View allAll Photos Tagged PRESERVATIVE
"Any baby born today or in the past decade who consumed its mother's breast milk also probably absorbed traces of perchlorate, a toxic component of rocket fuel. A 2005 study of lactating women in eighteen U.S. states found the toxin in practically every mother's milk...A breast-fed one-month-old infant will absorb enough perchlorate to exceed all safe levels, perhaps even its lifetime safe level, as determined by a panel of the National Academy of Sciences."
In 1977 the EPA banned the manufacture and use of PCBs, citing them as hazardous to human health.
In 1979 PCBs were detected in 30% of human breast milk, testing at an average level of 86 parts per billion. This is more than the level of 62.5 ppb that triggered an FDA recall of cow's milk contaminated with PCBs.
I have recently begun to educate myself on what is in the food and drink that I consume. It's a sad state of affairs, I feel let down and lied to by our government and the lobbyists that perpetuate the delusion that processed food is good for us. I'm angry.
.... In June 2014, H.J. Heinz Co. ended production in Leamington, Ontario where it had been making ketchup since 1909, Heinz was the biggest employer in the southwestern Ontario city. By pulling the plug on its Canadian plant, 740 jobs were lost, throwing 740 workers on the street. Heinz decided to make its ketchup solely in the United States and ship it back for sale on Canadian grocery store shelves. Then, French's ( known for its mustard ) stepped in and decided to make ketchup. They also decided to use those same Leamington tomatoes from Canadian farmers. The result: A ketchup .... free of preservatives, free of artificial flavours, also free of high fructose corn syrup. French's ketchup uses Leamington tomatoes processed at the former H.J. Heinz Co. plant that the American multinational left in 2014 as it moved operations stateside. Mindful of French’s commitment to the City of Leamington and the Province of Ontario, NDP (New Democratic Party) MPP (Member of Provincial Parliament) Taras Natyshak (Essex) has led the charge to ensure that only French's ketchup is served at the cafeteria in the Ontario Legislature Building. Natyshak started an online petition for the cause because “the promotion of French’s ketchup would greatly support local tomato producers, local workers and communities across Essex County.” There have been other grass-roots crusaders for the product on social media ....
I was very lucky that I was taken to this wild olive forest on the outskirts of Zhob. Wild olive forests are found in the upland areas of the west and north of Pakistan. This forest was very serene and with no visitors. It was amazing just being there. The atmosphere was very tranquil. It was quite chilly and most of the bird life are summer visitors. We did manage to see Woodpigeons, Magpies and some Finches though. There are Shrikes, Warblers, Buzzards, Mistle Thrushes, Spotted Flycatchers and Partridges in the olive forest.
The Olive ( /ˈɑːləv/ or /ˈɒlɨv/), Olea europaea, is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin (the adjoining coastal areas of southeastern Europe, western Asia and northern Africa) as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea. Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil. The tree and its fruit give its name to the plant family, which also includes species such as lilacs, jasmine, Forsythia and the true ash trees (Fraxinus). The word derives from Latin "oliva" which in turn comes from the Greek ἐλαία (elaia)[1][2] ultimately from Mycenaean Greek e-ra-wa ("elaiva"), attested in Linear B syllabic script.[3][4] The word 'oil' in multiple languages ultimately derives from the name of this tree and its fruit.
Description
The olive tree is an evergreen tree or shrub native to the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa. It is short and squat, and rarely exceeds 8–15 metres (26–49 ft) in height. The silvery green leaves are oblong in shape, measuring 4–10 centimetres (1.6–3.9 in) long and 1–3 centimetres (0.39–1.2 in) wide. The trunk is typically gnarled and twisted.
The small white, feathery flowers, with ten-cleft calyx and corolla, two stamens and bifid stigma, are borne generally on the last year's wood, in racemes springing from the axils of the leaves.
The fruit is a small drupe 1–2.5 centimetres (0.39–0.98 in) long, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than in orchard cultivars. Olives are harvested in the green to purple stage. Canned black olives may contain chemicals (usually ferrous sulfate) that turn them black artificially.
Paleobotany
The place, time and immediate ancestry of the cultivated olive are unknown. It is assumed that Olea europaea may have arisen from O. chrysophylla in northern tropical Africa and that it was introduced into the countries of the Mediterranean Basin via Egypt and then Crete or Israel, Syria and Asia Minor. Fossil Olea pollen has been found in Macedonia, Greece, and other places around Mediterranean, indicating that this genus is an original element of the Mediterranean flora. Fossilized leaves of Olea were found in the palaeosols of the volcanic Greek island of Santorini (Thera) and were dated about 37.000 B.P. Inprints of larvae of olive whitefly Aleurolobus (Aleurodes) olivinus were found on the leaves. The same insect is commonly found today on olive leaves, showing that the plant-animal co-evolutionary relations have not changed since that time.
History
The olive is one of the plants most often cited in literature. In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus crawls beneath two shoots of olive that grow from a single stock,[6] and in the Iliad, (XVII.53ff) is a metaphoric description of a lone olive tree in the mountains, by a spring; the Greeks observed that the olive rarely thrives at a distance from the sea, which in Greece invariably means up mountain slopes. Greek myth attributed to the primordial culture-hero Aristaeus the understanding of olive husbandry, along with cheese-making and bee-keeping.[7] Olive was one of the woods used to fashion the most primitive Greek cult figures, called xoana, referring to their wooden material; they were reverently preserved for centuries.[8] It was purely a matter of local pride that the Athenians claimed that the olive grew first in Athens.[9] In an archaic Athenian foundation myth, Athena won the patronship of Attica from Poseidon with the gift of the olive. Though, according to the 4th-century BC father of botany, Theophrastus, olive trees ordinarily attained an age of about 200 years,[10] he mentions that the very olive tree of Athena still grew on the Acropolis; it was still to be seen there in the 2nd century AD;[11] and when Pausanias was shown it, ca 170 AD, he reported "Legend also says that when the Persians fired Athens the olive was burnt down, but on the very day it was burnt it grew again to the height of two cubits."[12] Indeed, olive suckers sprout readily from the stump, and the great age of some existing olive trees shows that it was perfectly possible that the olive tree of the Acropolis dated to the Bronze Age. The olive was sacred to Athena and appeared on the Athenian coinage.
The Roman poet Horace mentions it in reference to his own diet, which he describes as very simple: "As for me, olives, endives, and smooth mallows provide sustenance."[13] Lord Monboddo comments on the olive in 1779 as one of the foods preferred by the ancients and as one of the most perfect foods.[14]
The leafy branches of the olive tree - the olive leaf as a symbol of abundance, glory and peace - were used to crown the victors of friendly games and bloody wars. As emblems of benediction and purification, they were also ritually offered to deities and powerful figures; some were even found in Tutankhamen's tomb.
