Drink To Your Health: A Resource Of Medicinal Uses Of Tea

All about Tea - An informative article published in http://www.herbco.com/

Tea drinkers know that there are many benefits to drinking tea, and one of the primary benefits is medicinal. Teas are a decent source of health benefits and of alternative, medicinal uses. Some different kinds of tea are black tea, white tea, green tea, oolong tea, Pu-erh tea and various types of herbal teas. Black tea features more oxidization than either white tea, green tea or oolong tea. White tea only has slight oxidization and comes from China’s Fujian province, while green tea is made from camellia sinensis, and oolong tea is known as a traditional tea that’s made from a method known as withering. Pu-erh tea is a type of post-fermented tea that one can find in China’s Yunnan Province, and herbal teas are not even real tea as they are mere infusions of plants or herbs.

Green Tea

Green tea comes from China and is made exclusively through the leaves of the plant called camellia sinensis that have gone through only slight oxidation during the tea processing. In recent years, green tea has enjoyed a degree of popularity in the West, which is interesting because black tea is the most common type of tea consumed in Western countries. Green tea has been subjected to a number of tests over the years to determine if rumors of its reported health benefits are dependable. Research has confirmed that there is evidence to indicate that green tea helps in lowering the chances of developing heart disease as well as specific kinds of cancer. According to a recent study from Hong Kong, green tea may also aid in staving off eye diseases like glaucoma.

• Overview of Green Tea: This website provides people with a look at the medicinal qualities of green tea.
• Flavor and Green Tea: This website features a news article that discusses how green tea impacts one’s sense of flavor.
• Benefits: This website provides information on a study that found health benefits associated with green tea.
• Leukemia: This website features a report that talks about the effects of green tea to lower the incidences of cancer.
• Autoimmune Disease: This website has information on green tea and autoimmune disease.
• A Look at Green Tea (PDF): This document takes a look at details of green tea.

Black Tea

Black tea is tea with particularly strong oxidization, meaning that, in contrast with less-oxidized teas like white and oolong, it has a strong flavor and greater caffeine content. Black tea is also different from green tea in that it actually keeps its flavor for several years, while green tea only keeps its flavor for up to a year. According to research from Boston University from 2001, drinking black tea alleviates endothelial vasomotor dysfunction. Endothelial vasomotor dysfunction is traditionally seen in patients who suffer cardiovascular disease. Black tea also has a reputation for having high antioxidant properties.

• A Look at Black Tea: This website features information on black tea.
• Kinds of Black Tea: This website offers examples of various kinds of black tea.
• Risk of Stroke: This website provides information on how black tea can lessen the risk of stroke.
• Oral Health: This website offers information on the relationship between oral health and black tea.
• Black Tea Analysis: This website examines the aspects of black tea.
• Processing by Hand (PDF): This document examines how people can home-process black tea.
• Ingredients (PDF): This website provides a look at the individual ingredients of black tea.

White Tea

White tea is only lightly oxidized tea that is both harvested and grown primarily in China’s Fujian province. Made from camellia sinensis, white tea has been found to have a role in lessening a person’s likelihood of dying from cardiovascular disease. White tea has this property because of its polyphenol antioxidants that work towards lowering blood pressure, cholesterol, and bad functioning of the blood vessels. Additionally, it is thought that white tea’s antioxidants may contribute to boosting the immune system.

• Benefits of White Tea: This website provides people with information on some benefits of white tea.
• White Tea Details: This website features brief information for people who are interested in the properties of white tea.
• Health Properties: This website offers information on health properties, like the antioxidant levels within white tea.
• White Tea Explained: This website provides information on why people think white tea is wonderful.
• Osteoblast Proliferation (PDF): This document includes details on the relationship between white tea and osteoblast proliferation.
• White Tea vs. Green Tea: This website provides pros and cons of white tea in comparison to green tea.

