This page is for the curious kitchen snoop or anyone who can never take anything at face value especially if it's anything that's about to go into their mouth; food people, f-o-o-d, ya know, that other  four letter word.....

Browsing Archive: July, 2009

Varietal Wine

Posted by on Tuesday, July 21, 2009,


The term "varietal" in wine terminology refers to the grape from which a wine is made. By law, the varietal wine must have a minimum of 75% of that particular grape. It is not a widely known fact that varietal wines are not always unblended, but as long as the grape stated on the label constitutes at least the requisite 75%, of the wine inside, it's all in order.

You might expect that a bottle of Chardonnay will taste the same regardless of where it was made or who made it. Surprise, surprise...


Continue reading ...
 

First Growth

Posted by on Friday, July 17, 2009,


In wine terminology, First Growth status (Premier Cru in French) refers to a classification of wines from the Bordeaux region of France. The four main regions in Bordeaux are Medoc, Graves and Pessac-Leognan, St Emillion and Pomerol.

The classification of the best Bordeaux wines was drawn up at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III for the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris. The result was the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, a list of the top ranked wines, named the Grand Crus ...


Continue reading ...
 

Kuchen

Posted by Kmk /dd on Sunday, July 12, 2009,


The word "kuchen" is German and simply means "cake", but there are as many versions of this sweet treat as there are castles in Germany. A kuchen can be a normal cake made by the creaming method, pastry-like or a yeast-raised cake.

They are commonly topped with cheese, custard and fruit or nuts and often dusted with powdered sugar and a sweet spice like cinnamon. In America, they are referred to as coffeecakes, denoting that they are eaten with a cup of coffee, usually late in the morning for...


Continue reading ...
 

Frittata

Posted by Kmk /dd on Friday, July 10, 2009,


A frittata is a thick Italian type of omelette, that some food historians believe may pre-date the classic omelette. It differs from the classic French omelette in that it is cooked together with the chosen ingredients and served open-faced instead of  being folded over with the ingredients inside it as a filling. 

Traditionally it is partially cooked on the stove and finished off by broiling under a hot grill or baking in an oven, until just set. The ingredients that go into it may vary from ...


Continue reading ...
 
 

 

blog background by shabby blogs 

 

 

Recent Posts