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Heavenly honey

You probably don't think too much about how that jar of honey in your kitchen cupboard came to be. We know somewhere along the line it involved bees and a few flowers but the process involved to create just one drop is truly extraordinary.

Bees suck nectar from the flowers of course and it's made of sugar and 80% water so to convert it to honey they store it in 1 of their 2 stomachs. It's then mixed with their own enzyme for about 1/2 an hour back at bee central and stored in the wax honeycomb to work its sticky magic.
But a poor little bee only lives for about 6 weeks as it's wings wear out. They visit anywhere between 50-100 flowers during just one collection flight and have to make approximately 300 trips back and forth to make just 1 tiny teaspoon of honey. In order to produce 1kg of honey there needs to be about 2 million trips accomplished by a hive of bees. No wonder they get worn out.

So the next time you spread that wondrous natural nectar on your toast, spare a thought for the bee and be sure to savour each drop.

Down and dirty

Have you ever wondered why some potatoes are left unwashed?

Why would you buy potatoes covered in dirt? Especially when you peel them the dirt stains the potato. And after cleaning a dirty kitchen and dirty kids, a dirty spud needing the same thing isn't really going to do it for you.
However, there's one very good reason for the dirt and that's skin type. The unwashed potatoes are the 'floury' varieties, perfect for mashing, or making the best crispy baked or fried potatoes.
These potatoes are not really intended to be used unpeeled as the skin's a bit tough and not good for eating, so it needs to be removed anyway. The growers don't bother washing them, which cuts down costs and in turn, the cost to the consumer.
The dirt also helps keep the potatoes longer. Several weeks actually. Don't store them in the fridge though, just keep them in a dark place and you'll have less chance of a jungle growing behind closed doors.

Unwashed potatoes make the best creamy mash and the crispiest chips, so put them on your shopping list and head down to your greengrocer. It's time to get down and dirty.

Creamy ice

My favourite food has always been ice cream and it's been made for thousands of years before freezers were invented. How is that possible?

It might be easy to assume that ice cream would be a European invention given that Italy and France make such great gelato. Surprisingly though, China is credited with developing the art of making icy treats. Thousands of years ago they would bring snow down from the mountains in winter, flavour it and store it in holes in the ground.
Other countries caught on and advanced the process, then in the 13th century, Italian explorer Marco Polo brought back the technique of pouring a mixture of water and saltpetre over a tub of the ice cream ingredients, which magically freezes them without needing snow.
Then in the 17th century, a French chef for King Charles 1st of England developed ices made with milk, cream and eggs but he was paid to keep the recipe a secret until around 1775, when ice cream as we know it was introduced to the rest of the world.

Thank goodness for French chefs and a sneaky English king.

Delicious mould??

Does the thought of cheese full of mould and bacteria make you squeamish?

Well if the answer is yes, to add to your disdain of all things mouldy, the veins in blue-veined cheeses are created by adding bacteria and moulds to the mixture before the aging process. This encourages the growth of the blue mould that gives the cheese its pungent flavour. And to top it off, one of these is the bacteria that causes foot odour in humans. Yum!
Even with that 'dubious-sounding' pedigree, is it a problem if more mould appears on it in your fridge? Yes. You don't need to throw it out but you do need to cut it off because it's unsafe mould.
You might be turned off by the idea of moulds added to your cheese but what may surprise you is that the lovely downy white surface of soft cheeses such as camembert and brie is also caused Mr mould. It's just that it's white so doesn't look as scarey as the blue variety.

Have I put you off?

Chocolate should be eaten

Should we be eating chocolate to improve our health?
Certainly the medical profession right up until the early 20th century thought so.

There has to be only a hardy minority who don't like chocolate.
The cacao tree, from which chocolate is derived, is native to Mexico and South America and has been cultivated there to make chocolate as far back as the 14th century BC.
Soon after it's introduction into Europe in the 16th century, the local medicos agreed that chocolate had wondrous medicinal properties.
It was thought to be a panacea for chest and stomach ailments and fevers, so it was added to purgatives, cough mixtures, digestion aids, antispasmodics, anti-inflammatories and assorted other tonics. Best of all, it was used as an aphrodisiac as well. Confectionery makers right up until the 20th century gladly became the dispensers of this magic food.

What a pity none of this has been proven to be correct. Nevertheless, it's still one of our tastiest creations yet.

Oily confusion

If you're an olive lover and wanted to plant an olive tree in your backyard, would you plant a green or a black variety?