Olive oil has long been considered sacred; it was used to anoint kings and athletes in ancient Greece. It was burnt in the sacred lamps of temples as well as being the "eternal flame" of the original Olympic Games. Victors in these games were crowned with its leaves. Today, it is still used in many religious ceremonies.
Over the years, the olive has been the symbol of peace, wisdom, glory, fertility, power and pureness. The olive tree and olives are mentioned over 30 times in the Bible, in both the New and Old Testaments. It is one of the first plants mentioned in the Bible, and one of the most significant. For example, it was an olive leaf that a dove brought back to Noah to demonstrate that the flood was over. The Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem is mentioned several times. The Allegory of the Olive Tree in chapter 5 of the Book of Jacob in the Book of Mormon, refers to the scattering and gathering of Israel. It compares the Israelites and gentiles to tame and wild olive trees. The olive tree itself, as well as olive oil and olives, play an important role in the Bible.[15]
The olive tree and olive oil are mentioned seven times in the Quran, and the olive is praised as a precious fruit. In Chapter 24 Al-Nur: "Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The metaphor of His Light is that of a niche in which is a lamp, the lamp inside a glass, the glass like a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the east nor of the west, its oil all but giving off light even if no fire touches it. Light upon Light. Allah guides to His Light whoever He wills and Allah makes metaphors for mankind and Allah has knowledge of all things." (Quran, 24:35). Olive tree and olive oil health benefits have been propounded in Prophetic medicine. The Prophet Mohamed is reported to have said: "Take oil of olive and massage with it - it is a blessed tree" (Sunan al-Darimi, 69:103).
The olive tree is native to the Mediterranean region and Western Asia, and spread to nearby countries from there. It is estimated the cultivation of olive trees began more than 7000 years ago. As far back as 3000 BC, olives were grown commercially in Crete; they may have been the source of the wealth of the Minoan civilization.[16] The ancient Greeks used to smear olive oil on their bodies and hair as a matter of grooming and good health.
Theophrastus, in On the Nature of Plants, does not give as systematic and detailed an account of olive husbandry as he does of the vine, but he makes clear (in 1.16.10) that the cultivated olive must be vegetatively propagated; indeed, the pits give rise to thorny, wild-type olives, spread far and wide by birds. Theophrastus reports how the bearing olive can be grafted on the wild olive, for which the Greeks had a separate name, kotinos.[17]
After the 16th century, the Europeans brought the olive to the New World, and its cultivation began in Mexico, Peru, Chile and Argentina, and then in the 18th century in California. It is estimated that there are about 800 million olive trees in the world today, and the vast majority of these are found in Mediterranean countries.
Old olive trees
The olive tree is a very hardy species: drought-, disease- and fire-resistant, and can live for a very long time. Its root system is very robust and capable of regenerating the tree even if the above-ground structure is destroyed. The older an olive tree is, the broader and more gnarled its trunk appears. Many olive trees in the groves around the Mediterranean are said to be hundreds years old, while an age of 2,000 years is claimed for a number of individual trees and in some cases this has been verified scientifically.
Pliny the Elder told of a sacred Greek olive tree that was 1,600 years old. An olive tree in west Athens, named "Plato's Olive Tree", was rumored to be a remnant of the grove within which Plato's Academy was situated, which would date it to approximately 2,400 years ago. The tree was a cavernous trunk from which a few branches were still sprouting in 1975, when a traffic accident caused a bus to fall on and uproot it. Since then the trunk is preserved and displayed in the nearby Agricultural University of Athens. A supposedly even older tree, called the "Peisistratos Tree", is located by the banks of the Cephisus River, in the municipality of Agioi Anargyroi, and is said to be a remnant of an olive grove planted by Athenian tyrant Peisistratos in the 6th century BC. A number of Ancient Olive trees also exists in the area of mountain Pelion in Greece.
An olive tree in Algarve, Portugal, is 2000 years old, according to radiocarbon dating.[18] The age of an olive tree in Crete, claimed to be over 2,000 years old, has been confirmed on the basis of tree ring analysis.[19]
An olive tree in Bar, Montenegro, is claimed to be over 2,000 years old.[20]
Another well-known olive tree on the island of Brijuni (Brioni), Istria in Croatia, has been calculated to be about 1,600 years old. It still gives fruit (about 30 kg/66 lb per year), which is made into top quality olive oil.[21]
According to a recent scientific survey, there are dozens of ancient olive trees throughout Israel and Biblical Palestine, 1,600-2,000 years old.[22] Ancient trees include two giant olive trees in the Arab town of Arraba and five trees in Deir Hanna, both in the Galilee region, which have been determined to be over 3,000 years old,[22] although the credibility of the study that produced these dates has been questioned. All seven trees continue to produce olives.
Several trees in the Garden of Gethsemane (from the Hebrew words "gat shemanim" or olive press) in Jerusalem are claimed to date back to the time of Jesus.[23]
Some Italian olive trees are believed to date back to Roman times, although identifying progenitor trees in ancient sources is difficult. A tree located in Santu Baltolu di Carana (municipality of Luras) in Sardinia, Italy, named with respect as the Ozzastru by the inhabitants of the region, is claimed to be 3,000 to 4,000 years old according to different studies. There are several other trees of about 1,000 years old within the same garden.
Cultivation and uses
The olive tree has been cultivated for olive oil, fine wood, olive leaf, and the olive fruit. The earliest evidence for the domestication of olives comes from the Chalcolithic Period archaeological site of Teleilat Ghassul in what is today modern Jordan.
Farmers in ancient times believed olive trees would not grow well if planted more than a short distance from the sea; Theophrastus gives 300 stadia (55.6 km/34.5 mi) as the limit. Modern experience does not always confirm this, and, though showing a preference for the coast, it has long been grown further inland in some areas with suitable climates, particularly in the southwestern Mediterranean (Iberia, northwest Africa) where winters are mild.
Olives are now cultivated in many regions of the world with Mediterranean climates, such as South Africa, Chile, Peru, Australia, the Mediterranean Basin, Israel, Palestinian Territories and California and in areas with temperate climates such as New Zealand, under irrigation in the Cuyo region in Argentina which has a desert climate. They are also grown in the Córdoba Province, Argentina, which has a temperate climate with rainy summers and dry winters (Cwa).[24] The climate in Argentina changes the external characteristics of the plant but the fruit keeps its original features.[25]
Considerable research supports the health-giving benefits of consuming olives, olive leaf and olive oil (see external links below for research results). Olive leaves are used in medicinal teas.
Olives are now being looked at[26] for use as a renewable energy source, using waste produced from the olive plants as an energy source that produces 2.5 times the energy generated by burning the same amount of wood. The same reference claims that the smoke released has no negative impact on neighbors or the environment, and the ash left in the stove can be used for fertilizing gardens and plants. The process has been patented in the Middle East and the US (for example).
