Barberries for cooking

Barberry species (Berberis vulgaris L. var. asperma) is widely used as a food additive. Fruits of this species are seedless, while wild type barberries produce seeds in the same area. Barberry is cold hardy and drought tolerant. However, water deficits during fruit set, growth, and maturation cause yield reduction.

The fruit is edible, and rich in vitamin C, though with a very sharp flavor. Various parts of this plant including its root, stem, leaves and fruit of the plant is used in medicine, food, industry, etc.

The fruits are consumed raw or cooked. The seedless barberry fruit has been used by various ethnic populations as food. Barberry fruits consumed in the form of jams and other preserves, sirups and wines were commonly eaten during the Medieval times in England and western Europe.

In Iran, the dried fruit, known as zereshk, is more extensively used, imparting a tart flavor to the meals.

In Iran people drink barberry juice and use its fruit in nectar, marmalade, jelly, jam, pickles, syrups, round flat candy, sauces, carbonated beverages, dried barberry concentrate, and Sohan Asali (a traditional Iranian sweet). It is also used in preparing food and making liquor.

Dried barberries are also a popular food item in Georgia. In this country the fruits of barberries, locally known as ‘‘kotsakhuri’’, are added to meat dishes and used as a spice in this region.

The barberry is Azerbaijan as a natural preservative for pickled onions. This marinated dish consists of sliced white onions with layers stacked in between rows of freshly harvested barberries.
Barberries for cooking

The uses of lemon juice in food

Lemons are as indispensable to everyday cooking as onions and garlic -- and even more versatile. Lemons are an acidy fruit that is not generally eaten as a whole fruit, but more as a zest, a garnish or to add flavor to a favorite recipe.

The characteristic sourness of the lemon is due to the citric acid content in it. That is why lemon juice, as well as its rind and pulp, is used in culinary preparations, all over the world. The whole of the lemon fruit can be used, with the rind ground to add a flavor to special baked dishes.

Using lemons to add and boost flavor is a good tip for anyone, but especially if they are trying to cut down on salt or sodium in their diet. A study shows that people who use lemons to season their food can cut out three quarters of the salt in their diet and not miss it.

Lemons can add flavor and sparkle to almost any dish. Lemons can be used with fish and salads, as well as in juices, cooking, baking, and desserts.

Lemons are the best if they have a shiny thin skin and are heavy for their size. A heavier lemon typically has more juice and flavor then a light airy lemon. Thin-skinned lemons generally have more juice.
The uses of lemon juice in food

Tomato fruit for cooking

The fruit of an annual plant (in temperate climates or short-lived perennial (in warm climates) Lycopersicon esculentum of which some varieties grow to over 2.5 high whilst other are low bushes.

The world tomato comes from tomatl in Aztec language. Christopher Columbus would have been the first to bring back to Europe in early 1490’s where they were initially cultivated as ornamental and tabletop decorations.

The tomato fruit is mostly water with only about 5% to 7% of the fruit being solids,, with most fruit being closer to 5% than 7%. Of the solid content, about half is composed of sugars and one-eight acids.

Although technically a fruit they are used exclusively as a salad or cooking vegetable or as a flavoring and thickener for a range of soups, sauces and other cooked dishes.

Fresh tomatoes readily cook down to a smooth puree, but many canned tomatoes don’t. Canners frequently add calcium salts to firm the cell walls and keep the pieces intact, and this can interfere with their disintegration during cooking.

The red pigment in the tomato fruit, lycopene, is an antioxidant whose content in tomato fruit increases as the fruit ripens. Lycopene is called the ‘world’s most powerful antioxidant’ and can help prevent the development of various forms of cancer, the effect varying with one’s sex and the type of cancer.
Tomato fruit for cooking

The use of vinegar

Vinegar has been used in many different ways by many different peoples for thousands of years. Although vinegar was generally regarded as the unfortunate results of spoiled wine, its value was recognized as flavoring and preservatives.

In ancient Rome, bowls of vinegars made from wine, dates, figs and other fruits were used for the dunking of breads.

In most cases then product of two fermentations, vinegar can be made from almost any sugary lipid. In the first fermentation, the action of yeast coverts the sugar to alcohol and the second fermentation, bacteria convert the alcohol to acetic acid – the wine becomes vinegar.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Strength of acidity determines the tartness of the vinegar – and of the dressing made from it. Most salad vinegars are about 5 percent acidity, but some range as high as 7 or 8 percent.

Vinegars made from other bases have different flavors. Common type vinegar of culinary vinegar include balsamic, red wine, white wine, rice wine, sherry, champagne, Chinese red and cider vinegar.

Commercial balsamic is often used for oil and vinegar salad dressings and cooked into recipes.

Apple cider vinegar is used in salad dressing, marinades, vinaigrettes, food preservatives and chutneys, among other things. Depending on its quality and strength, this vinegar is good for almost all uses.
The use of vinegar

Bitter orange for cooking

Oranges come in two main varieties:
*Sweet or eating oranges including the California and navel organs
*Bitter types, less often known as Seville, bitter, wild or bigerade

Bitter orange sometimes called sour orange. This herb will decrease the appetite, thus your food consumption will be lower causing you to lose weight.

The flesh of the Seville orange is too bitter to eat, but its juice is much used in Iranian cookery, and some recipes call for the intensity of Seville orange paste, made from the juice.

The juice and skin of the bitter orange flavor many savory dishes and sauces and is essential for orange marmalade.

Their peel is often candied and their essential oils are used to make the liqueurs Grand Marnier, Cointreau, Curacao.

Bitter orange trees tend to be more decorative and fragrant than orange trees, Bitter orange were initially used in marinades for meat and fish or merely as an ornamental crop.

Today, bitter orange, rarely available fresh in the United States, are processed into preserves, confections, orange-blossom watery perfumes and liqueurs.

In the Middle East the blossom of bitter orange are used to make fragrant orange flower water.
Bitter orange for cooking