Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Best Coffee Maker Concept For Your Kitchen

Everyone wants to have a perfect coffee maker for there kitchen but they really afraid to think about its cost. Nowadays there are different types of coffee maker available in the market. If you and your family is really a coffee lover then you must buy it without worrying about its cost.


Coffee is really a great drink not only because it is rich in taste but also it is one of the energizing drinks. That's why thousands of people are becoming coffee lover each day. Coffee maker is a type of machine which will definitely give you the desired taste of the coffee and believe me it doesn't matter that your coffee maker is expensive or not.


It is really very sad that most of people think that a free coffee maker must be useless and cheap. The belief also holds true that an expensive coffee maker makes better coffee. Again barring specialty coffee makers, a coffee maker is simply a coffee maker. Whether neither free nor paid they both would achieve the same results. You pour the coffee into the coffee pot add water and brew the coffee within 10 minutes as there is no difference. But all these things are just a myth. There is no need to buy an expensive coffee maker you can have the same taste of from the cheapest coffee maker.


It is highly recommended to you that before buying any coffee maker you must make a deep research because there different types of models available in the market. You must see that the coffee maker machine must be according to your requirements. Nowadays there are different companies in the market which are offering different models of this machine. Gevalia is a company that has been around for years giving away a free coffee maker. Gevalia offers stainless steel coffee makers that match the look of the fancier expensive coffee pots.


The concept of free coffee maker is becoming popular day by day. Many people are attracting towards this concept and the internet has become a haven for things of the free nature. Free coffee maker deals have always had a good free policy, do you why? Because you sign up for a club and the coffee is free or a coffee pot is free. There is no harm if you signed up for the free coffee maker or not you would continue to purchase coffee from your local supermarket anyways. So the question becomes, why not get something free out of the deal and continue to purchase your coffee through them anyways?


You will be surprise to know that every year many different companies have spent millions of dollars on advertising such products. Many people flock to these free deals and as well many should. You must love free stuff and also always notice when something is being given away for free. Often times when a free product is given away you may wonder where the catch may be. However the good news with nearly all free coffee maker deals that I have seen is that most of the time the only catch is joining there club and being able to cancel at anytime. This shows not only that these are good deals and the coffee great tastes but that the company puts a lot of faith in the free coffee promotion it is using.


It is really a typical view point that if you have to pay for anything during a transaction than free isn't free. You should keep this thing in mind that if you buy only $25 worth of product and you are getting $100 free then something in the deal is free even coffee maker offers. That's basically $85 free right or even $85 that you would have had to spend. Free coffee makers offers exist just make sure you read what you are getting into. Stick with a legit site that offers other free coffee accessories or free coffee makers and get the most out of the deal. You may just become their next loyal customer and you'll be saying that free coffee deals do exist.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Yogurt Making

Two microorganisms namely, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, growing together symbiotically, are responsible for the lactic fermentation of the yoghurt. In some countries, apart from these two bacteria, the culture also contains lactose fermenting yeasts, Leuconostoc strains, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis and Lactobacillus acidophilus.The method of maintaining purity of the yoghurt culture is very important and it is better to maintain the mother cultures individually rather than in mixed form.

The optimum pH and temperature for growth of Streptococcus thermophilus is 6.8 and 38°C. These strains usually reach acidities of 0.80 to 0.95 per cent. In case of Lactobacillus bulgaricus, the optimum temperature for growth is 42°C and the acidity obtained is 1.25 to 1.50 per cent. The extreme sensitivity of both these microorganisms to antibiotics especially, penicillin, calls for selection of milk intended for yoghurt manufacture to be free from residual penicilin. More over, extra care has to be exercised in maintaining the purity of the yoghurt cultures since they can be easily overgrown by contaminating organisms.


Traditional method of yoghurt making

The milk is evaporated to 1/3 to 1/4 water content so that it attains the required concentration. Alternatively, 4-5% non-fat dried milk (NFDM) can be added to the whole milk.


It is heated to 82-93°C for 30 minutes. Then it is cooled to 42-43°C and inoculated with 2-3% starter culture (Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus).


Then the milk is incubated at 42-43°C for 3 hours or until a titratable acidity of 0.75% lactic acid or coagulation occurs.


The product is chilled to 5°C. Further acidity of 0.9% lactic acid may develop while the product is being chilled.


The product can be stored satisfactorily for 1-2 weeks at 5°C.


Flavored yoghurt


The flavored yoghurt has gained popularity in recent years. Three types of flavors viz. artificial, natural with artificial flavors mixed and natural fruits are commonly used. These flavors may be added to the milk intended for preparing yoghurt by mix blending, fruit on bottom and bulk mixing.


Flavored yoghurt has definitely an edge over the plain yoghurt in that the high acidity encountered in the product less pronounced and suppression of objectionable off flavors and the need to concentrate the milk is eliminated.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Coffee Gifts - The Ultimate Guide to Giving Coffee Gifts

Coffee gifts are great to give to the person who has everything. More practically, they're excellent presents for people who you don't know very well, or even for generic gift exchange events.

These days, you can't walk into a coffee shop without seeing hundreds of coffee accessories. At some point in time, coffee shops started focusing on selling something other than a hot cup of espresso and moved into the world of merchandising.
Nobody does this better than Starbucks. While there is a Starbucks on every corner (more than 13,000 in the world), you're going to pay a bit more there than at your local mom and pop shop. Because Starbucks has such a clever marketing scheme, their prices are significantly higher than the market average.