Unlike grapes that come in green and red varieties, all olive varieties start out green. When you see black olives for sale it means that green olives have been left on the tree longer to ripen further.
Olives picked while still green have less oil but the stronger, more pungent flavour makes it good for making olive oil as well as for eating while ripe black olives have more oil and are sweeter to eat.
Olive trees are from the Mediterranean originally but they've been grown in Australia since the 1800's. If your care for your backyard olive tree, it will actually produce a juicy crop of fruit for up to 1,500 years, which should be more than enough time for you to enjoy the spoils.

We still import 90% of our olive oil though, so next time you're standing in front of a confusing wall of oils in the supermarket, look knowledgeable, feel patriotic and support our local farmers. Buy Australian!

Anyone for an Aussie meat pie?

Is the good old Aussie meat pie actually Australian?

We munch our way through 260 million meat pies every year however records show that the meat pie in it's earliest form actually started in Egypt in 200BC before going on to Europe from there. The meat pie in Australia wasn't recorded until 1847 in Bendigo but you can now buy a meat pie, fresh or pre-packaged, in any town in Australia. Our most well-known brand Four 'N Twenty now produces 50,000 pies every hour.
A survey done by the Australian government in 2007 found that Australians actually put meat pies on top of the list of our most popular icons, followed by lamingtons. Ian Thorpe and Kylie Minougue are our most popular celebrity icons, with the ute and the hills hoist considered our best inventions.

So can we claim the meat pie as Australian? Why not! In true New Zealand-born Russell Crowe style - if it's good, we'll claim it. Well our version of it anyway!

Avocdo without the 'yuck-factor'

My elderly father left me with a great piece of advice and I've used it ever since.

We've all cut an avocado in half, not used it all and had it go brown, which is very unappetising the next day. The problem is that half an avocado has a large exposed surface area to go brown, especially if the seed's been removed.
What my dad showed me makes perfect sense. His advice was about decreasing the amount of exposed surface area to actually go brown.
Next time you don't need the whole avocado, instead of halving it lengthways as usual, cut it crossways, starting from the narrow end. Just take slices off as you need them. It means that you can slice off a little bit for a sandwich or salad, without exposing much surface area and even as you keep using it bit by bit, the seed always stays in place, keeping that surface unexposed.

No need to put a whole avocado on 1 sandwich anymore.
Thanks Dad.

Impressive barbeque secrets

Who's turned an expensive piece of tender meat into a dry and chewy disappointment?

There's 2 simple rules to stop that happening. You can try marinading it but that just flavours the outside of the meat, not tenderise the inside. The trick is in the cooking.
While it's very tempting to lord over your barbecue with a beer in your hand and turn your sizzling steaks over and over, resist. One turn only.
Both sides of the meat must be sealed completely otherwise all the lovely meat juices will just fall out. Constant turning stops that sealing process from happening because the meat surface cools down again with every turn and you get a stew rather than a sear.
So, cook it halfway through on the first side, turn it, then cook it until just before the stage you like your meat done.
And here's the 2nd golden rule. Ignore protests from your hungry guests and transfer it to a plate. Loosely cover it in foil and stand it for at least 5 minutes. This allows the meat juices to stay put when the meat is cut.

Your guests will be your cheering your prowess with another drink.

I never use a recipe!

When I meet new people and tell them that one part of my life's work is to develop recipes for magazines and cookbooks, a common reaction is a very proudly announced 'I never use a recipe'.

What better way to make a girl feel unwanted and unnecessary!

I applaud the creative cook who spends the time to come up with a concept, shop for the ingredients, then hit the kitchen to see what develops.

At least I can say I get paid to do that!

Most of the time there's a good result but could it be better? Possibly, but maybe it doesn't matter. As long as your kids eat it without complaining and especially if it has something green hidden in there.

What I would say is that you have to be pretty dedicated to keep up this creativity and not fall back on the same food time and time again. While it means that you get pretty darn good at those favourites, it's hard to find a time-poor Aussie household that doesn't have a spag. bol. night every week.

Maybe it's time to expand the repertoire. Check out the latest recipes in a magazine, find one you like the look and sound of, then cook it for the 1st time following the recipe. The next time you make it you can add your own improvements.

The difference will be that you'll keep me in work, you'll know it's as good as it can be and the bonus is that you'll still be able to proclaim that 'I don't use a recipe'.