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Freaky white \”strawberry\” on UK supermarket shelves

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:20:43 +0000

Freaky white \”strawberry\” on UK supermarket shelves

A new kind of fruit surnamed pineberry with a shape of strawberry and a taste of pineapple hit Britain stores Wednesday. (Photo: chinanews.cn)
A new kind of fruit surnamed pineberry with a shape of strawberry and a taste of pineapple hit Britain stores Wednesday, according to Daily Mail.
The fruit looks like the faded strawberry, and is only in season for the next five weeks.
The fruit originated in South Americawhere it grew wild. It has the same genetic make-up as the common strawberry.
It had been near to extinction until seven years ago when Dutch farmers saved it.
Now it is grown commercially in glasshouses, turning from green to white and are ripe when the seeds turn dark red.

Junk foods may be addictive: study

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:11:43 +0000

Junk foods may be addictive: study

A McDonald\’s employee displays a Mega Mac burger at a McDonald\’s outlet in Tokyo April 5, 2007.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
High-calorie foods may be addictive as cocaine or nicotine, according to a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience Sunday.
Paul J. Kenny, Ph.D., the lead author of the study, said that doing drugs such as cocaine and eating too much junk food both gradually overload the so-called pleasure centers in the brain.
Eventually the pleasure centers \”crash\”, and achieving the same pleasure — or even just feeling normal — requires increasing amounts of the drug or food, said Kenny.
Researchers studied three groups of lab rats for 40 days. The first group was fed normal rat food. The second group was allowed to gorge on sweets and junk food for one hour a day. The third was allowed unlimited amounts of junk food for 23 hours of the day.
The third group began to eat compulsively. When researchers applied an electric shock in the presence of food, the first two groups shied away from eating, while the third group continued eating.
Obesity may be a form of compulsive eating. The findings in a study of animals cannot be directly applied to human obesity, but may help in understanding the condition and in developing therapies to treat it, according to the researchers.

Low-carbo diet better than low-fat to lower blood pressure

znnw — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:48:08 +0000

Low-carbo diet better than low-fat to lower blood pressure

A low-carbohydrate diet may be better than a low-fat diet plus the weight-loss drug orlistat for its effect on helping lower blood pressure, a new study in Monday’s Archives of Internal Medicine said.
Reseachers in U.S. picked up 146 overweight or obese adults who were randomly assigned to a low-carbohydrate diet or orlistat with a low-fat diet.
The average age of the study participants was 52 and the average body-mass index was 39 (30 and over is considered obese). Orlistat was marketed as Xenical, a prescription medication, and Alli, available over the counter.
The low-carb diet began with a carbohydrate intake of less than 20 grams of carbohydrates a day. The group taking orlistat received a 120-milligram dose of the drug three times daily and got less than 30 percent of their calories from fat.
Over 48 weeks, the low-carbohydrate group lost 9.5 percent of their body weight, while the orlistat group lost 8.5 percent. Insulin and glucose markers improved only in the low-carb group, and there was a significant drop in blood pressure in the low-carb group compared to the orlistat group. Similar reductions were seen for diastolic blood pressure.
“Weight loss was similar but substantial in both groups we studied, but blood pressure improved more in the low-carb dieters,” said study author Dr. William Yancy Jr., an associate professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center and a staff physician at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
“There are options out there. Pick a diet you think you could stick to better, and work with your physician to help you target the right intervention for you,” he advised.
Yancy said the blood pressure and cholesterol drops might have been even more impressive if people had stayed on their medications, but as they lost weight and normalized these readings, the doctors took them off blood-pressure and cholesterol drugs.
Obesity is a significant inducement to many illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and many cancers.
“There are many paths to weight loss,” said registered dietitian Karen Congro, director of the Wellness for Life Program at The Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City. What often makes the difference in whether or not a diet is successful, she said, is whether or not there’s a counseling and support component to the plan.
These studies show that you don’t necessarily need to get to your “ideal body weight” to make substantial improvements to your health, she said. Losing 5 percent to 10 percent of your body weight can make positive changes in blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose control.
“If it can make you a healthier person, then a diet is a success,” said Congro.

