Thursday, April 18, 2019
This bowl of bugs is revolutionising bar snacks
This bowl of bugs is revolutionising bar snacks
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For many people the idea of tucking into a bowl full of fried crickets is a scene from a nightmare, but as it turns out, tasty fried critters are hopping into the mainstream.
El Topo Mexican in Sydney’s Bondi Junction prides itself on its authentic Mexican cuisine, but one dish on the menu tends to jump out at its patrons.
‘Chapulines’ are fried crickets, traditionally eaten as a snack in the Oaxaca region of Mexico.
Yep crickets. But don’t be scared, these insects are seriously delicious.
The six-legged base ingredient might turn people off, but the crunchy and delicious dish changed my mind as soon as I took my first bite.
Seasoned with garlic, chilli, a pinch of salt and fresh lime, in parts of Mexico they nibble on the dish while enjoying a beer, much like we would graze on peanuts.
“They’re quite popular here because if you see Sydney there are not many restaurants selling crickets or Chapulines,” El Topo’s head chef Nowshad Rasel told Yahoo Lifestyle.
Nowshad keeps customers coming back with his own unique spin on the traditional recipe.
He bakes, then lightly pan-fries the crickets, where traditionally they are deep-fried. He also puts special emphasis on the lime, which he says enhances the snack’s natural flavour.
He says the people who order the buggy bar snack are a mixture of Mexican ex-pats, thrill seekers, the curious, and those that have had the snack before.
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Superfood of the future
Zesty and light, the snack is also packed with nutrients and a future superfood, according to epidemiologist and food scientist Skye Blackburn.
“It is a fantastic source of protein,” Skye told Yahoo Lifestyle. “It’s also a whole food, so it’s really giving your body a lot of the things it needs.”
She says the amount of goodness that can be derived from crickets far outstrips the traditional foods we pack our fridges with.
“Crickets have four times the amount of calcium as milk, three times the amount of iron as spinach and three times the amount of omega-3 as salmon,” she says.
Skye owns and operates Australia’s largest bug breeding farm, and supplies El Topo and other retailers with their buggy ingredients through The Edible Bug Shop.
She agrees with Nowshad, saying eating bugs is gaining popularity and slowly but surely wriggling its way into the main stream.
“Now people are a lot more open-minded to eating insects as a source of food,” she says.
And when you pair them with a cold beer on a warm afternoon at El Topo’s colourful rooftop restaurant and bar, it’s not hard to see why people are jumping on the bandwagon.
Nowshad says for every brave soul that tries the confronting dish, he gains a loyal customer because they always come back for more.
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Get It Growing: Raising radishes By Clallam County Master Gardeners
Get It Growing: Raising radishes
Fun facts about radishes
Radishes are thought to have been first cultivated in China, spreading into Europe in the 1500s and the Americas shortly thereafter.
The pungent, peppery flavor of radishes (as well as other members of the Brassicaceae family such as horseradish and wasabi) is caused by allyl isothiocyanates. This chemical does not exist in an undamaged radish root but is formed when two other chemicals (glucosinolates and the enzyme myrosinase) are liberated as the root is cut or chewed.
Different radish varieties have different levels of spiciness. Black Spanish is known to be the hottest and French Breakfast is known to be one of the mildest. Other factors that have been said to contribute to an increased spiciness are large size, slow growth, growth in hot weather and lack of water. Scientific evidence for these claims, however, is not readily available.
The annual Noche de Rábanos (or “Night of the Radishes”) Festival is held on Dec. 23 in Oaxaca, Mexico. This celebration that began in the late 1800s features nativity and other scenes carved from large radishes.
Need a rapid reward for your gardening efforts? Plant radishes for a quick and easy harvest that livens up foods with its spiciness and crunch.
The radish is a root vegetable in the Brassicaceae family (which includes kale, broccoli and cabbage). Its scientific name (Raphanus sativus) derives from the Greek meaning “quickly appearing,” a most appropriate label. Some radish varieties can go from seed to a harvestable root in less than a month.
Depending on the variety, radishes range in shape from spherical to cylindrical or tapered. The outside skin can be white, yellow, pink, red, purple or black. The radish flesh is usually white. Exceptions include the watermelon radish, a large Chinese cultivar that resembles a seedless watermelon due to its pink to magenta flesh, and the purple daikon radish, a Japanese variety with a starburst of purple “tie-dye” inside.
