tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65425656436735272512024-02-20T02:19:23.225+11:00A cynical view of the worldDoing my bit to keep the b@$tards honestBladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-42492262371419325812012-08-25T10:18:00.002+10:002012-08-27T08:49:16.130+10:00Natural gas fuel cells – the natural green solutionI have been pondering the use of solar cells, wind generators and tidal generators for some time; each renewable energy source usually fails to produce sufficient energy when and where it’s needed. How can we store the energy produced when it’s in plentiful supply and use it later in peak demand time. The often rolled out solution is to pump water into a dam and use the stored water to generate electricity, this is known as pumped-storage electricity and accounts for 99% of bulk storage at the time of writing. This method assumes a lot of water is available which may not be true in Australia’s arid and semi-arid environment. Small renewable energy generators use batteries for base-line storage, but this is expensive and high maintenance.<br />
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A smarter way is to use the electricity produced to make the gasses hydrogen and oxygen from saline water using electrolysis, and store the hydrogen for later use. Saline water is easily obtained from the sea or saline aquifers. Hydrogen is notoriously difficult to store and pipe long distances as it tends to destroy the pipes and storage containers. Whereas oxygen is a by-product from this point of view there are many uses for oxygen.<br />
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There is a way to convert hydrogen into the easily transportable methane gas using just hydrogen, carbon dioxide and heat. The most promising method at the moment is the Sabatier process which produces methane and potable water. The Sabatier process has been touted as an efficient way of converting carbon dioxide to a useful product instead of trying to sequester it in a potentially dangerous manner.<br />
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Natural gas is mainly methane and has been used in Australia and other countries for more than 100 years. The gas is also produced from sewage treatment plants in copious amounts, and some livestock farms use the methane from animal manure to generate electricity for the farm. <br />
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The reticulation of natural gas predates electricity, is widespread in Australia and other developed countries and provides the necessary infrastructure for distribution. It can be argued that the reticulation of gas is safer than the reticulation of electricity based on the deaths and injuries caused by both.<br />
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Electricity generating fuel cells using natural gas have been in production and use around the world for several years, and an Australian firm ‘Ceramic Fuel Cells’ have produced a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technology to generate efficient, low-emission electricity from widely available natural gas and renewable fuels. The domestic version, about the size of a washing machine, produces sufficient electricity for a large house and heat for 200 litres of hot water per day. The fuel cell can run for 10 days on one domestic gas cylinder if piped gas is not available.<br />
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Ausgrid is leading a $100 million Australian Government initiative called ‘Smart Grid Smart City’ across five sites in New South Wales to test alternative forms of electricity supply. Fuel cells powered by natural gas are being tested in this programme. <br />
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Fuel cells are expensive at the moment, but high demand tends to create cheaper more efficient cells as manufacturers compete for market share.Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-71593666774415927932012-08-23T10:25:00.000+10:002012-08-27T08:48:50.942+10:00Manus Islanders want a cut of the actionThe about face by the Gillard Government over the so called Pacific Solution for processing alleged refugees, AKA boat people, has seen the expectations of Manus Island and Nauru residents rise. Manus Island has demanded that their businesses, fishermen, farmers and labour be used instead of the imports that were used last time. This is not an unreasonable request and is probably a cheaper solution if done competently. Of course we have not taken into consideration the complete ineptitude of the Gillard Government who have proved over and over again that they can’t even organise a piss-up in a brewery.<br />
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Last time the refugees were housed in air-conditioned comfort and given mobile phones and electronic entertainment. These living conditions are better than the local islanders enjoy, and cost the Australian tax payer a fortune. We should get hard-nosed and supply tents or the small one man tents that the charities give to the homeless people in the Australian cities. If the refugees want to use the huts they can help the local people repair them.<br />
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I see no reason why they can’t be fed by the local population, after all it’s better than pasta or rice once a day that other countries supply. If they have religious dietary problems they should have considered that before going to the people smugglers and gate-crashing a Christian country.<br />
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The last thing to put in place will be the temporary protection visas and disallowing family reunion, this will happen more sooner than later. Oh and why do they have pocket money, free tobacco products and free everlasting legal aid? I bet the legal aid providers cash flow will dry up when Manus and Nauru come on-line.<br />
<br />Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-65772751351403705182012-08-17T10:39:00.000+10:002012-08-17T10:39:14.574+10:00Is ‘playing the stock market’ gambling?<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Successful investing is anticipating the anticipations of others.” </i><br /><i>John Maynard Keynes</i></blockquote>
The people that buy stock as a long term investment expect to receive a reasonable dividend every year and for the value of their investment to increase over the years. The investor will also realise when a company is in decline and divest themselves of the shares before the company share price drops.<br />
<a name='more'></a> There are products that were an essential part of our life twenty years ago that we no longer use. If the companies that produced those now useless products did not diversify then they perished. Two examples are photographic film and newspapers.<br /><br />There are people that do not buy stock as an investment but rely on short term changes in the market value to realise a profit, they ‘play the stock market’. The word ‘play’ is in general use in the stock market community and has been synonymous with ‘bet’ since the sixteenth century. The word is also used in casinos where a croupier at the roulette wheel will ask you to ‘faites vos jeux’ (make your play).<br /><br />The stock market community has gone to a lot of trouble to disassociate itself from the idea that trading in stock is gambling and insists that everything is as respectable as can be. The website Investopedia lists its five biggest stock market myths and also redefines the word ‘play’ as it is used by the stock market. After reading the above Investopedia definitions I think that Investopedia needs to redefine gambling as well.<br /><br />The world’s major banks have been in trouble over the last few years because of problems with their ‘investment’ banking arms. The so called investment banking is really based on ‘playing the stock exchange’ where a winner can make millions. A number of investment bank employees have been caught by the gambling bug and have lost millions of dollars of the banks and its client’s money. A psychologist has said that gambling on stocks is the same as gambling on horse racing and produces the same reactions in the person doing the gambling.<br /><br />A long term investor who buys stock with his own money, not borrowed, can be said to be investing his money with a possibility of appreciation of the value of his stock and yearly dividends. This investor is not gambling. You have to be careful what you buy of course, as Facebook investors found out.<br /><br />A person that expects to buy and sell stock on speculation for profit is without doubt a gambler. There are very many opportunities for gambling, and stock exchanges are prohibiting some options because of the high losses they create. There are some interesting phrases generated by this activity for instance, ‘Buy on the rumour, sell on the news’ or ‘Buy on weakness, sell on strength’ or as Gabriel Wisdom said in his column ‘Buy high, sell low, repeat until broke’.<br /><br /><br /><br />Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-69890081946115048402012-08-13T11:42:00.000+10:002012-08-16T11:12:01.578+10:00Low-carb Beer<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">One </span>of the popular beers at the moment, especially among women, is the low-carb beer which is widely believed to be a healthier beer than normal beers. These beers often command a premium price and are widely advertised by brewers. Is low-carb beer really better for you or is it just an urban myth?<br />
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A ‘low-carb diet’ is one of the gym junkie’s favourite phrases, but I have noticed that many people that use the word do not know what a ‘carb’ is, this is not surprising considering the misleading information published on body building and dieting websites. Carb comes from the word carbohydrate which in chemistry means a substance which is made from molecules of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in various combinations. The discussion over good carbs, bad carbs, simple carbs and modified carbs is far too complex to even contemplate here. <br />
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Beer has been brewed for centuries and the basic formula has hardly changed at all. The main ingredients are:<br />
<ul>
<li>Hops to give the flavour and aroma, hops are often added at least three times during the brewing process.</li>
<li>Barley is malted to provide the enzymes, starches and complex sugars, otherwise known as carbs, that help to determine the type and alcohol content of beer. This is known as the mash.</li>
<li>Yeast ferments the sugars, to produce alcohol, carbon dioxide and flavour. Yeasts can be top fermenting for ales and bottom fermenting for lager.</li>
<li>Secret ingredient(s) that make a beer or a stout very special. Incidentally, stout originally meant strong beer.</li>
</ul>
Lager yeasts and ale yeasts ferment at different temperatures, ale ferments at 21C for two weeks and lager ferments at 9C for six weeks. A lot of heat is generated by fermentation and the vats are held in strictly controlled air conditioning. Fermentation is terminated when the correct alcohol level is reached.<br />
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Many types of yeast cannot ferment complex sugars leaving up to about 50% of the sugars as a residue in the beer. The residue is the carb content of the beer. A breakdown of the well known 355ml Fosters beer gives us:<br />
<ul>
<li>Carbohydrate = 11.0g, Calories from Carbohydrate = 31%</li>
<li>Alcohol = 13.8g, Calories from Alcohol = 69%</li>
<li>Total calories = 142</li>
</ul>
Low-carb dieters should be aware that <u><b>carbs are not the same as calories</b></u>, both carbs and alcohol contain calories with alcohol containing the most calories per gram.<br />
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In order to produce low carb beer the barley must be prepared at lower temperatures to produce a specially modified mash. Extra enzymes are introduced so that the sugars produced are mostly convertible sugars. Breweries do not employ retired wrestlers with large hammers to pound the grain in spite of what the advertisement suggests.<br />
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Lets look at the calories and carbs in 355ml ‘Pure Blonde’ low carb beer:<br />
<ul>
<li>Carbohydrate content = 3.2g, Calories from Carbohydrate = 12%</li>
<li>Alcohol content = 13.1g, Calories from Alcohol = 88%</li>
<li>Total calories = 107</li>
</ul>
In contrast a 375 ml can of standard Coca Cola has 161 calories where carbohydrate content = 39.8g, and a can of Zero Coke has only 1 calorie.<br />
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With reference to the urban myth that low carb beer is healthy, VicHealth’s executive director Todd Harper was reported as saying that:<br />
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“There are a significant number of beer drinkers who are motivated to make healthier choices ... and a high level of misunderstanding and confusion about the health qualities of low-carb beer. Unfortunately, if you are choosing low-carb beer in the belief that it is healthy then it is a mistaken belief."</blockquote>
You can see their low-carb beer survey fact sheet <a href="http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/Publications/Alcohol-Misuse/Low-carb-beer.aspx" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b>: You won’t achieve that six pack torso unless you exercise and stop drinking six packs of low carb beer.<br />
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You can find the calorific value of most foods at <a href="http://www.calorieking.com.au/" target="_blank">CalorieKing Australia.</a><br />
<br />Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-48074440000530082542012-08-07T11:26:00.005+10:002012-08-16T11:11:45.130+10:00Free Range EggsThere is some contention in Australia over what is exactly a ‘free range’ chicken. The US has decided to avoid the issue by ignoring labelling standards altogether. The EU (European Union) with all of its bureaucracy has defined four labels: 0-organic, 1-free range, 2-barn and 3-caged.<br />
<a name='more'></a> For free range eggs the chicken density is set at 2500 hens per hectare which translates to four square metres per hen. A rule of thumb standard is to reduce the hen density per hectare until the need for de-beaking hens to prevent cannibalism is no longer required. Does this give more meaning to the term ‘pecking order’?<br />
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The Australian Poultry Code in 2001 set a standard for free range hens of 1500 birds per hectare. Under pressure from the major egg producers the Australian Egg Corporation has requested a change to 20,000 per hectare which is eight times the EU standard or 2 hens per square metre. For caged birds, the current minimum floor space requirement is 550 square cm per hen in cages with three or more birds where the hens weigh less than 2.4kg and where cages were installed after January 2001. For those installed prior to this date the requirement is 450 square cm which is smaller than the hen. The EU now requires 750 square cm with a height of 45cm.<br />
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When we buy free range eggs do we buy because we think the flavour and nutritional value are better or do we think that battery hens are a cruel way of producing eggs? <br />
