Bizarre food 【6】：Pineberry

        Have you ever seen white strawberries? It is sooooo cute!! I would like to try it, if there is a chance. The Pineberry is a strawberry cultivar publicized in Germany in April, 2009, as Ananaserdbeere, or pineapple strawberry. It is a hybrid of Fragaria chiloensis, originating in South America and Fragaria virginiana, originating in North America. "The fruit flesh can range from soft white to orange and is very fragrant with a slight pineapple flavor," said Greg Goddard, the co-creater. The plant is disease resistant, but is not very profitable. Due to small-scale farming, small berry size and low yield crop, the Pineberry has been marketed to European restaurants, bakeries and wholesale markets. It is also grown in Belize.
        The berry has been dubbed the Pineberry for the UK market where it will soon be available. White strawberries are not rare; garden supply stores in the UK have other white varieties of strawberry called Zach Gs white berry balls White Soul and White Delight.
Pineberries were bred from a wild strawberry originating in South America, but was nearly extinct until 2003, when a group of Dutch farmers banded together to save the plant. The Pineberry is said to have the same genetic makeup as the common strawberry. When ripe, it is almost completely white, but with red seeds. A pineberry is smaller than a common strawberry, measuring between 15 to 23 mm. They are grown in greenhouses, growing on coir like other strawberries. Pineberries begin life as green berries, then become slightly white. By the time its deeply set seeds turn deep red, the white fruit is deemed ripe.

Bizarre food【5】：Kumis

            I have been to Mongolia two years ago, Kumis made a good impression on me, I love it, though some people cannot get used to its taste. Kumis, also spelled kumiss or koumiss in English (or kumys, see other transliterations and cognate words below under terminology and etymology) is a fermented dairy product traditionally made from mare's milk. The drink remains important to the peoples of the Central Asian steppes, of Turkic and Mongol origin: Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Yakuts, Mongols and Kalmyks. It was also consumed by Baltic, Hungarian tribes.
Kumis is a dairy product similar to kefir but is produced from a liquid starter culture, in contrast to the solid kefir "grains". Because mare's milk contains more sugars than the cow's or goat's milk fermented into kefir, kumis has a higher, though still mild, alcohol content.
Even in the areas of the world where kumis is popular today, mare's milk remains a very limited commodity. Industrial-scale production of kumis, therefore, generally uses cow's milk, which is richer in fat and protein but lower in lactose than the milk from a horse. Before fermentation, the cow's milk is fortified in one of several ways. Sucrose may be added to allow a comparable fermentation. Another technique adds modified whey in order to better approximate the composition of mare's milk.

Mongolia  people are very hospitable!





Kumis is production of mare's milk：
A 1982 source reported that 230,000 horses were kept in the USSR specifically for producing milk to make into kumis.
A mare being milked in Suusamyr valley, Kyrgyzstan.
Rinchingiin Indra, writing about Mongolian dairying, says "it takes considerable skill to milk a mare" and describes the technique: the milker kneels on one knee, with a pail propped on the other, steadied by a string tied to an arm. One arm is wrapped behind the mare's rear leg and the other in front. A foal starts the milk flow and is pulled away by another person, but left touching the mare's side during the entire process.

In Mongolia, the milking season for horses traditionally runs between mid-June and early October. During one season, a mare produces approximately 1,000 to 1,200 kilograms of milk, of which about half is left to the foals.


Health
          In the West, Kumis has been touted for its health benefits, as in this 1877 book also naming it "Milk Champagne".
         Toward the end of the 19th century, kumis had a strong enough reputation as a cure-all to support a small industry of "kumis cure" resorts, mostly in southeastern Russia, where patients were "furnished with suitable light and varied amusement" during their treatment, which consisted of drinking large quantities of kumis. W. Gilman Thompson's 1906 Practical Diatetics reports that kumis has been cited as beneficial for a range of chronic diseases, including tuberculosis, bronchitis, catarrh, and anemia. Gilman also says that a large part of the credit for the successes of the "kumis cure" is due not to the beverage, but to favorable summer climates at the resorts. Among notables to try the kumis cure were writers Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov. Chekhov, long-suffering from tuberculosis, checked into a kumis cure resort in 1901. Drinking four bottles a day for two weeks, he gained 12 pounds but no cure.

