Sushi Revolution

Sushi

Sushi is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients, seafood, vegetables and sometimes tropical fruits. Ingredients and forms of sushi presentation vary widely, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is rice.

History
The original type of sushi, known today as nare-zushi was first made in Southeast Asia, possibly along what is now known as the Mekong River. The term sushi comes from an old dialect and literally means "sour-tasting", a reflection of its historic origin as a fermented food. The oldest form of sushi in Japan, nare-zushi, is still made by wrapping fish in soured fermenting rice, which causes the fish proteins to break down into their constituent amino acids. The fermenting rice and fish have both a sour and an umami taste.
The contemporary version, internationally known as "sushi", was created by Hanaya Yohei (around 18208).  It was meant to be a “fast food” that could be eaten by hand. 

Basic Ingredients
All sushi has a base of Japanese rice mixed with a special dressing. Then a variety of different toppings and fillings can used to create a million different varieties.

Sushi-meshi is a preparation of white, short-grained, Japanese rice mixed with a dressing consisting of rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and occasionally kombu and sake. It has to be cooled to room temperature before being used for a filling in a sushi or else it will get too sticky while being seasoned. Traditionally, the mixing is done with a hangiri, which is a round, flat-bottom wooden tub or barrel, and a wooden paddle (shamoji).
The Rice:  Sushi rice is prepared with short-grain Japanese rice, which has a consistency that differs from long-grain strains such as those from India, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The essential quality is its stickiness.
The Water:

Rice Vinegar:

Sugar: 

Salt:

Kombu:

Sake:

What Else?:

How to cook the rice:  And How to Cool the rice:

Other Ingredients in Sushi:
Nori:
The black seaweed wrappers used in makimono are called nori. Nori is a type of algae, traditionally cultivated in the harbors of Japan. Originally, algae was scraped from dock pilings, rolled out into thin, edible sheets, and dried in the sun, in a process similar to making rice paper. Today, the commercial product is farmed, processed, toasted, packaged, and sold in sheets.
Nori by itself is an edible snack and is available with salt or flavored with teriyaki sauce. The flavored variety, however, tends to be of lesser quality and is not suitable for sushi.

Wasabi:
Soy sauce:
Gari (sweet, pickled ginger) is eaten in between sushi courses to both cleanse the palate and aid in digestion. 

Fillings and Toppings:
For culinary, sanitary, and aesthetic reasons, the quality and freshness of fish to be eaten raw must be superior to that of fish which is to be cooked. Sushi chefs are trained to recognize important attributes, including smell, color, firmness, and freedom from parasites that may go undetected in commercial inspection. Raw fish served in the United States must be frozen to kill parasites.

 Commonly used fish:
tuna (maguro, shiro-maguro),
Japanese amberjack, yellowtail (hamachi)
snapper (kurodai)
mackerel (saba)
salmon (sake)
The most valued sushi ingredient is toro, the fatty cut of the fish. 
Other seafood:
 squid (ika)
eel (anago and unagi)
pike conger (hamo)
octopus (tako)
shrimp (ebi and amaebi)
clam (mirugai, aoyagi and akagai)
fish roe (ikura, masago, kazunokoand tobiko)
sea urchin (uni)
crab (kani), 
abalone
scallop
imitation crab stick, is commonly substituted for real crab, most notably in California rolls.

Non-Fish Fillings and Toppings
Pickled daikon radish
pickled vegetables
fermented soybeans
 avocado
cucumber 
asparagus
yam
sweet corn (possibly mixed with mayonnaise) 
Tofu 
Cooked eggs

Types of Sushi:

Maki-zushi = Rolled Sushi is a cylindrical piece, formed with the help of a bamboo mat is generally wrapped in nori (seaweed), but is occasionally wrapped in a thin omelette, soy paper, or cucumber. Makizushi is usually cut into six or eight pieces, which constitutes a single roll order.
  