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Unfortunately if you buy from the big egg producers there is no real difference between cage eggs, barn eggs, and free range eggs in either taste or the hens overcrowded living conditions except that ‘barn’ and ‘free range’ are not caged. The ‘free range’ is often a barren yard so that the eggs can be found easily, and the chickens have hardly more room to move than a cage bird, with no protection from the pecking order. The big producers have a bigger profit margin on so called free range eggs compared to cage eggs. If your only motive is to free the hens from cages then ‘barn’ eggs are the best choice.<br />
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Free range egg buyers are in the same predicament as fresh orange juice buyers, you need to find a reliable source and stick with it. Once you find the reliable source the eggs will taste different and the yolks will be different shades of yellow, not all the same colour. Yes you will pay extra because proper free range farming is labour intensive.<br />
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It has been alleged that some egg producers that have caged and free range hens have been labelling caged eggs as free range eggs. The allegations were made when it was discovered that the number of free range eggs sold exceeded the laying capacity of the free range hens by a large margin. There is also evidence that bulk egg producers have lied about the hen density per hectare by a large margin.<br />
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Here are a few free range egg websites (see comments below), check out the hen cams:<br />
<a href="http://www.freeranger.com.au/" target="_blank">Freeranger Traditional Free Range Eggs </a><br />
<a href="http://www.ecoeggs.com.au/" target="_blank">Ecoeggs </a><br />
<a href="http://www.manningvalleyeggs.com.au/index.php" target="_blank">Manning Valley Free Range Eggs </a><br />
<a href="http://www.jumbofreerangeeggs.com.au/" target="_blank">Jumbo Free Range Eggs</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.veggs.com.au/index.php?p=natures" target="_blank">Natures Best Free Range Eggs</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.ethical.org.au/guide/browse/guide/?type=25" target="_blank">Ethical Consumer Guide </a><br />
<br />Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-51311433632608736232012-07-28T12:33:00.000+10:002012-08-16T11:11:20.346+10:00CoffeeIs coffee bad for you or is coffee good for you?<br />
There are many conflicting studies that suggest both, but most agree that a daily dose of 1 to 3 cups of coffee filtered with filter paper are least likely to affect the drinker. The filter paper removes the toxins that increase your cholesterol level according to one study. It will take from 200 to 300 cups of coffee drunk continuously to kill you, but you will get caffeine intoxication before you manage to drink that amount.<br />
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There are many coffee studies available for perusal, some are unreliable others are accurate and precise. There are experiments on mice and lab rats investigating cancer and other diseases that are unlikely to be duplicated on primates and have caused unnecessary alarm when published. Simple surveys produce some statistics but can be manipulated by loading the questions to give a desired result. Possibly the most reliable are the cohort studies made over some decades. One interesting fact to come from these studies is that to get the most effects from coffee, positive or negative, one has to drink six or more cups per day which is two to three times the recommended daily dosage.<br />
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Coffee is at its best after it has been roasted, many of the antioxidants and flavonoids are formed during the roasting process, in particular the much touted anticancer compound methylpyridinium. This compound is found in roast coffee and in instant coffee in both caffeinated and decaffeinated versions. The flavonoids used to be called vitamin P because of their restorative effect on the body. More antioxidants and oils are released during espresso extraction than other brewing methods; this would explain why the local barista makes a better cup of coffee than you, but he or she could also be giving you high cholesterol.<br />
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There is no guarantee, but three cups of coffee a day may offer protection against some common cancers, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, depression, diabetes, inflammation, cirrhosis, and pain management. Coffee does not make you smarter, you only think you are. If nothing else it is a good source of antioxidants and gives a feeling of wellbeing. <b style="color: red;">Pregnant women should not drink coffee or caffeinated drinks</b>. If you are a moderate coffee drinker why worry about any adverse effects of coffee, they may be exaggerated.<br />
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If you can’t drink coffee you can still benefit by rubbing it on your body or bald head. It is available in pharmaceuticals, ointments, hair restorers, cosmetics, beauty products, skin products, and soaps. Check with your local pharmacy.<br />
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Coffee has been grown in Australia since the nineteenth century and has won many prizes for quality. This year, 2012, has produced a bumper crop and growers will be looking to expand their export market. Some Australian producers produce such a high quality coffee, that they sell at about 10 times the world coffee market price. <br />
Check out some of the growers at:<br />
<a href="http://www.skybury.com.au/index.html" target="_blank">Skybury Tropical Plantation</a> <br />
<a href="http://mackellarcoffee.com.au/index.php" target="_blank">Mackellar Range Australian Coffee </a><br />
<a href="http://www.threevalleyscoffee.com/" target="_blank">Three Valleys Coffee</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.kahawaestate.com/index.html" target="_blank">Kahawa Estate Coffee </a><br />
<a href="http://www.ewingsdalecoffee.com.au/" target="_blank">Ewingsdale Coffee Estate</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ashtonscoffee.com.au/index.html" target="_blank">Ashtons Australian Coffee</a> <br />
<br />Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-78412012489702273622012-07-24T11:07:00.000+10:002012-08-16T11:10:56.764+10:00Orange juice and citrus fruit<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Try not thinking of peeling an orange. Try not imagining the juice running down your fingers, the soft inner part of the peel. The smell. Try and you can't. The brain doesn't process negatives.” </i><br />
Doug Coupland <br />
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I recently saw an article expounding the use of the complete lemon instead of just using the squeezed lemon juice and some ‘zest’ from the peel. The article suggested freezing the citrus fruit you wanted to use and grating it over the dish that needs that citrus taste. A more common method is to blend the fruit whole, this technique can be used on many fruits giving a taste sensation you never knew was possible. Excellent lemonade can be made from blending a whole lemon, water, some sugar or fructose to taste, then straining into a jug. <br />
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The seeds and peel of citrus fruits are edible, but a few other fruit seeds, such as apple, are poisonous. Different varieties have different flavours and you may need to experiment with a few types of oranges and lemons before you find the taste you like.<br />
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Citrus varieties, particularly lemon, with a thick skin and pith may not be suitable for holistic cooking purposes although the thick pith is often used as a snack in some communities. Peel and pith which is often thrown away contains many important oils, nutrients and flavonoids. Flavonoids have a bitter taste and are considered extremely important to our health and well-being although the efficacy of some flavonoids may be exaggerated.<br />
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If you prefer to squeeze your orange juice at home be aware that the oranges available out of season may have been in cold storage for four months or more and will have lost some of their flavour and vitamin C content. Chilled oranges will lose all of their flavour and vitamin C within one year. Some more astute suppliers source their oranges from the Southern hemisphere when they are out of season in the Northern hemisphere.<br />
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Freshly squeezed unprocessed orange juice has a shelf life of about eleven days. The best supplier is probably your local cottage industry or orange grower. The same problems face fresh juice producers as those facing fresh milk producers and distribution methods for juice have been copied from milk bottlers. Always check the use before date on the pack. Suppliers try to make sure short dated product is removed but nobody is perfect. Some bottlers use juice concentrate or processed orange juice in their chilled product, don’t be misled, check the label and buy from a source that you can trust.<br />
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Large producers of orange juice face problems with the seasonal supply of oranges and the different tastes throughout the year. One solution is to flash pasteurise the juice and then store it in large tanks at or below four degrees centigrade for anything up to a year. Orange juice loses flavour and vitamin C when it is pasteurised and while it is stored. Oils are extracted from the orange peel when the oranges are processed and these oils are used to revive the flavour of the orange juice when it is bottled. The vitamins are also topped up and additives included. Some bottlers develop a ‘flavour pack’ to ensure that their brand of orange juice always tastes the same. <br />
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There are a number of lawsuits and class action claims against PepsiCo (Tropicana) and Coca-Cola (Simply Orange) alleging deceptive or false representation of the freshness of the juice on its packaging. Tropicana’s website clearly describes the processes that they use, and why, during storage and bottling of orange juice including ‘flavour packs’.<br />
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The most popular process with suppliers is concentration of the orange juice using UHT or flash pasteurisation and vacuum concentration. Some suppliers freeze the juice to extend the shelf life which causes further degradation to the juice. Reduced bulk makes storage and transport accordingly cheaper. The vacuum concentration removes the aromatics and oils that give the orange juice its flavour. The aromatics are sometimes distilled and added back into the concentrate but more often a ‘flavour pack’ made from orange peel oil is shipped with the concentrate to the bottlers. There have been concerns over what is exactly in the ‘flavour pack’ besides orange oil, and what the country of origin is. The bottlers also add vitamin C and other permitted additives. <br />
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The bulk of orange juice concentrate used in Australia is imported from Brazil. The US recently (January 2012) suspended imports from Brazil because of fears of fungicide and herbicide contamination. Australian bottlers claim that all supplies are tested for fungicides and herbicides (carbendazim etc) and comply with Australian food standards but there are claims that the testing is inadequate. Incidentally, the label on the bottle may say ‘made from local and imported ingredients’ where the local ingredient is just filtered water.<br />
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While we as individual consumers are doing are best to use all of the citrus fruit, it has been estimated that 15.6 million tons of citrus waste is produced annually on a global basis causing citrus producing countries enormous problems. <br />
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There are a number of organisations around the world exploring options for the use of this waste. Researchers are excited about the products that can be produced from citrus waste, just a few being: food additives, replacement of petroleum-derived products, bio-degradable plastics, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, household cleaners, fragrances and deodorisers, solvents and paint strippers, and importantly the bio-fuel ethanol. <br />
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Florida’s five million tons of citrus waste could produce sixty million gallons of ethanol. Brazil produces eight million tons of citrus waste which could take the pressure off other ethanol feedstocks such as corn. Researchers in the US and the UK are using microwaves to convert orange peel and other waste into polysaccharides and an enriched form of cellulose for ethanol feedstocks. In Florida experimenters are using modified tobacco enzymes to convert citrus waste into ethanol. <br />
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I am sure that the growers in Australia who are dumping oranges that they can’t sell or even give away will appreciate an alternative use for their unwanted fruit. There needs to be a life-cycle approach by more farmers and growers in Australia to use bi-products and waste in an innovative way rather than just plough under, burn or dump. Waste recycling is not being ‘green’ it is being smart; many Yorkshiremen will tell you that ‘where there's muck there's brass (money)’.<br />
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As for my small contribution to the use of orange peel, it can be used in the smelliest room in the house as a deodoriser, it’s very effective. It also works for the garbage bin.Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-59692420526905289852012-07-19T16:59:00.000+10:002012-08-16T11:10:28.133+10:00Red wine<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“It is better to hide ignorance, but it is hard to do this when we relax with wine.” </i><br />
Heraclitus, 540-480 B.C.</blockquote>
Red wine has been an essential part of our culture for thousands of years. The Roman military decided that it was so essential that they were motivated to plant vineyards in Scotland during the ‘Roman warm period’.<br />
<a name='more'></a> Many religions have drinking red wine as an essential part of their ceremonies. For connoisseurs drinking red wine is a religion in itself, and it has its own language and protocols. The Australian Wine Review website says this about one wine:<br />
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<i>“Phillip Shaw 'The Idiot' Shiraz 2009 (Orange, NSW)<br />3 trophies, 1 gold<br />Meaty, spicy and quite dense nose, with a suggestion of Viognier in there too. Quite stemmy even. Good richness to the palate really, though the herbal finish on the palate is a little wobbly. Still, it's a drinkable wine. 17/90 “</i></blockquote>
There are very many red wine varieties produced around the world and for a good description of wines produced in Australia, click on <a href="http://www.boutiquewineries.com.au/wineGlossary/RedWineVarieties.cfm" target="_blank">here</a>, and maybe even buy a bottle. The French have become very possessive of their regional branding and have enforced laws requiring that only wines from a branded region can be named with the brand, for instance ‘Champagne’. This ruling has required a few Australian producers to be innovative with their wine branding even though the name of the grape stays the same.<br />