Subspecies
There are six natural subspecies distributed over a wide range:[28]
•Olea europaea subsp. europaea (Mediterranean Basin)
•Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata (from South Africa throughout East Africa, Arabia to South West China)
•Olea europaea subsp. guanchica (Canaries)
•Olea europaea subsp. cerasiformis (Madeira)
•Olea europaea subsp. maroccana Morocco
•Olea europaea subsp. laperrinei (Algeria, Sudan, Niger)
The subspecies maroccana and cerasiformis are respectively hexaploid and tetraploid.
Growth and propagation
Olive trees show a marked preference for calcareous soils, flourishing best on limestone slopes and crags, and coastal climate conditions. They grow in any light soil, even on clay if well drained, but in rich soils they are predisposed to disease and produce poorer oil than in poorer soil. (This was noted by Pliny the Elder.) Olives like hot weather, and temperatures below −10 °C (14.0 °F) may injure even a mature tree. They tolerate drought well, thanks to their sturdy and extensive root system. Olive trees can live exceptionally long, up to several centuries, and can remain productive for as long, if they are pruned correctly and regularly.
Olives grow very slowly, and over many years the trunk can attain a considerable diameter. A. P. de Candolle recorded one exceeding 10 metres (33 ft) in girth. The trees rarely exceed 15 metres (49 ft) in height, and are generally confined to much more limited dimensions by frequent pruning. The yellow or light greenish-brown wood is often finely veined with a darker tint; being very hard and close-grained, it is valued by woodworkers. There are only a handlful of olive varieties that can be used to cross-pollinate. Pendolino olive trees are partially self-fertile, but pollenizers are needed for a large fruit crop. Other compatible olive tree pollenizers include Leccino and Maurino. Pendolino olive trees are used extensively as pollenizers in large olive tree groves.
Olives are propagated by various methods. The preferred ways are either cuttings or layers; the tree roots easily in favourable soil and throws up suckers from the stump when cut down. However, yields from trees grown from suckers or seeds are poor; they must be budded or grafted onto other specimens to do well (Lewington and Parker, 114). Branches of various thickness cut into lengths of about 1 metre (3.3 ft) and planted deeply in manured ground, soon vegetate. Shorter pieces are sometimes laid horizontally in shallow trenches and, when covered with a few centimetres of soil, rapidly throw up sucker-like shoots. In Greece, grafting the cultivated tree on the wild tree is a common practice. In Italy, embryonic buds, which form small swellings on the stems, are carefully excised and planted under the soil surface, where they soon form a vigorous shoot.
Occasionally, large branches are marched[clarification needed] to obtain young trees. The olive is also sometimes grown from seed; to facilitate germination, the oily pericarp is first softened by slight rotting, or soaked in hot water or in an alkaline solution.
Where the olive is carefully cultivated, as in Languedoc and Provence, the trees are regularly pruned. The pruning preserves the flower-bearing shoots of the preceding year, while keeping the tree low enough to allow the easy gathering of the fruit. The spaces between the trees are regularly fertilized. The crop from old trees is sometimes enormous, but they seldom bear well two years in succession, and in many cases a large harvest occurs every sixth or seventh season.
Fruit harvest and processing
Olives are harvested in the autumn and winter. More specifically in the Northern hemisphere, green olives are picked at the end of September to about the middle of November. Blond olives are picked from the middle of October to the end of November and black olives are collected from the middle of November to the end of January or early February. In southern Europe, harvesting is done for several weeks in winter, but the time varies in each country, and with the season and the cultivar.
Most olives today are harvested by shaking the boughs or the whole tree. Using olives found lying on the ground can result in poor quality oil. Another method involves standing on a ladder and "milking" the olives into a sack tied around the harvester's waist.[citation needed] A third method uses a device called an oli-net that wraps around the tree trunk and opens to form an umbrella-like catcher from which workers collect the fruit. Another method uses an electric tool, the oliviera, that has large tongs that spin around quickly, removing fruit from the tree. This method is used for olives used for oil. Table olive varieties are more difficult to harvest, as workers must take care not to damage the fruit; baskets that hang around the worker's neck are used. In some places in Italy and Greece, olives are harvested by hand because the terrain is too mountainous for machines. As a result, the fruit is not bruised, which leads to a superior finished product. The method also involves sawing off branches, which is healthy for future production.[33]
The amount of oil contained in the fruit differs greatly by cultivar; the pericarp is usually 60–70% oil. Typical yields are 1.5–2.2 kg (3.3–4.9 lb) of oil per tree per year.
Traditional fermentation and curing
Photo of the olive vat room at Graber Olive House, 315 E 4th St, Ontario, CA 91764. In 1894, two years after planting olive trees in Ontario, California, C. C. Graber began selling vat cured olives from the pictured vat room in vats similar to the ones pictured. Graber Olive House is the oldest operating olive packer in the United States.
Green and black olives
Olives are a naturally bitter fruit that is typically subjected to fermentation or cured with lye or brine to make it more palatable.
Green olives and black olives are typically washed thoroughly in water to remove oleuropein, a bitter carbohydrate. Sometimes they are also soaked in a solution of food grade sodium hydroxide to accelerate the process.
Green olives are allowed to ferment before being packed in a brine solution. American black ("California") olives are not fermented, which is why they taste milder than green olives.
Freshly picked olive fruit is not palatable because it contains phenolic compounds and oleuropein, a glycoside which makes the fruit too bitter, although not unhealthy.[33] (One exception is the Thassos olive, which can be eaten fresh.)[citation needed] There are many ways of processing olives for eating. Traditional methods use the natural microflora on the fruit and procedures which select for those flora that ferment the fruit. This fermentation leads to three important outcomes: the leaching out and breakdown of oleuropein and phenolic compounds; the creation of lactic acid, which is a natural preservative; and a complex of flavoursome fermentation products. The result is a product which will store with or without refrigeration.
Fresh olives are often sold at markets. Olives can be used green, ripe green (a yellower shade of green, or green with hints of colour), through to full purple black ripeness. Olives should be selected for general good condition and for firmness if green. For fermentation, the olives are soaked in water to wash, then drained. One method uses a ratio of 7 liters (7 kg/15 lb) of room temperature water, plus 800 g (28 oz) of sea salt and 1 cup (300 g/11 oz) of white wine or cider vinegar. Each olive is slit deeply with a small knife; large fruit (e.g., 60 fruit per kg) should be slit in multiple places. The solution is added to a container of olives, and they are weighted down with an inert object, such as a plate, so they are fully immersed and lightly sealed in their container. The gases of fermentation should be able to escape. It is possible to use a plastic bag partially filled with water, and lay this over the top as a venting lid, which also provides a good seal. The exclusion of oxygen is helpful, but not as critical as when fermenting grapes to produce wine. After some weeks, the salinity drops from 10% to around 5 to 6%, once the water in the olives moves into solution and the salt moves into the olives. The olives are edible within 2 weeks to a month, but can be left to cure for up to three months. They can be tasted at any time because the bitter compounds are not poisonous, and oleuropein is a useful antioxidant in the human diet.