Futo-maki  is a "thick, large or fat rolls") is a large cylindrical piece, usually with nori on the outside. They are often made with two, three, or more fillings that are chosen for their complementary tastes and colors.
Hoso-maki  "thin rolls") is a small cylindrical piece, with nori on the outside. They generally contain only one filling, often tuna, cucumber, thinly sliced carrots, or, more recently, avocado.  
Tekka-maki  is a kind of hosomaki filled with raw tuna.  It actually originated as a quick snack to eat in gambling dens called tekkaba , much like the sandwich.

Tsunamayo-maki  is a kind of hoso-maki filled with canned tuna tossed with mayonnaise.

Te-maki ("hand roll") is a large cone-shaped piece of nori on the outside and the ingredients spilling out the wide end. A typical temaki is about ten centimeters (4 in) long, and is eaten with fingers because it is too awkward to pick it up with chopsticks. For optimal taste and texture, temaki must be eaten quickly after being made because the nori cone soon absorbs moisture from the filling and loses its crispness, making it somewhat difficult to bite through. 

Nigiri-zushi "hand-pressed sushi" consists of an oblong mound of sushi rice that the chef presses into a small rectangular box between the palms of the hands, usually with a bit of wasabi, and a topping draped over it. typically fish such as salmon, tuna or other seafood are the topping.
 Temari-zushi “ball sushi" is a ball-shaped sushi made by pressing rice and fish into a ball-shaped form by hand using a plastic wrap.

Western-style sushi
The increasing popularity of sushi around the world has resulted in variations typically found in the Western world, but rarely in Japan (a notable exception to this is the use of salmon which was introduced by the Norwegians in the early 1980s). Such creations to suit the Western palate were initially fueled by the invention of the California roll (a nori-maki with crab (later,imitation crab), cucumber, and avocado). A wide variety of popular rolls has evolved since.

Ura-maki =  "inside-out roll" is a medium-sized cylindrical piece with two or more fillings, and was innovated as a result of the creation of the California Roll, as a method originally meant to hide the nori.  

Radishes - SuperFood Score 502!

Radish = SuperFood Score 502
The radish ) is an edible root vegetable  Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, being mostly eaten raw as a crunchy salad.  Some radishes are grown for their seeds: oilseed radishes, for instance, may be grown for oil production. Others are used for sprouting and both roots and leaves are sometimes served cooked.
Full of vitamin A carotenoids, vitamin C, folic acid, manganese, vitamin K and fibre, radishes are also a great source of glucosinolates, a phytochemical which may decrease the risk of certain cancers. The sulpher based chemicals found in radishes may promote bile production, helping to maintain a healthy liver and gallbladder, and improve digestion.

The root skin color ranges from white through pink, red, purple, yellow and green to black but the flesh is usually white. 
 

Broadly speaking, radishes can be categorized into four main types (summer, fall, winter, and spring) and a variety of shapes lengths, colors, and sizes, such as red, pink, white, gray-black or yellow radishes, with round or elongated roots that can grow longer than aparsnip.
Spring or summer radishes
 

Daikon—a large East Asian white radish—for sale in India.
 

Radishes are mostly used in salads but also appear in many European dishes. Radish leaves are sometimes used in recipes, like potato soup or as a sautéed side dish. They are also found blended with fruit juices in some recipes.

Coffee Lesson - Know Your Joe!

The story of Kaldi, the 9th-century Ethiopian goatherd who discovered coffee when noticed how excited his goats became after eating the beans from a coffee plant.  
Other accounts attribute the discovery of coffee to Sheikh Omar. According to the ancient chronicle Omar, who was known for his ability to cure the sick through prayer, was once exiled from Mocha, Yemen to a desert cave near Ousab. Starving, Omar chewed berries from nearby shrubbery, but found them to be bitter. He tried roasting the seeds to improve the flavor, but they became hard. He then tried boiling them to soften the seed, which resulted in a fragrant brown liquid. Upon drinking the liquid Omar was revitalized and sustained for days. As stories of this "miracle drug" reached Mocha, Omar was asked to return and was made a saint.[20] From Ethiopia, the coffee plant was introduced into the Arab World through Egypt and Yemen.[21]

