What Everybody Ought to Know About Indian Beverages By David H. Urmann

India is famous for their tasty, refreshing, cheap and easy to make drinks. They have developed a wide array of interesting drinks that reflective of their culture.

Beverages are flavored drinks for human consumption. It can be any drink prepared in different ways in order to satisfy a quenching thirst. Since alcoholic drinks are not good, especially in many ethnic cultures in India, Indiansdeveloped a multitude of non-alcoholic beverages. Here are some of the famous Indian beverages:
Tea
Tea or Chai is a North Indian beverage made from leaves, twigs or buds of a tea bush called Camellia Sinensis. Indian tea processing procedures includes fermentation, heating and drying. Herbs, flowers, fruits and other spices are being added as an added appeal.

Chai is known throughout many countries. It comes in different flavors and strengths. Some of the Indian teas are the Darheeling Tea, Assam Tea and Nilgri Tea. Most people use tea as a natural hair conditioner, skin vitalizer and a cure for arthritis. To make an Indian tea, it’s helpful to understand the basics.

Basic tea ingredients:
• plain or non-flavored Tea (loose leaf tea or tea bags)
• 2% Whole or skimmed milk
• Sugar
• Spices (optional)
• Hot or cold water
• Tea press or squeezer (for tea bags)
• Tea strainer (for loose leaf)
• Cup and saucer

Masala tea or Garam Chai is the most popular Indian beverage. Spices include ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, black peppercorn, cloves, Saunf (fennel seeds) and Khus-khus.

How to make a Masala Chai
Ingredients:
• 4 single tea bags or 3 teaspoons of un-perfumed black loose tea
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 6 tsp. sugar
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1/4th tsp. of Masala Tea mixture (a pinch of Cardamom powder and
2 in. piece of fresh ginger)

Method:
o Boil 1 ½ cups water and add the Masala tea mixture.
o Boil again for 1 minute. Add milk and sugar and simmer.
o Throw tea bags or leaves and let it set for 2 minutes.
o Strain the tea.

Coffee
Coffee is made from roasted seeds of a cocoa plant. It is served either hot or cold. It is a black beverage that is common in India. Indian coffee has its own varieties which includes the following:
1. Moonsooned coffee
2. Mysore Nuggets Extra Bold
3. Robusta Caapi Royale
4. Orange coffee
5. Choco-coffee Shake.

o Monsooned coffee - Moonsooned coffee has a unique natural element. It has a moonsooned flavor (mellow taste) with a golden appearance.

o Mysore Nuggets Extra Bold - This is premium quality coffee that exhibits a full aroma, good acidity and fine flavor. These very large blush green beans grown in the Mysore region.

o Robusta Kaapi Royale - This coffee is bold, gray to bluish colored beans from Robusta Parchment AB. It is grown from the regions of:
• Mysore
• Wynad
• Pulneys
• Coorg
• Shevaroys
• and Barbabudans

Robusta Kaapi Royale gives a soft, full bodied and mellow flavor.

Coffee preparation includes the following:
• 1 ½ cups milk
• ½ cup water
• ¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder
• 3 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. coffee

Mix together sugar and coffee. Add a few drops of water to make it fluffy. Add another two to three drops of water to get a creamy color. Add one teaspoon of coffee. Boil milk and pour in cups with a pinch of chocolate powder on top.

Orange coffee is a mixture of hot chocolate and strong coffee. Orange slices are placed into the cup with a garnish of whipped cream and cinnamon.

Other Indian traditional beverages are Lassi, Chach, Sharbat, Thandai, Shikanjami and Kanj.

India’s popularity extends to its various types of refreshing drinks, all reminiscent of their deeply-rooted culture. They are fond of non-alcoholic drinks due to health issues.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=319895&ca=Food

Gourmet Food As a Last Minute Gift Idea By Jay Gaulard

Are you looking for that last minute gift idea that will make the recipient love you forever? If you are, just close your eyes and tell yourself, 'This is not as hard as I'm making it.' The reason why you want to do this is because it really isn't as hard as you're making it. As a matter of fact, gourmet food is going to help you make them really want to be on your Christmas list year ever year. But don't buy a gourmet food item just because it says 'gourmet food' on the label. You can actually go to your local department store and find plenty of $2 and $3 items that say 'gourmet food' on the label, but the question is whether or not the food is really gourmet. It may just be a way to make it sound fancy because it may be considered gourmet according to the manufacturer's standards.

So what you need to do is go on the Internet and look up real gourmet food. Now this doesn't mean you have to pay $50 for 2 ounces of something. Gourmet food is affordable. However, this is not that gourmet food that comes from the gift section of the department store that is bland. This is an entirely different ballgame.

True quality

Yes, it can be quite confusing when you're looking for gourmet food. You may find that a lot of it is manufactured in foreign countries. You may deal with foreign language labels and incredible price tags. This isn't going to go too well because, when buying gourmet food for someone as a gift, you want to make sure that what you're buying is something that is of true quality and contains class.

So when surfing the Internet for the perfect gourmet food item, make sure you look closely. You should be able to tell the difference between something that is of a high quality and something that isn't. You will find that you will learn about the product, which will help you determine what sort of class it has. The more information provided to you in the form of reviews and ratings, the better the decision you're going to make.

When the website consists of reviews and ratings of their own that have been written by others, this shows that they stand by the product. They're being honest about the product. When consumers are allowed to submit a review on the website, this allows individuals like you to make an informed decision. You're not making a blind purchase like many individuals make even when they have the item in front of them on a store shelf.