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The majority of red wine is purchased as a carefully chosen accompaniment to a meal, a pleasantly calming drink after stress, or a social occasion drink. The idea that red wine is good for you came from the observation that French people suffer a relatively low incidence of heart disease even though they consume large quantities of saturated fats. The effect of the fat is said to be mitigated by the large quantities of red wine that they drink. Surrounding countries with similar red wine consumption have normal incidences of heart disease. Serge Renaud from Bordeaux University calls this the ‘<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_paradox%20" target="_blank">French paradox</a>’. <br />
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Vintners are more concerned about the taste and nose of their red wine rather than its medicinal properties and spend a lot of time and energy attempting to produce a wine that will get gold medal awards. The taste and quality of the wine in a particular region or soil location is determined by the weather and can produce very good or mediocre vintage wine. Many people earn a good living just by tasting and writing about wine. Bulk producers of wine usually blend a number of wines in large stainless steel vats to produce a consistent taste and colour for their brand. Medicinal wine is produced by some monasteries and usually contains herbs and spices. <br />
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Red wine contains alcohol and traces of a number of vitamins and minerals but is high in flavonoids or anti-oxidants. The most active anti-oxidants in wine are resveratrol, quercetin, and the catechins. The taste, nose and colour are determined by a number of different phenolic compounds (anthocyanidins, tannins, etc) and on the presence of acids in the wine. Extra tannin is sometimes introduced by the use of graded wooden casks made of oak. Quality red wine is cellared for a period of time to allow the wine compounds to blend with each other to produce a mellower, finer taste and nose. Some fortified red wines may be cellared for twelve years or more.<br />
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There have been attempts to synthesise the good properties of red wine especially in the ant-aging area or if you like ‘the fountain of youth’, which if tapped is worth billions of dollars. Resveratrol is thought to be one of these wonder drugs. GlaxoSmithKline payed hundreds of millions of dollars for Sirtris pharmaceuticals in 2008 in the hope of tapping this fountain, but have been sadly disappointed thus far.<br />
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It is not unusual to see a press release one day saying how good red wine is for you, and a few months later to see a press release saying quite the opposite. In universities the mantra is publish or perish, but the standard of research around the world varies from precise to quite sloppy and downright fraudulent. Dipak K. Das was found guilty on 11 January 2012 of 145 counts of fabrication or falsification of data with respect to research on resveratrol. He is a prolific publisher and has been quoted by more than 300 papers and journals. Other researchers say that they are not worried about being tarred with the same brush.<br />
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As a passing comment, one innovation that I applaud is the use of screw caps for wine bottles. Screw caps prevent oxidation and cork taint, and are easier to open, close and store if just a glass of wine is poured. Cork snobs should come down off their high horse and acknowledge that even champagne is aged under crown caps to avoid spoilage. One other advantage is that the bottle can be stored standing up.<br />
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The French generally cook with wine and drink red wine with their food; this holistic approach is possibly the best way to get the full benefits of the wine and the food. If you are taking wine as a relaxing drink it is recommended that to get the most benefit you sip the wine slowly and under no circumstances gulp the wine.Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-48490455611038698202012-07-17T11:50:00.001+10:002012-08-16T11:07:10.215+10:00Body types – ‘use by date’, ‘best before date’ and ‘morbidly indulgent’I am including this blog as a reference to my simplistic body type terms of ‘use by date’, ‘best before date’ and ‘morbidly indulgent’.<br />
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The ‘best before date’ person is likely to have a long and relatively healthy life with no diagnosed chronic diseases. They may be very active, like to work as long as possible and are proud of the fact that they do not need to take pills. They tend to fade away from 80 years onward and may suffer from dementia or other neural diseases as they get older.<br />
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The expiry date for the ‘use by date’ person is from about 55 to 65 years without medical intervention. You can expect this group to have two or more chronic diseases, some of which may not be diagnosed. The most common chronic disease is high blood pressure which accounts for the most prescription drugs.<br />
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A person will be termed ‘morbidly indulgent’ if they:<br />
<ul>
<li>eat until they are extremely obese </li>
<li>are an alcoholic </li>
<li>a smoker of anything </li>
<li>take illegal drugs </li>
</ul>
Their life expectancy is generally less than 55 years unless there is medical intervention.<br />
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There are various sub-groups that can be added to the above types dependent on sex, biological profile and culture.Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-19937169358223534662012-07-14T09:51:00.000+10:002012-08-16T11:06:47.297+10:00Chocolate<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Make a list of important things to do today. At the top of your list, put ‘eat chocolate.’ Now, you'll get at least one thing done today."</i><br />
Gina Hayes<br />
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The number of published technical papers on chocolate and cocoa is quite amazing. One would be forgiven for thinking that University Land is populated with chocoholics desperately trying to prove that chocolate is really good for you. I was wondering where the researchers got the money to buy all the chocolate bars they used in research, and I had visions of a man with a moustache and a loud suit handing the head of a university department a bag of money and a large carton of chocolate bars with instructions to prove that chocolate cures obesity. I thought I was being facetious when I wrote that last line but researchers at Pennsylvania State University concluded that “<a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf200180n?prevSearch=%2528Cocoa%2529%2BNOT%2B%255Batype%253A%2Bad%255D%2BNOT%2B%255Batype%253A%2Bacs-toc%255D&searchHistoryKey=" target="_blank">This study</a> demonstrates that cocoa polyphenols can inhibit digestive enzymes in vitro and may, in conjunction with a low-calorie diet, play a role in body weight management.”<br />
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Cocoa, the main constituent of chocolate, has been in use for centuries and is known in its bitter form as a medicinal drink. It is thought to cure or prevent many illnesses including stroke, heart failure, cancer and diabetes. Cocoa butter is also used in cosmetics as a wrinkle remover, beauty treatments, and in pharmaceuticals.<br />
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Chocolate is good for you claim researchers from Monash University in a <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.e3657" target="_blank">paper </a>published in the British Medical Journal on the 31 May 2012. Research has shown that if you eat 100g of dark chocolate (70% or more cocoa solids) per day you will help protect yourself against cardiovascular disease. The researchers predicted that daily dark chocolate consumption could prevent 70 non-fatal and 15 fatal cardiovascular events per 10,000 people over a 10-year period. Other studies have suggested improved brain function. The secret ingredients are the flavonoids that occur naturally in the cocoa constituent of chocolate. The cost of the chocolate therapy will add from $7 to $14 per person per week to your food bill depending on your taste in chocolate. I wonder if the researchers at Monash saw a similar paper published in Italy which recommended one square of dark chocolate every three days.<br />
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Chocolate is made from cocoa which is made from the dried and fully fermented fatty seeds of the Theobroma Cacao tree. The cacao tree is a native of Central America and is now grown between 10 degrees either side of the equator in many countries including Australia. Ghana is reputed to produce the best beans. There is a strong move to buy only ‘Fair Trade’ cocoa in an attempt to stop child slavery in the cocoa harvesting industry in some countries. Cocoa plantations are generally a family business in Australia.<br />
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The taste of the cocoa solids can be affected by weather, soils and the way the cocoa bean is picked, fermented, dried and roasted. In Africa it is not unusual to use bare feet to agitate the beans during the fermenting and drying process, reminds me of grape crushing for wine. The beans are usually sun dried as other processes negatively affect the flavour. Cocoa has a naturally bitter taste which gets worse with poor processing. <br />
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As stated earlier, cocoa is a fatty seed and it is usually pressed to separate the cocoa solids from the cocoa butter in about equal quantities. <br />
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Cocoa solids contain important antioxidants (flavonoids) and are rich in essential minerals including calcium, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc and the vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, E and pantothenic acid. Cocoa solids also contain caffeine, serotonine, theobromine and phenylethylamine. Carbohydrate content is mainly starch with some sugar. One antioxidant, epicatechin, is considered so important that some scientists want it listed as a vitamin.<br />
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Cocoa butter mainly consists of two saturated fatty acids (palmitic and stearic acids) and one mono-unsaturated acid (oleic acid). Cocoa butter does not raise blood cholesterol. <br />
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Dark chocolate is made mainly from cocoa solids, cocoa butter and sugar; milk chocolate is a mix of cocoa solids, sugar, cocoa butter, and milk solids. White chocolate is made from cocoa butter, sugar, and milk solids and must contain at least 20% cocoa butter. Some chocolate content labels link together cocoa solid and cocoa butter as ‘cocoa solids’.<br />
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Chocoholics, you are safe, cocoa is not classified as an addictive substance and chocolate is no more addictive than any other foods containing sugar. There is a feeling of well being when eating chocolates or taking a cocoa drink at night and this can be attributed to the serotonin, phenylethylamine, and other calming constituents of the cocoa solids. Serotonine levels are often decreased in people with depression and in those experiencing PMS symptoms. Phenylethylamine is a slight antidepressant and stimulant similar to the body's own dopamine and adrenaline. Women find the soothing effect particularly beneficial when under stress or hormonal changes. <br />
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Three countries stand out as fine chocolate producers, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy. The countries reputations are based on the way they roast and process the cocoa bean and the chocolatiers who make the confectionery. The rankings of countries and chocolatiers are of course subjective, with each expert giving a different opinion.<br />
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Cocoa growing in Australia was started by Cadbury as an experiment and has since been taken over by family farmers. Most of the growers are in the Mossman area north of Cairns in Far North Queensland on the edge of the Daintree Rainforests. They concentrate on single source beans from specific areas much like growing grape vines. The product is produced in specialised ways and is available from fine chocolate specialists and on line. Cocoa and chocolate producers online are:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.daintreeestates.com/about_cocoa.htm" target="_blank">Daintree Estates </a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.cocoafarm.com.au/" target="_blank">Cocoa Farm</a> </li>
</ul>
The term ‘chocolate bar’ does not include Mars, Bounty, Kit Kat, or any other sugar based confectionery. I do however recommend a balanced diet so switch to fruit and nut dark chocolate bars for your lunch.Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-78650012921664479442012-07-13T11:39:00.000+10:002012-08-16T11:06:24.083+10:00Is Friday the 13th really unlucky?For some people the fear of Friday the 13th (friggatriskaidekaphobia) is a day to panic, a day to cancel appointments, a day to stay in bed. The superstition is widespread and actually consists of two superstitions, a fear of the number 13 (triskaidekaphobia) and a fear of Friday (friggaphobia). Both of these fears have their real origins lost in the folk-lore of Northern Europe.<br />
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According to numerologists the number 13 has a bad reputation because it is the first number after 12, the number that is whole perfect and harmonious. If we look at the Lunar Calendar for instance we get 12 perfect months and one incomplete month, the 13th month. The list goes on.<br />
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Triskaidekaphobia is so deep seated in our psyche that the number 13 is avoided at all costs. Some house-numbers are changed to 12A, there is no room 13 in hotels, and many high rise building don’t have a floor 13. Unfortunately changing the name doesn’t change the fact that there is a house, room, floor 13.<br />
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According to psychologists the fear of Friday the 13th is irrational and is worse in people that are very superstitious. Many accidents are caused because there is an expectation by friggatriskaidekaphobics for an accident to occur. The advice to those suffering from friggatriskaidekaphobia is to think positive thoughts, concentrate on being lucky (buy a lottery ticket), look on the bright side of things and take control of your future. If that fails, burn all your socks with holes in, or eat some gristle while standing on your head.Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-17014493248018631122012-07-09T11:23:00.000+10:002012-08-16T11:06:00.820+10:00Fat<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Jack Sprat could eat no fat.<br />His wife could eat no lean.<br />And so between them both, you see,<br />They licked the platter clean.</i><br />
Traditional first published 1639</blockquote>
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Associate Professor Russell Keast, a Lecturer in the area of Sensory Science in the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences Deakin University has identified a sixth basic taste responsive to fat and the role it may play in the development of obesity.<br />
