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Peking Duck

Peking duck is a whole Long Island duckling, a descendant of the Beijing duck brought over from China in late 1700s. It is slaughtered and dressed with its head and neck intact. While few non-Asian cooks attempt this dish at home, the birds are readily available in Chinese restaurants and shops, and can usually be seen hanging from their feet in display windows.

In Peking duck, the plucked bird has air pumped into a small hole in its neck, inflating the space between the skin and the meat. The duck is trussed, glazed with honey, and hung to dry for twenty-four hours. It is then roasted, vertically, until the skin is brown and extremely crisp.The duck is served with thin Chinese pancakes for rolling the rich meat and sweet, chewy skin and with hoisin sauce for dipping.

Interestingly, some philosophers think that it is not and that claims about the artistic value of food are misguided. They would tell us that all but one of our putative “artistic” experiences during our Roman day is of art; all, that is, but our dinner. One reason historically cited is what I call the “problem of consumption”: food is often dismissed as a genuine artistic medium on the grounds that the object of culinary art is consumed as it is enjoyed. A perfectly prepared veal chop, unlike Renoir’s masterpiece, exists only as long as it takes a diner to eat it. The objects of higher art forms, like painting and sculpture, do not suffer from this defect and, so the thinking goes, are proper art objects, while food is not.

The heaviest advertising comes from American global brands like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Pepsi. Coca-Cola spends $1.5 billion advertising every year, making it and McDonald’s the two  most globally recognized brands. About a quarter of this is spent in the USA, of course, but in recent years Coca-Cola and the other food giants like Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and Mars have been targeting the ex-Soviet countries with a vengeance.

Source: 101 FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FOOD,  Farndon

Consuming excess protein does not automatically make muscles larger or become stronger—only exercise will do that!

Protein Mix

Although unlike carbohydrates and fats, protein is usually associated with promoting good health and increasing one’s strength and vitality. Athletes often choose high-protein foods or take protein supplements with the promise of increasing muscle mass, strength, and endurance. But does dietary protein deserve such a positive reputation? Does it really increase a person’s strength and vitality? Should we be concerned about eating too much protein? A more complete understanding of what proteins are and what they do in the body is needed to accurately answer these questions.

First, as an essential nutrient, protein is required in the diet to replace body proteins that are degraded as part of normal metabolism. Most people in developed countries consume about twice as much protein as the body needs. Second, the body uses only what it needs, so excess dietary protein is mostly “burned” for energy.  Finally, consuming high-protein diets does have some risks. The processing of protein in the body requires lots of water (about seven times more water than required for processing carbohydrates). Consequently, dehydration is a common problem, particularly for people who exercise and lose even more water through sweat and evaporation. Also, the kidneys are the only organs that can process the waste products of protein metabolism for elimination in the urine. An excess of dietary protein over time can overwhelm the kidneys and cause permanent damage.

Like all nutrients, protein should be consumed as part of an overall balanced diet that contains adequate—but not excessive—amounts of protein. Overconsumption of protein can easily occur in economically developed countries where both animal and plant foods containing protein are readily available.

SOURCE: Discovering Nutrition, Timothy Carr