Mandarin originated in Asia, precisely India travelled through China where it picked up the name ‘mandarin” and made its way to Sicily. This once exotic fruit has become a household phenomenon and there is also a creative way to consume. This recipe is a great combination of the classical Sicilian household ingredients which can be made with ease. Sicilian mandarin, Sicilian pistachio and dark chocolate, yum!
Ingredients:
1 kg of mandarin (around 80 slices)
250 g dark chocolate
50 g of pistachio
1. Peel the mandarin
2. Melt the dark chocolate in double boiler with low heat until smooth
3. Dip the mandarin slice into the melted chocolate and lay on the baking paper
4. Sprinkle the chopped pistachio
5. Let the chocolate set and enjoy
Terroir- the taste of a place “Terroir” in French or ‘Terreno” in Italian means ‘the taste of a place’ which is a popular term mostly known for wine. But it is not just wine, even olive oil, coffee, chocolate, tomato, heritage wheat, tea, etc have a strong expression of terroir when they are artisanal natural products. The crop grown in a given terroir exhibits the characteristics of the soil, the climate and the variety.
Honey expresses the most distinct terroir If you are a specialist in terroir, artisanal honey is one of the natural products you cannot miss. Bees are working directly with the land where the role of the beekeepers are their health carers at most. No one can ever control where and from what plant the bees are getting their pollen from. The true artisanal honey is heavily subject to harvest and the weather because the vegetation like wildflowers can vary greatly according to the climate of the year.
Sicily has a diverse terroir Sicily is a Mediterranean island with the tallest active volcano in Europe. It is hard to imagine how diverse the climate and landscape is in Sicily. Let me give you an example. Having a 3,300-metre high active volcano, we can enjoy a good range of fruits from subtropical climate like banana and mango to temperate climate, like apples and nuts within an-hour drive. Now, you can imagine how rich the vegetation is in Sicily and how much diversity the bees can enjoy.
Tasting honey is fun Different honey has different flavour profiles, smell and colour. It is not only important to taste the artisanal honey to appreciate the hard work of the bees and the beekeeper, it is also fun to learn about the subtle but distinctive difference of the artisanal honey.
Taste the honey, taste the terroir We have 5 different types of organic honey harvested in different zones in Sicily- Organic wildflower honey (Mount Peloritani), Organic wildflower honey (Mount Etna), Organic wildflower honey (Mount Erei), Organic chestnut honey and Organic eucalyptus honey. They all represent a distinctive terroir. In general, each type of honey shows a specific feature of the terroir. But in recent years, due to the extreme weather, the terroir has been changing rapidly. Although the production gets more unstable each year, sometimes, there are surprises. Last year, in a mountainous zone, a wildflower honey has a particular flavour and fragrance strongly resembled sun-dried tomatoes.
On top of enjoying the health benefits of organic honey, let’s have fun with honey tasting at home.
Extra virgin olive oil is one of the healthiest oils in the world
The well-known Mediterranean diet has always been praised for its health benefits. One of the main ingredients in their cooking is extra virgin olive oil. Research shows that extra virgin olive oil contains disease-fighting compounds, healthy nutrients and antioxidants.
Oleocanthal (oleocanthal) is a unique antioxidant found only in extra virgin olive oil Oleo – oil in Latin, canth – tingling in Greek, al – for aldehyde. Extra virgin olive oil is the only vegetable oil that contains Oleocanthal (oleocanthal). Oleocanthal is a powerful antioxidant that is produced when olives are crushed into pulp in a mill. When you sip it, it creates a spicy feeling in the back of the throat. Yes, it’s spicy. The stronger the spiciness and the higher the oleocanthal content, the better it is.
Arthritis is inflammation of the joints caused by two inflammatory enzymes, COX-1 and COX-2. Doctors often prescribe nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) medications, such as Ibuprofen (ibuprofen) and Aspirin (aspirin), to reduce the pain and swelling of rheumatoid arthritis. However, long-term use of the drug can damage the kidneys and cause intestinal bleeding.
Monell’s research shows that while Oleocanthal (oleocanthal) has a different chemical structure than Ibuprofen (ibuprofen), it behaves similarly. It inhibits two inflammatory enzymes and controls inflammation and reduces arthritis pain without causing harm to the body.
