage of flavors. But Chinese food is far more than just the Cantonese cuisine. There are four major...
  • Japanese Cuisine  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    Tempura, sukiyaki, sashimi, sushi – even the words used to describe the most basic of Japanese dishes are exotic and beautiful. Japanese cuisine is easily one of the healthiest in the world, with its concentration on fresh fish, seafood, rice and vegetables. The pungent sauces and delicate flavors of fresh foods complement each other beautifully, and the methods of presentation turn even simple meals into beautiful events.

    The Japanese have easily a dozen different names f...
  • Regional Cuisine Hunan Cuisine  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    Hunan cuisine shares many commonalities with its close, more well-known cousin, Szechwan cooking, Both cuisines originate in the Western region of China. The climate there is sub-tropical – humid and warm enough to encourage the use of fiery spices to help cool the body, and to require high spicing of food as a preservative. With similar climate, the two regions also share many ingredients – rice is a major staple in both diets, and chili peppers are an important part of most...
  • United States Regional Cuisine: Soul Food  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    The history of American soul food can be traced all the way back to the days of slavery. More often times than not, the slaves were given the most undesirable part of the meal, the leftovers from the house. Pairing this with their own home-grown vegetables, the first soul food dishes were invented. After the slaves were freed, most of them were so poor that they could only afford the most undesirable, inexpensive cuts of meat available to them. (The leftover, unwanted parts o...
  • The Evolution Of Pizza  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    Trying to trace the history of the first pizza is a surprisingly controversial subject. Some claim that this popular food is based on early unleavened breads served in the early centuries in Rome. Others trace a connection from modern pizza back to the pita breads of Greece.
  • Belgium And Beer: Made For Each Other  By : Eileen Church
    In addition to some wonderful history, the country of Belgium is "The Beer country". Bordering France, Luxembourg, Germany and The Netherlands, Belgium is in the heart of Europe. This technologically advanced member of NATO and the EU is truly a beer-lovers haven.

    So much so, in fact, that the Belgian Brewer's Guild boasts that a beer lover could easily enjoy a different beer every day and not have to duplicate his selection for over a year. How's that for choices, beer lo...
  • Italian Cuisine: More Than Pasta  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    Go to any family restaurant with Italian dining in mind and you are likely to order chicken parmesan, pasta alfredo, spaghetti and meatballs, or maybe a pizza. It is easy to think that some pasta, some marinara sauce, a crust of Italian bread and a glass of wine is the beginning and end of Italian cuisine, especially if you grew up in the United States.There is much more than red sauce and starch on the agenda for most Italian regional cuisines, and with all of the various re...
  • Italian Cuisine: A Trip To The Island Of Sardinia  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    The island of Sardinia perhaps most quickly conjures up the idea of sardines. A small island off of the western coast of Italy, it certainly incorporates seafood in to much of its regional cuisine. However, Sardinia has such a rich and various history that it bears little resemblance to the traditional idea of Italian cooking. Like many other Italian regional cuisines, Sardinia’s regional taste is often a surprise for a palette that is expecting red sauce and parmesan cheese ...
  • Regional Cuisine – New England Clam Chowder  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    Sea air, crisp apples, the brisk, spice of fallen leaves – there are few things that say autumn in New England like the scents that seem to buffet the senses from everywhere. Among those marvelous treats for the senses are popular dishes from appetizer to dessert that you just won’t find – or at least won’t find quite the same way – anywhere else in the country. If you doubt it, there’s always an ad that was popular this past autumn – after the Red Sox won the World Series. I...
  • Culinary Traditions Of South America: Argentina  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    Argentina is South America's second largest country, snugly situated between the Andes mountain range, the Pacific Ocean, and the South American countries of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, and Chile. Being situated in such a manner, Argentina is exposed to many different cultural influences from all directions, including countries all the way across the Pacific. Spain took it upon themselves to permanently settle in the country in the late 1500s, and remained there until ...
  • Culinary Traditions Of The Caribbean Islands  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    Authentic Caribbean cuisine is truly an excellent representation of all the cultural influences the Caribbean Islands have experienced since Christopher Columbus' landing in the late 1400's. With a fine mixture of French Island and African recipes, Caribbean cuisine is widely prepared and enjoyed by people of all nationalities, in many areas of the United States and the world.

    Caribbean food and culture was forever changed when the European traders brought African slaves i...
  • Fusion Cooking – Blended Cuisines  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    What do you get when you cross hot Indian food with the English love of tomatoes and all things creamy? Chicken Tikka Masala is a famous combination of chicken tikka and masala.Chicken tikka is a marinated piece of meat cooked in a tandoor, an Indian oven made of clay and coal-fired. Masala is gravy commonly made out of some kind of tomato gravy or puree with cream and various Indian spices.It is technically a mild curry dish, though the addition of sometimes large amounts of...
  • Italian Cuisine: In The Heart Of Tuscany  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    When an American conjures up an idea of “Italian cuisine,” often what comes to mind is pasta, red sauce, and garlic bread. Pasta, no doubt, plays a large part in most traditional Italian regional cuisine, and few cultures know how to employ a tomato the way that Italians can. However, there are so many distinct styles and trademarks within the different regions of Italy that it is hard to lump together all Italian regional cuisine into one general type of cooking. In reality ...
  • Chinese Cuisine What’s In A Name?  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    There’s more to Chinese cuisine than meets the taste buds. There is also what meets the eye, the ear and the imagination. Chinese culture demands attention to the entire presentation of a meal, and that includes the blend of flavors, the subtlety of the spicing, how appealing the colors and arrangement of the food is and how well it plays on the imagination of the diner. This is a concept that is as foreign to most Westerners as an appreciation for the nuance of a single brus...
  • Regional Cuisine Of India: Tasting East India  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    East India, with a complex history that includes long periods of European colonization, has developed culinary traditions that reflect centuries of tradition and a variety of cultural influences. In addition to the various cultures that have been assimilated into the cuisine of the region, the geography also has influenced the development of the culinary traditions of East India, as has the climate.

    Portuguese and Spanish explorers first brought the spices of India to wide...
  • Regional Cuisine Of India: North Indian Flavors  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    India, one of the most populated nations in the world, has rich and varied culinary traditions, many deeply enmeshed with spiritual traditions that are thousands of years old. Other culinary styles arrived throughout India’s long history with those who wandered into the land from afar and settled here and there, as well as with those who invaded its territories, overtaking native populations. Still others have been shaped by the natural forces climate and geography. These man...
  • Regional Cuisine Of The United States: California-Style Cooking  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    The great state of California carries some of the most rich aspects of American culture, from the pioneers to the gold rush to quality cuisine. Bordered by the Pacific Ocean, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and Baja, classic California food can take on many forms. The unique cuisine of California is earmarked by a tradition of freshness and home grown quality, calling forth to mind fresh leafy green salads, fruit, and organic just-about-anything.

    California is one of the major a...
  • Risky Fish: The Thrill Of Fugu  By : Kirsten Hawkins
    There's a certain weird appeal to the Japanese delicacy known as fugu. After all, it's not every day that the food on your plate could bring about almost instant death.

    Fugu is the Japanese name for the blowfish, also known as the pufferfish, which has the ability to puff up to twice its size and project poisonous spikes to defend itself from predators. The spikes of a blowfish contain tetradotoxin, a poison considered to be at least one thousand times deadlier than cyanid...

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