Curing can be done by several methods: lye-curing, salt-curing, brine-curing and fresh water-curing. Salt-curing (also known as dry-curing) involves packing the olives in plain salt for at least a month, which produces a salty and wrinkled olive. Brine-curing involves placing the olives in a salt water solution for a few days or more. Fresh-water curing involves soaking the olives in a succession of baths, of which the water is changed daily.[33] Green olives are usually firmer than black olives.
Olives can also be flavoured by soaking them in various marinades, or removing the pit and stuffing them. Popular flavourings are herbs, spices, olive oil, feta, capsicum (pimento), chili, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic cloves, wine, vinegar, juniper berries, almonds, and anchovies. Sometimes, the olives are lightly cracked with a hammer or a stone to trigger fermentation. This method of curing adds a slightly bitter taste.
Pests, diseases, and weather
A fungus, Cycloconium oleaginum, can infect the trees for several successive seasons, causing great damage to plantations. A species of bacterium, Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. oleae,[35] induces tumour growth in the shoots. Certain lepidopterous caterpillars feed on the leaves and flowers. More serious damage is caused by olive-fly attacks to the fruit.
A pest which spreads through olive trees is the black scale bug, a small black scale insect that resembles a small black spot. They attach themselves firmly to olive trees and reduce the quality of the fruit; their main predators are wasps. The curculio beetle eats the edges of leaves, leaving sawtooth damage.[36]
Rabbits eat the bark of olive trees and can do considerable damage, especially to young trees. If the bark is removed around the entire circumference of a tree it is likely to die.
In France and north-central Italy, olives suffer occasionally from frost. Gales and long-continued rains during the gathering season also cause damage.
Production
Olives are one of the most extensively cultivated fruit crops in the world.[37] In 2009 there were 9.9 million hectares planted with olive trees, which is more than twice the amount of land devoted to apples, bananas or mangoes. Only coconut trees and oil palms command more space.[38] Cultivation area tripled from 2,600,000 to 8,500,000 hectares (6,400,000 to 21,000,000 acres) between 1960 and 2004 and in 2008 reached 10.8 mln Ha. The ten largest producing countries, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, are all located in the Mediterranean region (with the exception of Argentina, located in South America) and produce 95% of the world's olives.
Main countries of production (Year 2009 per FAOSTAT)
Rank
Country/Region
Production
(in tons)
Cultivated area
(in hectares)
Yield
(q/Ha)
—World18,241,8099,922,83618.383
1 Spain
6,204,7002,500,00024.818
2 Italy
3,600,5001,159,00031.065
3 Greece
2,444,230 (2007)765,00031.4
4 Turkey
1,290,654727,51317.740
5 Syria
885,942635,69113.936
6 Morocco
770,000550,00014.000
7 Tunisia
750,0002,300,0003.260
8 Egypt
500,000110,00045.454
9 Algeria
475,182288,44216.474
10 Portugal
362,600380,7009.524
11 Lebanon
76,200250,0006.5
12 Jordan
189,000126,000
13 Libya
180,000
14 Argentina
160,00052,00030.769
The epic continue...this is another piece from my " TMWSTW " series...Full series is available at the nearest Bookstore.
Manually processed by M.A.M , Earth Studio.No additional preservative . No colouring added.
Printed on Fujifilm.
Dansk Hvidløg, Uge 20, Uggelhuse, Randers
Allium ursinum grow in leafy forests with nutritious bottom.
The plant blooms in May-June.
Most recently, it has been shown that the plant can also be used as a preservative as it has a very strong antibacterial effect. The researchers at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Aarhus University's department in Årslev in Funen have shown great inhibitory effect on salmonella and listeria.
This has been a fortified place already since pre-Roman times, as salt was mined in the valley since around 300BC. A fort was built here by Wilfred the Hairy in 886. In a document from the year 986, Cordona is mentioned in connection with the salt deposits in the municipal area. At that time, the population not only received the mining rights for "Vall Salina", but the place also received market and city rights. Since salt was of great importance as a food preservative, unusual measures were taken to militarily protect the area and the salt mines, and the fortress of Castell de Cardona was expanded.
Since the 10th century, when the noble family Folc de Gardona established their residence in the castle of Cardona, the counts have been of great importance for the further development of the city of salt. The population grew significantly.
This era lasted until the 16th century, when the Compte family settled in Barcelona and Arbeca, as well as in Seville.
After that, the castle became a barracks and the town lost its importance.
Today the castle has been completely renovated and houses a fantastic hotel
paradores.es/en/parador-de-cardona
The Collegiate church of Sant Vicenç, erected 1020-1040, is a great example of the Lombardic/Catalan architecture. To quote Marcel Durliat this is "most important structure of the ’Premier art roman méridional’ in Catalonia".
During the renovation work in 1958, some large murals were discovered under the plaster. They date from the middle of the 12th century.
Cancer Causing Ingredients in Dog Foods
Ethoxyquin
Ethoxyquin is a commonly found preservative in dog food. Dog foods with fish meal will typically contain ethoxyquin , because the U.S. Coast Guard requires that all fish meal transported by boat be treated with ethoxyquin, according to USDA (PDF).
Ethoxyquin was originally developed as a herbicide. So, why are we feeding this to dogs?
Dog food manufacturers use this preservative because it's cheap, but it was linked to a plethora of health problems . Not only can this preservative cause cancer of the liver, spleen, stomach, and skin, but it is also linked to kidney and liver damage, immune deficiency syndrome, and blindness .
All dog food with animal protein meals and animal fats are treated with preservatives. This includes fish meal, chicken meal, beef meal, lamb meal, etc. But some dog food manufacturers use natural preservatives instead of potentially toxic ones.
Legally, dog food manufacturers have no requirement to disclose preservatives added ingredients before they reach the pet food manufacturing plant. This means that if dog food contains ethoxyquin, manufacturers aren’t required to put it on the label.
The more fat that is in a product, the more preservatives the product will need, so look for dog foods with lower fat content. Check with your vet when purchasing a new brand of food, as they will know and often advise against certain cancer causing foods for dogs.
My favourite place to go for lunch is the charming German village Hahndorf nestled on top of the Adleaide Hills,South Australia, it is an easy drive from the CBD of approx 30 minutes. The German influence is very apparent in Hahndorf and is seen in the fachwerk architecture of the original surviving buildings. There are also many cafes, bars and restaurants run by the descendants of the town's early German settlers, faithfully following traditional German recipes and cooking methods and a wide variety of German beers are available.