<a name='more'></a> He found that people sensitive to the taste of fat had a lower BMI and consumed far less fat than those that were less sensitive, in other words there is a biological feedback mechanism. Those that were insensitive were unable to limit their intake of fat unless a conscious effort of willpower was made.<br />
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It has long been recognised by cooks that removing fat was equivalent to removing taste. The most delicious beef steak is one that is ‘well marbled’ i.e. has fatty streaks. In most cases low fat store-bought foods taste inferior to the normal full fat varieties. If you check the low fat label you may find that the fat content has been replaced by sugars, salts and chemical flavourings.<br />
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In the seventeenth century all fat was good and people enjoyed life and didn’t live long enough to worry about the long term effects. Now with the advance of science we know there is good fat and bad fat and we live long enough to suffer the consequences.<br />
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Before we look at food fats let’s look at body fats. Our body contains ‘good’ brown fat and ‘bad’ white fat, apart from the word fat there is nothing similar about their function. Brown fat is related to muscle and its main function is to regulate (increase) body temperature. White fats main function is to store energy for use later, but it also serves as a body insulator and produces some enzymes. Brown fat uses the fat stored in white fat as an energy source, and a diet attempting to promote this activity is available on the internet. White fat and muscle cannot convert into each other, but one will replace the other. <br />
Cholesterol is an important fat that is normally produced by the body. Too much production causes fatty deposits in the blood system and can lead to heart disease and strokes. Correction is normally with drugs coupled with a low fat diet, or in extreme cases with stents, that is metal tubes inserted in the blood vessel. Stents generally have to be replaced after a few years as they clog up.<br />
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When we look at food fats we should add oils into this category, fats can be considered as oils that are solid at room temperature, and both are <i>triglycerides</i>. There are good fats and bad fats, natural fats and manufactured fats. In the early days of food processing the manufacturers used fats and oils that were better for the manufacturing process, and sometimes improved the taste. With the enormous amount of research around fat consumption a number of ‘bad’ fats and oils have been removed from their recipe list. It’s a good idea to check the label to see what’s in it.<br />
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There are four basic types of fat: Trans fats, saturated fats, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Trans fats and saturated fats are the ‘bad’ fats; saturated fats are the ones that taste good. <br />
While some trans fats occur in nature, the killers are the manufactured fats that are made by stressing the original vegetable oil at high temperatures and pressures in the presence of hydrogen gas. This was the original process used to produce margarine. You can now buy margarine that is low in trans fats. The primary source of trans fats is in manufactured foods, check the label for trans fat or ‘partially hydrogenated oil’. Murphies Law indicates that the product you enjoy the best probably has the most trans fat.<br />
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Saturated fats occur naturally in the things that you most like to eat such as butter, cheese, cream, eggs, lard, milk, and red meat, and in some vegetable oils like palm oil and coconut oil. Fortunately we can now look at the ‘Heart Smart’ labels on food for guidance, at a premium price of course. Cookery books and websites have many ways of reducing saturated fats in cooking without sacrificing flavour.<br />
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Moving on to the ‘good’ fats we have monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat. Even with the ‘good’ fats science suggests that the monounsaturated fats are best. Whichever you choose you can guarantee to reduce your cholesterol level and improve your general health.<br />
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Monounsaturated fats are found in: almonds, avocados, canola, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia, olives, peanuts, pecans, sesame, and sunflower.<br />
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Be aware that hazelnut spreads like 'Nutella' contain sugar, palm oil, hazelnut, cocoa solids and milk or soy solids. Ferrero was sued in 2012 and agreed to pay $3 million for making misleading claims about nutritional and health benefits.<br />
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Polyunsaturated fats are found in: corn, fatty fish, flaxseed, safflower, soybean, sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, tofu, and walnuts.<br />
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Virtually all the margarines/spreads in Australia are now free of trans fats (which means less than 1 per cent), but not all margarines are good, check the label for trans fat or ‘partially hydrogenated oil’.<br />
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There are individuals who seem to defy all logic by over-indulging in fatty foods, and still live to a ripe old age, depending on what you call a ripe old age. Sir Winston Churchill lived to 91, Robert Morley lived to 84, and G.K. Chesterton lived to 72 for instance. No doubt as genetic profiling becomes more common one will be able to tell who can safely indulge themselves and who has to be careful about what they eat, drink and smoke. There is evidence to suggest that moderately fat old people live longer than old skinny people. <br />
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Martin Ralph and Mark Hurd of the University of Toronto and others have shown that our bodies contain a biological clock that determines our life span. I suggest that the clock comes in two forms: a ‘use-by date’ where people expire between 55 and 65, and a ‘best before date’ that allows people to gradually fade away over 80. The ‘use-by date’ people seem to suffer all the chronic illnesses, while the ‘best before date’ people manage to sail through life without taking a pill. Senescence is far too complex a subject.<br />
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This technical paper seems to rely on data that is a few years old, but I assume that not a lot has changed, except that Australia seems to be losing sporting trophies all over the world.<br />
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<i>“Australia has one of the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity among developed countries. In 2005, the total direct and indirect cost of obesity (body mass index [BMI] 30 kg/m2) in Australia was estimated as $3.8 billion, $873 million of which was the cost to the health system. In 2008, these figures were revised up to $8.3 billion and $2.0 billion, respectively.”</i><br />
The cost of overweight and obesity in Australia<br />
Stephen Colagiuri, Crystal M Y Lee, Ruth Colagiuri, Dianna Magliano, Jonathan E Shaw, Paul Z Zimmet and Ian D Caterson<br />
Med J Aust 2010; 192 (5): 260-264.</blockquote>
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If you are feeling guilty about thoughts of cream buns or those mouth watering Dutch pastries take advice from King Solomon who thousands of years ago is said to have originated the phrase ’Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die’. Just remember that too much of a good thing can make you very, very sick. <br />
<br />Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-70946222596592174132012-07-06T12:39:00.002+10:002012-08-16T11:04:54.370+10:00Salt<b>T</b>he human body in its simplest form consists of groups of cooperating cells related by common descent, pre-programmed to reproduce its own DNA. A short discussion of the evolution of single cell entities to multi-cellar entities can be found as a PDF <a href="http://eebweb.arizona.edu/michod/Downloads/Cooperation%20and%20conflict%20Heredity%20paper.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<b>M</b>any biologists believe that the saline content of our blood and tears closely resemble the salinity of the sea when our single cell ancestors existed. The sea has changed over millions of years and is much more saline than what it was, however, it still contains the salts that are required for life but in larger quantities. There are groups of people who believe that seawater can cure some illnesses, for example ‘<a href="http://oceanplasma.org/documents/aboutus.html" target="_blank">Ocean Health</a>’ , but until it appears in a medical journal I will take that information with a pinch of salt. Note that saline drips are common in hospitals.<br />
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<b>S</b>alt in the correct quantity is essential to life and many animals in the wild will seek out salt licks if their diet is salt deficient. Some hunters will put out artificial salt licks to attract game. Too little salt in the diet can lead to muscle cramps, dizziness, electrolyte disturbance, water intoxication or even death. Too much salt in the diet can lead to high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease, cardiac enlargement, fluid retention, stomach cancer and death. In Australia and New Zealand the recommended adequate intake for adults of salt per day is 1150mg–2300mg and the upper level is 5750mg. One study indicates that sodium intake is tightly controlled by feedback loops within the body, low salt levels create a hunger for salty food, and that attempts to reduce the intake below 2700mg per day may be futile.<br />
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<b>S</b>alt has been mined for thousands of years and the word for ‘salt’ in the various world languages has meanings beyond the obvious, for instance the words salary and salad were derived from salt. Salt has a religious significance in most cultures and is used in many ceremonies. I wonder if being sent to the salt mines is still a punishment.<br />
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<b>W</b>hen we say salt we normally think of purified salt which is mainly sodium chloride. In nature, salt may consist of a number of different salts. Seawater is different to pan salt which is different to rock salt and they differ depending on where they were extracted. The epicurean will have his or her favourite table salt produced from a specific region and will insist that no other will suffice. The rest of us have a choice between sea salt, rock salt, and purified salt. The up-market snack food providers seem to prefer sea salt, presumably this is the fashionable salt to use.<br />
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<b>M</b>any countries require salt to contain mineral additives to compensate for population mineral diet deficiencies. Australia has a deficiency of iodine in the soil and has legislated for all bread to be made with iodised salt. Iodised salt is also available as table salt and should be used whenever possible unless you consume large quantities of seaweed. You can find some iodine facts <a href="http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/resource/iodine-facts" target="_blank">here</a>. There are some people that think that the mineral additives are poisoning them and protest loudly.<br />
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<b>M</b>ost companies that produce table salt use additives to allow easy pouring of salt. An incomplete list of anti-caking agents include tricalcium phosphate, calcium or magnesium carbonates, fatty acid salts, magnesium oxide, silicon dioxide, calcium silicate, sodium aluminosilicate, and calcium aluminosilicate. If you are a purest you can always buy salt in block form, powder enough salt for a salt cellar and add uncooked rice grains as a desiccant, or, you can use rock salt as large crystals or flakes and grind it over your food using a pepper grinder.<br />
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<b>S</b>alt substitutes are available and normally contain a mixture of potassium chloride and sodium chloride. <b>WARNING</b>: do not use a salt substitute without checking with your family doctor as it can be fatal for people suffering from heart, kidney or liver problems.<br />
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<b>T</b>o use the forbidden ‘<b>D</b>’ word, the best way to avoid too much salt is to modify your <b>Diet</b>. When I was diagnosed with high blood pressure my wife decided to gradually reduce the salt in her cooking and remove the salt cellar from the dining table. After the initial shock wore off we started to taste the true flavour of many of the foods and could even distinguish the tastes of various types of potatoes, even chips (French fries) tasted good without extra salt. We don’t buy a lot of manufactured foods, mainly themed sauces, and dinner bases and in general we ignore the low salt versions, except for margarine, because they taste terrible. My blood tests show that my sodium is normal and I now enjoy the flavours of foods as Mother Nature intended.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess." <br />Oscar Wilde</i></blockquote>
<br />Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-73124247937341018522012-07-05T10:43:00.001+10:002012-08-16T11:04:23.290+10:00Is organised religion the playground of the devil?<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:<br />17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, <br />18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, <br />19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”<br />Proverbs 6</i><br />
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These were the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ as espoused by Solomon some thousands of years ago, but changes over the centuries have left us with envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth and wrath. This list of do not’s, together with the ‘Ten Commandments’ list of do’s, was supposed to give us a set of rules that would make life richer and fairer for all. Unfortunately the organised religions of all countries seem to be breaking these rules on a daily basis. Now the transgressions cannot be hidden and Twitter spreads the news like wildfire.<br />
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The Roman Catholic Church is in the news again taking some of the heat off the Islamic Religions and the Church of Scientology. The Catholic hierarchy is accused of covering up the confessions of a paedophilic priest and moving him to a safe place instead of reporting him to the police as would be required under law. Hiding the truth is worse than telling a lie. The police are now considering prosecuting those involved in the cover-up. <br />
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<i>“In an age of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”<br />George Orwell</i></blockquote>
There is no doubt that within each organised religion there are pious men and women who seek to be a living example to those around them, let’s hope they are not demoralised by those not so pious. Unfortunately there are some who are affected by the power put into their hands and seek to take advantage of those that put their trust in them, I won’t elaborate on that, but leave it to your own experiences and imagination. <br />
