In less than a year, after being stung by a rather lovely flying bumble bee, I've consumed so much honey that I'm most likely now a target of both mosquitoes and bees (I can be a natural mosquito repellent for others--a human mosquito pin-cushion with at least 20 bites per leg). I never knew honey could be eaten straight. I rarely consumed it, and it was always just another ingredient in food, sweets, or beverage. Now, after tasting the real thing, I'm hard-pressed to go back to the synthetic taste of mass-produced honey!
As with tea, coffee, chocolate, and wine, honey can be as varied in flavour and texture. So far, I've noticed 2 major flavour types--floral and woodsy--and texture can range from runny, to gloopy-thick, to a mix of runny and set, to completely set. Amazingly, I've had (full containers of) English lime-flavoured clover, acacia (English), Australian eucalyptus, Mexican wildflower, pine (French), buckwheat (!), African Miombo forest, clover (American), Menalou vanilla fur (x2), and Tasmanian leatherwood. I've also tried mountain (French) and chestnut (English).
The most bizzare was the buckwheat not only for the unfamiliar concept of honey coming from a wheat plant but also for the rather odd smell; but the taste is completely different. Even simply having the honey alone or mixing it with water can draw out further contrasts.
I seem to prefer honey with a woodsy flavour. The pine one is marvelous, and it's the one that really triggered my honey exploration. The vanilla fur is very gentle and reminds me a lot of candy. As for the Tasmanian leatherwood, it's very sweet!
I do have to say, scenes from the "Bee Movie" often come to mind. I don't want to be another heartless consumer, but at least it does make you appreciate honey all the more. The next question is: should I thank the bee or not for its sali[a]nt sting?? 
Sunday, March 29. 2009
Honey
Saturday, February 21. 2009
Oatly Milk
Some time ago, I ran across a random blog entry that mentioned "Oatly milk," a beverage made from oats and water as another alternative to dairy milk. As I'd been having normal soya and black soya milk for quite some time, I was keen on trying something new. As expected, it tastes of oats, but the flavour is much lighter than the soybean taste in soya milk, so it's a much better dairy replacement in beverages. I find it quite soothing to have before bed. It's just as nice with cereal. And it's quite addicting with just a little added sugar (as it comes without sugar) and even hot cocoa.
Nutrition: 100ml Serving Size
| |
Calories (kcal) |
Total fat (g) |
Sat fat (g) |
Total Carbs (g) |
Sugars (g) |
Protein (g) |
Fibre (g) |
| Oatly Milk |
35 |
0.7 |
0.1 |
6.5 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
| Soybean (Asian) |
59 | 1.3-1.7 | 0-0.5 |
8.3-10 |
8.8-9.4 | 2.1-2.7 | 0.3 |
| Semi-skimmed Milk (2%) |
51 |
2.0 |
1.3 | 5.2 |
5.2 |
3.4 |
0 |
Wednesday, February 18. 2009
Alternative Grains
So next, I went for pearl barley, mainly because I found that it's beneficial for my spleen deficiency. I've had it before as it's commonly used in Asian soups and desserts, but I was planning to use it somewhat differently. It definitely takes a lot longer to cook, but thanks to my "special" rice cooker ("special" because it cooks until all the water has disappeared rather than stopping after a certain time, albeit a bit too far--i.e. burnt dry), I just pour about 4-5 times the amount of water, cook it further with additional water if needed, and leave it to soak with a little bit more water. The final product is a soft, almost rice-like texture but with a little more chew and nutty flavour. I quite like it!
And now, I've just mixed the barley with the Korean wild grains mixture (barley, millet, sweet brown rice, brown rice, job's tear, red bean, black bean, peeled mung bean, black sweet rice, corn, green pea) that I brought back from the States and have been enjoying the even chewier texture and nuttier flavour. Yum! 
Nutrition: 100g serving size
| |
Calories (kcal) |
Fat (g) |
Carbs (g) |
Protein (g) |
Fiber (g) |
| Barley | 123 |
0.4 |
28.2 |
2.3 |
3.8 |
| Bulgur | 83 |
0.2 |
18.6 |
3.1 |
4.5 |
| Brown rice |
112 |
0.8 |
23.5 |
2.3 |
1.8 |
| White rice |
130 |
0.3 |
28.5 |
2.7 |
0.4 |
| Mixed Grains |
269 |
2.5 | 53.75 | 7.5 |
7.5 |
Tuesday, February 10. 2009
Soy(a) Yog(h)urt
Several years ago when soy yogurt had just come out, I had a fairly negative impression of how it tasted. I've always loved the Asian soy bean drink, so the soy flavour is quite familiar. But there was something strange. I can't quite recall. It might have been the unfamiliarity of soy + sourness + grainy texture. But about a month ago, I decided to give it another attempt seeing as it's been so long and the health food trend has improved significantly. Surprisingly, I found it quite tasty, especially the Provamel brand. Besides the slightly "lumpy" texture, the soy flavour is barely perceptible. It's also quite fruity. The other brand that was available--Sojade--wasn't quite as good. It was less fruity and sweet, but it still seemed to taste better than what I had remembered. Of course, my taste buds might have changed, but it's pretty incredible to know how fast alternative health foods are improving.
Thursday, November 8. 2007
Gluten-free Bread
God is simply amazing! I was just thinking about having to buy bread when I found a package from Glutafin waiting by my front door. Several days ago, I had signed up for a free sample of their gluten-free wheat bread; and voila, here it was!
Me being me, I couldn't resist digging in immediately. The loaf definitely felt a bit softer, although still dense, than the brick-like ones I encountered back at Whole Foods. The texture resembled the slight chewiness of a untoasted crumpet but with a subtle nutty flavor. It was a bit dry, but it was not at all too far off from a normal wheat bread.
I am genuinely surprised. We'll see what happens after freezing and toasting. Now I wonder how the other gluten free bread taste...