Types of gourmet food

If you're wondering what types of gourmet food you can buy as a gift, the list goes on and on. Here is a rundown of some items that you may want to consider. Even for those individuals who are hard to buy for, you will more than likely find that gourmet food that will make their holiday. So here are some items for you to consider:

Hot chocolate - Hot chocolate is a hot item during the holidays. Most everyone loves it. In the gourmet food sector, you may find that hot chocolate mixed with other flavors such as cinnamon.

You've probably had gourmet coffee or tea at some point in your life. Afterward you probably wondered, 'Where can I get that from?' There are too many times that we taste something that is wonderful and then never taste it again. It is just a matter of knowing where to purchase those things.

Chocolate - Gourmet chocolate speaks for itself. There is nothing like it because there are many ingredients not used in your commercial chocolate, giving gourmet chocolate a unique flavor.

Breads - There are so many different variations of bread. You can have it plain or you can have it with fruit and nuts. When buying this as a gift, ensure you buy some for yourself. You're definitely going to be in for a treat.

Candy - You can buy gourmet gum, hard candy, breath mints, and so much more. You've probably tasted gourmet candy at some point and realized that it has quite the unique flavor to it.

Cookies and desserts - Cookies and desserts are very popular gourmet items and they are very popular as gifts, so this is something else to consider.

There are so many gourmet food items. If you're not quite sure what to get, just think about what it is the person you're buying the gift for likes. If they are not a picky person, then go with your best judgment. You just might be surprised how successful you are at picking out the perfect gourmet food item for that person. Then again, you may find that food is not right for them at all. You may find that gourmet food accessories make for great gifts.

Gourmet food accessories

You can purchase gourmet food accessories as well. You can purchase the cookbooks that teach you how to make some delicious dishes. You can also look into buying water filtration systems for a person who may live in an area that doesn't exactly have clean water. You may even look into giving the coffee lover a fantastic home brewing system and buying them some gourmet coffee to go with it.

You have so many possibilities when it comes to gourmet food and gourmet food items. For the hard to buy individual, you'll find that it isn't so difficult after all. And to avoid battling the large crowds during the Christmas shopping season you can make sure you make the Internet your stop to shop. You're going to find everything that you need to make your Christmas shopping a success. Just make sure you don't drive yourself crazy with all of the excellent choices that you will come across. That can actually become more difficult than trying to buy something for that hard to buy for individual. So good luck this Christmas season and, most importantly, have fun.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=328741&ca=Food

Food Savings - Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half

Today, I read a government report stating "a middle-income family with a child born last year will spend about $221,000 raising that child through age 17." Housing was the biggest expense followed by food. Why they stopped at 17, I don't know...the child is still in high school at that age and the parents are still looking at college tuition! With that kind of expense looming, how can you cut costs? As soon as someone brings up the topic of saving money, you know the "B" word is not far behind - budget. OK, I said it! And the first step in creating a budget is finding out where the money is going now. So, for one month, collect all of your receipts from all of your meals. Even two weeks worth of receipts will be revealing. Not only will you find out how much money you are spending on food, you will also discover where you are spending your money.

Don't believe what I say about which food is cheaper, your receipts will tell the story. A part of this exercise is to not only look at the total bill, but also what VALUE you gained. What did you get for that $30 at the drive through - 1 meal for 3 people? What about the $30 at the grocery store - probably2 or 3 meals for 3 people. Once you know where you are spending your money, you can make changes that will affect your "bottom line." My first suggestion is to start cooking at home. I know, you..."don't have time", but "convenience foods" are ultimately not doing you or your family any favors. We all know that fast food is not cheap, it's not slimming, and it's not healthy, it's just fast, fried fat. Cooking at home with your family increases your "quality time" together. Perfume your home with aromas from the kitchen. Isn't that what makes a "house", a "home"? You can also control what you eat, and that is who we are, right?

What is the Future of Organic Foods?

The organic food craze has gotten a solid footing and has spread across the world like an errant wildfire. While more people are switching to healthier, organic versions of their favorite fruits, vegetables, meats and other products, does this mean that traditional food and farming will become a thing of the past? Will organic food be as popular in ten or twenty years as it is today or will the organic food craze fade away, leaving people to revert back to traditional food? Chances are high that traditional agriculture is here to stay as it is much more profitable than organic agriculture and it has worked well for more than 300 years. Since commercial fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides increase yields and decrease losses, they increase profits; therefore, as long as farmers work the land using traditional methods and means, commercial farming will exist. At some point in the future, people might be forced to choose between the easy option and the environmentally friendly option. However, as the world's population increases, the need for larger amounts of food increases, too. Were we only employing organic farming methods, we would quickly run out of space for crops. Will the organic food craze fade into the background and join the myriad of other health food fads gone by the wayside? Since organic agriculture has been around for many years and continues to gain mainstream acceptance and popularity, the answer is a solid 'no'. Once, not so long ago, you had to look everywhere to find organic produce.

Now, some of the world's largest supermarket chains stock a large variety of organic products. Organic agriculture will likely become more common and popular as people become more aware of the negative environmental and physical effects of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, hormones and other chemicals. In developing countries, studies have shown that families that employ organic agricultural actually make more money than traditional farmers in the same areas and have a higher standard of living. As organic food and product consumers raise their children on organic products, they are creating an automatic market share, ensuring that the future of organic foods is bright. If children are not exposed to traditional foods and products they will not use them, instead opting for their organic counterparts. The organic agriculture industry will continue to grow as the trend toward buying local sustains itself, as happens periodically and as local businesses continue to support each others' industries. Organic agriculture may not be able to take over the world and solve every environmental and dietary problem but it is and will continue to impact the world. As people continue to be concerned for their family's safety and that of the world around them, it is a safe assumption that the future of organic foods is a bright one.