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Many religions become wealthy using unethical methods and/or moral blackmail; others may require their believers to give 10% of their salary. Money is the root of all evil? Once the religion acquires wealth the leaders find that money gives them power and then power corrupts. Lord Acton in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887 was moved to write:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."</blockquote>
There are many people that think organised religions are the Devils playground, some even write books about it. There is no doubt that many religions, east and west, act in a way that restricts human rights, and that some are worse than others, for example some religions have ‘religious police’ that make sure their members are towing the line. Have you sinned today?Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-75996216706582083022012-07-02T12:38:00.001+10:002012-08-16T11:03:51.438+10:00Carbon [dioxide] Tax - useful or useless?The Australian Greens/Labor Coalition carbon [dioxide] tax came into operation in Australia on 1st July 2012 and the Labor Prime Minister and her Treasurer have told me I should rejoice because not only have I been compensated for the tax, but I will also be $10 a week better off.<br />
<a name='more'></a> I find this hard to believe as I only received $4 a week compensation. I presume the money I was paid in a lump sum before the end of this financial year was borrowed as the carbon tax hasn’t been paid yet. I smell some ‘Enron’ smart accounting going on here.<br />
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The tax will be paid by the country’s top carbon dioxide emitters, it was originally a top 500 but now it’s the top 300 and changing daily. The tax is $23 a tonne, but some industries have managed to get concessional rates as low as $1.30 a tonne. For some reason local government garbage tips have to pay top rate. Just how the tax will flow through as higher prices we have yet to find out, but I don’t think my extra $4 will cover it.<br />
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The Liberal/Country Party Coalition have committed to repealing the tax if they win the next election in about eighteen months, but it will take at least six months at the earliest. The political commentators mostly think that the Liberals will win but that’s assuming we don’t have a dictatorship before then. <br />
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When politicians talk about repealing taxes I am reminded of Britain’s Income Tax introduced by William Pitt in 1799 as a temporary measure to fund the Napoleonic Wars. It was repealed in 1816 but re-introduced by Robert Peel in 1842. Now we all pay income tax.<br />
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There are people and companies that support a price on carbon, but a closer look will show that these people and companies expect to make a lot of money out of emissions trading and alternative energy. In the end it’s all about money and politics.<br />
<br />Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-3889835287484799892012-06-30T14:09:00.000+10:002012-08-16T11:03:22.883+10:00Sweeter than sugar<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Honesty coupled to beauty is to have honey a sauce to sugar.”<br />William Shakespeare – As you like it</i></blockquote>
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We are constantly being warned by dieticians that too much sugar is bad for your health and we now have labels on food and drink warning how much sugar and salt is in each product. Australian manufacturers are guilty of putting too much sugar in just about everything, making even dark chocolate and tonic water unpalatably sweet.<br />
<a name='more'></a> The obvious solution is to use less sugar in our beverages and buy products with artificial sweeteners. Yet another group of dieticians tell us that artificial sweeteners are dangerous to our health, particularly aspartame, and that we should avoid them.<br />
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It has been suggested that fast food outlets put lots of sugar in the food to make people hungry for more. Dr Louis J. Aronne Director of the Comprehensive Weight Loss Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center has concluded that foods with high sugar and fat content creates a ‘fullness resistance’ that interferes with hormonal messages that signals the brain to stop eating. You feel hungrier instead. Other researchers have found that refined foods with high sugar and carbohydrate content can be as addictive as tobacco and alcohol. Diabetics have to be very careful with their intake of sugar.<br />
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Common table sugar or sucrose is made from the juice of a tall grass called sugar cane and from a root vegetable called sugar beet. About 168 million tonnes of sugar were produced in 2011, which on average equates to about 24Kg of sugar per person a year or 260 calories per day. In reality some people eat far more sugar than that and some people eat less. Sugar is a carbohydrate which is commonly known as ‘carbs’ to gym junkies. For the chemistry minded, a carbohydrate is made from carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in various combinations.<br />
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There are other sugars found in nature and on the labels of packaged food that you may not be aware of.<br />
<ul>
<li>Glucose is an important sugar for the body and is mainly manufactured from starch.</li>
<li>Fructose is found in honey, tree and vine fruits, flowers, berries and most root vegetables. This is the sugar that is most substituted for common sugar.</li>
<li>Galactose is found in dairy products, sugar beets, and other gums.</li>
<li>Maltose or malt sugar is produced from germinating cereals, such as barley, and is an important part of the beer and whiskey brewing process.</li>
<li>Lactose is found in milk and is formed from galactose and glucose. There is lactose intolerance in some populations.</li>
</ul>
<br />
In an attempt to avoid some of the problems caused by natural sugar an Australian team has produced a low GI sugar known as LogiCane® that goes well with the popular low GI diet. It has been suggested that it may be a better sugar for diabetics.<br />
<br />
Another plant extract is Stevia (S. Rebaudiana) which is a species of plant found in Central America. The leaves contain a sweetener that is 30–45 times the sweetness of table sugar and the purified extract is 250-300 sweeter than sugar. Stevia is generally considered safe and has been in use in South America as a sweetener and medicine for millennia. Stevia has a slight bitter after taste compared with sugar, but the sugars are not absorbed by the blood. Japan is a big user of Stevia and even uses it in ‘Coca Cola®’.<br />
<br />
In the battle of the bulge many people try to avoid sugar by using artificial sweeteners many of which have names that it is difficult to pronounce. In general artificial sweeteners are hundreds of times sweeter than common sugar and most were discovered accidentally. I am amazed at the number of researchers that put their fingers in their mouth when experimenting with complex chemicals.<br />
<br />
Tests of artificial sweeteners performed on primates i.e. monkeys or humans, have been found to give more valid results than tests on lab rats. Some tests using lab rats have been invalidated because the rat digestion process is different to primates. Researchers often use sweetener quantities equivalent to humans drinking 350 or more cans of artificially sweetened soft drink a day. Many of the studies were designed to identify possible toxic effects, including allergic, carcinogenic, reproductive, and neurological effects such as mood modification in children. Unfortunately some of the studies have been less than professional promoting criticism such as:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"not scientifically rigorous and is deficient in several critical areas that preclude reliable interpretation of the study results" </i></blockquote>
<br />
To quote Food Standards Australia New Zealand:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“A number of intense sweeteners are approved for use in Australia and New Zealand. These are alitame, acesulfame potassium (Ace K), aspartame, cyclamate, neotame, saccharin, sucralose, steviol glycosides and thaumatin. You can find more information about permissions for sweeteners and levels that are allowed in Standard 1.3.1"</blockquote>
You can download Standard 1.3.1 as a PDF file from <a href="http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodstandards/foodstandardscodeold/standard131foodaddit4239.cfm">here</a>.<br />
<br />
The majority of artificial sweeteners used in food and drink production are now blended to reduce any unpleasant taste and to increase the potency and shelf life of the product.<br />
<br />
<b>Alitame</b>, sweetener 956, is a second-generation dipeptide sweetener similar to aspartame but does not contain phenylalanine, thus can be used by people with phenylketonuria. It is about 200 times sweeter than sugar and does not have an unpleasant aftertaste. <br />
Brand name: Aclame®<br />
<br />
<b>Ace K</b> (acesulfame potassium), sweetener E950, was an accidental discovery and is 200 times sweeter than sugar. Acesulfame potassium is made from organic acetoacetic acid combined with potassium. <br />
Brand name: Sunnett®, Hermesetas Gold®<br />
<br />
<b>Aspartame</b>, sweetener E951, is produced commercially from aromatic amino acids like phenylalanine grown using the bacterium Escherichia coli, and is 200 times sweeter than sugar. It has been claimed that aspartame is the most tested artificial sweetener in the world and is safe, but there are still many scientists that think it is dangerous and should be banned. <br />
Brand name: Nutrasweet®, Equal®, Hermesetas Gold®, Equal Spoonful® <br />
<br />
<b>Cyclamate</b>, sweetener E952, is the sodium or calcium salt of cyclamic acid, is 30-50 times sweeter than sugar, and has an unpleasant after-taste. Although it is approved for use in over 50 countries it is banned in the USA even though it has been cleared by the FDA. Cyclamate was discovered accidentally.<br />
Brand name: Sucaryl® <br />
<br />
<b>Neotame</b>, sweetener E961, is chemically similar to aspartame but does not contain phenylalanine, thus can be used by people with phenylketonuria. It is about 7000 – 13000 times sweeter than sugar and has an unpleasant after-taste.<br />
Brand name: Nutrasweet®<br />
<br />
<b>Saccharin </b>(benzoic sulfimide), sweetener E954, is 200 to 400 times sweeter than sugar and is derived from coal tar. It was used as an artificial sweetener during the two world wars and became popular as a diet aid in the 1960’s. Saccharin was banned for a short while because of links with cancer, but the data using lab rats was found to be invalid for primates. There is an unpleasant metallic taste associated with saccharin if too much is used, however it is often mixed with other sweeteners such as aspartame and cyclamate to reduce the metallic taste and extend the shelf life of soft drinks etc. <br />
Brand name: Sugarine®, Sugarella®, Sweetex®, Hermesetas® <br />
<br />
<b>Sucralose</b>, sweetener E955, is manufactured by the selective chlorination of sugar and is 600 times sweeter than sugar. It is not absorbed by the body and only slowly broken down in nature. It is considered to be safe.<br />
Brand name: Splenda®<br />
<br />
<b>Steviol glycosides</b> (see Stevia above), sweetener E960, is the most popular sweetener in Japan and is considered safe.<br />
Brand name: Sweet Leaf®, Truvia®, PureVia® <br />
<br />
<b>Thaumatin</b>, sweetener E957, was originally extracted from the katemfe fruit but has since been synthesised and is produced by modified E-Coli bacteria. Although thaumatin is 2000 times sweeter than sugar it is generally used as a flavour enhancer because of its peculiar properties.<br />
Brand name: Talin®, Sweetose™<br />
<br />
All the above artificial sweeteners are approved for the use of diabetics in Australia. Be aware that not all sweeteners are suitable for cooking and it is important to read the label before use. A visit to the manufacturer’s website often answers a lot of questions about usage and cooking.<br />
<br />
Any worries we have about artificial sweeteners can be offset by the problems that are caused by consuming too much sugar. Too much sugar can cause dental cavities, tooth decay, obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, heart disease, osteoporosis and vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It has been reported that average Americans will soon consume their own weight in sugar per year. Would you like a diet Coke with that Whopper meal?<br />
<br />Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-76810786470282233702012-06-28T11:34:00.000+10:002012-08-17T08:40:43.748+10:00Julian Assange - saint or sinnerAnalysing what makes Julian Assange do what he does would possibly make an interesting PhD paper for some aspiring student of human nature. When you read Assange’s biography in Wikipedia his life seems to follow the philosophy of Don Chip who said ‘the Democrat Party’s purpose in Parliament was to keep the bastards honest’. It’s a pity that Don Chip isn’t around today to keep Julia Gillard and the rest of the Gang of Four honest.<br />
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It’s an undisputed fact that politicians, military brasshats and espionage spooks make deals behind closed doors that they don’t want the general population to know about, often with dodgy representatives of foreign countries. What countries secretly armed and trained the Taliban and helped prop up Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi?<br />
<br />
Most of the leaks by WikiLeaks were already general knowledge amongst those in power around the world, but something must have touched a raw nerve in somebody with enormous clout. I doubt that Assange realises just what. The virtual closing down of WikiLeaks by stopping credit card and cash transfers may be working, as I haven’t seen anything attributed to WikiLeaks for a while. The website is still running but seems to be maintained by volunteers.<br />
<br />
Assange has continually modestly insisted that he is not the force behind WikiLeaks but there is no doubt that he is/was in fact the ‘prima donna’ editor in chief. The stated policy is that nothing would be leaked that would endanger life and sensitive names would be edited. What actually gets edited depends on the subjective point of view of the sub-editors.<br />
<br />
The controversy has polarised opinion in some very high profile people who see Assange as a saint or a sinner depending on their view, but it does leave some unanswered questions.<br />
<ul>
<li>Is Assange being paranoid about being extradited to Sweden? </li>
<li>Is it true that the USA is not interested in extraditing him or is it a case of plausible deniability?</li>
<li>Is Assange guilty of technical rape or is it an elaborate set-up?</li>
<li>Will Assange be given asylum by Ecuador given that the Labor Australian Government is hostile towards him?</li>
<li>Can embarrassed governments allow Assange to become a martyr?</li>
</ul>
Update @ 16 August: Assange has been given asylum by Ecuador, but the UK Government insist that he be arrested even if it means entering the Ecuador Embassy. This hostility goes beyond reason.<br />
<br />Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-56476105461804065172012-06-25T15:46:00.001+10:002012-08-17T09:33:55.349+10:00Boat People AKA Asylum SeekersThe recent sinking of an asylum seekers boat with a loss of more than ninety lives has reopened the festering wound of border security in Australia. The number of asylum seekers now averages 850 a month and the costs have blown the budget more than tenfold.<br />