Historical transmission
From the Middle East, coffee spread to Italy. The thriving trade between Venice and North Africa,Egypt, and the Middle East brought many goods, including coffee, to the Venetian port. From Venice, it was introduced to the rest of Europe. Coffee became more widely accepted after it was deemed a Christian beverage by Pope Clement VIII in 1600, despite appeals to ban the "Muslim drink." The first European coffee house opened in Rome in 1645.[23]

Through the efforts of the British East India Company, coffee became popular in England. Oxford's Queen's Lane Coffee House, established in 1654, is still in existence today. Coffee was introduced in France in 1657, and in Austria and Poland after the 1683 Battle of Vienna, when coffee was captured from supplies of the defeated Turks.[27]
When coffee reached North America during the Colonial period, it was initially not as successful as it had been in Europe as alcoholic beverages remained more popular. During the Revolutionary War, the demand for coffee increased so much that dealers had to hoard their scarce supplies and raise prices dramatically; this was also due to the reduced availability of tea from British merchants,[28] and a general resolution among many Americans to avoid drinking tea following the 1773 Boston Tea Party.
After the War of 1812, during which Britain temporarily cut off access to tea imports, the Americans' taste for coffee grew. 

Meanwhile, coffee had been introduced to Brazil in 1727, although its cultivation did not gather momentum until independence in 1822. 

 Coffee has become a vital cash crop for many developing countries. Over one hundred million people in developing countries have become dependent on coffee as their primary source of income. It has become the primary export and backbone for African countries like Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Ethiopia, as well as many Central American countries.

World production
2011 Top twenty green coffee producers
Rank    Country    Tonnes[61]
Bags x1000[62]
Market share
1      Brazil
2,609,040    43,484    33.1%
2      Vietnam
1,200,000    20,000    15.2%
3      Indonesia[note 1]
495,000    8,250    6.3%
4      Colombia
468,000    7,800    5.9%
5      Ethiopia[note 1]
390,000    6,500    5.0%
    Top 5 producers    5,162,040    86,034    65.6%
6      Peru
326,580    5,443    4.1%
7      India
319,980    5,333    4.1%
8      Honduras
270,000    4,500    3.4%
9      Mexico[note 1]
258,000    4,300    3.3%
10      Guatemala[note 2]
225,000    3,750    2.9%
11      Uganda[note 1]
192,720    3,212    2.4%
12      Nicaragua
126,000    2,100    1.6%
13      Costa Rica
107,940    1,799    1.4%
14      Ivory Coast[note 1]
96,000    1,600    1.2%
15      Papua New Guinea[note 2]
84,900    1,415    1.1%
16      El Salvador
70,500    1,175    0.90%
17      Cambodia
64,980    1,083    0.83%
18      Ecuador[note 2]
64,500    1,075    0.82%
19      Democratic Republic of the Congo
63,360    1,056    0.80%
20      Venezuela[note 2]
60,000    1,000    0.76%
Total      World[note 3]
7,875,180    131,253    