Oleocanthal (oleocanthal) may fight and prevent cancer
Oleocanthal (oleocanthal) kills only cancer cells and preserves healthy cells. Nutrition scientists at Rutgers University and two cancer biologists at Hunter College in New York City found that after applying Oleocanthal (oleocanthal) to cancer cells, they died quickly — within 30 minutes to an hour.
Scientists believe that cancer cells are killed by their own enzymes. Oleocanthal (oleocanthal) punctures vesicles within cancer cells that store cellular waste. Once the vesicle bursts, the cell is programmed to die.
Our healthy brain is an intelligent security guard, allowing only oxygen and essential nutrients to pass through, but blocking the entry of toxins, bacteria and other harmful substances. Alzheimer’s, however, causes a breakdown of this system, allowing beta-amyloid (formed outside neurons) and neurofibrillary tangles (inside neurons) to accumulate, hindering the Accurate transport of nutrients, leading to instability and subsequent brain shrinkage, memory loss, and lack of communication and reasoning.
Researcher Dr. Kaddoumi found that oleocanthal-rich extra virgin olive oil restores blood-brain function and slows Alzheimer’s disease by reducing the accumulation of beta-amyloid beta-amyloid.
Replace your vegetables oil with Extra virgin olive oil After knowing the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil, we should protect our health by replacing other vegetable oils with it and consuming it regularly. Hope you enjoy the Virzi organic Extra Virgin Olive oil from our small farmer.
Time to prepare: 15 mins Cooking time: 20 mins Serving: 4 person
Radicchio is called Italian chicory, a winter vegetable which belongs to the family of chicory, but often mistaken as red cabbage. A vegetable uncommon but very healthy, has the highest level of vitamin K and rich in antioxidants. This vegetable can be eaten raw in salad, as topping for pizza or with pasta. Pasta al radicchio is a very classical Italian dish which has a number of variations, with the main protagonist remaining as radicchio.
1. Clean and chop an onion 2. Put some Extra virgin olive oil and stir fry the onion with a medium heat for 10 mins 3. Clean and chop the radicchio 4. Add the radicchio to the onion and cook until the radicchio is soft 5. Boil a pot of water for the pasta 6. Put the maccheroncini to boil for 8 minutes until al dente 7. Drain the pasta and mix it with the maccheroncini 8. Add the Girgentana goat cheese and cream (panna) to the pasta 9. Serve with more grated Girgentana goat cheese
Time to prepare: 5 mins
Cooking time: 5 mins
Serving: 4 persons
During winter, nothing is better than having homemade lemon syrup. It is easy and takes only our patience. It is no coincidence that lemon syrup is the Chinese traditional recipe because lemons were known to be grown in Assam (a region in northeast India), northern Burma or China. Not until 200 A.D., lemons were brought to Southern Italy.
Thanks to the fertility of volcanic soil and sufficient thermal excursions, Sicilian lemons are famous for being nutrient-dense, juicy and fragrant. They are often preferred for making lemon syrup, especially the organic ones. Making lemon syrup requires the whole lemon so using organic lemons is important as to avoid any chemical contamination pre- or post-harvest treatment.
Health Benefits: Dissolving phlegm and relieving cough, harmonizing the stomach and moistening the lungs, promoting body fluid and strengthening the spleen, it can be used to relieve symptoms such as dry cough, sore throat, excessive phlegm, and fatigue due to colds. For friends who smoke and drink too much, stay up late, and talk too much, can drink it regularly.
Ingredients:
1 kg lemon (5-8)
1.1 kg rock sugar
1 slice of dried mandarin peel (optional)
1. Wash the organic Sicilian lemons
2. Slice them and cut into 4 parts
3. Remove seeds
4. Put the cut lemons into the ceramic pot
5. Lay the rock sugar on top
6. Soak in hot water and stripe the dried mandarin peel (optional)
7. Put the pot to double boil for 10 hours
8. Cool down and bottle
“Your beloved avocado is bad for the environment and is often mired in economic and social problems.”
The infamous story of avocados in Mexico rings a bell to all the avocado-lovers. Water shortage, deforestation in Michoacán and drug cartel intimidation, these are the new tags to avocado, other than superfood. How true is that and should we stop eating avocados?
Avocado is super healthy Is Avocado a fruit, vegetable or berry? What is important is that it is delicious and super healthy. On top of the vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and fiber, it is also rich in bioactive compounds like carotenoids and phenolic compounds which are neuroprotective, and cardioprotective.