Radishes are easy to grow. Plant them in full sun for best results. Avoid planting them in overly rich soils that encourage lush foliage at the expense of the roots or where members of the cabbage family recently were grown.
Plant radish seeds ¼ to ½ -inch deep. Although the seeds are small, try to space them at least an inch apart to provide plenty of room to grow. After the radishes sprout, thin them so they are at least 2 inches apart. Larger varieties need more space, so check the seed packet for thinning instructions.
Keep the soil uniformly moist but not too wet as the seedlings grow. Radishes need little in the way of fertilizer.
Radishes mature quickly, so check your planting frequently. As the radishes grow, you will be able to see the tops of their roots peeking above the soil from which you can estimate their size. When the roots reach the size expected for the variety, harvest them, whether you plan to use them immediately or not. Unlike many root vegetables, radishes cannot be left in the ground because they will crack and become tough, if not harvested quickly.
Radishes can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for two to three weeks. Cutting off the green tops or adding a wet paper towel to the bag will help keep the roots crisp by retaining moisture.
Radishes have a spicy flavor and a crunchy texture, making them a popular addition to salads and vegetable trays. The leaves can be used in soups, as cooked greens and in pesto. The roots can be sliced into stir-fries, grated into slaw or diced into egg and potato salads.
Radishes love cool weather. Plant spring varieties (such as ‘Cherry Belle’ and ‘French Breakfast’ as soon as the ground can be worked (March or April). Make small weekly sowings (instead of one large sowing) so that you are not overwhelmed with too many radishes at one time.
When the weather reaches an average of 65 degrees or warmer, stop sowing radishes because the plants will not form a substantial root but will go to seed.
Resume planting radishes in mid-July and early August, planting spring varieties for a fall harvest and overwintering varieties for harvest the following spring. Recommended winter varieties include ‘All Season’ (Daikon), ‘China Rose,’ ‘Dragon’ and ‘Runder Schwarzer Winter.’
Jeanette Stehr-Green is a WSU -certified Clallam County Master Gardener.
Picking Apart The Differences Between Tequila And Mezcal ZACH JOHNSTON LIFE WRITER 04.17.19
Picking Apart The Differences Between Tequila And Mezcal
UPROXX / UNSPLASH
Mezcal is having a big moment in the bar scene around the world. The smoky relative of tequila is showing up on menus everywhere from high-end cocktail bars to local Tex-Mex joints, creating a sales boom. But the spirit is still often conflated with tequila — perceived as an offshoot of the mother spirit, rather than its own thing. So we thought we’d break down what the difference between mezcal and tequila actually is.
Let’s be upfront about this: mezcal and tequila are indeed very, very similar beasts, with only a few significant differences in the production process. Is mezcal better? Is tequila? That’s a matter of preference, though many modern mixologists feel like mezcal is a little more versatile as the base for a mean cocktail. Tequila and mezcal feel almost interchangeable when it comes to citrus-forward drinks like margaritas and Palomas, but when you start talking about Manhattans and old fashioneds, mezcal feels like a better fit.
Let us explain why.
What is Mezcal?
All tequilas are mezcals but not all mezcals are tequilas. Mezcal (and tequila by default) has its roots in pre-Columbian fermented drinks made from agave, called pulque. Whether Indigenous folks were producing a distillate before the Spanish showed up is up for debate. There are devices from as early as 1,500 BCE that could have been used to distill agave and have been shown to actually work. So the roots of a distillate made from agave could be far, far older than the Spanish invasion.
Still, the general history of what mezcal is has roots in Spanish colonialists needing to get their drink on when the brandy ran out. The Spanish brought stills with them from Europe to make aguardiente, literally “firewater.” In the Caribbean, this was done with sugar cane and molasses from local sugar production. In Mexico, it was done with agave — since agave was already readily being fermented into pulque.
In a twist that underscores the “necessity is the mother of invention” truism, the Spanish crown basically prohibited the Spanish colonialists from planting grape vineyards for wine and brandy in the early days. This led directly to an early 1600s boom in what became known as “mezcal,” since agave plants were readily available. By the time the 1800s rolled around, mezcal was a staple product being produced from the southern reaches of Oaxaca into what is now New Mexico by the Mescalero Apache. (The Apache tradition of roasting agave hearts and allowing them to ferment for three days in a desert pit before eating them communally has seen a comeback recently.)
