Innovative Food's Product: Frozen Yogurt

This time i will discuss one of my favourite food's product that really affect and help me to satisfy my palate without feeling guilty. Frozen yogurt is a low-calorie frozen dessert that has many unique flavour .  Frozen yogurt is made in the same way as ice cream and, with the exception of yogurt culture , where make us of water and air as the elements.  The air is incorporated into the mixture to add volume, while the water exists in the liquid elements of the mix and is considered the continuous phase, which goes from liquid to a partially solid state. Frozen yogurt is never completely frozen; it simply contains ice crystals.

The history of frozen yogurt began , when frozen dessert was introduced to the market , which is founded thousands years ago in Asia and spread throughout Europe by Marco Polo. The technology in the 1800s simplified the process of making frozen desserts,  the first hand- freezer was patented in 1848. shortly after that, Jacob Fussel of Baltimore created the first wholesale ice cream manufacturing company in the United States by using pasteurization machine and homogenizers. in the 1940s the frozen dessert industry expanded due to the innovation of low-temperature refrigerates. 

Yogurt was brought to the United States in the early of 1900s and steadily increased in popularity as a health food item over the next several decades. In the 1930s Dannon began selling prepackaged yogurt for the first time in the U.S. in the 1970s, frozen yogurt introduced to the market, but it was a big failure, because people did not like the taste that not as creamy and sweet as ice cream. despite that, one of U.S frozen yogurt's retailer store, TCBY opened its first store in 1981. TCBY's yogurt was  sale through a machine and theybecame the largest frozen yogurt franchise in the world at that time. during the 1980s, frozen yogurt sales market reach $25 million . afterwards, around frozen yogurt reach its peak sales about $300 million  on 135 million of gallons in the mid of 1990s.

Sources : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frozen_yogurt
                http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Frozen-Yogurt.html

Diets and Dietary Restrictions

 Foods are the major sources of our health. it can act as medicine or even a poison to our body. even so, consuming excessive foods is not healthy , everything must be in balance. from my own experience, i had gained so much weight during my High school year, due to high intake of sugar and fats,stressed, and also lack of exercise. i have tried all kind of diets methods, and been struggling with it, even more it affected my mood and my health .but, months ago i have  been studying about the nutrients of foods and try to eat more healthy, organic, less saturated fats and sugar, also exercise daily. and now,  I almost go back to my ideal weight like before. 

The important keys to remember are:
1. Never skip breakfast
2. Try to eat moderately and on time
3. Try to not eating 3 hours before sleep ( i have habits to not eats heavy meal after 06:00 pm)
4. Exercise daily ( if possible for 30 min/ 1 hour)
5. Limit the consumption of sugars and saturated fat 
6. Get enough sleep (7-8 hours no more than that) 
7. Drink enough water
8. Do not get stressed ( i find Yoga has so much effects to reduce stress)
9. Eat more vegetables and fruits 
10.Process foods are really bad, try to avoid it, use fresh ingredients instead.

Furthermore, ever since I studied nutrition at my College,  and they introduced me to Canada's Food Guidelines, i found that it is very feasible and advance, as we know there are many myths about foods and it starting to change according to many research that is happening. 

Link : ( http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index-eng.php)

On the other hand, working as a chef might giving people idea, that we can eat a lot of good thing since we always surrounded by foods, but i feel the reality is different. we are so busy at the kitchen and working for hours, sometimes without break , and this condition make us does not have choice to choose what we want to eat.

