July 19, 2006
Q: Why do I sometimes get a headache when I'm eating ice cream?
A: About 30% of people experience acute pain when eating ice cream or gulping a cold drink too quickly. The blast of cold irritates the nerve endings in the soft palate. Your palate is also known as the roof of your mouth. The pain is then radiated to the other areas of your head by the nervous system. To prevent the ice cream headache in the future, savor ice cream momentarily in the front of your mouth before swallowing. This lessons the shock of cold that triggers the pain.
In more detail, the nerves respond by to the ice cream cold causing the blood vessels in the head to swell up. This quick swelling of the blood vessels is what causes your head to pound and hurt. Some people call this a "brain freeze," even though nothing is really happening in the brain - it's all in the blood vessels of the head.
Ice cream isn't the only food that can make your head hurt. Anything that's very cold, like ice pops, slushy frozen drinks, and even cold soda, water, milk, or juice can make the blood vessels swell.
A headache from ice cream or another cold food usually lasts about a minute or so, although it can feel like much longer. This kind of headache almost never lasts more than 5 minutes, and it goes away on its own. And although you may feel pain, it's not dangerous and doesn't mean that anything is wrong in your body.
And if you start to feel an ice cream headache coming on, you may be able to slow it down by holding your tongue against your palate. This will warm up your palate a little so you can enjoy the rest of your chilly dessert.
Posted by Robin Bagwell at 11:51 AM
July 19, 2006
Q: Is it hot enough yet to fry an egg on the sidewalk?
When I saw David Letterman go to commercial and show his staff outside attempting to fry an egg on the hot summer sidewalk, I decided it was time to send out some summertime questions!
Can you REALLY fry an egg on the sidewalk?
A: Weather forecasters have great fun with that claim during heat waves, but it is an exaggeration, sorry. Although David Letterman did come back from commercial and show the egg cooked and scrambled! It didn't really happen. In reality to fully cook, an egg must reach 185 degrees F. The world's highest recorded atmospheric temperature was 136 degrees F in Libya in 1922. I wonder if we have surpassed that yet this summer! When you think that the recommended griddle temperature to fry an egg is 325 degrees F. It's not quite possible to fry an egg on a sidewalk or a parking lot! For your viewing pleasure I found a video clip taken in Arizona on a 106 degree day between 2 and 3p.m. in the afternoon. They were trying to do just that, fry an egg on the sidewalk. They concluded it wasn't "hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk."
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2526713494061345496
The following is an interesting kids educational site from the American Egg Board, Kids and Family. It explains some curiosities about eggs.
http://www.aeb.org/kidsandfamily/how_hot_is_hot.htm
Q: Why do I sometimes get a headache when I'm eating ice cream?
A: About 30% of people experience acute pain when eating ice cream or gulping a cold drink too quickly. The blast of cold irritates the nerve endings in the soft palate. Your palate is also known as the roof of your mouth. The pain is then radiated to the other areas of your head by the nervous system. To prevent the ice cream headache in the future, savor ice cream momentarily in the front of your mouth before swallowing. This lessons the shock of cold that triggers the pain.
In more detail, the nerves respond by to the ice cream cold causing the blood vessels in the head to swell up. This quick swelling of the blood vessels is what causes your head to pound and hurt. Some people call this a "brain freeze," even though nothing is really happening in the brain - it's all in the blood vessels of the head.
Ice cream isn't the only food that can make your head hurt. Anything that's very cold, like ice pops, slushy frozen drinks, and even cold soda, water, milk, or juice can make the blood vessels swell.
A headache from ice cream or another cold food usually lasts about a minute or so, although it can feel like much longer. This kind of headache almost never lasts more than 5 minutes, and it goes away on its own. And although you may feel pain, it's not dangerous and doesn't mean that anything is wrong in your body.
And if you start to feel an ice cream headache coming on, you may be able to slow it down by holding your tongue against your palate. This will warm up your palate a little so you can enjoy the rest of your chilly dessert.
Posted by Robin Bagwell at 11:49 AM
July 19, 2006
Q: "Do I have to blanch my vegetables before I freeze them?"
Many times people ask....
A: No, you don't HAVE to but you really SHOULD. It's not a food safety issue, it's a quality issue. Your frozen foods won't stay a good quality for long if not blanched. If you don't blanch, your vegetable's enzymes continue to ripen the vegetable.
Blanching is one of the most important steps in the freezing of vegetables. In fact, it should be considered a "must" for most all vegetables except those used exclusively for flavor like green onions, hot peppers and herbs.
Blanching brightens the color, helps retain vitamins and reduces the action of the enzymes that would otherwise destroy fresh flavor, even after freezing. There is another very practical reason for blanching: it shrinks the product, making it easier to pack.
Vegetables that are frozen without blanching are safe to use, but there is a quality loss, especially after one month.
Vegetables are low in both acid and sugar that inhibit enzymes, and sugar syrups (which inhibit enzymes) are not used. These enzymes will cause color changes (browning especially), flavor changes and damage to nutrients (vitamins A and C in particular). Blanching helps to remove air from the food, and it softens the texture making the food easier to pack into the bag or freezer container.