Oolong Tea

A traditional Chinese tea, Oolong tea is created by way of a unique process that relies on both withering under the sun as well as regular oxidation. The leaves of Oolong tea are formed in separate styles. Some leaves are wrapped and curled into small beads while others are rolled into leaves that are curly and long. Oolong tea has been credited with providing tea drinkers with a number of health benefits, which include helping against inflammatory disorders, heart diseases, and high cholesterol levels, while promoting advantages like good dental health. It has low caffeine content and provides mental relaxation in those who drink it.

• History: This website features a history of how Oolong tea is produced in Asia.
• Diabetes: This website offers information on Oolong tea and how it relates to Type II diabetes.
• Weight Loss: This website provides information on how Oolong tea can help people lose weight.
• Oolong Tea Explored: This website offers information on Oolong Tea and its role in Chinese culture.
• Is Oolong Tea Healthy?: This website offers information that examines how healthy Oolong Tea really is.
• Oolong Tea Information: This website provides details on many aspects of Oolong tea.

Pu-erh Tea

Made in China’s Yunnan province, Pu-erh tea is made through post-fermentation, which is a way of producing tea that sees the tea leaves going through a microbial fermentation process once they are rolled up and dried. Pu-erh tea is a specialty in China and is, therefore, sometimes referred to as dark tea. This type of tea has a reputation for reducing the blood cholesterol levels in a person, and this has been verified in a few scientific studies. In Chinese culture alone, Pu-erh tea is thought to counterattack the bad effects of alcohol consumption.

• What is Pu-erh Tea? (PDF): This document provides all kinds of information on Pu-erh tea.
• Origins (PDF): This document takes a look at how Pu-erh tea was named and other aspects of it.
• History of Pu-erh Tea: This website features information on the history of Pu-erh tea.
• Health Tonic?: This website provides details on whether Pu-erh tea is a health tonic or not.
• Benefits of Pu-erh Tea: This website offers a list of benefits that this tea provides.

Herbal Tea

Herbal tea, also known as ptisan or tisane, is really a plant or a herbal infusion that is normally not created from tea bush leaves like camellia sinensis. In most cases, herbal tea is nothing more than the mixture of dried fruits, herbs, flowers and boiling water. Medicinally, herbal teas have a reputation for being drunk mainly due to the properties of sedation, relaxation and stimulation. Another reason that people like to drink herbal tea is their therapeutic applications, which has a lot to do with the antioxidant properties of herbal teas.

• Preparing Herbal Tea (PDF): This document offers advice on preparing herbal tea.
• What is Herbal Tea?: This website provides information on herbal tea, such as all its varieties.
• Herbal Tea: Substitute?: This website examines if herbal tea can successfully reduce hunger.
• Fat Burning: This website looks at the fat-burning properties of herbal teas.

The Origin of Pressure Cookers

In the pic: A 6 quart pressure cooker manufactured by Archibald Kenrick & Sons in England, circa 1890.

In 1679, the French physicist Denis Papin, better known for his studies on steam, invented the steam digester in an attempt to reduce the cooking time of food. His airtight cooker used steam pressure to raise the water's boiling point, thus cooking food much more quickly. In 1681, Papin presented his invention to the Royal Society of London, but the Society's members treated his invention as a scientific study. They granted him permission to become a member of the Society afterwards.

In 1864, Georg Gutbrod of Stuttgart began manufacturing pressure cookers made of tinned cast iron.

In 1918, Spain granted a patent for the pressure cooker to Jose Alix Martínez from Zaragoza. Martínez named it the olla exprés, literally "express cooking pot", under patent number 71143 in the Boletín Oficial de la Propiedad Industrial. In 1924, the first pressure cooking pot recipe book was published, written by José Alix and titled "360 fórmulas de cocina Para guisar con la 'olla expres'", or 360 recipes for cooking with a pressure cooker.