<a name='more'></a>The Federal Opposition wants the government to reinstall the John Howard offshore solution that was scrapped by Kevin Rudd within hours of becoming Prime Minister. The Government wants to implement a Malaysian solution that was ruled illegal by the High Court. The Greens want every asylum seeker to be deemed a potential immigrant that should be processed in Australia.<br />
<br />
What makes non-Christian asylum seekers want to settle in a Christian country instead of a Muslim country? Perhaps it’s because the Labor Government throws buckets of money at them and doesn’t make them work for a living. Perhaps you have to be the correct brand of Muslim to settle in some countries. Australia has tried to maintain the reputation of being a race of stupid, beer swilling racists, but it doesn’t seem to be working.<br />
<br />
As the government can’t agree on a solution, I present my simple, low cost solution. The mining companies are continually complaining that they can’t get enough workers to run their current projects let alone start new projects. Their solution is to import workers on special visas from countries that are similar to the ones the asylum seekers come from. My solution is to offer these special visas to asylum seekers before they try the people smugglers. All applicants will be fingerprinted, photographed and DNA checked before leaving just so that the person applying and the person arriving are the same person. Yes, a few criminals will slip through, but the TV stations will soon find out who they are.<br />
<br />
One advantage out of many is that the asylum seekers will be spread out across West Australia and Queensland earning a living and paying taxes, and not huddled together in ghettos in Melbourne and Sydney living off Government handouts.<br />
<br />
Update 17 August: The Government and opposition have passed legislation to reinstate offshore processing using the old 'Pacific solution', an about face by the Labor Government.<br />
Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-88877939007583232232012-06-23T16:55:00.000+10:002012-08-16T11:01:43.899+10:00Is sliced white bread and good taste an oxymoron?<h2>
The challenge</h2>
Bread doesn’t taste as good as it used to! There are so many bread varieties that we will assume that the challenge is about production line sliced white wheat bread produced in Australia.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.”<br />Isaiah 55:2 New International Version (©1984)</i></blockquote>
<h2>
Preamble</h2>
Bread in its various forms has been the staple diet of the western world for over thirty thousand years and although many grains are available is now made predominantly from wheat. Depending on your social status bread is either the main component of your meal or a specially crafted accessory to your meal. Bread is so ubiquitous that it has generated countless phrases, idioms and parables that have been in general use for centuries, if not millennia. Probably one of the most misquoted phrases is ‘bread is the staff of life’ which to my surprise in not in the Bible.<br />
<h2>
Grumbles</h2>
What hasn’t changed over the centuries is people grumbling about the taste, quality and price of bread, with evidence of heavy fines being levied on cheating bakers way back in the Medieval Period. What has changed is the concept of a baker’s dozen (thirteen for the price of twelve); I haven’t seen that offered in a long, long time.<br />
<h2>
Prices</h2>
If we look at the cost of your daily bread, prices for a loaf of bread go up in a predictable way at regular intervals and at this date in Australia a normal sliced loaf from ‘Tip Top’ or ‘Goodman Fielders’ will cost about $4 from a supermarket, with specials at 2 loaves for $5 quite common. The supermarket wars between Coles and Woolworths have seen in-house sliced bread offered at $1 a loaf on special, it is now $3. The big manufacturers say that a normal sliced loaf costs them $1.50 to make and distribute. I have ignored specialty shop prices as they usually charge ‘what the market will bear’ for their product.<br />
<h2>
What changed?</h2>
There is no doubt that the flavour and quality of bread changed when production went from cottage industry production to machine intensive production lines, and wheat was bred to give more grain per hectare.<br />
<h3>
New wheat strains</h3>
The type of wheat grown in Australia generally changes with each generation of farmer, and there are now more than 450 types of wheat grown in Australia. Each specific type is chosen to suit the climate and rainfall of the growing area, and whether or not the farm is mixed. The Australian wheat board categorises these grains into ten different groups suitable for various purposes, generally based on protein content. The high protein wheat is hard wheat, and the low protein wheat is soft wheat which also has the most flavour. Wheat quality varies enormously with the amount of rain and sun, and when it occurs in the plants life cycle, rain at harvest time can turn a bumper crop into cattle feed.<br />
<h3>
Different milling methods</h3>
Way back in the last ice age, our clever and inventive ancestors decided that the best way to consume wheat was to grind it into a powder and make a paste from the powder. The grinding process eventually evolved into the millstone which we have used until relatively recently. The late nineteenth century saw the introduction of roller mills which allowed the constituents of the wheat to be separated using a rolling and filtering process and created superfine white flour which, unfortunately, is not as nutritious as the flour produced by the millstone method. Whereas the roller method is fast compared to the traditional millstone, care has to be taken to reduce the heat created in the crushing to avoid damage to the components of the flour. The separated constituents of the grain can be blended to produce wholemeal flours. Sadly, the miller is no longer needed for the machines, just a machine minder. The millstone method is still used by some boutique millers, but as it slowly disappears so will the old idioms that were spawned by it, for instance, a millstone around your neck, more grist for the mill, and so on.<br />
<h2>
Flour quality</h2>
The quality of the flour eventually determines the quality of the bread as my wife, who is an excellent baker, can attest. She has tried all types of flour and finally standardised on no nonsense, economically priced, plain flour. The flour changes throughout the year and a good baker automatically compensates with the ingredients according to the feel of the dough. For those with only basic skills there is the bread-making machine and special flours tailored specifically for the machine.<br />
<h2>
Baking bread</h2>
Bread making has evolved from a skilled cottage industry to a fully mechanised production line with machine minders. The ultimate bread making machine was designed in 1961 by the British Baking Industries Research Association based at Chorleywood and is known as the Chorleywood Bread Process (CBP). The CBP produces a loaf of bread quicker than other processes and can use low grade flour, flavour of course suffers in the process. The damage to the starch grain caused by the grain rolling mill actually helps the CBP. The flour on its own cannot survive the CBP due to the intense mechanical stress, and there is the usual list of additives to stop the dough from becoming a starchy mess on the bottom of the high speed mixing machine.<br />
<br />
<h3>
What goes in production line bread?</h3>
<br />
<h4>
Acidity regulators </h4>
Commonly used are citric acid (330), acetic acid (vinegar, 260) and lactic acid (270), for slowing the growth of mould and bacteria.<br />
<h4>
Emulsifiers </h4>
Esters of monoglycerides and diglycerides are used as emulsifiers and anti-staling agents. They improve the crumb colour, texture, volume and softness of the bread; help delay staling by increasing the initial softness of the bread, and also by combining with starch reduce the rate of crystallisation and hardening of the crumb. <br />
<h4>
Enzymes </h4>
Starch enzymes and protein enzymes are used to rapidly break down wheat starches to sugars to feed the yeast and to soften the gluten to allow for reduced mechanical mixing times. Enzymes are also engineered to survive baking temperatures and great variations in pH to impart anti-staling and softening qualities to the finished products. De-natured enzymes used for baking do not need to be labelled.<br />
<h4>
Fats and oils </h4>
Improve the flavour of the bread; also make it more tender, aid in the browning of the loaf and keep it feeling fresh. Vegetable oils, such as canola, are most commonly used and some manufacturers tout the use of Omega-3 oils. Saturated fats while more efficient are no longer used for health reasons.<br />
<h4>
Flour treatment agents </h4>
Improve the fermentation process and improve the texture of the bread. Some of those used include ascorbic acid (vitamin C, 300) and calcium carbonate (170).<br />
<h4>
Gluten </h4>
The protein component of wheat normally sourced as a yellow powder; it strengthens the structure of the crumb. Added gluten augments the low gluten levels of cheap low-protein wheat. CBP can use cheaper, lower protein wheats.<br />
<h4>
Malt flour / extract </h4>
Derived from barley; it adds flavour and contributes to the colour, softness and moistness of bread.<br />
<h4>
Milk or milk solids </h4>
May be added to the bread to help keep it moist, add flavour and soften the crust.<br />
<h4>
Oat fibre</h4>
Oat fibre may be added, with or without sourdough lactobacilli, to reduce the GI of white bread. Bread enriched with oat fibre, has higher specific volume, better crumb structure and improved taste and aroma.<br />
<h4>
Preservatives </h4>
Calcium propionate is added to some bread to prevent the growth of mould, but it’s also recently been linked to possible behavioural problems in children. Vinegar is added to some breads as a preservative.<br />
<h4>
Salt </h4>
Salt must be iodised in Australia and is added to inhibit mould, to assist fermentation and for flavour.<br />
<h4>
Soy flour </h4>
Enzymatically active soy flour contains lipoxygenase enzymes that create whiter crumb, softens the texture, keeps the bread fresh and helps to improve the volume.<br />
<h4>
Sugar </h4>
Used by the yeast to grow, thus producing carbon dioxide; responsible for making the dough rise. It also flavours the bread, helps to keep it moist and helps the crust brown.<br />
<h4>
Vitamins and minerals</h4>
<i><b>Calcium </b>is optional in Australia but mandatory in the UK.<br /><b>Folic </b>acid must be added to wheat flour (a form of the B vitamin folate) for bread-making purposes. It reduces the risk of spina bifida. <br /><b>Iron </b>is optional in Australia but mandatory in the UK.<br /><b>Thiamin </b>must be added to bread by law, to help prevent a condition called Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, mainly suffered by alcoholics.<br /><b>Vitamin D</b> may soon be required by law.<br /><b>Vitamin E</b> is an antioxidant that helps protect cells in the body from damage; may also protect against heart disease</i>. <br />
<h4>
Water</h4>
Water is a very important ingredient of bread; too little water results in a heavy cake texture crumb, whilst too much water produces large voids in the crumb giving bread that is ‘all crust and no crumb’. Some bread rolls are deliberately made this way, but they do need milk additives to avoid overly large voids. Before the common use of filtered water the dough ingredients had to be modified to accommodate hard and soft water. Water, as dry steam, is used to modify the crust to produce a nice shiny surface that is caramelised.<br />
<h4>
Yeast</h4>
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the most common form of yeast used for bread making. The yeast was originally skimmed from the top of vats of beer but since brewers now use bottom fermenting yeasts, baker’s yeast is produced using various syrups. Yeast is mainly used to generate carbon dioxide which causes the dough to rise and gives the bread its final texture. The other by-products from yeast impart aroma and flavour to the bread. Complex flavours can be obtained by mixing a number of yeasts and bacteria.<br />
<h2>
Eating bread</h2>
To misquote a popular cliché, the proof of the bread is in the eating. The flavour of food and drink is a complex interaction between taste and smell, and the appreciation is often more subjective than objective. People with colds often complain that they cannot taste anything so don’t serve your best bottle of ‘Grange’ to them. The aroma of freshly baked bread makes most people’s mouth water in anticipation of a taste delight, and I must say I enjoy the taste of bread while it’s still warm from the oven. Bread loses its appeal when cold and a packet of sliced bread doesn’t seem to attract the same enthusiastic welcome as a slice of warm oven fresh bread. The insipid taste of cold bread may have encouraged the practice of toasting bread. Toasting to a light to medium brown colour produces complex caramelised flavours in the newly formed crust and releases aromas in the crumb recreating the ‘just baked’ experience. Some cultures believe that the taste in the crust not in the crumb and produce bread varieties with thick flaky crusts and crumb with large voids.<br />
<h2>
Conclusion, bread taste has changed!</h2>
There is no doubt that the constant evolution of wheat varieties, additives, and milling and baking processes changes the flavour of bread, sometimes negatively. The change cycle seems to mimic the clothing fashion cycle of about fifteen years and there is no sign of it stabilising. There is a way of turning back time, if you have the money. Buy from a boutique bakery that makes bread by hand, and sources flour from a boutique stone miller who in turn uses grain from a specialist farmer.<br />
<h2>
What’s on the label?</h2>
Food manufacturers like to have as ‘clean’ a label as possible on their products. Ingredients that are denatured during manufacture do not need to be on the label. Rather than choose a big brand manufacturer I chose a supermarket in-house brand to see what was on the label.<br />
The label ingredients in ‘Woolworths’ brand white sliced bread have been carefully chosen to give a white, evenly textured, well flavoured crumb with a reasonable shelf life:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Wheat flour, water, oat fibre, yeast, wheat gluten, vinegar, iodised salt, canola oil, soy flour <br />Vegetable emulsifier 481(Sodium oleyl or stearoyl lactylate)<br />Vitamins: thiamin, folate, niacin, B6, E) <br />Minerals: iron, zinc</i></blockquote>
<h2>
What’s next?</h2>
Frozen part baked bread products made overseas are available in the supermarket freezers. Some breads are part baked overseas, frozen, and finished in Australia, one importer is Goodman Fielders. This allows ‘made in Australia’ to be on the label. The frozen part baked bread can be stored for more than a year before use.<br />
With the carbon tax in Australia, competition, and the increasing use of frozen products it seems possible that your daily bread may soon be made overseas and imported by the big brands. Even your local baker may just ‘warm up’ frozen bread.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Bake your own</h2>
Handmade bread is always considered the best tasting bread, an electric bread maker using a designed for bread making mixture will only produce the taste you are trying to avoid.<br />
Learning to make bread is like learning how to ride a bicycle. The first efforts are often a dismal failure but practice makes perfect.<br />