Shanghai Snacks(2)

znnw — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:18:27 +0000

Shanghai Snacks(2)

Jiu Niang Yuan Zi

“Jiuniang yuanzi” or “Guihua tian jiuniang” made from sticky rice and sweet wine is one of the favorite snacks of Shanghai residents. It has a special sweet flavor and makes you feel refreshed.

Beware fad diets

znnw — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:18:21 +0000

Beware fad diets

Experts warn that many quick-fix diets are based on pseudo-science.
No food can burn fat, only physical activity can.

The only way to shed the post-festival extra pounds is the good old way – eat less and exercise more.

Now that you’re discovering all the extra flab from the Christmas and New Year food and booze binge, you’re casting around for the latest diet to lose it all in time for summer.
But take care before you choose.
The British Dietetic Association (BDA) says that there are many varied “fad” diets offering miracle weight loss, but warns consumers that losing the pounds while on one of them is simply due to eating fewer calories.
“It may not sound the most exciting way to lose weight but healthy eating, activity and long-term behavior change not only works but helps you maintain weight loss too,” says Rachel Cooke, registered dietitian at St Martins’ Hospital in Bath and BDA spokeswoman.
The BDA has produced a list of the “worst fad diets to avoid this New Year” including such regimes as the maple syrup, blood group, warrior, peanut butter and banana or the cabbage/fat-burning soup diets.
It says some regimes, such as the cabbage soup diet were based on “pseudo science” and that adhering to them over the long term could result in nutritional deficiencies.
“Firstly, no food can burn fat; only physical activity can do that,” the BDA says of the cabbage soup diet in which the adherent exists largely on home-made cabbage soup.
The BDA also blasted the myth of the detox diet, saying that the human body is a complex organism that is more than capable of detoxing itself.
“The liver works to rid the body of everyday toxins so a ’special diet’ is not necessary,” the BDA says.
It says detox diets – often popular with celebrities -recommend cutting out entire food groups and living on fruit/vegetables and water and that they can also lead to nutritional deficiencies as whole food groups are omitted.
“After ‘the Christmas feast,’ simply reducing food intake as well as eating more fruit and vegetables will lead to a reduction of calories and weight loss,” the BDA says.
The professional body for British dietitians also took aim at two famous diet plans.
It says the Atkins diet, sold around the world, contravenes “evidence-based healthy eating messages” and that the Zone diet goes against Britain’s Food Standard Agency recommendations.
The BDA says the rigid version of the Atkins diet means no bread, potatoes, pasta, rice or cereals and only a minimal allowance of fruit and vegetables.
“This diet goes against evidenced-based healthy eating messages, can lead to high intakes of saturated fat and virtually none of the five-a-day fruit and vegetables that help reduce heart disease, stroke and some of the UK’s most prevalent cancers,” it adds.
Atkins (www.atkins.com) said in a statement that it strongly refuted the BDA’s comments and objected to its inclusion on the list of the “worst fad diets to avoid this New Year”.
“It is clear from the report that the author is not familiar with the new ‘Atkins Nutritional Approach’,” the vice president of education and research for Atkins Health and Medical Information Services Colette Heimowitz said in an e-mailed statement.
“This diet is not a fad but offers a long term healthy eating plan with reduced levels of refined carbohydrates and sugars, and encourages the consumption of lean protein, high fiber, fruit and vegetables.”
The Zone Diet (www.ZoneDiet.com) also objected to its inclusion on the BDA list as an eating plan that was “probably more complicated than making small changes to intake that will result in long-term healthy weight loss”.
“The Zone Diet has in fact the same guidelines as the newest dietary guidelines for treating obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and pre-diabetes from the Joslin Diabetes Research Center affiliated with Harvard Medical School,” Zone Diet marketing manager Kari Haering said in an e-mailed statement.