In 1938, Alfred Vischer presented his invention, the Flex-Seal Speed Cooker, in New York City. Vischer's pressure cooker was the first one designed for home use, and its success led to competition among American and European manufacturers. At the 1939 New York World's Fair, National Presto Industries, which was then known as the "National Pressure Cooker Company", introduced its own pressure cooker.

Planning to buy a chimney. Please read this review - Rajeev Kohli

Hi Friends,

This is Rajeev From New Delhi.I have a very good experience in home appliances. I have worked for retail industry for almost 4 years & almost 3 years is with the appliances industry.Chimneys as far as everyone knows is used to eliminate the smoke from ur kitchen.

Electrical chimneys is not a very concerned topic for all of us because most of us including me don't use it.we have all those conventional fans fitted in our kitchens.Basically chimneys work the same way as a exhaust fan but they work in a more organised way.u can get a chimney for Rs.2000/-(the basic ones) & also for Rs.1 lakh(the hi-tech ones).Basically the most selling chimneys range from Rs.4000/- to Rs.25000/-.MY PERSONAL SUGGESTION: ALWAYS GO FOR A BRANDED ONE AS U WILL SURELY NEED AFTER SALES SUPPORT.LOCAL ONES NEVER HAVE A AFTER SALES SUPPORT SO PLEASE DON'T WASTE UR MONEY.

Now i'll start from the requirement part:An average indian home will need a basic chimney with hood or without hood depending on their requirement.

Let me tell u the only difference between a chimney without hood or with hood is that the hood makes the chimney look good.but basic part is that both of them will surely need a PVC pipe for exhaust purposes. So if u have a built in hood at home or a place which can hide the PVC pipe then the chimney without hood would do for you.the hood chimneys do have style in them but they r more practical for bigger homes as they have more suction power.it doesn't depends how big ur family is but it depends on how big ur house or apartment is.An apartment with 1-3 rooms can do with a chimney of 500m3/h suction power.maximum would be 650m3/h.

An apartment with bigger rooms & more than 4 rooms surely require more suction power as their kitchens will also be big.the more spacious kitchen u have the more suction power is needed.a chimney with 650m3/h to 1000 m3/h would do for them.the best fitment would be 800m3/h for them.

The maximum suction power for a chimney without hood can be within 250 m3/h to 650 m3/h & The Hood ones would be from 500m3/h to 1600m3/h.

Sizes range from 2Ft to 3 Ft depending on the size of the gas stove or hob.Normally a 2 burner or a 4 burner would require 2 Ft chimney whereas a 3 burner or a 5 burner would require a 3 Ft one.Basically a Chimney should cover the entire gas stove so as to get effective work.

Now About the Brands:

Today there a lots of brands available in the market - from local made to chinese & italian ones. Some manufacturers claim there chimneys to be italian whereas they r local or chinese make.most of the chimneys which r hoodless r made either in india or china the rest with hoods can be made in india, china or italy.

Now Last but not the least:There are 2 types of filters available.

1) CONVENTIONAL ALUMINIUM CASSETTE FILTER: Basically used by all the brands.easy to use & wash but needs to be cleaned every 15-30 days.(Depending on Usage).Can be clened in Soapy water.For best results use a washing powder like ariel or surf excel because they take out the dirt & grease easily.avoiding regular cleaning can ruin their life.Stays best for 2-3 years.don't go on a salesman's word.cheaper in costs.

2) BAFFLE FILTERS: Hyped as the most modern technology as does not requires frequent cleaning.Baffle filters were introduced by Faber in india. Can be cleaned every 4-6 months.Now comes the worst part.as they are made of steel they are very heavy.Needs to opened but its very tough for a normal person.only a trained technician can open it without injuring his hands.Faber's baffle filters are easy to open but the filters inside have steel thorns in them which again can injure ur hands while washing.They also are expensive & again need to be changed every 4-5 years not because they get damaged but because they get rust beacuse of all the dirt & grease.remember they are made of steel not aluminium & steel is made from iron.*

*AGAIN DON'T GO BY A SALESMAN'S WORDS.HE CAN SELL U ANYTHING AS HE IS MADE TO SELL.