After lunch I love to stroll along the beautiful shady, elm and chestnut tree-lined streets and explore the quaint and interesting shops. Clocks of all shapes and sizes can be found here, especially cuckoo clocks. So much to see in the many souvenir, craft shops, museums, galleries or enjoy cellar door tastings in the main street. The local bakeries are renowned for their strudels, cheesecakes and my favourite Black Forest Cake!
Hahndorf is surrounded by many wineries, the grapes grown in the region are mostly the earlier ripening varieties. The high altitude, the wet and cool spring, and dry summers allows the fruit to mature fully at a much slower pace than in other regions.
Just outside the town is the famous Beerenberg Strawberry Farm where visitors can pick their own in season. The award-winning fine food producer uses the freshest farm produce and traditional recipes to make home-style jams, marmalades and condiments. The result is mouth-watering products with no added artificial flavours, colours or preservatives.
Jerky is lean meat that has been trimmed off the fat, cut into strips, and then dried to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt, to prevent bacteria from developing on the meat before sufficient moisture has been removed. The word "jerky" is derived from the Quechua word ch'arki which means "dried, salted meat". All that is needed to produce basic "jerky" is a low-temperature drying method, and salt to inhibit bacterial growth.
Modern manufactured jerky is normally marinated in a seasoned spice rub or liquid, and dried, dehydrated or smoked with low heat (usually under 70 °C/160 °F). Some product manufacturers finely grind meat, mix in seasonings, and press the meat-paste into flat shapes prior to drying.
The resulting jerky from the above methods would be a salty and/or savory snack. However, sometimes a sweet or semi-sweet recipe is used, with sugar being a major ingredient in that variation. Jerky is ready-to-eat and needs no additional preparation. It can be stored for months without refrigeration. When the protein to moisture content ratio is correct, the resulting meat is cured, or preserved.
There are many products in the marketplace which are sold as jerky which consist of highly processed, chopped and formed meat, rather than traditional sliced, whole-muscle meat. These products may contain more fat, but moisture content, like the whole-muscle product, must meet a 0.75 to 1 moisture to protein ratio in the US. Chemical preservatives can be used to prevent oxidative spoilage, but the moisture to protein ratio prevents microbial spoilage by low water activity. Some jerky products are very high in sugar and are therefore very sweet, unlike biltong, which rarely contains added sugars.
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Holga CFN 120 , F 11.0 , Fujifilm Reala 100 , 2.0 m , No additional preservatives .
KLCC. Kuala Lumpur , MY
Models : Canon AV-1 , BlackbirdFly 1977 , Lubitel 2 and Stranger 365.
Vacation shots – Carlsbad California April 2021. Kodak 2238 shot at ISO 20 in Nikon F4s with Nikkor Ai-s 35-105mm zoom and 75-260 zoom on T2 mount. Hand rolled in used 35mm canister which had a light leak, thus the fogging and streaks. Developed in H&W Control* 1:15 dilution for 12:30 minutes of constant agitation at 68 degrees F. water stop/wash for 5 minutes and fixed for 2 minutes in Ilford Hypam Rapid 1:4. Scanned as color with some minor colorization in photoshop as interpreted through vuescan and PS.
*To prepare this developer, start with 75 ml of distilled water at 60ºC. Add 1.9 g of Sodium Sulfite, anhydrous. Next, add 0.3 g of Hydroquinone, then add 8.7 g of Sodium Carbonate. Add the second developer agent, 2.07 grams of Phenidone.
The solution is then diluted with 125 ml of distilled water. Add another 15.15 g of preservative Sodium Sulfite, anhydrous. Finally, add distilled water to make up 250 ml of this concentrate.
To use this version of the H&W Control developer, dilute it 1+15 with distilled water. The 250 ml of concentrate will yield 4 litres of working solution, adequate for processing 13 rolls of film
In folklore, wood avens is credited with the power to drive away evil spirits, and to protect against rabid dogs and venomous snakes.
Culpepper says:
'It is governed by Jupiter and that gives hopes of a wholesome healthful herb. It is good for the diseases of the chest or breath, for pains and stitches in the sides, it dissolveth inward congealed blood occasioned by falls and bruises and the spitting of blood, if the roots either green or dried be boiled in wine and drunk. The root in the spring-time steeped in wine doth give it a delicate flavour and taste and being drunk fasting every morning comforteth the heart and is a good preservative against the plague or any other poison. It is very safe and is fit to be kept in every body's house.'
==Butchinsky's. Basement==
November 4th. 03:41
"Thought you'd given this life up," Needham lamented.
"So did I," Fiasco confessed. "Things change."
Eric nodded slowly. "Yeah."
Len smirked, then turned back to Jumbo.
"Fiasco..." Needham warned, as he circled him, "You know as well as I do that that idiot doesn't know a thing."
Fiasco rocked his head back and forth. "Yeah," he grunted, a hand on his jacket. Beside them, Jumbo nodded his head up and down furiously.
"It's true, I don't!" he gasped desperately.
Fiasco took one look at him, and he fell silent again.
"-And we both know Ted Carson hasn't had an original thought in his life," Needham continued.
"Yeah."
"So, why. Why bother?" Needham said, gesturing at the tool rack.
Fiasco shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm angry. And when I'm angry- -When I'm angry, I like to hit things. I don't like being played. Not by Day, or Carson, not by you or your boss neither."
"Day?" Needham asked.
"Julian Day; Calendar Man, you donut," Len scoffed. "You said it yourself, Carson's a pushover, Krill's a thug, and that little psychotic sailor of theirs doesn't have a single foot in reality," Fiasco snarled in contempt.
"Can you prove it?"
"Don't need to," Fiasco replied, swinging a pistol in his hand. "Give me a couple phone calls, and I'll have him tied up beside this incel within the hour."
"That's not how we're doing things now, Eraser- The Reservoir Dogs schtick doesn't exactly play well with the Bats. Just... Just hand over the gun, we'll sort this out."
"Yeah. Yeah, alright," Fiasco nodded, holding out the gun towards Needham. "Fuckin' temper always did complicate things..." he lamented.
"I know, I know," Needham responded.
"Oh, that's rich," Jumbo chuckled in relief. "Let's be clear, pal, I don't need help from a damn, wall crawling-"
Blam. In a second, Fiasco had swung the gun around and shot Carson through the skull, splattering the back wall with his blood. The chair, fell to the ground with a pitiful squeak.
"Said he was a racist," Len said slyly.
"We have no idea what he was gonna say, because you shot him in the damn head!"
"I think we both know what he was gonna say."
"No, we don't!" Needham cried out, incensed. "What the hell did you have to go and do that for?!"