Bizarre food【4】：Kenkey

         Today I will introduce you a bizarre food - Kenkey. I have not try it, but it looks good. I never knew banana leaves can be used in cooking food. Kenkey or Dokonu or Komi is a staple dish similar to a sourdough dumpling from the Akan, Ga and Ewe inhabited regions of West Africa, usually served with a soup, stew, or sauce. Areas where Kenkey are eaten are southern Ghana, eastern Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, western Benin and Jamaica. It is usually made from ground corn (maize), like sadza and ugali. Unlike ugali, making kenkey involves letting the maize ferment before cooking. Therefore, preparation takes a few days in order to let the dough ferment. After fermentation, the kenkey is partially cooked, wrapped in banana leaves, corn husks, or foil, and steamed. There are several versions of Kenkey, such as Ga and Fanti kenkey.

Ingredients
     6-8 cups of corn (maize) flour or cornmeal (ground corn or ground maize); (White cornmeal is preferred, it should be finely ground, like flour. Latin American style corn flour, as is used in tortillas, tamales, pupusas, etc. is the right kind) Banana leaves, or maize or corn husks, or aluminum foil to wrap dough in (the leaves or husks may be available at African, Asian, or Latino groceries)

How to make it?
           In a large container combine the corn flour (or corn flour and grated cassava) with just enough warm water to dampen all of it. Mix well. Cover the container with a clean cloth. Set it in a warm place, such as a warmed oven or on top of the refrigerator, for two to three days. Fermentation may take longer than two days, especially in cool climates. (Note: a warmed oven is an oven that has been heated for a few minutes then turned off. The flour should ferment, not cook.) When it is properly fermented, it should have a slightly sour, but not unpleasant, aroma, like rising bread dough. Overly fermented corn flour will not taste right.

Bizarre Food【3】 Tsampa

         The first time I saw Tsampa was in a movie "Hoh Xil", which talks about much Tibetan live including the environment and food. Tsampa is a Tibetan staple foodstuff, particularly prominent in the central part of the region. I have never tried it, but I am curious about it. According to the recipe, Tsampa is roasted flour, usually barley flour and sometimes also wheat flour or rice flour. It is usually mixed with the salty Tibetan butter tea.



How you eat it?

              You leave a little buttered tea in the bottom of your bowl and put a big dollop of tsampa on top of it. You stir gently with the forefinger, then knead with the hand, meanwhile twisting your bowl round and round until you finish up with a large dumplinglike object which you proceed to ingest, washing it down with more tea. The whole operation demands a high degree of manual dexterity, and you need a certain amount of practical experience before you can judge correctly how much tsampa goes with how much tea. Until you get these proportions right the end product is apt to turn into either a lump of desiccated dough or else a semiliquid paste which sticks to your fingers. Sometimes you lace this preparation with a form of powdered milk, made from curds which have been dried in the sun.
                Tsampa is quite simple to prepare; indeed, it is known as a convenience food and often used by sherpas, nomads, and other travelers. While traditional tsampa is prepared with tea, water or beer are sometimes used in its place. It may also be prepared as a porridge.
  salty Tibetan butter tea

Cultural significance

         Tsampa is sometimes called the national food of Tibet. Besides constituting a substantial, arguably predominant part of the Tibetan diet, its prominence also derives from the tradition of throwing pinches of tsampa in the air during many Buddhist rituals. It is believed that tsampa throwing actually predates Buddhist beliefs in the area, originally used as an offering to animistic gods to request their protection. The tradition was consequently incorporated into Buddhism as a "mark of joy and celebration" used at celebratory occasions such as marriages and birthdays. Today it is particularly known in that regard for its use in New Year celebrations, where it is accompanied by chanted verses expressing the desire for good luck in the forthcoming year, for both oneself and others. Tsampa-throwing also occurs at most Buddhist funerals, where the action is intended to release the soul of the deceased.
        Tsampa is used in a number of other ways. Mashes of tsampa and cumin are sometimes applied to toothaches or other sore spots. Tsampa is also known among Tibetan sportsmen for its ability to provide rapid energy boosts; the roasting of the flour breaks it down to an easily digestible state, allowing the calories therein to be quickly incorporated by the body.
        Reflecting its foundational role in Tibetan culture, "Tsampa" is also the name of a Tibetan typeface.