Most of the consumers prefer going for casstte type filters as they are better & cheaper.

At Last my favourite brand:-KAFF.(but please don't go by my choice but go on the practicality)

Whenever Buying a chimney look for Better Suction Power, Pricing & Filters.All other features as per your convenience & Budget.

& I think After reading my review it will be more easier for u to decide on what to buy & what not to.

Do Like it, Rate it & Comment on it if you like my review.

Regards

Rajeev Kohli (Curtsy- http://www.mouthshut.com/)

4 Easy water purification techniques

Easy water purification techniques are in high demand when it comes to keeping the earth environmentally sound and its population healthy. Water is an important natural resource that people can do their part to control and recycle, utilizing "green" techniques wherever possible. These four methods are good, simple ways to purify your water.

1. Boiling

The easiest method to use without any chemicals or additives is to boil it. Bring your water to a full rolling boil and leave it for about a minute to remove the impurities. The resulting liquid is more than adequate for drinking water once cool.

2. Iodine

Iodine right out of your first aid kit can also be used. Approximately 20 to 40 drops will do the trick, depending on how contaminated the water is. Be sure to let it stand for half an hour before drinking. If you’re using tablets, wait half an hour after the tablet has dissolved.

When doing chemical treatments, the cloudier and more contaminated the water, the more chemical it will require to disinfect it. To help with this, strain the water using a cloth before treatment to eliminate any large particles.

Also, temperature can interfere with the effectiveness of a chemical treatment. If the temperature of the water is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, double your wait time after adding the chemicals before drinking; the ideal temperature for chemical treatment is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Distillation

For true water purification, you need to distill it. Manufacture a non-absorbent cover to set above a boiling pot of water. Be sure it is set at an angle and that you have a container at the end to collect the purified water. As the steam rises from the pot, it will condense on the covering and then run down to drip into the containers. This condensation, when cooled, is almost completely sterilized.

4. Bleach

Tiny amounts of bleach can also purify contaminated water. You should add 16 drops of regular, household bleach per gallon. Let it set 30 minutes before drinking. Eco-friendly bleach can easily be found at your local grocery store.

Another tip for when you’re purifying water with chemicals is to pour the water between two containers to allow the oxygen to circulate through it as well. This helps provide a better taste despite what you’ve added.

Keep in mind that these techniques are only effective for water that is biologically contaminated. Water that is chemically tainted with things like pesticides or mine tailings cannot be purified using any of these methods.

Steaming Technique | How to Steam Food

G. Stephen Jones 

All About Steaming

Steaming is a moist heat cooking method.  Although cooking occurs at a higher temperature than in braising, stewing or poaching, steaming is one of the most gentle cooking methods as food is not agitated by bubbling liquid during the process.  From our junior high science classes, we all know that steam is water converted to its vapor state at the boiling point.  Since the boiling point of water is 212° F (100° C) at sea level, the highest temperature at which steam can cook food is 212°F/100°C.  You can increase this pressure somewhat by placing steam under pressure, but in the home kitchen, expect steaming to occur right at or around the boiling point of water.

Steaming History

As a cooking method, steaming was used as far back as the Paleolithic Period.  Evidence has been found that the Aurignacian people of southern France, considered the first “modern” humans in Europe, cooked foods by wrapping them in wet leaves, a steaming method that is still used today (think tamales).

While steaming is not a method that is very prevalent in Western kitchens, many cultures rely heavily on steaming—China, India, and many North African countries come to mind.  I started wondering:  Why this stark contrast between cultures that cook with steam and those that do not?   The most viable notion that I have found to explain this is that steaming requires little energy because it can be done with a relatively small amount of liquid.  In countries where both fuel for fires and water are hard to come by, steaming enabled people to cook a lot of food relative to fuel and water, allowing them to make the most of their resources.

