Maize as Food

Corn is prepared and consumed in a multitude of ways. Ground and pounded, the meal may be boiled, baked or fried, cooked with water to provide a thick mush or dough, or a thinner consistency to provide gruel, porridge or soup. The whole grain may be boiled or roasted and it may be fermented. Tamales are produced by steaming the dough. Cornbread is made by mixing the meal with wheat flour. Immature cobs, preferably sweet corn, are boiled and eaten as corn on the cob, or the grain may be removed and eaten as a vegetable, or it may be canned. More mature cobs are roasted.

Last week we talked about how corn or maize came to be one of the most important cereals in the world. This week, a look at the maize as food.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "The summer night is like a perfection of thought." - Wallace Stevens (US poet, 1879 - 1955)

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Maize as Food

Maize

Some facts about corn:

• An ear of corn averages 800 kernels in 16 rows.
• A pound of corn consists of approximately 1,300 kernels.
• 100 bushels of corn produces approximately 7,280,000 kernels.

This week, a look at what we call corn and what much of the world calls maize.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something." - Wilson Mizner (US screenwriter, 1876 - 1933)

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Maize

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What are you looking at? Scientists find out

We see with the brain, not the eyes; images that pass through our pupils go no further than the retina. From there image information travels to the rest of the brain by means of coded pulse trains, and the brain, being highly plastic, can learn to interpret them in visual terms.

Ever wonder that your brain sees? We may know sooner that later, as Japanese researchers have reproduced images of things people were looking at by analyzing brain scans.

This week a look at how the brain, well, looks at things.

TTFN, Fred.

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Quote of the week: "Everything is vague to a degree you do not realize till you have tried to make it precise." - Bertrand Russell (British author, mathematician, & philosopher, 1872 - 1970)
What Are You Looking At

Building a Better Bee

Bees, like ants, are a specialized form of wasp. The ancestors of bees were wasps in the family Crabronidae, and therefore predators of other insects. The switch from insect prey to pollen may have resulted from the consumption of prey insects that were flower visitors and were partially covered with pollen when they were fed to the wasp larvae.

Bees are adapted for feeding on nectar and pollen, the former primarily as an energy source, and the latter primarily for protein and other nutrients. Most pollen is used as food for larvae. Bees play an important role in pollinating flowering plants, and are the major type of pollinator in ecosystems that contain flowering plants.

In early 2007, abnormally high die-offs (30-70% of hives) of European honey bee colonies occurred in the US and possibly Québec; such a decline seems unprecedented in recent history. This has been dubbed "Colony Collapse Disorder" (CCD).

This week, we look at research from UC Davis (go Aggies!) on building a better bee that may be resistant to CCD.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer." - Corrie Ten Boom (a Dutch, Christian Holocaust survivor who helped many Jews escape the Nazis during World War II, 1892 - 1983)

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Building a Better Bee

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Vinegar: Popular and Unusual Uses

How versatile is vinegar? I'm glad you asked.

This week we conclude our four part look at vinegar with popular and unusual uses for vinegar.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog." - Franklin P. Jones (American humoris, 1853-1935)

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Vinegar Popular and Unusual Uses

Balsamic Vinegar

Twenty-five years ago, balsamic vinegars were just getting known in the United States; tradizionales weren’t even available for purchase but had to be given as gifts from Italian friends. Today we are enriched with great products available at specialty stores and online; but sadly, most people have had only the imitation product, which is most of what is sold in the nation’s supermarkets.

Given that balsamic vinegar is one of the great pleasures of the food world, seeking out an authentic bottle is well worth the time and expense. You have to learn how to read labels, ask, and then ask again. But, as with learning about wines, once you come up the curve a bit, the rewards are spectacular.

This week, part three of our four part look at vinegar: what makes balsamic truly balsamic.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." - Dorothy Parker (US author, humorist, poet, & wit, 1893 - 1967)

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Vinegar Varieties

Vinegar commonly is used in food preparation, particularly in pickling processes, vinaigrettes, and other salad dressings. It is an ingredient in sauces such as mustard, ketchup, and mayonnaise. Vinegar sometimes is used while making chutneys. It often is used as a condiment. Marinades often contain vinegar.

Could all that be done with just one type of vinegar? Hardly.

This week, part two of our four part look at vinegar: the multitude of varieties of vinegar.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Everybody likes a kidder, but nobody lends him money." - Arthur Miller (US dramatist, 1915 - 2005)

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Vinegar Varieties

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