Here are an example of 7 days meal plan:

	Breakfast	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
Day 1	Soaked oatmeal with milk, yoghurt,banana, pecan, chia seeds,cashew, and walnut	A small bowl of salad and 2 fillet of pan fried salmon	Roasted almond nuts and an apple	Avocado juice and 1 slice of whole grain bread
Day 2	1 slice of Spinach tuna mushroom quiche	Vermicelli noodle with chicken broth, boiled chicken,shitake mushrrom and boiled eggs	Pear and orange juice	Chilled silk tofu with soy sauce, duck egg and green onion
Day 3	Strawberry and blueberries smoothies	Artichoke papillote with julienne oion,carot and sliced garlic and butter	Variation of nuts	A bowl of fresh lettuce with lightly Caesar dressing and baked croutons
Day 4	Banana smoothies with dates and walnut	Stir fry vegetables and chicken with brown rice	90% dark chocolate	Stir fry pok choy
Day 5	Soaked oatmeal with milk, chia seeds,  yoghurt, strawberry and raspberries	Half bowl of ramen with slices pork	Variation of nuts	Protein shake with strawberry
Day 6	Avocado juice with milk	Stir fry tuna with caramelized onion and mushroom	A slice of gluten free chocolate cake	Steamed salmon with teriyaki sauce
Day 7	Soaked oatmeal with milk, yoghurt, cocoa powder and walnut	Lettuce wrap with stir fry teriyaki beef and julienne onion	A slice of gluten free banana cake	Fruit salad with lightly mayonnaise dressing

I don't really like eating heavy meal in big portion, for me eating in small portion but frequently is better. and also, i would like to share one of my favourite recipe that usually i eats on breakfast :  

Spinach Tuna Mushroom Quiche

Portion : 12

Time : 50 minutes

Ingredients:

6 eggs

2 fillet of tuna, steamed and shredded 

1 onion, thinly slice

200 gram spinach

150 gram mushroom

100 gram cheddar cheese

200 ml milk

1/4 salt

1/8 ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Steps:

1. pre heat oven to 350F, grease muffin tint with butter

2. heat oil in a large skillet. add onion and cook until caramelized, add mushroom and cook until the moisture has evaporated.

3. add in spinach and cook until the moisture has evaporated, season.

4. whisk egg untill fluffy, and stir in milk, season.

5. combine the spinach ingredients with eggs ingredients

6. scoop the batter in each muffin tint, top with cheddar cheese

7. put into the oven, and bake for 30 minutes, untill the eggs set. 

Oregon Sugar Pod Pea

This time i try to plant some seed that i got from school, Oregon Sugar Pod Pea from Richters, Durham Region, Ontario. 
Why the Oregon Sugar Pod Peas so popular:  Researchers in Alabama, Oregon and Florida grew a bunch of different snowpea varieties side-by-side.  In all three locations, 'Oregon Sugar Pod'  yielded the most pounds of pods. In the state for which it is named, 'Oregon Sugar Pod' produced 8.1 pounds of peas per 12 foot row vs. the 5.1 pounds produced by its closest competitor.    (source from : http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/snowpeas)

https://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?searchterm=oregon+sugar+pod+peas&search_catalogue_button=Go

I started planted it on September 23, 2015. because i don't have any garden or back yard so i put it in my room near the window where the fresh air can come in and beside the window where it can be exposed to the sunlight. based on my research of this plant, it is not a difficult plant to grow because it is a kitchen garden plant, and doesn't need a big space to grow. it recommended to plant the seed on spring with full sun and will mature aroun 65 days. the height of the plant can reach up to  90 cm and spread aroun 25 cm.

How to sow the Sugar Pod Pea: For the soil choose a weed-free position on moist, fertile, well drained soil in full sun. Sow Mangetout seed in flat bottomed drills at a distance of 5cm (2") apart, and 4cm (1½") deep. Allow a distance of 75cm (30") between rows. 

I sow 4 seed in 1L deep container with 5 inch width. the two seeds i placed it right where the sun directly shine the room, and the other 2 further in the back.

September 30th, 2015

Daily Care: Support Mangetout plants with twiggy sticks, wire or netting as they grow, and use fine netting to protect pea crops from birds and pea moth damage. When growing Mangetout peas, regular and thorough watering especially when in flower will improve crop yields. Harvest edible podded peas around 12-13 weeks after sowing just as the peas inside start to form. (http://www.thompson-morgan.com/vegetables/vegetable-seeds/pea-and-bean-seeds/pea-oregon-sugar-pod-mangetout/133TM)

October 5th, 2015. Only two seeds exposed to the sun grow.