Health Benefits

Aside from being a “frugal” cooking method, steaming is also a very healthy cooking method.  First, since food is cooked by direct contact between steam (conduction) as well as the movement of the hot vapor through the food (convection), no fat is needed to conduct the heat.  Often, just a squirt of lemon juice is all you need to add to a steamed dish.  This makes steaming a lower-calorie, low fat cooking method.  Food stays moist, too, since it is being bathed in water vapor.  Also, since water soluble nutrients (namely Vitamins C and B) don’t leach out into vapor, steaming preserves up to 50% more nutrients than other moist heat cooking methods.

What to Steam

Since steaming is such a gentle cooking method, it is perfect for cooking delicate foods—most vegetables, white meat fowl, and fish are all good candidates for steaming.  Other applications for steaming include Chinese dumplings, and by association other stuffed pastas such as ravioli, and even biscuit-style dumplings and other bread-type doughs.

(Have you ever dropped blobs of biscuit mix on top of stews and then put on the lid?  The dumplings cook by simmering/braising on the bottoms and by steaming on the tops).  Other foods that work well with the steaming cooking method are potatoes and other starchy vegetables (corn, carrots, etc), small semolina pasta (including couscous), fruit and cakes (such as Great Britain’s steamed puddings).

Steaming Gear

Although there are a lot of steamers available made of everything from bamboo to plastic, steaming really requires no pieces of specialized equipment. For larger foods, such as pieces of meat or fish, you can improvise a steamer by placing a roasting rack in the bottom of a large pot. As long as the cooking liquid you are using does not touch the food, you’ll be steaming in no time. For smaller foods, such as cut vegetables that would fall through a roasting rack, you can use an inexpensive steamer insert. You’ve seen these—the diameter adjusts to fit whatever pot you put it in. You can improvise this insert by using a metal colander set in a large pot.

Bamboo steamers are meant to be stacked on top of each other, allowing you to steam 2, 3 or even 4 different dishes at one time. This is possible because, since the flavor stays in each food instead of leaching out into liquid, flavors are not transferred between dishes.

How to Steam

Steaming is a very straightforward procedure.

• Pour some water in the bottom of your lidded cooking vessel (wok, pot, etc)
• Place food to be steamed in a steamer basket/insert/improvised steamer
• Put the insert into the pan, cover and let the water come to a boil over medium heat.

Once the water is boiling, most vegetables can be steamed in five minutes or less.  Don’t steam vegetables for longer than seven or eight minutes, or they will lose their vibrant color.  Meat and fish steam in 3-10 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the food.  Since steaming occurs at 212F/100C and a good poaching temperature is 140F-170F, it takes less time to steam meat than it does to poach it.

Steaming in the Microwave

Since the microwave cooks by exciting water molecules and doesn’t brown food, it is a natural for steaming.  I steam vegetables in the microwave by sprinkling some water or broth onto raw, seasoned vegetables, covering them tightly with a Microwave-safe plastic wrap, cutting a couple of slits in it, and microwaving on high for 3-5 minutes.  The results:  perfectly steamed, crisp-tender vegetables.

Since microwaves have been shown to be good for steaming foods, many microwave steamers are available on the market.

In doing research for this article, I did find some information that indicated a degraded nutritional value in foods steamed in a microwave versus foods steamed in a traditional steamer.   The FDA has deemed foods cooked by microwave safe for human consumption, so use your best judgment.

Adding Extra Flavor

Just because steaming is a healthy way to cook doesn’t mean it has to be bland.  There are many ways of adding extra flavor to steamed food during the cooking process.  You can bring extra flavor to your food by adding all sorts of complementary herbs and spices to your cooking liquid.  Further up the flavor by substituting stock, fruit juice or wine for water.  The additional flavors will permeate the food as the steam cooks them.

How to Steam Food

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 quart chicken stock (homemade or canned is fine)

1 cup white wine

¼ cup lemon juice

1 onion, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

10 pepper corns

2 bay leaves

3 parsley sprigs

2 sprigs of thyme

How To Prepare At Home

Since salt does not evaporate, there is no need to add salt to this mixture if you are only using it for a steaming liquid.