For your first attempts start small and keep it simple. Do not use expensive ingredients or so called bread flour, the standard plain flour works very well. As you get used to working the dough you will understand the ‘feel’ of the dough and how to adjust the water and other ingredients to get the ‘feel’ right. Do not use a dough mixer as stresses the dough and you lose flavour. <br />
This recipe by Maria Magee for soft white bread rolls was the simplest that I could find, you can adjust the ingredients to make less rolls, just look at the comments section here at <a href="http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/2256/old-fashioned-white-bread-rolls.aspx">allrecipes.com.au</a>. <br />
<h4>
Ingredients serves: 24</h4>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>* 625g (5 cups) plain flour<br />* 3 tablespoons caster sugar<br />* 2½ teaspoons salt<br />* 1 tablespoon dried instant yeast<br />* 50g butter, melted<br />* 375ml (1½ cups) cold water<br />* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil</i></blockquote>
<h4>
Preparation method</h4>
Prep: 40 minutes | Cook: 13 minutes <br />
1. Mix together flour, sugar, salt and instant yeast. Mix in butter, then the water. <br />
2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead by hand for 20 minutes. Cover dough with oil. Place dough in a bowl, cover and prove for 1 hour. <br />
3. Form into 24 rolls, and place on a greased baking tray. Prove for 45 minutes. <br />
4. Bake at 200 degrees C for 12 to 14 minutes until golden and firm to touch. <br />
<br />
To 'prove' your bread means to allow the yeast time to work and raise the dough, to do this cover your dough with a damp tea towel and put it in a warm place.Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-88578452505487269432012-06-11T18:31:00.000+10:002012-08-16T11:00:22.956+10:00Fish fingers AKA fish sticksFish fingers, otherwise known as fish sticks, have been popular for over half a century. It is thought that they were invented in the US in the 1920’s to use up an oversupply of cod. Birdseye in the UK tried the same tactic in the 1950’s to take advantage of an oversupply of herring. The herring product was test marketed with the much blander cod product as a control, but to Birdseye’s surprise the cod product was much more popular than the savoury herring product. The cod product and its variations have been in production since 1955. The fish finger is now produced by numerous manufacturers including large supermarket brands.<br />
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<br />
Fish fingers like most food products comes under cost pressures over the years and the original crumbed slice of cod just isn’t what it used to be. Shelf life is increased by adding chemicals, flavour enhancers are used to combat the problems caused by increasing shelf life, and colours are added to make the breadcrumbs look nice and toasty and so on. Cutting costs mean using as much of the fish as possible, and the leftovers from the filleting process are separated from the bones and skin with a specialised mincing machine. The minced fish is then used to fill in the voids in the fillets allowing complete use of the fish and nice neat symmetrical fillets.<br />
<br />
With the stringent food and labelling regulations, and the large number of entities that are prosecuted for infringing them, one would suspect an ingrained culture of dishonesty in the fresh and manufactured food industry. With that element if doubt in our mind the question is, what is in that crumbed cuboid we call a fish finger? To quote many a small child, it can’t be fish fingers because fish don’t have fingers. The days of an over-supply of cod are long past and the regulations merely state that white fish is used. The fish fingers are either made from fish fillets or at the lower price range contain minced fish.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Minced fish is a product of passing headless gutted fish through a bone separator where the skin and bone are removed. In its simplest form fish, or pieces of fish, are fed from a hopper to pass between a moving rubber belt and the outside of a revolving perforated drum of stainless steel. The flesh is forced into the centre of the drum where it is expelled with a screw and the leftover skin and bones are scraped off the outside of the drum. To obtain the best texture and flavour the optimum size for the perforations is about 5mm. Fish that are difficult to fillet economically, for instance small and irregular shaped fish or very bony fish can be deboned and the fish mince used as fish fingers, fish cakes and such like. Fish bones are not usually ground and added to the mince as the blood in the bone discolours the fish flesh.<br />
<br />
<br />
Seafood extender or surimi should not be confused with minced fish. Surimi is lean fish flesh minced and washed to eliminate odours, and most of the taste, and then pulverised into a gelatinous paste. The desired flavour and texture is created by mixing with starch, egg white, salt, vegetable oil, humectants, sorbitol, sugar, soy protein, seasonings, flavours, and enhancers such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transglutaminase" target="_blank">transglutaminases </a>and monosodium glutamate (MSG). If the product is to be frozen food-grade cryoprotectants are added. A typical product is a crab stick.<br />
<br />
<br />
At the time of writing the fish fillets are mainly cod, haddock and pollock or fish that are similar. Predatory fish are not usually chosen because of their high mercury content. It is important to note that mercury from fish is generally not a health consideration for most people; it is only an issue for women planning pregnancy, pregnant women, breastfeeding women and children under six.<br />
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Choice magazine tested nineteen brands of fish fingers in Australia and the results are <a href="http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/food-and-health/food-and-drink/groceries/frozen-fish-products-review.aspx" target="_blank">here </a>but you have to pay to view them. <br />
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The manufacturers of fish fillet fingers seem happy enough to publish the product contents, but most brands using fish mince seem to be more reluctant to advertise what’s in them, this may be because they buy in blocks of frozen fish mince from third parties. Here are some typical fish finger products from reliable manufacturers:<br />
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<b>Bayview </b>Crumbed Fish Fingers 288g (12 fingers).<br />
Ingredients: minced flounder, crumbs (20%)(rice flour , maize flour , sugar , dextrose , whey powder, salt, canola oil , mineral salts ), canola oil, tapioca starch, rice flour, water, maize flour, salt, aerators (575 , 500 ), spices, maltodextrin, thickeners (415, 464 ).<br />
May contain traces of egg, soy, crustacea.<br />
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<b>Birds Eye</b> has a fillet and minced fish product.<br />
Fish Fillet Fingers 250g<br />
Ingredients: Hake or hoki fish fillets (56%), water, wheat flour, maize flour, canola oil, wheat starch, maize starch, salt, yeast, wheat gluten.<br />
Fish Fingers 375g with a New Crunchier Crumb<br />
Ingredients: minced hake or hoki fish (53%), water, wheat flour, maize flour, canola oil, wheat starch, maize starch, salt, wheat gluten, yeast, acidity regulators (450, 451)<br />
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<b>I&J</b> tasty fish fingers 800gm<br />
Ingredients: minced hake or hoki fish (54%), water, wheat flour, canola oil, maize flour, tapioca starch, salt, thickeners (guar gum, 1404, gellan gum), wheat starch, sunflower oil, hydrolysed vegetable protein, yeast, flavour, emulsifiers [soy lecithin, 481], acidity regulators (450, sodium bicarbonate, 451, 341), rice flour, spices, natural colour (annatto extracts), ascorbic acid, wheat gluten.<br />
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In general, if the packet does not explicitly state fillets then expect minced fish.<br />
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The decrease in wild fishing stocks around the world will eventually make a fish fillet an extreme luxury item. It seems likely that most manufactured products will use minced fish formed into various shapes and sizes and many people will never know what a fillet of cod is. Fish is already being farmed both on land and in the sea, and rice farmers have realised they can harvest a secondary crop of fish in their padi fields. <br />
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The marketing experts advertising fish fingers seem to be in a different universe to me. The expected market for fish fingers is as a snack food for children. My research suggests that fish fingers mostly form the basis of an evening meal with two thirds of the fish fingers consumed by adults. The marketing experts also suggest that children prefer the fillets when other research suggests that the children prefer the minced fish. Children prefer the processed flesh in both fish fingers and chicken nuggets, and there is a suggestion that some of the processing chemicals may be addictive to children but this is not supported.<br />
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In the end it’s a tasty convenient meal that most people are after, and to preserve the taste of the fish finger it is important not to thaw the product before cooking. Thawing the product and re-freezing is an absolute catastrophe as most of the taste is lost in the process. Those that have purchased the minced fish variety may be a bit cynical of the above as the taste can vary from acceptably fishy to wet cardboard. The minced fish taste depends on how small a hole the minced fish was forced through, the smaller the hole, the more the taste is damaged. If you don’t use sauce with your fish fingers perhaps now is the time to change, the kids love to dunk the fingers in tomato sauce, but you may prefer tartare sauce, a sweet chilli sauce or even a curry sauce.Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-71758172528850964892012-06-06T12:47:00.000+10:002012-08-16T10:59:57.842+10:00Eight glasses of water<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For many years I have thought that drinking eight glasses of water on top of your normal diet of food and beverages is illogical. I was a lone voice in the wilderness, but now I have an ally in La Trobe University lecturer Spero Tsindos (PhD, Dietetics and Public Health). Drinking eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy is a myth says Mr Tsindos, people can get their daily fluid intake from fruit, vegetables, juices and even tea and coffee.“We should be telling people that beverages like tea and coffee contribute to a person's fluid needs and despite their caffeine content, do not lead to dehydration."<br />
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Mr Tsindos believes that the 'eight glasses a day' notion may have stemmed from guidelines published in the US in 1945. The current Australian guidelines suggest an adequate daily fluid intake is about 2.8 litres for women and 3.4 litres for men. This does include fluid found in food and beverages and so I wasn’t quite a voice in the wilderness after all. <br />
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Looking a bit further I found that Heinz Valtin M.D. an emeritus professor at Dartmouth Medical School, published a report echoing the above statements in 2002 (American Journal of Physiology), and, in February 2004 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued new guidelines that removed the 'eight glasses a day' recommendation, stating that healthy adults may use thirst to determine their fluid needs. Obvious exceptions to this rule include anyone with a medical condition requiring fluid control, and people whose living conditions are extreme.<br />
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How much fluid is there in normal food? For every half cup of old fashioned porridge oats there is one and a half cups of water added. Fruit juice contains more than 80% of water. Tea and coffee contains over 95% of water depending how you drink it. For a comprehensive list of the water content of fruit and vegetables have a read of the list provided by the University Of Kentucky College Of Agriculture <a href="http://www.ca.uky.edu/enri/pubs/enri129.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Although beer has been used as a thirst quencher for centuries (most water was not safe to drink many years ago), I suggest that beer and other alcoholic drinks be taken in moderation. In the days of hand blown glass the artisans drank large quantities of beer and died early from liver complaints.Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-72136036914479721922012-05-28T16:50:00.002+10:002012-08-16T10:58:42.192+10:00Australian meat pies are full of meat?The Australian meat pie has long been the required food to eat at the footy (any code) and at the races (horse that is). Back in the 70’s the pie was served with a complimentary squirt of tomato sauce, now you have to pay extra for a single serve squeezy packet sauce that doesn’t really insert the sauce into the pie. In those days I had a pie in one hand and a beer in the other with attention on the game/race and can’t really remember too much about the pie. I do know that it didn’t disintegrate and gravy did not run down my arm, and so the pastry must have been good and the filling not watery. My trouble and strife (wife) swears that the pies sold at the games, same name, same make, are different to those sold in the supermarket or corner store.<br />
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The Choice consumer group reviews meat pies from time to time and in its 2010 test made this devastating comment:<br />
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This then begs the question ‘What exactly is in a meat pie?’ Australian standards (FSANZ) demand the pie contain at least 25% meat flesh (as a percentage of the whole pie), but according to Choice, who tested twenty meat pies, the meat content varied from 22.7% to 38.5%. <br />
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The meats allowed by FSANZ in a meat pie are beef, buffalo, camel, cattle, deer, goat, hare, pig, poultry, rabbit, sheep and kangaroo meat. FSANZ's definition of meat includes snouts, ears, tongue roots, tendons and blood vessels. Only offal (such as brain, heart, kidney, liver, tongue, tripe) must be specified on the label. Wild animals ("slaughtered ... in the wild state") may not be used.<br />
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If we assume 30% meat produces an acceptable meat pie, then 70% of the pie is made up from the following:<br />
binder for the ground beef, gravy, fats, salt, herbs, spices, the usual manufacturing chemicals, and last but not least, the pie crust.<br />
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Most pies contain between 12 to 14 gm fat per 100 gm which is moderately high, but this is what gives the pie its flavour. No pies contain TVP (textured vegetable protein) unless it is expressly stated on the cover.<br />
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I think we should be pragmatic about the pie crust and accept that it has to be made to cope with being held in one hand and munched without disintegrating and hot gravy running down your arm. I am not aware of anybody catching cancer or any other chronic disease that can be attributed to eating meat pies on a regular basis, so don’t let the pie crust ingredients bother you. Drinking beer and smoking yes.<br />