As a result, if you're looking for an affordable coffee gift of mugs, espresso machines or coffee beans, you may want to steer clear of the green logo. While coffee houses are fantastic places to get specialty beans and teas, if you're going to buy somebody an actual coffee maker you may want to look elsewhere.

Department and specialty stores are best for larger item purchases, and you'll save a lot of money if you go to one of those. Coffee houses thrive on impulse buys for those looking for coffee gifts. It's best to be smart about the situation and split up your purchases.

For example, go buy the cappuccino maker at the department store, where you'll save up to 30 percent. Then, head over to your local coffee shop and purchase the coffee gifts that you're looking for. Fill up a basket with chocolate covered espresso beans and a bag of fresh coffee.

When in doubt, gift cards make excellent coffee gifts. They can be used at any time toward just about any purchase, and they're as easy to use as cash.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Fantastic Ideas for Brewing Coffee



Coffee used to be a pretty boring drink, the only variety used to be from a pretty boring percolator. I can still remember you getting so bored waiting for the water to boil.

Percolators did have one advantage, they are great fun to watch! However running water directly over the grounds more than once doesn't really create the best brew of coffee.



In the 70's the way we made coffee changed for the better. A new method, the drip method could be used. This was fast, and produced a better tasting cup of coffee. All you needed to do was place a cup full of coffee grounds into a filter paper, then when boiling water drips over the grounds you get fast coffee delivered in your glass jug.

After this you could then purchase pods of certain blends of coffee. There were numerous improvements in brewing techniques including the introduction of internal spouts that ensure the water is evenly distributed. You should brew coffee at around 200F for best results.


In the 1990's there was a new rage to take coffee by storm, espresso machines made their way over from Europe. Us Americans found a way to make this style of coffee for cheaper without affecting the flavor. This process involves pushing water through the ground roast coffee beans at high pressure. In a matter of minutes your coffee is ready to drink.


If you add frothy milk then you can create a latte or a cappuccino depending exactly how much milk you decide to add. This is a vast improvement on the ways we used to drink coffee! Making coffee is now like an experiment!

Another European innovation for brewing coffee was the coffee plunger. This is a glass container that has a plunger on it. The filter is attached to the plunger, so it is very easy to strain your coffee beans out of the delicious coffee.


All you need to do is add coffee grounds to the glass jug and then pour boiled water inside. Now leave the grounds to steep for the desired time, when you want to finish press the plunger down to remove the beans. This is great because you only need one piece of equipment, plus it's manual!

There are more extravagant methods of brewing coffee, I'll bet you've never heard of a vacuum brewer. This is a complicated looking machine that has two glass bowls (although these can also be metal) on top of each other. The heat applied causes the water to move from the lower bowl into the top one. This works similar to a percolator. When the heat is removed the water comes back through the beans.

Using vacuum brewing is great at a dinner party because you can be pretty sure none of your guests have seen anything like it before. Plus it can be done at the table.
None of the methods to brew coffee are actually new, most of them go back at least a couple of centuries. The oldest is thought to be the Ibrik from Turkey. This is where a brass container is used to heat up water which has a long handle and a groove in the tongue of the container. Very finely ground coffee is then added and then poured, there is no need to filter this. It is extremely strong!

All of these methods will produce a lovely cup of coffee, but you should try them all! They all produce slightly different flavors which can be a delight.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Steak And Cheese Make The Perfect Healthy Snack Unlike Fast Foods

From the many culinary inventions that have delighted America, the steak and cheese sandwiches specific to the Philadelphia region are definitely worth trying; these make the perfect healthy snack without the bad name associated with fast foods. As the name speaks for itself, the steak and cheese sandwich consists of thin slices of fried or grilled meat and melted cheese, seasoned with spices and served in a long roll. Also known as cheesesteak, this local dish is tributary to two Philadelphians who started selling their invention in the 1930s at their hot dog stand. The business got to work so well due to this sandwich that they even created the cheesesteak restaurant that is still functioning today.


There is a special way of cooking the meat for the steak and cheese sandwiches; the slices of meat are so thin sometimes that they almost become translucent, after cutting they are placed on a hot griddle directly or placed on top of slightly fried onions to prevent over-cooking. When they get a brown color the slices of meat are cut and added to the sandwich. For the steak and cheese sandwich to be complete, you need to add the cheese while still grilling so that it gets enough time to melt. The process doesn't take more than a minute, and during this period of time the meat gets almost entirely covered in cheese.


We could also mention other ways of preparing the steak and cheese sandwiches without cheese grilling. Thus you can simply add thin slices of cheese inside the roll, and put the hot meat inside. Add spices and hold tight together for a few minutes so that the cheese melts away. Only afterwards should you add some sauce, mustard or mayonnaise to the composition, otherwise, you force the meat to cool rapidly and the cheese remains unchanged. In some diners, the cheese in the sandwich is melted with the help of a special heater, so that the preparation is a lot faster.


Taste variations of the steak and cheese sandwiches come from the use of different types of cheese: the top favorite ones include American cheese, Provolone and Cheez Whiz. Cheddar, mozzarella and Swiss are also used but not on such a common basis as the former three. The easiest to make type of steak and cheese sandwiches are those prepared with American cheese; some people even consider them to be the tastiest and the original traditional ones. The preparation modes vary from one place to another, depending on individual choices, thus even fried onions or special mushroom dressings are used to topple the steak and cheese sandwiches.