Category Archives: Ingredients

Descriptions of popular cooking ingredients

Potato

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Potatoes originate in Peru but have migrated throughout the world. They are rich in complex carbohydrates and minerals making them a nutritional powerhouse. On top of this, potatoes are easy and cheap to grow in almost every part of the world and there are few limits on how they can be prepared. Potatoes can even be used to create bread!

Nutrition

Potatoes contain no fat or cholesterol. The average potato has only 130 calories, about the same as a slice of bread. Including the skin, potatoes are a source of plant protein, calcium, zinc, phosphorus, fibre, vitamin C and more potassium than a banana.

Varieties

Potatoes come range in flavour depending on the variety and the soil in which they grow.

Mangoes

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Mangoes are a sweet fruit grown on trees and found throughout the tropics, but originating in the Indian sub-continent, where they have a history going back over 5000 years. Today they are the most widely eaten fruit in the world.

They are often served as desserts, or pickled while green to create chutneys. In Mexico they are frozen on a stick and spiced with chili and salt. In India they are pulped and mixed with yogurt to create a cooling, nourishing drink.

Nutrition

Mangoes are rich in vitamin A and C and are a good source of dietary fibre and carotenoids. The most nutritious part of the fruit is the peel which is rich with phytochemicals and when ripe, is good to chew. Be cautious, they contain urushiol, the same chemical found in poison ivy and poison oak. Some people may find the sap a skin irritant. If this is you, wash the fruit before you cut it and after handling the fruit.

Cooking Methods

A ripe mango is found be touch and smell. They should smell sweet and have some give when squeezed. Such a mango is ready to eat and can be stored in the fridge for up to a week. Unripe mangoes should be left on the counter to ripen. Over-ripe mangoes are still edible: try them in cocktails or smoothies.

There are many ways to cut open a mango. Some prefer to score it and scoop out the meat; others peel the fruit first. The large flat pit in the centre is the difficult part, especially since the fruit is very slippery under the peel

Place the mango flat on a cutting board and cut into the skin. Turn the fruit, slicing through the skin to the pit. Pry off the two sides, then turn them flesh side up on the board. Slice down to the skin and strip away the flesh.

Varieties

Mangoes are related to cashews, pistachios and Jamaica plums. The most popular variety in stores is the disease resistant Tommy Atkins. Others include Hadens from Mexico with a slight peachy flavour, and the more floral scented mangoes from India. Generally Asia mangoes have less fibre and a more custard like interior compared to those grown in the Caribbean.

Origins and Legend

It is said the Buddha was shaded by a mango tree as he prayed.

Ancient Hindu texts say that mangoes are the fruit of the gods and the tree is a symbol of fertility and love. Kings gave them as gifts on state visits.

They were carried west along trade routes to the Middle East and Africa. Eventually they reached the Americas, and all along their path, they changed the local cuisine by becoming a core ingredient.

Today they are the most popular fruit in the world and India grows about half of the world harvest of about 14 million tons. India however, exports very little of their crop since the local demand is so high. Most exports comes from China, Mexico, Pakistan, and Thailand.

Barley

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In many parts of the world, barley is a staple of the diet, being used to create breads, stews, noodles and other recipes. Its many advantages include  high nutrition with soluble fibre, beta-glucan, phenolic antioxidants, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin E, and the vitamin Bs. It also has a distinctive nutty flavour and is wonderfully filling.

Origins

Barley has been a part of the human diet since at least the Stone Age.

Uses

In North America, barley is grown largely for animal feed and for use in brewing.

Pearl and pot barley are 2 commonly available products.

  • Pearl barley has the bran removed and is steamed and polished.
  • Pot barley receives the least refining and contains more bran and germ than pearl barley.
  • Hull barley has only the husk removed and is the most nutritious form.
  • Barley flour and meal are made from pearl barley.

Cooking Methods

  • Barley can be ground into flour and used in place of wheat or corn flour. However, since there is no gluten in barley flour, it must be combined with a gluten-rich flour like wheat when baking yeast breads.
  • The kernels can be popped and eaten as a snack or sprinkled anywhere you might use nuts.
  • Minute barley, which is new to the shelf, can replace rice as an instant side-dish.
  • Pearl and the less refined pot barley are used in stews and soups.

Flour

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Flour is made from grinding the kernels of a variety of grains including wheat, rye, barley, oats, or rice. Refined flours sift out the more fibrous parts of the grain, creating a softer powder that makes for lighter baked goods and pastas.

