iViVio » Food & Drink

Margarita

iVi — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:15:51 +0000

Margarita is another favorite drink and no one has the perfect answer as to how it was discovered. There are several stories about its origin but the most common one is that this was a modification of the tequila. Tequila was the common drink among the men but it did not go down well with their girlfriends and wives.

So two geniuses mixed up all the ingredients of tequila and added some sweetness in it. This cocktail was then shaken in a shaker glass full of ice and strained into glasses whose rims were salted, thus creating the margarita. Apparently this drink was enjoyed by both the men and their better halves.

Wine

iVi — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:43:44 +0000

The mention of wine is such an intoxicating feeling. Wine is an alcoholic drink made from grapes. Wine making is as old as 7000 years. The grapes for making wine ripen around the latter half of August or in September. The winemaker tastes the grapes to check the amount of sugar so as to help him determine the harvesting time.

The workers have to harvest the grapes immediately and these grapes are collected and transported to the wineries for the crushing process. During the crushing process the skin and the seeds are retained for the red wine whereas for the white wine they are removed. These crushed grapes along with the skins and seeds are ready for the fermenting procedure where the yeast is also added.

These are then emptied in barrels and left to age. After the ageing process is over the wine is poured into bottles and remain at the winery for further maturation. Once the wine is completely matured they are ready to be sold in the market.

Vodka

iVi — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:55:27 +0000

Vodka got its name from the Russian word ‘voda’ or the Polish ‘woda’ which means water and it originated in East Europe. Vodka was first produced in Russia at the end of the ninth century with the first distillery emerging almost 200 years later.

Poland on the other hand made claims of manufacturing the distilled vodka even earlier than the ninth century but it was more like basic brandy. Poland got its first recognition for vodka in the eleventh century. Distilled liquor was used as medicinal components during the middle ages as well as for gunpowder production.

In the fourteenth century Vodka was proclaimed to be Russia’s national drink and in the nineteenth century the fame of vodka started spreading around the other European countries. Due to its increased demand the use of lower quality products prevailed based on distilled potatoes that were mashed.

Beer

iVi — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:51:30 +0000

This is one drink that is loved universally and has been in existence since centuries. Beer making is quite an easy task which does not require too many ingredients. Basically only 4 things are required

Soft Drinks

iVi — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:36:44 +0000

Soft drinks are those drinks that are carbonated and sweetened and are also known as soda. The reason why these soft drinks became so popular was because the bubbling water was considered to be good for health since the benefits of mineral baths were known from the Roman times.

Scientists did some research and found ways to mix water with the carbon dioxide gas which led to the invention of carbonated water. After that the need for adding flavor to this water led to many flavored soft drinks and companies like Coca-Cola and Moxie came into being more for their remedial features.

Coca-Cola was developed as a cure for headaches and Moxie used the herb gentian instead of carbonated water. Later the champagne became the acclaimed soft drink of the world. Then Pepsi-Cola was introduced as a remedy for dyspepsia. Nowadays soft drinks are no more sold as health remedies.

Coffee

iVi — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:19:43 +0000

Coffee is the most preferred drink around the world. Everybody begin their day with a hot cup of coffee. The origin of coffee is yet unknown but it has been said that the coffee beans were discovered by some hungry Ethiopian goats and their caretaker.

Coffee shops were set up all over the world with different variations. Later roasted coffee started being packed and used for trade purposes. Then the concept of instant coffee developed which drew in large crowds. The popularity of the drink gave birth to the invention of the coffee espresso machine which we use in our daily lives.

The journey of the coffee beans from the goatherd has come a long way off to more modernized and tastier forms such as Cold Coffee, Latte, Cappucino, Mocha, Frappe etc.

Chinese Dumplings

iVi — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:13:39 +0000

The Chinese dumpling is a traditional food of China and is fast becoming the one of the most sensational foods of the world. This food is most important during the Chinese New Year. These Chinese dumplings represent wealth and are shaped like the Chinese gods and silver ingots. Sometimes a coin is also hidden in the dumplings.

Making these dumplings is a team effort. Hence all the family members pitch in. This Chinese delicacy can be made with a variety of fillings such as vegetables, meat or seafood as per individual tastes. These can be either round shaped or crescent shaped and can be either boiled or pan fried.

Chinese Noodles

iVi — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:06:44 +0000

The Chinese noodles have become famous worldwide with different variations in every country to suit the local taste. They are known as mien and fall into 3 main categories. The widely used is the wheat flour noodles that can be prepared with or without eggs.

The other category is rice noodles made of rice flour, water and salt. These can be thick or thin. There are various rice paper wrappers also available that are either in the shape of a triangle or a circle.

The 3rd category is the hand pulled noodles which is an art of stretching the paste and holding them in both hands and making them whirl several times. This paste is then laid on a board and folded continuously which gets transformed into long thin noodles.

Pasta

iVi — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:01:20 +0000

Pasta is a favorite Italian cuisine that quickly gained recognition when Italians immigrated to different parts of the world. The roots of pasta are still a debatable topic. It is believed that the ancient Greeks and Romans had found dough that was sort of flattened. This was not boiled but roasted on hot stones similar to the pizzas.

The first reference of boiled noodles is found in Jerusalem Talmud of the 5th century AD which was written in Aramaic. In Arabic these noodles were referred to as itriyah which means dried noodles that are bought from a vendor and not homemade ones. Pasta was introduced to Italy when the Arabs conquered Sicily and they carried this dried form of noodles as their staple food.

Tortilla

iVi — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:53:22 +0000

The tortilla is the main diet of the Mexicans and is made from corn. Here the kernels are cooked for removing the husk and then grounded on a stone slab with a grinding stone. The dough is divided into small round balls and patted with the hand into thin cakes or wrapped in the husk of the corn to be filled and eaten.

The tortilla is used for enchiladas and tacos. In America and the northern part of Mexico tortilla is made of flour and they became popular because of their low prices due to inferior quality of flour that was shipped.