Xpert Content

Posts Tagged ‘Bacterial Growth’

Pickles are a popular snack, side dish, and condiment. But did you know that pickles are also a healthy part of your diet? There are many different pickle recipes out there, but each version has its own healthy benefits depending on the ingredients that went into the pickle and the method used for pickling, whether fermented or packed with vinegar. Pickles are great for most diets because not only are they low in calories, and low in fat or fat-free, many versions are also low in sugar.

Pickles are also a healthy edition to your diet for other reasons. Pickles, being made from cucumbers or other vegetables, are high in fiber which is necessary for digestive health and fighting cancer. The cucumbers and other vegetables also contain antioxidants, which fight free-radicals, and depending on the veggie, can be a good source of calcium, magnesium, and iron. The recommendation by most health professionals is to eat five servings of vegetables and fruit each day. Eating pickles is a great way to get a daily serving or two of your five-a-day!

The spices with which pickles are made are also healthy. For example, dill and garlic, both of which are popular in pickles, both have the ability to regulate bacterial growth. Dill and other spices also contain flavonoids, which is a healing addition to your diet. Mustard seeds are known to be good for digesting foods and even turmeric powder has medicinal properties and is believed to lower rates of Alzheimer’s disease.

Fermented pickles also have good bacteria that can control harmful intestinal microbes. When pickles are fermented, lactic acid is created. This acid helps to lower fat in the bloodstream, improve circulation, and lower high blood pressure. It also helps to support a healthy digestive system, reintroduces good bacteria into the intestines, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, and is beneficial for diabetics. In fact, one study even found that eating fermented products regularly contributed to lower rates of skin problems, asthma, and auto-immune disorders.

Many pickles are made with vinegars. This healthy liquid has several positive properties in addition to its tangy taste. Vinegar is known to boost the immune system, ease digestive disorders, and can break down calcium deposits in a person’s joints. In addition, vinegar is known to decrease high blood pressure, and help treat urinary infections. It is even said to re-mineralize your bones, balance your blood pH, and fight infection. Vinegar is also anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. It inhibits the growth of the E.coli bacteria, and when used in conjunction with salt, which is common in pickling, the anti-bacterial properties are amplified.

Another common item used for pickling is apple cider vinegar. It has several additional health benefits as well. Not only does it contain several minerals, thirty-plus nutrients, and pectin, which is good for your heart, it also contains several essential amino acids, all of which are a great addition to your diet.

Pickles can be a tasty snack eaten with the confidence that you’re having something healthy at the same time – what could be better? Hey, even Aristotle, Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon, and Cleopatra believed in the health benefits of the pickle, and Hippocrates utilized it for one of the first medicines! So if you ever needed a reason to eat more pickles, now you have it.

Copyright 2006 Jonathan Heusman

To learn much more about pickles, how to pickle, pickle recipes, pickle tips, and everything else having to do with pickling, head over to www.howtopickle.com. Sign up for our free newsletter to receive our Free Pickling Recipe of the month, and our Ultimate Pickling Guide to learn how to make your very own pickles!

Article Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com

Most people have all done it — opened a container of leftovers or a half-used jar of spaghetti sauce, long forgotten in the back of the refrigerator, and reeled at the sight and smell of fuzzy mold. Food that is obviously spoiled gets pitched. But what about stuff that looks and smells okay even if it has been around awhile? Do you play it safe and pitch it? Or throw it into the microwave and take your chances?

The thing is that people cannot really rely on their eyes, nose or taste buds to tell whether or not a food is safe to eat.

Disease-causing microorganisms that creep into food can surely make you sick, sometimes for as long as several weeks. Food poisoning can be more serious for the very young, the very old, the pregnant, and people with illnesses like cancer and AIDS.

In fact, people can even die from a severe cause of food poisoning. So it pays to have a little extra information on your side. The trick is for you to know which food to get rid of before it can hurt you. With the right prevention tactics, you never need to second-guess your toss-or-keep policies.

To steer clear of food poisoning, which actually happens right in your kitchen, start by following six simple, germ-savvy rules:

1. Keep cold foods cold — 34° to 40°F or 1° to 4°C.

Attention to food safety is crucial anywhere specially if you are dealing with perishables. In a strictly controlled environment like the refrigerator, cold itself is a valuable factor in food safety. Accuracy of holding temperature helps slow bacterial growth.

2. Keep hot foods hot — 140° to 165°F or 60° to 74°C

Do not guess if your goose is cooked. Cook meats until the center reaches 165°F (74°C). The only way to tell is with a thermometer that goes all the way into the center of the bird or roast.

Maintaining hot foods hot reduces the chances of developing dangerous bacteria to breed. This guarantees a safer product that is good for your health.

3. Keep food storage and preparation areas clean — that includes shelves and counters as well as your refrigerator.

What you don’t see can certainly hurt you. What seems clean does not necessarily mean it is safe. Stay on the safe side. Always maintain cleanliness and hygiene in your kitchen.

4. Before starting food preparation, wash your hands with hot soapy water for at least 20 seconds.

Your hands are the number one carrier of germs. Contamination with the food you prepare will increase the chances of developing diseases.

5. Refrigerate leftovers quickly.

When eating take-home foods, it is best to consume them within 48 hours. If you have leftovers, refrigerate it within two hours of the food being served, within an hour during the summer, then reheat it to 165°F (74°C) or higher within two days. For take-outs, put it in the refrigerator within one hour of leaving the restaurant.

Refrigeration is utilized for food preservation such as extending the shelf-life of foods, merchandise preservation/presentation and contributes to indoor environment.

6. When in doubt, throw it out.

The sneaky salmonella bacteria are probably the most common cause of food poisoning. Infected food usually tastes fine but you won’t feel fine. Within 12 to 20 hours after eating, you may develop nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, headache, and sometimes fever.

Sounds easy enough? Think again. Even if it seems easy there are always murky areas such as food that is kept too long or raw foods that carry troublesome bacteria. Follow tips outlined here and you will prevent food-borne diseases from sneaking into your kitchen.

Jo is an author and publisher for ‘Benchmark Interiors’ (www.benchmarkinteriors.co.uk), a UK kitchen furniture manufacturer that focuses in bespoke handmade kitchens, bedroom and home office furniture development and fabrication. If you want an expert to help you on your benchmarkinteriors.co.uk/kitchen-planning”>kitchen planning in order to keep the place harmless and secure all the time or just would like to know more about www.benchmarkinteriors.co.uk”>bespoke kitchens design then you ought to check out Benchmark Interiors.

Article Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com