It is a staple in Mexican cuisine – the butter for every sandwich, topping on a taco or just a side dish. Now, it has become the staple superfood in the world.
Trend on avocados consumption In the last 15 years, the demand for avocados has tripled. Due to high economic incentive, Mexican farmers are growing more avocados to keep up with the global demand. 1.6 million tons of avocado come from Mexico which is more than 30% of global production. The chance is every 10 avocados you buy, there are 3 from Mexico. In the United States, their reliance on Mexico is even up to 8 avocados for every 10 purchased.
Other than the economic upside… Indeed, this avocado boom has lifted many families from poverty in Mexico but other than that, it also has other impacts.
1,700 acres (688 hectares) of being deforested annually? Due to the recent trend, approximately 20,000 hectares of forest in Michoacán (Mexico) are converted to agricultural use each year. It was estimated that the expansion of avocado plantation contributed to 1,700 acres (688 hectares) of deforestation annually. (A study by the University of Miami Law School states)
How bad is it? 90% of the tropical forest in Lázaro Cárdenas, Aquila y Coahuayana — municipalities in the state of Michoacán, Mexico — and one-fifth of deforestation is associated with Avocado plantation. One-fourth of avocado plantations are in Key Biological Areas (KBAs), which are defined as areas vital to the preservation of threatened species. Mexico is ranked the fifth most biodiverse country on earth with more than 450 species of mammals, 1000 birds, 330 amphibians, and 640 reptiles.
3,800 Olympic pools of water required? Also, the massive avocado plantation needs around 9.5 billion litres of water daily to produce avocado – equivalent to 3,800 Olympic pools – requiring a massive extraction of water from Michoacán aquifers.
Can you imagine excessive water extraction from these aquifers is causing small earthquakes? From 5 January to 15 February, 3,247 seismic movements were recorded in Uruapan municipality and surroundings, the most intensive avocado-producing area in the world. According to local authorities, avocado-related water extraction has opened up subsoil caverns that could be causing these movements.
But is avocado really the culprit?
Twenty gallons of water on a daily basis for a single tree is more than what other fruits consume. According to the global scarcity report, the avocado “requires four times more water than the production of a kilo of oranges and ten times of that of a kilo of tomato.”
Does avocado young plant need a lot of water?
First, in our experience, our avocado trees do not require so much water but I have not taken any data systematically . Second, the thirst for water is not a problem if it could be fulfilled by the natural rainfall. In Mexico, the problem comes from the theft of water sources from the local community.
Is avocado environmentally unfriendly? Avocado trees exist as any other trees on this planet, they serve their roles. It is the way of cultivation that is the main culprit. The massive scale of monoculture concentrated in Michoacán leads to serious deforestation of pine forest that changed the habitat which even reduced the water retention ability of the water. Imagine the amount of water in the soil is stretched even thinner by many more avocados, therefore the thirst of each avocado is more pronounced. Amount of water can never be isolated from the health of soil.
It is harming the local community Due to the highly profitable nature of avocado, it attracts avocado ranchers to cut down forests of pine trees for their avocado plantation. It also draws the attention of the drug cartels. They basically threaten the avocado farmer to pay extortion by violence and intimidation.
Avocado is NOT the culprit Now, it is clear that it is not avocado the culprit, it is the intensive plantation, the theft of water sources, the deforestation and the drug cartels the cause of tainting the super healthy avocado! When you do not know where your food comes from, this is how organized crime can come into the picture.
HK is no small player in avocado market Hong Kong is one of the main importing markets of avocado, which we consume 6 avocado per head annually for our 8 million population. While in Japan, the consumption is only 1 per head and Europe 2 per head. We are on par with American consumption in which they import 7 avocados per head.
What can we, consumers, do? None of us wants to involve in or support the organized criminal activities, so the easy way out is to know where your avocado comes from and know your farmers. A small step for consumers, a big change for the world.
Organic lemon Verdello is a summer lemon, unique in the East and North coast of Mount Etna. When it is mature, its peel stays green and gradually ripens into pale yellow. The high content of lemon essential oils make it perfect for making limoncello. Also, it has lower acidity than lemons in other seasons, it is suitable even for eating. The refreshing note of lemon comes with the aromaticity of the peel. Its antioxidant content is the highest among all in the other seasons.
In Sicily, lemons are usually used for salad dressing, verdello in particular is used for salad itself. This unusual recipe will surprise and lead you to meet and learn about lemons from a new angle.