"What," Fiasco said, indifference in his tone, as he cocked the gun again. "They still killed that Suit."
As the gun fired again, Needham webbed the barrel, causing it to backfire; Fiasco threw his hand back, giving Needham the chance to get close, wrapping his arms around Fiasco's throat, choking him out.
Not finished, Len clicked his heels together, and a pair of blades shot out from his shoes, slashing Needham's ankles.
Back on his feet, he unscrewed the lid off of a bottle of acid and flung it at Spider's chest. Eric let out a pained yell, as the acid melted his costume away, and scarred his torso. In response, he dug his blade into Fiasco's shoulder, and both men slid down, exhausted.
Fiasco shot him an impressed glance, and slid a damp rag along the ground.
"You're a damn fool," Needham said, as he dabbed it across his abdomen.
"Yeah, probably," Len replied, as he removed a cigarette from his pocket, and fumbled around trying to light it. "Fuck... Can- Can you pass me that acid, I need to burn the little bastard," he added, raising a bloodied finger at Carson's lifeless body.
Needham looked at him in disgust, and threw the bottle cap against the wall.
"Fine..." Fiasco coughed, as he stood up, walked towards the leaking bottle, and collapsed to the ground. "I'll... I'll do it myself..." he murmured, as his eyes drooped closed, and his snoring filled the room.
==Chuck's Apartment==
November 4th. 18:02
Chuck turned the key in the lock, tucked into a plastic bag, was a series of walkie talkies, lighter fluids and shoulder pads. He lay them at the door, and jumped back. Standing over the dining room table, a teacup in hand was Batman.
"Walker was here wasn't he?" the Knight grimaced, a beam of moonlight glinting off the china cup.
"No, no- I don't know what- Look, if this is about Gotham General, that wasn't us, it was these clowns, and they-" Chuck said, fumbling over his words.
"That's enough. Jacob Carson is dead," Batman growled, his white eyes glowing in the darkness.
Chuck paused. "Jacob-? Who the hell's- Oh shit, Jumbo," Chuck sighed, slapping his forehead. 'Dammit, Len.'
"Drury Walker, Brown. You have 24 hours," Bruce replied, as he placed a gloved finger on Chuck's jacket, before climbing onto the windowsill and vanishing into the night.
"Yeah," Chuck said, sliding out his phone, and tapping the screen idly. "Yeah, uh, that's not gonna be a problem."
==The Underground==
November 5th. 01:42
The Misfits were walking together, a series of makeshift weapons strapped to their hips, as they made their way through the caverns. In the lead, holding an old oil lantern, was Ratcatcher.
"50% of marriages end in divorce," Flannegan was saying, as he took a huff of his cigarette. "The rest end in death. Food for thought."
Beside them, Sharpe and Mayo nodded their heads, as they pondered this, "You know what, you make a lot of good points, man," Chancer smiled.
Across from them, Gar was chastising Rigger. "You're an idiot," he mumbled irritably.
"I'm just saying, if we have guide dogs for blind people, why shouldn't we invest in guide people for blind dogs?"
"I'll ask Ten, shall I?" Gar said gruffly. "Ten!"
"Oh, no," Reardon moaned. "Not the dog thing again..."
"Cats are the future, lads," Blake said proudly, as he slapped both Rigger and Reardon on their backs.
"Dell Merriweather," Drury said softly, trailing behind the others.
"Huh?" Chuck asked.
"Suit. It was once a guy, Dell Merriweather.... Tried to join the Misfits, once, stupid kid. Suppose his spirit wanted that too."
"It's not your fault, Drury," Chuck sighed.
"I know," Walker sniffled unconvincingly, as he cracked open his medication, and ran ahead.
Flannegan raised a bony hand to stop him. In their way, a large iron gate, mounted onto a brick wall. A yellow sign was drilled onto it: High Voltage.
"Mayo, tct!" he called out, as Condiment King took the lead, and pulled on a set of white rubber gloves.
"Woah, woah, woah!" Rigger called out cautiously.
"What?" Flannegan snapped back.
"What are you- that's a 2000 volt fence, he's gonna get fried!" Gar reasoned.
Flannegan's eyes lit up, as he placed a finger onto the side of his head. "Ah, no, see he ate like four pounds of preservatives on the way over."
The Misfits stared at him, dumbfounded.
"Preservatives-" Otis explained. "They'll preserve him in case he gets- How aren't you getting this-?"
"Do I still take down the fence?" Mayo asked, as he did a series on stretches along the ground.
"Down boy," Flannegan whistled, as Mayo swung his arms back to his sides. "I preferred my way," he tutted, as Rigger applied an explosive charge to the door, and blew it aside. As the Misfits entered the cave, yellow and blue lights flashed on, exposing a series of glass cabinets, filled with costumes, gadgets and weapons. In the center, was an enormous computer, a large bat-symbol displayed on its' monitor. On a large turntable, a sleek black car, and suspended from the rafters, an equally slick plane.
"Woah, you never said it was a sex cave," Sharpe whistled, as he slid his finger across a vast collection of whips.
Gar grabbed his hand. "Let's just get what we came for," he said, as he gravitated towards a yellow and black wingsuit, and its' accompanying flamethrower. Rigger grinned, as he slid on a red onesie, and a yellow harness, while Reardon pocketed his glasses, and reached out for a pair of complex goggles.
"Hey, that's the Catmobile!" Blake exclaimed, dropping his sais, as he pointed out an ugly, yellow and brown car to Chuck; tucked under an massive, bronze penny. "He told me they scrapped it," he complained.
As Drury reached out for his own weapons, he felt the cold metal barrel of a gun against his head.
"Master Drury, I would've thought you might have considered the risks of trespassing by now," a smooth English voice called out. Holding the shotgun, was Alfred Pennyworth, dressed in a crisp white waistcoat, his sleeves rolled up.
"Holy crap! Jeeves is packing heat!" Sharpe exclaimed, aghast.
The rest of the Misfits turned to face Alfred, more confused than ever.
"That's Bruce Wayne's butler," Chuck yelled out.
"It is? Do you think he leases him out to people?" Rigger asked.
"Oh, goddammit," Drury groaned, as he pressed his fingers against the barrel.
"Ok, I really don't understand what's going on. The Englishman, why does he have an Englishman down here?" Reardon stammered.
"I figure he watches him," Flannegan said condescendingly.
"Holy shit, this really is a sex dungeon, isn't it?" Sharpe shuddered.
"Only one way to know for sure," Rigger said. "Blake?"
"Huh? Oh definitely, look at all those whips. And handcuffs. And Dinosaurs. That's weird right?"
Gar pointed his flamethrower towards Alfred, as he took a defensive step forward. "Drury, get behind me."
