FOOD MUSINGS - Did you know that........

CINNAMON: Have you ever eaten cinnamon? Don't say "yes" too quickly; you may be wrong. Cinnamon-snobs (and yes there are such people) say that only Ceylon cinnamon is"true cinnamon." In the U.S. most of what is sold as "cinnamon" is of the Cassia or Saigon variety, NOT Ceylon. Both Cassia and Saigon are hard and have high levels of coumarin (a substance known to cause liver damage). Ceylon cinnamon is soft and brittle, with ultra low coumarin levels, making it healthier. Most people find Ceylon smells and tastes better too. Soooo, what's in your spice jar? More info is available at cinnamonvogue.com.

GRAVY FOR MEATLOAF: Do you like gravy on your meatloaf?I do, but meatloaf drippings are not the stuff from which good gravy is made, so what to do? There's always brown gravy mix, but it is so dark and strong. I have a better solution. I discovered that using beef broth (instead of water) with a packet of turkey gravy mix makes a great beefy gravy with a better flavor than the brown gravy mix. Personally I use Publix gravy mix but this would probably work with other brands as well. Give it a try; I think you will like it.

FLOUR: We all know that whole-wheat flour and bread are brown because they contain all of the wheat berry, not just the endosperm. Well guess what; there is such a thing as white whole-wheat, and it did not get that way by being bleached.  Most flour is made from red wheat berries, but there are also white wheat berries, so whole-wheat flour made from those berries is white. Who knew? I learned this from joythebaker.

Thank you for visiting my blog, and I hope you learned something of interest.  Happy Eating!