Wild Berries Grow Well in Our Backyard - Food Variety 13

Fig 01- A single wild red berry

At least, we have 3 kinds of wild berries grow well and produce fruit in our backyard every year:

- two red berries
- one is blackberry.

One of red is ground berry, another red berry climbs the fences.

All of three photos in this post are ground red berries, presumably has a scientific name Rubus sp.

The size and form (shape) as small as blackberry.

My ground wild red berry has no taste (fairly to say is tasteless).

Some people said, the berry is good for jam, jelly and alcohol drink.

It is believed the wild red berry contains manganese and have a lot of health benefits. Some of them are:

- good for bone health
- metabolism improvement
- has antioxidant effects.

Fig 02- Three wild red berries

Fig 03- Two wild red berries on the ground

The berry also rich in vitamins C and K. Vitamin C is needed for repairmen and development of our body tissues.

We might know that Vitamin C could improve the immune system too.

Moreover, the Vitamin that makes protein for “normal blood clotting” and healthy bones (together with manganese) is Vitamin K.

This vitamin is an essential vitamin for wound healing.

What kind of wild berries do you know?

Honey as a Local Product - Food Variety 12

Fig 01- Local honey in the grocery.

I believe all of us have ever consumed honey, but, some may not love it. However, demand for honey is increasing year by year.

Based on report from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2020, honey production increase by 2%, make total production to be 157 million pounds.

The states with higher honey productions are following:
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- California
- Montana
- Florida
- Texas
- Minnesota
- Michigan
- Louisiana 

Fig 02- Colorful flowers as a source of food for honey bees

Interestingly, not only honey, but live bees also be traded, locally and internationally.

Fig 03- Bees visit roses to collect pollen.

Several countries have exported live bees include:
- Egypt
- Slovakia
- Belgium
- United States of America (USA)
- Canada

In term of pollination, bees have vital roles in many economic plants for human consumption.

Quite amazing that a bee could pollinate 5,000 flowers a day. They pollinated many our daily foods such as:
- apples
- cranberries
- melons
- broccoli
- cherry
- almond

Hope, bees will continue their job!!

Older post:

Will Confederate Jasmine Crawl Back After Winter? | Tanza Erlambang Update

Have you Tried to Drink Chai Tea? - Food Variety 11

 

Fig 01- Chai tea also for lip balm, just for illustration

Sure, there are plenty of tea’s brand, but Lipton is a tea brand which always in my mind.

I drink tea every day, hot tea in the colder seasons (fall, winter and spring), and iced tea during hot summer.

Depend on the sources of readings, it is said that there are at least 6 types of teas (Science Learning Hub, 2013). They are:

- black

- green

- white

- yellow

- oolong

- post-fermented

As far as I remember, I mainly drink black and green tea of Lipton. In addition to colors, the processing steps could produce tea variations in terms of form and taste.

Fig 02- Chai tea ingredients for lip balm, illustration

In respect to countries, there are four well known countries of tea productions and traditions:

- Japan (Macha tea)

- China

- India (Darjeeling tea)

- UK (English breakfast tea)

Fig 03- Icy leaves, just for illustration.

In addition, China has many different types of teas:

- black tea

- green tea

- Oolong

- White tea

- Pu Erh

- Biluochun

- Longjing tea.

Chai tea is a beverage tea comes from India. A kind of milk tea, black tea boiled in the milk with spices flavor. The spices and sweetened may include:

- star anise

- cardamom

- cinnamon

- sugar

- honey

The tea is believed has many health benefits such as:

- reduce stress

- regulate cholesterol

- improve digestion

- and even to prevent cancer.

Do you have specific favorite of tea? What kind of tea?

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Do you Consume Raw Radish? - Food Variety 10

Beautiful red Radish

I just noticed this “pretty” vegetable in the grocery recently. I though the Radishes were fruit, but they are “root” vegetable.

Look like tomatoes in terms of color (red), shape (round or irregular) and size from far distance.

The Radish is one of members from Brassicaceae family, among other vegetables include in this family are:

- kale

- cabbage

- kohlrabi

- Brussels sprout

- mustard

- collard green

- horseradish

- turnip

- rutabaga

Radishes with their leaves

Based on information from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) link (dpi.wi.gov..) that radish was native to China.

In the ancient times, this root plants then distributed to the regions or countries such as:

- Egypt

- Greece

- Rome

Radishes is low calories food, about 19 calories pe cup (128 gram). They are believed rich in:

- vitamin (C and B2)

- minerals (calcium, potassium and manganese)

Many people consume raw radishes by slicing them, and then mix with others vegetable for salad.

Some people cook radishes to lower their hot spicy flavor, so people can eat a lot of this vegetable.

Do you eat radish? Raw or cooked?