Shanghai Snacks(1)

znnw — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:18:14 +0000

Shanghai Snacks(1)

Shanghai snacks, which can be traced back to the Southern Song Dynasty, are renowned for their unique flavors. A wide selection of Shanghai snacks comprises dozens of pastries, buns, stuffed dumplings and rice and cakes, which are light, fresh, and tasty, and have long been popular among locals and visitors.

You Dun Zi

“You dun zi” is made from a kind of fried batter. You put the batter into a round spoon, add chopped scallion pieces and salty radish strips, and then fry the batter in hot oil. It is a kind of fried food that tastes delicious and crispy.

Hot Pot A Hot Choice for Winter

znnw — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:51:31 +0000

Hot Pot A Hot Choice for Winter

In cold weather, there’s nothing like hot pot – nourishing, fun, convivial and imaginative. Almost no skill is required. Just dip the colorful array of meats, seafood, vegetables and bean curd into the boiling water. It smells delicious. Noodles are commonly cooked in the nutritious soup at the end of the meal.
Eating hot pot or huoguo (literally “fire pot”) is convivial activity, enjoyed by friends and families drawn together by a delicious, healthful meal.
In a hot pot restaurant, gas-fueled or electric pots are provided, usually one per table, occasionally one small one per person.
Order your meats, seafood and vegetables raw. Dip them in the boiling soup to cook, then dip in various sauces. What’s left is a nourishing soup. Drink that too.
Hot pot restaurants may offer special-tasting soup stock (tangdi) and sauces, but the main courses are nearly all the same – an assortment of raw food. So the secret is freshness.
It is said that hot pot originated in what is now the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (mutton, of course) and then became an integral part of north China cuisine.
Sichuan Province in the southwest is famous for its spicy chili hot pot. Cantonese light shacha hot pot is popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Drunken chicken

znnw — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 05:55:41 +0000

Drunken chicken

Just as the fatted cow was slaughtered for the proverbial prodigal son, the chicken is often chased down, killed and cooked for an honored guest or a special occasion in China. And this happens everywhere – be it town or country.
Sometimes, there are interesting tales behind the way the bird is cooked – like the legendary beggar’s chicken. The story goes that a vagrant stole a stray chicken and was about to make away with his ill-gotten meal-to-be when the owner came chasing after.
Drunken chicken, originated from southern China, is now a popular dish nationwide. Photos by Pauline D Loh
The intelligent beggar scooped up some mud, slathered it over the bird, threw it into a convenient fire, and parked himself nearby looking like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. The owner couldn’t find his stolen chicken and soon gave up the chase.
When the coast was finally clear, the clever beggar broke through the mud, now baked hard, and discovered a perfectly roasted chicken. For his wits, if not his morals, the nameless vagabond had the dish named after him.
More often than not, the dish also came about because of particular regional resources, or lack thereof, as in the case of the salt-baked chicken, the signature dish of the Hakkas.
The Hakkas, or kejiaren (“guest people”), were an itinerant people famous as a hardy community able to labor hard and long, and respected for their work ethics.
Many of their dishes reflect that itinerant nature, and the origin of salt-baked chicken is no different, by all accounts.
As they shifted from place to place, they often used salt to preserve their food supplies. One day, it is said, a hungry Hakka decided to throw a whole salt-wrapped chicken into the oven. It turned out so tasty that more people soon copied the method.
Another way of preserving meat was to marinate it in wine, and in this, the Jiangsu-Zhejiang chefs were the masters.
Little wonder, as this region is home to some of China’s most famous wines, the huang jiu or yellow wine known as huadiao or shaoxing jiu.
There is an interesting tradition here. When a daughter is born, an urn of the best wine is be set aside and cellared until the girl grows up and gets married. At her wedding feast, the wine is served. This is the famous Virgin Red, or Nu’er hong.
But what if the baby is a boy? That same vat is still set aside and broken into when the boy grows up and attains the highest academic honors – thus justifying the name of Zhuangyuan hong, or Scholar Red.
Huangjiu, incidentally, is not distilled and has a lower alcohol content, unlike erguotou, the double-distilled fire-water that is such a favorite with the old gentlemen of Beijing.
Drunken chicken uses quality huangjiu, which imparts its particular fragrance to the meat without pickling it. Often, a few Sichuan peppercorns and a bouquet of scallions and ginger are added as flavoring.
Best eaten chilled, drunken chicken often completes the cycle by ending up as the perfect dish for a drinking session, whether it’s a toast to the scholar, or to the bride.