Blanching has several functions:
1. Cleans off surface dirt and organisms.
2. Brightens the color.
3. Reduces enzyme activity.
4. Amount of water to use:
a. One gallon of water per pound
b. Leafy greens: two gallons of water per pound
Traditional Blanching Procedures:
1. Bring water to a boil.
2. Blanch in water or in live steam--place vegetables in a basket and immerse basket in
boiling water for the recommended blanching time.
3. Blanching time will vary with size of vegetable pieces.
4. Remove basket from boiling water and submerge in ice water.
5. Remove from water as soon as vegetables are cool to avoid leaching out of nutrients.
6. Dry off vegetables by laying out on toweling or shaking in a colander.
Microwave blanching:
Some may prefer to use Microwave blanching.
1. Adequate blanching depends on sufficient energy to inactivate the enzymes that cause
darkening, softening, flavor changes and vitamin losses. Older microwaves may put out
1000 watts of power on "high", while newer ones may put out 600-700 watts on high. Some of the very small microwaves put out only 350 watts of power on "high".
Check your microwave instruction manual for the maximum power output of your oven.
Look to see what percentage of the maximum power output your oven puts out on other
settings. If your oven puts out 1000 watts on "high", you will need to use a power selection that gives you 60 or 70% power (to give 600 to 700 watts) for microwave blanching.
2. Microwave blanching is easy for small batches of vegetables, but not recommended for larger quantities. For some foods, microwave blanching is relatively rapid; however for many, the blanching time is as long as blanching in boiling water on the conventional range and you can only blanch a small amount of vegetable at a time.
How to microwave blanch:
1. Use microwave-safe covered glass casserole dish.
2. Put vegetables and water into dish and cover.
3. Microwave at 600-700 watts for specified time.
4. Remove dish from oven, drain water and chill vegetables in ice water for 1 minute. Chilling can be done in a colander or vegetables can be placed in a freezer bag and the bag can be submerged in ice water.
5. Press out air, seal, label, freeze.
Call Robin at U of I Extension at 309-663-8306 for blanching times for particular vegetables.
Posted by Robin Bagwell at 10:20 AM
July 11, 2006
Q: Barbeque Food Safety; How Do I Safely Smoke Meat and Poultry?
A: Smoking is cooking food indirectly in the presence of a fire. According to the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), which is with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), smoking can be done in a covered grill if a pan of water is place beneath the meat on the grill; and meats can be smoked in a "smoker," which is an outdoor cooker especially designed for smoking foods.FSIS states smoking is done much more slowly than grilling, so less tender meats benefit from this method, and a natural smoke flavoring permeates the meat. The temperature in the smoker should be maintained at 250 to 300 F for safety.
Use a food thermometer to be sure the food has reached a safe internal temperature.
For more information on grilling and food safety, visit the FSIS website at: www.fsis.usda.gov.
Posted by Robin Bagwell at 6:19 PM
July 11, 2006
Q: Barbeque Food Safety; How Do I know When I am Marinating Meat and Poultry Safely?
A: Meat and poultry can be marinated for several hours or overnight to tenderize or add flavor. According to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), there are a few simple guidelines to remember so that marinated food is prepared safely.
Marinate food in the refrigerator, not on the counter. If some of the marinade is to be used as a sauce on the cooked food, reserve a portion of the marinade before putting raw meat or raw poultry in it.
For more information on grilling and food safety, visit the FSIS website at: www.fsis.usda.gov.
Marinated Lemon Thyme Chicken or Pork
4 skinned chicken pieces or pork chops
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
Mix oil, lemon juice, thyme and garlic. Place chicken/pork in shallow container and cover with mixture. Let set in refrigerator 30 minutes. Preheat grill or broiler. Cook chicken/pork until tender and reaches an internal temperature of 165 F (chicken) or 160 F for pork. Makes 4 servings.
Nutrient analysis per serving (using 3 oz chicken breast): 160 calories, 20 grams protein, 1 gram carbohydrates, 8 grams fat, 49 milligrams cholesterol, trace of fiber, 56 milligrams sodium, 228 milligrams potassium. Exchanges: 3 meat, 1 1/2 fat.
Recipe Source: IL FNP/EFNEP Wellness Ways
Posted by Robin Bagwell at 6:14 PM
July 11, 2006
Q: Barbeque Food Safety; How Do I Know If I am Grilling Meats and Poultry Safely?
A: When grilling meats, the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), which is with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), stresses we cook meat and poultry to the proper temperature.Cooking food to a safe internal temperature destroys harmful bacteria.
Use a food thermometer to be sure the food has reached a safe temperature. Beef, veal and lamb steaks, roasts and chops can be cooked to 145 F internal temperature. Hamburgers made of ground beef should reach 160 F. All cuts of pork should reach 160 F. All poultry should reach a minimum of 165 F.
FSIS emphasizes we should NEVER partially grill meat or poultry and then finish cooking later.
For more information on grilling and food safety, visit the FSIS website at: www.fsis.usda.gov.
Posted by Robin Bagwell at 6:10 PM