Alfred complied, as he lowered the gun slightly.
"Everyone else, get behind me," Reardon said defensively. "Nice to know where you stand, Garfield."
As the gang mobilised towards Pennyworth, each now armed and suited up, a single steel object flew into a wall beside Drury. A batarang.
"Oh," Chuck winced, as his eyes darted towards the darkness. "Your response time really is impeccable."
"We're taking Walker," Batman's voice boomed. By his side were Dick, Jason, Tim, Cass, Selina Damian, and a worse for wear Needham, all in costume.
Gar stepped forward. "Over my dead body."
Tim's brow furrowed. "We- You know we don't kill, right?" he said, before taking note of Cass, Jason and Needham. "Anymore," he added hastily.
Bruce placed a hand on his shoulder. "Lynns and Walker are the threats. Focus on them."
"That's not fair! How come they get to know our secret identities?" Sharpe whispered into Reardon's ear.
"Because they haven't been caught, you idiot."
Sharpe frowned, as his attention turned back to the Bat Family. "Well, screw you guys."
Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA.... across the entire campus are innumerable rare and specimen plants, flowers, and trees !
"Taxodium (pronounced /tækˈsoʊdiəm/)[2] is a genus of one to three species (depending on taxonomic opinion) of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. The generic name is derived from the Latin word taxus, meaning "yew," and the Greek word εἶδος (eidos), meaning "similar to."[3] Within the family, Taxodium is most closely related to Chinese Swamp Cypress (Glyptostrobus pensilis) and Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica).
Species of Taxodium occur in the southern part of the North American continent and are deciduous in the north and semi-evergreen to evergreen in the south. They are large trees, reaching 100–150 ft (30–46 m) tall and 2–3 m (6.6–9.8 ft) (exceptionally 11 m/36 ft) trunk diameter. The needle-like leaves, 0.5–2 cm (0.20–0.79 in) long, are borne spirally on the shoots, twisted at the base so as to appear in two flat rows on either side of the shoot. The cones are globose, 2–3.5 cm (0.79–1.4 in) diameter, with 10-25 scales, each scale with 1-2 seeds; they are mature in 7-9 months after pollination, when they disintegrate to release the seeds. The male (pollen) cones are produced in pendulous racemes, and shed their pollen in early spring.
The trees are especially prized for their wood, of which the heartwood is extremely rot and termite resistant. The heartwood contains a sesquiterpene called cypressene,[4] which acts as a natural preservative. It takes decades for cypressene to accumulate in the wood, so lumber taken from old-growth trees is more rot resistant than that from second-growth trees.[5] However, age also increases susceptibility to Pecky Rot fungus (Stereum taxodii), which attacks the heartwood and causes some damaged trees to become hollow and thus useless for timber. Bald Cypress wood was much used in former days in the southeastern United States for roof shingles.[6] The shredded bark of these trees is used as a mulch, although the current harvest rate for this product is unsustainable and is causing substantial environmental damage especially in the south where cutting boundaries are not being followed." wikipedia.org
I've been experimenting with making some vintage canned goods using the little plastic preservative cylinders that come in medicine. I might try making some out of dowels too.
Nothing like trekking thru an overgrown lot, in the rain for an elephant ear.
Idea borrowed (but not executed as well) from Olivestar www.flickr.com/photos/olivestar/1414513431/
Cottage in Uppsala, Sweden
The deep red colored paint called "Falu red" or sometimes "Falun red" originated from a copper mine in the city of Falun located in Dalarna, Sweden. The paint was made of water, rye flour, linseed oil and tailings from the copper mine which has iron oxides, copper compounds and zinc. Often used on Swedish barns and cottages, the paint was found to be a natural wood preservative that was long-lasting like iron. When the paint would wear out and flake, the loose flakes could easily be brushed off and repainted to look like new again.
The paint was cheap and poorer farmers would even use it to paint their houses during the 19 century. Falu red is still widely used in the Swedish countryside.
www.itechpost.com/articles/9062/20130512/why-barns-painte...
The deep red colored paint called "Falu red" or sometimes "Falun red" originated from a copper mine in the city of Falun located in Dalarna, Sweden. The paint was made of water, rye flour, linseed oil and tailings from the copper mine which has iron oxides, copper compounds and zinc. Often used on Swedish barns and cottages, the paint was found to be a natural wood preservative that was long-lasting like iron. When the paint would wear out and flake, the loose flakes could easily be brushed off and repainted to look like new again.
The paint was cheap and poorer farmers would even use it to paint their houses during the 19 century. Falu red is still widely used in the Swedish countryside.
www.itechpost.com/articles/9062/20130512/why-barns-painte...
Heinz Tomato Ketchup has been part of mealtimes since it was launched in the UK back in 1886.
First introduced in 1876, Heinz Tomato Ketchup remains the best selling brand of ketchup. From 1906 it was produced without preservatives. In 1907, Heinz started producing 13 million bottles of ketchup per year, exporting ketchup all over the world, including India, Australia, South America, Japan, Indonesia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Candid shot Warminster, Wiltshire, UK.
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.. and I Sold Myself to The Devil , There's No Way Out . . .
Talent : Kodak 100 and Kodak Extacolor Pro 160 , No Preservatives added .
A 2 day adventure in Northwest Washington State.
Mount Vernon, WA smoke stack is a remnant of the former Carnation Milk Condensery, currently the Condensery Building, built by Elbridge A. Stuart in 1906.
The purpose of the condensery was to convert cow’s milk which spoiled easily, into canned, condensed milk.
The process included boiling off some of the water contained in the milk, and adding sugar as a preservative to prepare the milk for canning.
The process required huge amounts of steam to be released, and the smoke stack was built for that purpose.
Today, the smoke stack is a symbol that pays tribute to the fertile farmlands and the tulip fields the Skagit Valley is known for..
The stack was first painted in 1987 with design by Esther and painted by Jose Cordona.
By 2007 deterioration of the upper part of the structure had created a sufficient public safety hazard to cause its then owners, the Potin Revocable Trust of Blaine, to consider either its demolition or cropping the top 30 feet of the former smokestack.
Thankfully, they chose the latter option — but with the resulting loss of the original painted tulips.
Once again Esther McLatchy did a redesign and Jose Cardona, owner of Cardona & Sons Painting, volunteered much of one weekend to implementing the design, with the aid of a boom truck provided by Birch Equipment.
HISTORY
Mushroom ketchup
Ketchup was historically prepared with mushrooms as a primary ingredient, rather than tomatoes.
In the United States, mushroom ketchup dates back to at least 1770, and was prepared by British colonists in the Thirteen Colonies.
Tomato ketchup
Many variations of ketchup were created, but the tomato-based version did not appear until around a century after other types.
An early recipe for "Tomato Catsup" from 1817 includes anchovies.