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Use as much or as little of this liquid as you need to fill your steaming vessel by about ¾-1 inch.

10 top tips for using a slow cooker

Economical and easy, are slow cookers really all they're cracked up to be? Yes!, says Caroline and here's how to make the most of one...

Slow cookers are cheap to buy, economical to use and they're great for making the most of budget ingredients. They offer a healthier, low-fat method of cooking and require the minimum amount of effort. Really, what's not to love? 

1. Save time & effort 

One of the main attractions for many is the ease of a slow-cooker so when you're looking for recipes, avoid those that suggest a lot of pre-preparation. For many dishes, particularly soups and stews, you really can just throw all the ingredients in. It can be nice to cook the onions beforehand as the flavour is different to when you put them in raw but experiment both ways as you may find you prefer one. It can also be good to brown meat to give it some colour but again this is not essential.

2. Get ahead

If you're short on time in the morning, prepare everything you need for your slow-cooked meal the night before, put it into the slow-cooker dish, cover and store in the fridge overnight. Ideally the dish should be as close to room temperature as possible, so get it out of the fridge when you wake up and leave it for 20 minutes before turning the cooker on. If you need to heat your dish beforehand, then put the ingredients in a different container and transfer them in the morning.

3. Save money

Slow cookers are great for cooking cheaper cuts like beef brisket, pork shoulder, lamb shoulder and chicken thighs. You can also use less meat as slow-cooking really extracts a meaty flavour that permeates the whole dish. Bulk up with vegetables instead.

4. Trim the fat 

You don't need to add oil to a slow cooker, the contents won't catch as long as there's enough moisture in there. You don't need a lot of fat on your meat either. Normally when you fry meat, a lot of the fat drains away, this won't happen in a slow cooker so trim it off, otherwise you might find you have pools of oil in your stew. This will give you a healthier result and it'll still be tasty.

5. Go easy on the liquid

Because your slow cooker will have a tightly sealed lid, the liquid won't evaporate so if you're adapting a standard recipe, it's best to reduce the liquid by roughly a third. Liquid should just cover the meat and vegetables. Don't overfill your slow cooker or it may start leaking out the top and food won't cook as well. Half to two thirds full is ideal and certainly no more than three quarters.

6. Thickening

Just as the the liquid doesn't reduce it also doesn't thicken. You can roll meat in a small amount of seasoned flour before adding it to the slow cooker or use a little cornflour at the end. If you want to do the latter, take a teaspoon or two of cornflour, mix it to a paste with a little cold water. Stir into your simmering slow cooker contents, then replace the lid. 

7. Slow is good

Expert advice is to use the 'Low' setting as much as you can, finding most dishes really benefit from a slow, gentle heat to really bring out the flavours. This also means you won't need to worry if you're heading out for the day, it'll take care of itself. 

8. Leave it alone

Slow cookers are designed to do their own thing so you don't need to keep checking the contents. Everytime you take the lid off it will release some of the heat, so if you keep doing this you'll have to increase the cooking time.

9. When to add food

Ideally you want to choose recipes where most, if not all, of the ingredients can be added at the beginning, leaving you free to do other things. However in most cases, pasta, rice and fresh herbs will need to be added towards the end.  

10. How long should I cook it for?

If a dish usually takes: 

• 15 - 30 mins, cook it for 1 - 2 hours on High or 4 - 6 hours on Low
• 30 mins - 1 hour, cook it for 2 - 3 hours on High or 5 - 7 hours on Low
• 1 - 2 hours, cook it for 3 - 4 hours on High or 6 - 8 hours on Low
• 2 - 4 hours, cook it for 4 - 6 hours on High or 8 - 12 hours on Low

Root vegetables can take longer than meat and other vegetables so put these near the heat source, at the bottom of the pot.