White flour is made from the endosperm of the kernel which is largely starch. The bran and germ are discarded. The flour is then enriched with proteins, carbohydrates and nutrients such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid and iron.

Whole-grain flours keep the nutrient rich germ of the kernel and the fiber-rich bran. The result is an inherently healthier, but heavier, flour that has a rich taste of its own.

Typically, some flours are mixed with others to lighten the texture or the flavour. Oat and rye flours for example, have distinctive flavours and are rather heavy. A 100% rye loaf of bread is often very compact, since it doesn’t rise as well as wheat flour loaves.

Thai Curry

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Instead of adding curry powder or paste, try making your own curry.

  • The hottest curry is green, made with hot green peppers, garlic, kaffir lime leaves and galangal
  • Red curry uses red chili peppers instead of hot green peppers.

Green Curry

  • 1 T cooking oil
  • 3 T shallots, chopped
  • 1 T garlic, minced
  • 1 T galangal or Chinese ginger root
  • 10-15 fresh green chilies
  • 1T lemongrass, minced
  • 1 tsp cilantro root, chopped
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp shrimp paste
  • 1/2 tsp kaffir lime leaves, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.
  2. Saute shallots, garlic, and galangal in hot oil for 1 minute.
  3. Place vegetables in food processor and add other ingredients. Pulse grind until well mixed.
  4. Store in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 months.

Red Curry Paste

Substitute 4 T minced garlic, 10-15 fresh red chilies, and 1 tsp minced lemongrass for the garlic, peppers and lemongrass in the recipe for green curry. Follow the same steps.

Wine

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Wines

Cellared: Many countries have a designation such as “cellared in Canada” which set standards such as minimum content. Cellared in Canada, for example, means the wine must have a minimum of 30% domestic grape content, with rare exceptions.

Blended wines use wines from around the world to create subtle flavours.

VQA means vinters quality alliance wines which are grown from 100% premium Ontario grown grapes, meet a set of quality standards and are assessed by an independent tasting panel.

Beef

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Beef is the meat of cattle and varies by breed. Cattle have been herded by humans for 100s of years and have been bred for a number of characteristics including the flavour and texture of their meat and their docility. Most cattle in Canada are cross-bred and almost all of them are part Hereford.

Cattle are slaughtered when they are full-grown, after they are 2 years old. Most of the beef taken from the carcasses is muscle. Once the animal is butchered, the meat is aged under controlled conditions. Temperature and humidity are important to the natural breakdown of tissues by enzymes that occurs after death. Beef is aged anywhere from 3 to 21 days.

Nutrition

Beef is a lean meat and a source of protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin B.

Cuts

Almost every part of the steer can be used in some recipe or another. While beef is often bought as steaks, roasts, or hamburger, you should think about how you want to cook it as well. For example, grilling steaks and marinating steaks are different.

Some of the factors to consider are price, colour, the amount of marbling, how the cattle are grown and when they were slaughtered.

  • At different times of the year, cattle provide different quality meat.
  • Grain fed and free-range also affect flavour and quality.
  • Beef is graded by the amount of marbling. Marbling means there is more fat in the meat which makes it more tender and juicier. Prime usually has the highest amount of marbling. Modern breeds of cattle are up to 50% leaner and 21% lower in cholesterol than they were in the 1990s.
  • Fresh beef is a purplish red and has not been exposed to oxygen. Within minutes all beef turns cherry red as it is exposed to the air, and then a brownish red the longer it is exposed. Meat that is well packaged as it is butchered, will stay dark. Some people prefer the meat aged or bled which will make it darker in colour as well.

In Canada, the label will often tell you how best to cook the beef for sale. They often say if it is a grilling steak or a pot roast. There are 7 categories to choose from: pot roasts, oven roasts, grilling steaks, marinating steaks, simmering steaks, stewing been and quick serve.

Cooking Methods

Beef can be cooked using almost any method from slow cooking to fast-frying. It all depends on the cut. Regardless, you should make sure the meat is well cooked before eating.

Marinating is a safe way of breaking down the texture on tougher cuts. Prick the meat with a fork in many places and let it sit in the marinating sauce for 8-24 hours. Good marinating sauces are low in salt (which dries the meat) and high in oils and acids to break down the meat proteins. If you don’t have anything handy, salad dressing can be a practical option.

Varieties

Aberdeen Angus: a breed of Black hornless beef cattle originating in Scotland

Resources

Abelmosk

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A bushy herb of the Hibiscus family, native to tropical Asia and East Indies, whose musky seeds are used in perfumes and flavor coffee.