Chocolate Covered Strawberry from Neighborhood – Food Variety 9

Fig 01- Strawberries covered by chocolate decorations

From internet searches, the prices of Chocolate Covered Strawberries are very varies. No price below US$ 1 each.

The most common prices range from US$ 15 to US$ 25 per a half dozen (6 pieces). Quite expensive for me.

Our neighborhood sells Chocolate Covered Strawberries with little bit lower than market prices, but still expensive for me:

- a half dozen (6 pieces) for $12; and a dozen (12 pieces) for $24

- a half dozen (6 pieces) for $15 infused with alcohol; a dozen (12 pieces) for $30 infused with alcohol.

I wonder, why are Chocolate Covered Strawberries so expensive?

The reasons might relate to:

- public perception as a “luxury” goods.

- highly demand

- chocolate is shorten life, thus, must be removed from store shelves quicker.

Fig 02- Chocolate covered three strawberries

Chocolates are good to keep them in the refrigerator, but it is no problem for 10 hours at room temperature.

Fig 03- several designs of chocolate covered strawberries.

In addition to strawberries, other fruits are suitable as well to be covered by chocolates.

Slices of some fruits which could be covered by chocolates:

- figs

- pears

- banana

- mango

- any other sweet fruits.

Have you tasted chocolate covered strawberry or any other fruit? What do you think?

The Origin of Cup Cake – Food Variety 8

 

Three cup cakes with 3 different decorations.

Honestly, I just realized lately that there is different between two similar form of cakes:

- muffin

- cup cake

It is said that a cup cake is the perfect dessert for lunch or dinner. Its small size is created to serve for one person.

Like other larger cakes, cup cakes are decorated with many items, just for examples:

- fresh fruit

- candy

- chocolate

- ganache

- sugar cage

- caramel ribbons

Similar cup cakes on the table.

I just read from some sources, standard ingredients are used to bake cup cakes includes:

- butter

- sugar

- flour

- eggs

Historically, the cup cake has been consumed in America since 1796 or might be early, more than 200 years ago.

Its name originally was 1234 cakes or called as the number cake, refer to portions of its four basic well known ingredients:

- 1 cup of butter

- 2 cups of sugar

- 3 cups of flour

- 4 eggs

In addition to four basic, people may use other two ingredients:

- 1 cup of milk

- 1 spoon of soda

Which one do you like: cup cakes or muffin?

Late Harvest of Satsuma Orange in the Yard - Food Variety 7

Fig 01- A ripe Satsuma orange

We have just one tree of Satsuma orange, harvest time was between October to November each year.

Due to uncertain weather, the harvest quite late and bad compared to previous years.

However, in many places, Satsuma seasons are between October to early December, and we may see plenty of them sold in the groceries around December.

Farmers sold their Satsuma oranges between December to January both in the farmer markets, and occasionally in the farm.

Prices are varies between groceries and farmer markets:

- about US$ 2 per pound (½ kg) in groceries

- we saw US$ 1 per pound in some farmer markets

- less than USS 1 per pound in the farm.

Fig 02- Some fruits hang on the branches.

Our Satsuma tree produced less and less fruit since few years ago. The main concern is diseases. We called as a “white spot” diseases.

Fig 03- Two fruits of Satsuma

Several other “well known” diseases may infect Satsuma orange trees are:

1) Bacterial diseases

- one kind of bacteria may cause leaves to curl, dry up and then drop. This bacteria infects tree in the winter and spring seasons.

2) Mandarin Rind Disorder

- I saw brown and sunken areas on the fruit skin, look like fungi diseases. Yes, it occurs during heavy rain time of Fall season.

3) Botrytis Diseases

- This is fungi diseases. I always see white or gray spores on the leaves. They appeared when tree is bearing “baby” fruits, before rain seasons (before Autumn).

Finally, have you tasted Satsuma orange?

Are Raw Peanuts Good for Health? - Food Variety 6

 

Fig 01- Peanuts without shell, ready to consume

We always buy green peanut during spring and summer at farmer market, then we boiled them at home.

In the fall, raw peanuts only are sold by farmer market. I think the raw peanuts are peanuts in the shell, harvested from ground.

These peanuts are ready for:

- blending

- grinding or powdering

- roasting

- salting

- drying

- glazing (with honey)

Fig 02- Peanuts with shells in the plastic bag

In addition to boiled peanuts, I think I love to consume drying and bake peanuts. Both contain equal amount of:

- protein

- fat

- carbs

Fig 03- Price of green peanuts in the farmer market

The peanuts also rich in nutrients, contain more than minerals and vitamins include:

- potassium

- phosphorous

- magnesium

- B vitamins.

It is recommended to consume peanuts per day with amount of:

- 1 to 2 ounces of raw peanuts

- 2 tablespoons of peanut butter

Do you like to eat peanuts? What type of peanut you like: raw or processing?