Bizarre Food【2】Garlic Ice Cream

What does Garlic Ice Cream taste like?
Garlic and Ice Cream can match? It is bizarre for me! I have not tried it. According to what people say online the garlic ice cream tastes like vanilla ice cream flecked with minced mild garlic. The sweet ice cream seems to tame the garlic, which holds its flavor but didn’t take over.

Where can find Garlic Ice Cream?
Gilroy, California is the self-proclaimed "Garlic Capitol of the World." Their annual festival features garlic being used in virtually everyway imaginable. So it's no surprise that it ended up in an ice cream recipe. Each year Vic's is contracted to produce three gallons of garlic ice cream for the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California. 




How to make Garlic Ice Cream?
Makes 1 quart
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
1 clove garlic, minced
1 vanilla bean, split in half, and the seeds scraped out and reserved
1 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
8 egg yolks

Preparation:
1. Put milk, garlic, vanilla pod and seeds in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and remove immediately.
2. In mixing bowl, whisk the cream, sugar and egg yolks until combined. Whisking constantly, slowly strain the hot milk mixture into the egg and sugar mixture.
3. Return the mixture to the pan and stir continuously over low heat until it thickens slightly, and coats the back of a spoon, about 10-12 minutes. Do not boil!
4. Pour in a bowl and chill over an ice bath. Pour into ice cream machine and churn until done. Freeze until ready to serve.

Bizarre Food【1】: Century Egg

Chinese Bizarre Food - Century Egg

This is a common food in my daily life. I often eat it with porridge and tofu. Once, my roommate, an Australia girl, found it was unbelievable that I was eating a "black egg". Then, I found that this is a bizarre food for some people who have never seen it. Century Egg is also known as a “thousand year” or “preserved egg”, century Egg is a traditional Chinese delicacy, which is very popular. Unlike the name suggests, the duck, quail or chicken egg in question is not really a thousand years old. The eggs are actually preserved in an alkaline mixture of lime, tea, salt and wood ash for several weeks or months. The preparation method makes the shell look aged and the egg-white shiny amber. The gray yolk develops rich, pungent flavor compounds, often reminiscent of strong cheese or even ammonia. Myriad condiments, sesame oil and soy sauce help to round out the powerful, distinctive taste of the eggs.

How to make it?

The traditional method for producing century eggs is a development and improvement from the aforementioned primitive process. Instead of using just clay, a mixture of wood ash, quicklime, and salt is included in the plastering mixture, thereby increasing its pH and sodium content. This addition of natural alkaline compounds improved the odds of creating century eggs instead of spoilage and also increased the speed of the process. A recipe for creating century eggs through this process starts with the infusion of three pounds of tea in boiling water. To the tea, three pounds of quicklime (or seven pounds when the operation is performed in winter), nine pounds of sea salt, and seven pounds of wood ash from burned oak is mixed into a smooth paste. While wearing gloves to prevent the lime corroding the skin, each egg is individually covered by hand, then rolled in a mass of rice chaff to keep the eggs from adhering to one another before they are placed in cloth-covered jars or tightly woven baskets. The mud slowly dries and hardens into a crust over several months, and then the eggs are ready for consumption.

How to cook it?
Century eggs can be eaten without further preparation, on their own or as a side dish. The Cantonese wrap chunks of this egg with slices of pickled ginger root (sometimes sold on a stick as street food). A Shanghainese recipe mixes chopped century eggs with chilled tofu. In Taiwan, it is popular to eat century eggs on top of cold tofu with katsuobushi, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a style similar to Japanese hiyayakko. A variation of this recipe common in northern China is to slice century eggs over chilled silken (soft) tofu, adding liberal quantities of shredded young ginger and chopped spring onions as a topping, and then drizzling light soy sauce and sesame oil over the dish, to taste. They are also used in a dish called old-and-fresh eggs, where chopped century eggs are combined with (or used to top) an omelet made with fresh eggs. Some Chinese households cut them up into small chunks and cook them with rice porridge to create "century egg and lean pork congee". This is sometimes served in dim sum restaurants.

• cold and dressed with sauce

• Century eggs with tofu

• century egg and lean pork congee

  -Kexin Yu
Feb.1,2012