- Industry: Printing & publishing
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Founded in 1941, Barron's Educational Series is a leading publisher of test preparation manuals and school directories. Among the most widely recognized of Barron's many titles in these areas are its SAT and ACT test prep books, its Regents Exams books, and its Profiles of American Colleges. In ...
Invert sugar is created by combining a sugar syrup with a small amount of acid (such as cream of tartar or lemon juice) and heating. This inverts, or breaks down, the sucrose into its two components, glucose and fructose, thereby reducing the size of the sugar crystals. Because of its fine crystal structure, invert sugar produces a smoother product and is used in making candies such as fondant, and some syrups. The process of making jams and jellies automatically produces invert sugar by combining the natural acid in the fruit with granulated sugar and heating the mixture. Invert sugar can usually be found in jars in cake-decorating supply shops.
Industry:Culinary arts
A system of packaging food and drink products so the contents are exposed to a minimal amount of air; such products are typically vacuum-packed. Because oxygen is the major contributor to spoilage in most foods, aseptic packaging can retain a product's freshness for several months, even years. Milk, juices, chopped tomatoes and even inexpensive wines are packaged aseptically in plastic bags within cartons or boxes. The bags collapse as the contents are poured out, keeping the remaining food or drink relatively free of air contamination.
Industry:Culinary arts
A Greek specialty consisting of minced lamb that is molded around a spit and vertically roasted. The meat is usually sliced, enfolded in a pita and topped with grilled onions, sweet peppers and a cucumber-yogurt sauce.
Industry:Culinary arts
This light, airy cake gets its ethereal texture from beaten egg whites, which are folded into a fluffy mixture of beaten egg yolks and sugar. They get their leavening power entirely from eggs. Sponge cakes are further characterized by the fact that they do not contain shortening of any kind. The cakes can be variously flavored with anything from lemon zest to ground almonds.
Industry:Culinary arts
A Japanese soup that's traditionally served at New Year's festivities, although it's popular at other times of the year as well. Also called simply zoni, this soup contains pieces of chicken and various other ingredients (depending on the cook) including dashi, daikon and other vegetables. Ozoni is served in deep bowls over rice cakes.
Industry:Culinary arts
A heavy, dark-brown, strongly flavored beer. The dark color and strong flavor come from the addition of roasted malt. Porters are usually higher in alcohol than regular lager beers. See also beer.
Industry:Culinary arts
Popular in India, sharbat is a chilled, sweet drink flavored from fruit juice or flower petals, which is sometimes thick enough to eat with a spoon. It's similiar to charbat, a Middle Eastern drink that is the progenitor of present-day sherbet.
Industry:Culinary arts
A spiced East Indian dish of rice, lentils and onions, Anglicized in the 18th century when the English added flaked smoked fish, hard-cooked eggs and a rich cream sauce. Kedgeree is a popular English breakfast dish.
Industry:Culinary arts
An Italian wine that comes in three versions — red, white and rosé. The style best known by Americans is the pale red, semisweet, slightly effervescent Lambrusco. All three variations are made in both semisweet and dry styles, the latter being preferred in Italy. Lambrusco wines are not known for their aging capabilities and should be drunk young.
Industry:Culinary arts
Though today peanuts are considered a rather common nut, ancient Peruvians held them in such high esteem that they buried pots of peanuts with their mummified dead to nourish them during their long journey to the hereafter. Peanuts are widely grown throughout the southern United States and about half the national crop is used to make peanut butter. At one stage of its growth, the peanut plant looks very much like the common garden pea plant . . . which is not at all illogical, since the peanut is actually a legume, not a nut. The nuts (or seeds) have a papery brown skin and are contained in a thin, netted, tan-colored pod. Peanuts are also called groundnuts (as well as earth nuts and, in the South, goobers or goober peas) because, after flowering, the plant bends down to the earth and buries its pods in the ground. Though there are several varieties of peanut, the two most popular are the Virginia and the Spanish peanut. The Virginia peanut is larger and more oval in shape than the smaller, rounder Spanish peanut. Peanuts are sold unshelled and shelled. The former should have clean, unbroken shells and should not rattle when shaken. Shelled peanuts, often available in vacuum-sealed jars or cans, are usually roasted and sometimes salted. Refrigerate unshelled peanuts tightly wrapped for up to 6 months. Vacuum-packed shelled peanuts can be stored unopened at room temperature for up to a year. Once opened, shelled peanuts should be refrigerated airtight and used within 3 months. Peanuts are high in fat and rich in protein. The two most popular peanut by-products are peanut butter and peanut oil.
Industry:Culinary arts