Roast characteristics
The degree of roast has an effect upon coffee flavor and body. Darker roasts are generally bolder because they have less fiber content and a more sugary flavor. 
Lighter roasts have a more complex and therefore perceived stronger flavor from aromatic oils and acids otherwise destroyed by longer roasting times.[88] Roasting does not alter the amount of caffeine in the bean, but does give less caffeine when the beans are measured by volume because the beans expand during roasting.
Decaffeination
Decaffeination may also be part of the processing that coffee seeds undergo. Seeds are decaffeinated when they are still green. Many methods can remove caffeine from coffee, but all involve either soaking the green seeds in hot water (often called the "Swiss water process") or steaming them, then using a solvent to dissolve caffeine-containing oils. Decaffeination is often done by processing companies, and the extracted caffeine is usually sold to the pharmaceutical industry.
Storage
Coffee is best stored in an airtight container made of ceramic, glass, or non-reactive metal. Higher quality prepackaged coffee usually has a one-way valve which prevents air from entering while allowing the coffee to release gases. Coffee freshness and flavor is preserved when it is stored away from moisture, heat, and light. The ability of coffee to absorb strong smells from food means that it should be kept away from such smells. Storage of coffee in the refrigerator is not recommended due to the presence of moisture which can cause deterioration.
Brewing
Coffee beans must be ground and brewed to create a beverage. The criteria for choosing a method include flavor and economy. Almost all methods of preparing coffee require that the beans be ground and then mixed with hot water long enough to allow the flavor to emerge but not so long as to draw out bitter compounds. The liquid can be consumed after the spent grounds are removed. Brewing considerations include the fineness of grind, the way in which the water is to extract the flavor, additional flavorings such as sugar, milk, and spices, and the technique to be used to separate spent grounds. Ideal holding temperatures range from 85–88 °C (185–190 °F) to as high as 93 °C (199 °F) and the ideal serving temperature is 68 to 79 °C (154 to 174 °F).
The roasted coffee beans may be ground at a roastery, in a grocery store, or in the home. Most coffee is roasted and ground at a roastery and sold in packaged form, though roasted coffee beans can be ground at home immediately before consumption.
The type of grind is often named after the brewing method for which it is generally used. Turkish grind is the finest grind, while coffee percolator or French press are the coarsest grinds. The most common grinds are between these two extremes: a medium grind is used in most home coffee-brewing machines.
The espresso method forces hot pressurized and vaporized water through ground coffee. As a result of brewing under high pressure (ideally between 9–10 atm), the espresso beverage is more concentrated (as much as 10 to 15 times the quantity of coffee to water as gravity-brewing methods can produce) and has a more complex physical and chemical constitution. A well-prepared espresso has a reddish-brown foam called crema that floats on the surface. 
Cold brew coffee is made by steeping coarsely ground seeds in cold water for several hours, then filtering them. This results in a brew lower in acidity than most hot-brewing methods.

Caffeine and headaches
Caffeine alleviates headaches acutely and is used medically for this purpose, generally in combination with a painkiller such as ibuprofen. However, chronic caffeine use and withdrawal can cause headaches. Research has consistently linked caffeine withdrawal to headaches, even in those who drink coffee in moderation. Additionally, studies have suggested that those that drink four or more cups of coffee a day experience headaches more often than controls, even without discontinuing their coffee consumption. 
Withdrawal effects - Caffeine withdrawal causes consistent withdrawal effects. 
Caffeine content - The caffeine content of a cup of coffee varies depending mainly on the brewing method, and also on the variety of seed. 

According to an article in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, coffee has the following caffeine content, depending on how it is prepared: 
    Serving size    Caffeine content
Brewed    7 oz, 207 ml    80–135 mg
Drip    7 oz, 207 ml    115–175 mg
Espresso    1.5–2 oz, 45–60 ml    100 mg
While the percent of caffeine content in coffee seeds themselves diminishes with increased roast level, the opposite is true for coffee brewed from different grinds and brewing methods using the same proportion of coffee to water volume. The coffee sack (similar to the French press and other steeping methods) extracts more caffeine from dark roasted seeds; the percolator and espresso methods extract more caffeine from light roasted seeds. 
    Light roast    Medium roast    Dark roast
Coffee sack – coarse grind    0.046    0.045    0.054
Percolator – coarse grind    0.068    0.065    0.060
Espresso – fine grind    0.069    0.062    0.061

Espresso has more caffeine per unit volume than most coffee beverages, but because the usual serving size is much smaller, the total caffeine content is less. Although the actual caffeine content of any coffee drink varies by size, bean origin, roast method and other factors, the caffeine content of "typical" servings of espresso vs. drip brew are 53 mg[1] vs. 95 to 200 mg.

Freekeh

Freekeh is great.