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Whereas the objective tests will tell us what foods we need to ease up on when our annual blood test is analysed, the ultimate test is the subjective taste test. The passion with which people love or hate pie brands is quite startling, and so I suggest you never argue with a man, or woman, with a pie in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other hand.<br />
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My trouble and strife has tested a few brands and has settled for Four’N Twenty Classic pies as they suit the family’s taste and are not too expensive. Choice also chose Four’N Twenty as one of the best in its taste test. I notice that Four’N Twenty is trying to sell pies in the USA too, good luck to them.<br />
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<b>Official Great Aussie Meat Pie Competition</b><br />
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For 23 years the <a href="http://www.finefoodaustralia.com.au/events.asp" target="_blank">Official Great Aussie Meat Pie Competition</a> has served to promote and celebrate Australia’s much-loved icon; the perfect meat pie. The annual Competition, which is held at Fine Food Australia, is open to all pie making professionals and attracts thousands of entries from bakers across Australia. As the original and nationally recognised pie competition in Australia, the Competition is highly regarded by the baking industry and represents the pinnacle of pie making excellence. Winning a medal at the Competition is the ultimate goal of many pie making professionals and, as a result the standard of entries are high, with the awards being hotly contested.Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-73753622743475573172012-05-27T10:32:00.000+10:002012-08-16T10:57:57.594+10:00Getting a bang for our buck - the BIG radio telescope<span style="font-size: small;">The Square Kilometer Array (SKA) the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope array will be split between Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The original plan was to use either South Africa or Australasia but now it has been decided to use both sites and divide the radio frequencies scanned between the two sites. South Africa will have the high frequencies and Australasia will have the low frequencies. You may ask why it of interest to you is. The answer is because you will pay for its manufacture, installation and ongoing running, and that’s billions of bucks. I sometimes wonder how academics can convince governments to spend so much money on research that has no visible return on investment.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;">Just to give you a feeling for how much these projects can consume money, the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland cost $10 billion and costs $68 million a year to run. Fortunately the world did not end when the Collider was switched on in spite of warnings from doom and gloom soothsayers. I found an amusing resume of what the Collider may prove or disprove <a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/09/the-bosons-that/" target="_blank">here</a>. <br /><br />Both of the above projects hope to take the ‘Big Bang’ theory (not the TV show) from theory to proven fact, and the theoretical physicists are hoping, praying perhaps, that the fabric of their string theories does not become blown apart in tatters. There seems to be such a motivation to prove that the universe was created in a 'Big Bang', and is rapidly expanding, that its almost like a religious mania. Perhaps it is a religion; after all it was a Roman Catholic priest who postulated it.<br /><br />The argument over a steady state universe, or, a ‘Big Bang’ burst into being, has been going on for nearly a century with each side claiming to disprove the other side’s theories. Some of the world’s leading astronomers and theoretical physicists have supported both views at one time or another, but the 'Big Bang' mathematicians have the advantage at the moment, however, each unexpected discovery causes a flurry of calculations revisited. With egos and reputations on the line some of the arguments have been bitter and vindictive. When you consider that the only evidence that the academics have is small packets of invisible energy that react with solid objects in specific ways, for example, photons will create a voltage across a photo cell, theories about objects a long way away are hard to prove.<br /><br />Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, published in 1916, is said to be one pressing item on the agenda for observation. Nobody really knows what gravity is, we only know how it affects us. Perhaps the mega-bucks we have invested in the above projects will tell us.<br /><br />Whether we get a 'Big Bang' for our buck or just a gently bubbling steady state universe is not going to alter my lifestyle any, although I will enjoy a snigger if the string theory people have to go back to the drawing board. <br /><br />It’s not all a waste of money, previous projects like the above have produced spin-off products, lets call it collateral reparation, that have improved the quality of life, produced new materials and complex computer programs for processing large amounts of data quickly, and the list goes on. The truth is out there!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-38557188121104260742012-05-25T18:16:00.001+10:002012-08-16T10:57:17.909+10:00Offal is not so awful!<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">One of the things
about offal is that people either love it or hate it. Although offal is
traditionally a peasant dish, people that lived through the last world war
(1939-45) and the food shortages afterwards are probably more receptive to
offal than perhaps others who never managed to acquire a taste for it. I
confess that there is some offal I really like and some that makes me feel very
uneasy in the stomach.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Liver and onions
is a traditional dish of many countries and may be made from slices of pork,
beef (usually calf) or lamb and of course sliced onions. In Australia they call
it lambs fry. It is often accompanied by sliced bacon and mashed potatoes and
vegetables. There are so many recipes on-line that its difficult to choose an
example. I just chose the picture I liked. Here is the
<a href="http://www.cookingwiththejoneses.com/not-so-italian-recipes/main-course/lamb%E2%80%99s-liver-and-bacon-with-onion-gravy/" target="_blank">recipe</a>. The ladies in my family made gravy from the residues in the frying pan,
some flour, and water from one of the vegetable pans. It made a very rich ‘give
me more’ gravy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Tripe is eaten in
many countries and a selection of dishes containing tripe is here on Wikipedia.
The most familiar dish for me is tripe and onions usually made from beef tripe.
Again, so many recipes, I chose the creamed tripe and onions <a href="http://www.nosetotailathome.com/2009/03/29/tripe-and-onions/" target="_blank">recipe</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Kidneys are a firm favourite for many and there are many ways of cooking kidneys, a fair selection may be found <a href="http://www.cookitsimply.com/category1f41-go1.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I prefer my kidneys in a steak and kidney pie. My daughter loves the pie but picks out all the pieces of kidney. Here is one <a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1313/a-good-steak-and-kidney-pie" target="_blank">recipe</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">The following types of offal I have never knowingly eaten and don't really want to try, and so I cant comment on the taste </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">There are many recipes for brains and many people consider them a gourmet delight. Here is just one <a href="http://matadornetwork.com/life/five-recipes-that-require-brains/" target="_blank">example</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Hearts are not so popular as a dish but <a href="http://www.cookitsimply.com/category-0020-01f50.html" target="_blank">here </a>are a few recipes to choose from supplied from the same website that gave the kidney recipes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">The term <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetbread" target="_blank">sweetbreads </a>seems to be generic for whats not covered above and many bits are a gourmets delight in some cultures. As far as my local supermarket, and people I know, are concerned it refers to lambs testicles. You can get a selection of recipes from <a href="http://www.cookitsimply.com/category-0020-0g151.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">By the way, you never know what may be in a sausage.</span></div>
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Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6542565643673527251.post-32570834588341105332012-05-25T10:37:00.000+10:002012-08-16T10:56:40.593+10:00The strange affair of the beleaguered Member for Dobell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Thomson_%28politician%29" target="_blank">Craig Thomson</a>, ex
union leader, ex member of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Labor_Party" target="_blank">Australian Labor Party</a>, who was elected to the Federal
House of Representatives as member for the Division of Dobell, New South Wales
for the Australian Labor Party at the 2007 federal election, has managed to
avoid being charged for union fund misappropriation for so long that he really
justifies the title 'Teflon' Thomson.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "Courier New";"> Some journalists have referred to the
‘Thomson saga’ which arguably devalues the word ‘saga’. This case is a long,
involved story, account, or series of incidents, but it can hardly be called a
heroic achievement. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">The long awaited
Thomson address to parliament in defence of the accusations of misappropriation
had all the hallmarks of the summing up by a very expensive defence lawyer or
spin doctor. The speech barely addressed the issues in contention and
obfuscated the matter by making more than twenty five, at times passionate,
references to issues that had little or no bearing on the subject. At the start
of the speech Thomson said he was going to bore us with his past achievements
and he didn’t disappoint.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">An unscientific
poll by the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’ showed that 71% didn’t believe Thomson, 15%
thought he was convincing and 14% were unsure. I think some people were swayed
by the tears, a technique perfected by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hawke" target="_blank">Bob Hawke</a>, another ex union leader, when
he was Prime Minister.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">During Thompson’s
one hour speech he gave a detailed resume of his working life. He was elected
as the National Secretary of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Services_Union" target="_blank">Health Services Union</a> (HSU) from 2002 to 2007
where he claimed to have personally cleaned up the financial procedures of the
union and stopped rorting of union funds. However, in 2008 the HSU requested
its lawyers to retain forensic accountants to investigate allegations of
impropriety around Thomson's use of a union-issued corporate MasterCard. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Thomson denies
any impropriety and insists that he was framed by former colleagues who wanted
to destroy his political career. One of those named is Michael Williamson who
is accused of being engaged in a conspiracy to ruin his reputation through
associations with prostitutes and misappropriation of union funds. This
accusation is in conflict with Thomson’s maiden speech given on 19 February
2008 when he said:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">“The support I
received from the entire union movement but in particular from Unions NSW, the
TWU, the CFMEU mining division, the PSA and, of course, my own union, the
Health Services Union, was phenomenal. Michael Williamson, the HSU national
president, was a marvel in relation to the long-term support he provided to
me.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">The people that
Thomson named as conspirators have all denied any part in the conspiracy with
at least one stating that they didn’t even know Thomson at the time. Those
named as character references seem to be fending Thomson off with a very long
barge pole with one retired lady academic saying she hadn’t seen him in 25
years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">The seat of
Dobell is considered one of the seats critical to keeping the Labor Party in
Government and Thomson received enormous support from the unions and the Labor
Party in 2010, this in spite of the ongoing HSU scandal and failed civil court
action by Thomson to prove his innocence. The Federal Labor Party subsequently
paid Thomson’s legal bills to prevent him from being declared bankrupt. A
bankrupt cannot sit in parliament and the minority Labor Government, with Julia
Gillard as PM, desperately needs Thomson’s vote on the floor of the chamber.
The NSW Labor Party later repeated the funding but for some reason it was not
declared to Parliament as it should have been.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">The investigation
into the HSU was done by <a href="http://www.fwa.gov.au/" target="_blank">Fair Work Australia</a> (FWA) who took an extremely long
time to complete the investigation, from 2008 until 2012, and then had to be
coerced into releasing the report. The report was then referred to the Director
of Public Prosecutions (DPP) who then handed it on to the Victorian and New South
Wales Police Forces. The DPP states that the FWA report does not contain any
signed statements by witnesses and cannot itself be used as an instrument for
prosecution. Thomson has yet to be charged by any police force and he strongly
proclaims his innocence, he points out that the police have yet to question
him. The police say that he refuses to talk to them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">The majority of
independent MP's, who hold the balance of power in the House of Representatives,
are reluctant to pass any motion that will expel Thomson from the House on the
grounds that Parliament is not a courtroom and that a man should be presumed
innocent until found guilty. Some MP's have said that they did not want
parliament becoming a ‘<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Chamber" target="_blank">Star Chamber</a>’. A widely held view is that the independents
are more interested in self-preservation and prolonging the life of the current
parliament as long as possible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";"></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Whether or not
Craig Thomson is found guilty or innocent, or he just fades off into the sunset
is irrelevant, the public’s eyes have been opened up to what actually happens
in our democracy. Is it really a democracy or actually an <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/oligarchy" target="_blank">oligarchy </a>where a
clique of trade unionists and Labor Party officials are deciding what we do,
how we do it, what we will spend our money on, and who we vote for? </span></div>
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Bladudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14564924294859796164noreply@blogger.com1