So, here’s what makes mezcal mezcal. The spirit is made from any of 30 different varieties of agave plant grown around Mexico. Oaxaca is the dominant region for mezcal production. Though, according to the laws governing its production, mezcal can be made in Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, San Luis Potosí, Puebla, Michoacan, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas as well as Oaxaca.
The agave takes anywhere from seven to fifteen years to grow a viable “piña” or heart. Jimadores (agave farmers) tend to the plants throughout the year and ultimately harvest the piñas when they’re ready. The piñas are then slow roasted for three days, usually underground, in pits with hot stones. Next, the cooked piñas are crushed into a pulp. This last process is still often done by a tahona (large grindstone) being pulled by a horse or mule. The mash is then put into a fermentation tank where yeasts and water are added. The yeasts eat the sugars and leave behind alcohol. That liquid is then distilled twice, first to 37.5 percent ABV and then to 55 percent ABV.
If the mezcal is a “joven,” it’s unaged. “Dorado” or “Gold” is unaged but colored artificially. “Reposado” or “añejado” is aged for anywhere from two to nine months. Lastly, “añejo” is aged for at least 12 months but usually three to four years. There are also sub-types of mezcal — pechuga for instance — that go through a separate distillation process where cinnamon, various fruit, and turkey or chicken breasts are used to flavor the spirit. This process is also having something of a renaissance.
What is Tequila?
Tequila is very specifically distinct from mezcal in two ways. First, tequila is only made in Jalisco. Second, it’s only made from blue agave. The highlands of Jalisco create a very specific climate that makes the blue agave grown there unique. It also allows for a variation in aging due to a cooler, higher-altitude climate.
It’s not so much that tequila is more refined. It’s more that tequila is being madeunder different conditions. This highland growing adds a sweeter, more fruit and agave-forward flavor to tequila.
Overall, the process is very similar. The biggest difference is the roasting phase. Tequila piñas don’t need to be roasted for three days underground. Otherwise, the tahona grind, the fermentation tanks, and double distillation process are pretty much the same. Because of this difference in roasting, the flavor of tequila is less likely to be described as “smoky.”
In distillation, yeasts eat fructose sugars and create a low-ABV liquid that’s then twice distilled. When the spirit is bottled as a “Blanco” or “Plata” or “Silver” it’s unaged. “Gold” has coloring added to create the amber hue. Otherwise, the tequila is pumped into charred barrels — often once-used bourbon barrels — where it ages for two to eleven months to become a “Reposado” or up to three years to become an “Añejo” or anything over three years to be called an “Extra Añejo.” Finally, it’s bottled and you get to drink it.
The Difference:
UNSPLASH
The biggest difference is the taste of mezcal when compared to tequila. As mentioned, mezcal has a distinct smoky nature with a mildly oily texture. That smokiness is thanks to the pit roasting for three days wherein the smoke is locked in, straight up smoking the agave piñas. This is analogous to smoking barley for smoked beers or some single malt Scotches.
A well-made tequila will have a brightness to it. There’ll be a very clear essence of roasted agave in every sip. As it ages, spices will appear from the charred oak aging. Think cinnamon, allspice, cloves, vanilla, and maybe more nuanced spices like cardamom. There is a clear floral feel to a great tequila that transports you to an agave field on a warm spring day in Jalisco. Hints of almonds are not uncommon and can lean into an almost marzipan-covered-in-caramel sweetness as the aging process enters multiple years.
Mezcal’s smoky, dank nature feels more like a tobacco-stained library where you sink into old leather chairs. The essence of agave is still 100 percent front-and-center but the surrounding flavors tend to lean more towards smoke-filled pits in the desert instead of bright spring farm days. Once aging is introduced, that smokiness can amp up while combining with a sharper spiciness than tequila.
There’s a hot pepper note to mezcal that feels more like a rye whiskey. A fatty nuttiness starts to come into focus as well. The sweetness feels closer to crème brûlée thanks to the burnt nature of the smoke. That, right there, is why mezcal works wonders as a rye or bourbon replacement in so many dark cocktails.
In the end, mezcal is fully distinct from any tequila and vice versa. It really depends on what you’re aiming for when picking between the two. One isn’t better than the other, they’re just different. Our advice, grab a bottle of each and decide which one makes your heart flutter the most, then experiment from there.
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