Chocolate 101 - Food of the Gods

Chocolate Lesson 11/22/14

Intro
Today’s Chef Special is CHOCOLATE.   Food of the Gods!!!
So let me tell you the Story of Chocolate.
People have been consuming Chocolate for more than 4,000 years. Monkeys and birds and other critters have eaten the cocoa seeds for many, many years before that.  The Olmecs, Mayan, and Aztecs of Central America were the first known consumers.  
Back then they would pick the football shaped pos of the Cacao Tree, crack it open, ferment the seeds, the roast them.  Actually we still do all of that today.  But then they would grind the seeds, and boil them in water to create a drink.  So no chocolate as we know it, just a beverage.  To this beverage they would add cornmeal, a variety of spices, vanilla, honey and hot chili peppers.  Remember, sugar had not yet come to America.  Legend has it that the Great Aztec King, Montezuma believed that it had special super powers said that a soldier  could march all day long with just one cup or this cocoa drink.  The scientific name is Theobroma Cacao, which means Food of the Gods!!!

Farming
The Cacao tree only grows between 20* north and 20* south of the equator.  It is generally grown on very small family farms.  There are over 5,000,000 of these farms in the world.  70% of them in West Africa. The vast majority of cacao comes from West Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America.  Hawaii has some wonderful cacao farms, but compared to the rest of the world produce only a very small amount of chocolate.  

Production
Each Cacao Pod is handpicked.  Then cracked open to reveal the seeds.  There are 50 – 60 seeds per pod.  And it takes 400 seeds to make 1# of chocolate.  The seeds are fermented for a couple of days then dried and put into large burlap sacks.  At this point they are shipped all over the world to the Chocolate Factories.

In the factories the beans are roasted, just like coffee.  Then they are cracked into Nibs. Nibs are sold and used in baking and cooking applications.  Later I’ll share a recipe for a Spice Rub for Roasted Beef Ribs that used Cacao Nibs as one of the key ingredients.  

The nibs are ground, and ground until a thick paste is formed.  It gets pasty because the beans have a very high fat content.  This fat is the Cacao Butter.  At this point the paste is pressed to squeeze out most of the Cacao Butter.   The dark, thick low fat paste that remains is called Chocolate Liquor.
•    3 ,000,000 Tons of Cacao Beans are turned into Chocolate each year.

Chocolate as a Superfood!!!
Scientific Studies show that dark chocolate or cocoa is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, and eating it can improve the cardiovascular system’s function, make platelets less prone to form clots, and lower blood pressure.

•    Did you know: 40 to 50 million people depend on cocoa for their livelihood.  So buy some Chocolate today to help the world economy!!!
•    It’s a $5.1 Billion Industry.

Let’s Build Some Chocolate:
The Components to build Chocolate are: Cocoa Mass, Additional Cocoa Butter, Sugar Milk, Vanilla or other flavors, Soy Lecithin as an emulsifier, and maybe fruits or nuts for specialty chocolates. 
The Chocolate liquor is conched with the coca butter for as many as 80 hours to create a silky smooth texture.  Then the other ingredients are added.  Then it is poured into molds and cooled.

Varieties – Tasting
So enough with all of this talk, let’s taste some chocolate.
This is one of my very favorite Chocolates Companies: Guittard!  Made in America!!!
Lightest to Darkest – Like a wine tasting.
1.    Look at the chocolate – Shiny, Smooth, color.
2.    Smell it: the aroma depends on the variety of bean used, the roasting temperature , and the flavor used; like real or fake vanilla
3.    Now taste a little bit and let it melt on your tongue.  Now eat some more and chew it.  Notice how creamy it feels.  It melts at a temperature that is lower than your body temperature.  Can you feel the flavors swirl on your palate and in your brain?
Cleanse your palate with a little green apple and a sip of water.

White Chocolate:  No Chocolate Liquor.  Just Cocoa Butter, Sugar, Milk, Lecithin, Flavor

Milk Chocolate: (Minimum of 10% Cocoa Mass)  35%Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Sugar, Milk, Lecithin, Flavor

Semisweet or Bittersweet: (Minimum 35%)  56% Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Sugar, Lecithin, Flavor

Dark Chocolate: 72% Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Sugar, Lecithin, Flavor

So if you want to learn more about chocolate – You should visit Lincoln Culinary Institute.