Cant get sugar? Try sweets in your tea

znnw — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 05:55:37 +0000

Can’t get sugar? Try sweets in your tea

A laborer carries over a dozen pots of mixed black tea to sell to shop-keepers through a market in Peshawar, located in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province on April 23, 2009.[Agencies]
As Pakistanis face an acute shortage of sugar, some families have found an easily available alternative to sweeten their tea: instead of a spoonful of sugar, they dissolve sweets in their tea.
Shaikh Kashif, an embroiderer for a boutique in Karachi, said his favorite was a Cadbury Eclair.
“We can’t live without tea so we had to do something,” said Kashif, 27, from his small workshop in an upmarket city neighborhood.
“It just costs a rupee (1.2 U.S. cents) per candy and is easier to get these days than sugar,” he said.
Pakistan is facing a shortage of more than 1 million metric tons of sugar largely because of a poor crop of sugarcane.
Supplies have been particularly scarce since last month when surging prices led to a Supreme Court order to millers to sell sugar at 40 rupees/kg (48 U.S. cents), compared with the then-market price of about 46 rupees/kg.
Government attempts to implement the court decision have led to confusion, sparking even higher market prices. Authorities are trying to get cheap supplies out to shoppers but sugar has almost disappeared at main retail markets in Karachi.
Where it is available, it sells for as much as 70 rupees a kg.
That’s not a problem for Kashif who said the sweets he put in his tea gave it a chocolaty taste.
“Some in my family didn’t like that so they’re using a local candy which melts easily when you put it in a hot cup of tea,” he said. “We had to think of something to replace sugar and it’s worked for us.”

You eat less fat, caffeine, cheese – is salt next?

znnw — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 05:55:36 +0000

You eat less fat, caffeine, cheese – is salt next?

You never consume trans fats, have reduced caffeine, and rarely eat cheese. What’s next to banish from the menu? Salt, if consumer trend tracker Mintel is right.
Mintel has released its predictions for consumer packaged goods in 2010, saying next year’s new products will tend to recreate the familiar, sticking to the current trends of health, wellness, convenience and sustainability.
But Mintel predicted several core trends will impact new product development, with sodium reduction poised to be the next big health push after slowly getting a higher profile on supermarket shelves.
Between 2005 and 2008, the number of food production introductions containing a low, no, or reduced sodium claim rose 115 percent, according to Mintel, as studies linked sodium to hypertension, osteoporosis, kidney damage and stomach cancer.
Recent research found 52 percent of Americans are monitoring the amount of sodium in their diets and in Britain 35 percent of consumers now consider low salt content when buying food.
David Jago, director of trends and innovation at Mintel, said consumers have been relatively slow to add sodium to their dietary black lists but the trend is finally set to take hold.
“The key difference is that sodium reduction is being pushed by food companies and health organizations, not by consumers. This could mean slow adoption of the ‘less salt’ mantra by shoppers, even as the food industry moves ahead,” said Jago in a statement.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this year studies showed most Americans ate 3,436 mg of sodium a day whereas dietary guidelines recommended adults consume less than 2,300 mg a day or about one teaspoon of salt.
As well as the focus on sodium next year, Mintel forecast more companies will print information about calories on packaging, use more boutique style packaging to make buying the mundane seem more enjoyable, and use color code packaging.
Mintel also forecast that high quality private labels will thrive next year as consumers who turned to private labels during the recession stick with their new purchases and the definition of “local” goods will be expanded.
As for new flavors next year, Mintel predicted that cardamon, sweet potato, hibiscus, cupuacu, rose water and latin spices would find a place in U.S. kitchens.