October 10th, 2015

October 12th, 2015 ( 6 inch)

Meat and Game birds

One of my favorite meat is beef. I like making Japanese cuisine, especially curry. It is easy, savoury ,and flavourful. For this assignment I choose brisket to become the main ingredients for my curry.

Brisket cuts come from the lower part of cow on top of shank, and near the chuck and plate

As we know, cow are really productive, almost all parts of their body can be consumed, and some are very useful in many aspect. The price of the beef cuts is  $34.7/ kg and I paid $10.62 for 300 gr of meat. The best way to cook brisket is by moist heat method where it slowly break down the connective tissue and make it tender and moist. The lower part of the cow (brisket,shank, flank) can be very tough because the muscle in that area work more than upper parts meat. That’s why cooking it with moist heat (stew, braised, steaming,boiling) is the best method to used, since it will tenderize the meat with cooking the meat in the liquid.

The recipe of my favourite Beef curry can be found on this link : http://www.justonecookbook.com/japanese-beef-curry/

Charcuterie

- Pâtés : baked forcemeats, not always containing one or more types of garnish. Include products baked in crust

- Terrine :  baked forcemeat in an earthenware dish, the products baked without a crust

- Galantine : a ground meat mixture (forcemeat) wrapped in the skin of the products made from a chicken  or duck . all galantines is almost poached and some roasted.

- Rilletes : a dish made of pork cooked slowly until it gets very tender, then shredded, mixed with its own fat, seasoned, and packed intro crocks or terrines

A forcemeat defined as a mixture of seasoned,ground meats used as  a stuffing or filling. There are 3 types of forcemeat:

1.     Straight forcemeat : a mixture of seasoned ground meat in a form of sausage meat ( the basis of most traditional pâtés and terrine), while a country-style forcemeat is made in the same way but the grind is coarser.

2.     Gratin forcemeat: this type of forcemeat differs from a straight forcemeat in that a portion of the meat is seared and thus partially cooked, and cooled before it is ground. Usually contain a starch binder called a panada

3.     Mousseline forcemeat: consist of white meat or seafood processed ro a pureé and combine with heavy cream and egg.

3 method of preservation beside Charcuterie:

- Curing:

      ~ dry curing : the cure ingredients (salt,seasoning,sugar, and prague powder) are mixed together           and packed. ex : sausage

      ~ brine curing : a solution of salt and other curing ingredients in water. example: poultry products

- Smoking :

      ~ Cold smoking : the temperature inside the smokehouse is kept at or below 85F (30C)

      ~ Hot smoking : the temperature inside the smokehouse as high as 165F (74C)

     Example : Gavlax, Smoked salmon, Smoked duck, Smoked trout.

- Freeze-drying :  freezing the material and then reducing the surrounding pressure to allow the frozen water in the material to sublimate directly from the solid phase to the gas phase. example: bacons

-Gelatine :

powdered  gelatine ( left) , sheet gelatine (right)

                       

    

with 100 ml water (powdered gelatine) sit in the room for 1 hour

with 100 ml water (sheet gelatine) sit in the room for 1 hour

with 200 ml (powdered gelatine)sit in the room for 1 hour

with 200 ml (sheet gelatine)sit in the room for 1 hour

Result : the powdered gelatine is more watery compare to the wobbly sheet gelatine . even though, the volume of the water increase for the sheet gelatine,it still hold in its shape but wobbly . compare to the powdered gelatine who become completely watery when the volume of the water increased, the shape become completely like congee. 

Alternative to gelatin : 

  1. Agar-agar  : cooked and pressed seaweed (available in powder, flaked or bar) 

                           1 tsp agar-agar = 1 tbsp gelatin

  2. Carrageen  :  seaweed found in coastal waters near Ireland, France, and North America. best when used for making softer gels and puddings. To prepare carrageen, rinse it thoroughly, and then soak it in water until it swells. Add the carrageen to the liquid you want to set, boil for 10 minutes, and remove the carrageen. One ounce of carrageen will gel 1 cup of liquid.