The term ketchup first appeared in 1682.
Ketchup recipes began to appear in British and then American cookbooks in the 18th century.
James Mease published the first known tomato ketchup recipe in 1812.
In 1824, a ketchup recipe using tomatoes appeared in The Virginia Housewife (an influential 19th-century cookbook written by Mary Randolph, Thomas Jefferson's cousin).
Tomato ketchup was sold locally by farmers.
Jonas Yerkes is credited as the first American to sell it in a bottle.
By 1837, he had produced and distributed the condiment nationally.
Shortly thereafter, other companies followed suit. F. & J. Heinz launched their tomato ketchup in 1876.
American cooks also began to sweeten ketchup in the 19th century.
The Webster's Dictionary of 1913 defined "catsup" as: "table sauce made from mushrooms, tomatoes, walnuts, etc. [Also written as ketchup]."
As the century progressed, tomato ketchup began its ascent in popularity in the United States. Tomato ketchup was popular long before fresh tomatoes were. People were less hesitant to eat tomatoes as part of a highly processed product that had been cooked and infused with vinegar and spices.
Heinz Tomato Ketchup was advertised: "Blessed relief for Mother and the other women in the household!", a slogan which alluded to the lengthy process required to produce tomato ketchup in the home.
With industrial ketchup production and a need for better preservation there was a great increase of sugar in ketchup, leading to the typically sweet and sour formula of today.
In Australia, it was not until the late 19th century that sugar was added to tomato sauce, initially in small quantities, but today it contains just as much as American ketchup and only differed in the proportions of tomatoes, salt and vinegar in early recipes.
While ketchup and tomato sauce are both sold in Australia, American ketchup is sweeter and thicker whereas Australian tomato sauce is more sour and runny.
Modern ketchup emerged in the early years of the 20th century, out of a debate over the use of sodium benzoate as a preservative in condiments.
Harvey W. Wiley, the "father" of the US Food and Drug Administration, challenged the safety of benzoate which was banned in the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act.
In response, entrepreneurs including Henry J. Heinz, pursued an alternative recipe that eliminated the need for that preservative.
Katherine Bitting, a bacteriologist working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, carried out research in 1909 that proved increasing the sugar and vinegar content of the product would prevent spoilage without use of artificial preservatives.
She was assisted by her husband, Arvil Bitting, an official at that agency.
Prior to Heinz (and his fellow innovators), commercial tomato ketchups of that time were watery and thin, in part because they used unripe tomatoes, which were low in pectin.
They had less vinegar than modern ketchups; by pickling ripe tomatoes, the need for benzoate was eliminated without spoilage or degradation in flavor.
But the changes driven by the desire to eliminate benzoate also produced changes that some experts (such as Andrew F. Smith) believe were key to the establishment of tomato ketchup as the dominant American condiment.
Freihofers Cookies...mmm...sure do miss the white box cookies though (those had zero preservatives in them). For 116 pictures in 2016 no. 11 Eat What You Want Day.
Near Karlberg Palace, Stockholm.
The deep red colored paint called "Falu red" or sometimes "Falun red" originated from a copper mine in the city of Falun located in Dalarna, Sweden. The paint was made of water, rye flour, linseed oil and tailings from the copper mine which has iron oxides, copper compounds and zinc. Often used on Swedish barns and cottages, the paint was found to be a natural wood preservative that was long-lasting like iron. When the paint would wear out and flake, the loose flakes could easily be brushed off and repainted to look like new again.
The paint was cheap and poorer farmers would even use it to paint their houses during the 19 century. Falu red is still widely used in the Swedish countryside.
www.itechpost.com/articles/9062/20130512/why-barns-painte...
For Project 365, 2022 Edition: Day 335/365
We have reduced our meat consumption for economic, environmental, and health reasons. I believe reducing the traditional North American consumption of meat is healthier, but I don't agree that a vegetarian diet is necessarily healthier for everyone. Cooking more from scratch to avoid overlooked preservative, sugars, and fats is certainly healthier. Maybe half our dinners are meatless now, thanks to finding enough yummy, satisfying recipes. One of them is Longevity Minestrone from the Bluezones website, which I've been making regularly for about two years. The recipe is www.bluezones.com/recipe/sardinia-minestrone/. I add seasonal vegetables, in this case some leek, winter squash, and mushrooms.
Thank you to everyone who visits, faves, and comments.
by Robert Louis Stevenson
In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!
Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.
Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!
Logs fires yay !! Autumnal pleasure..
Happy Wednesday dear Flickr friends xx
a little info..
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Plant Profile: Peacock Lily (Acidanthera bicolor/ Gladiolus callianthus)
The long slender stems topped with delicate white flowers punctuated with a purple spot belie the rugged origins of the relative of gladiolus. A native of Ethiopia, peacock lily comes from the mountains where is basks in the sun in grassy meadows that are dotted with rocks. It likes fertile soil and nestles right into a border but can be lost unless planted in groups of 10 or more and backed by a dark leafed plant like the canna ‘Wyoming’ with is dark bronze-red foliage. Peacock lily also does well in containers; place them where their pleasant fragrance can be enjoyed. The flowers are also useful in arrangements and have a long vase life when placed in floral preservative.
I thought I'd post one last image of the Tanker that helped contain the forest fire, just within walking distance of our cabin. This one swooped in from my right and was moving at such a fast clip, I thought I would miss him. I shot this at 18MM - (just to give you and idea of how close he was.) I hope to never have the opportunity to view a scene like this again.
***Borate salts used in the past to fight wildfires have been found to sterilize the soil and be toxic to animals so are now prohibited. Newer retardants use ammonium sulfate or ammonium polyphosphate with attapulgite clay thickener or diammonium phosphate with a guar gum derivative thickener. These are not only less toxic but act as fertilizers to help the re-growth of plants after the fire. Fire retardants often contain wetting agents, preservatives and rust inhibitors and are colored red with ferric oxide or fugitive color to mark where they have been dropped. Brand names of fire retardants for aerial application include "Fire-Trol" and "Phos-Chek."
Some water-dropping aircraft carry tanks of a guar gum derivative to thicken the water and reduce runoff.
**Wikipedia
1869 English Chromolithograph.
Francis Sibson (1814-1876) argued that anatomical illustrations are misleading because preservative injections and the dissection itself change the relative position of parts. This double illustration is intended to show a true picture of the dead body alongside an imaginative reconstruction of the same interior in a living body.
okay here are scans of yesterdays work. Kodak 2238 shot at ISO 100 and half the roll developed in H&W Control for 60 minutes stand with 1:75 dilution. The other half for 1:15 for 20 minutes with constant agitation. I couldn't attend to it to agitate correctly and it did overwork everything. I love the painterly effects.... These are interesting and mostly useful, especially for scanning. What I DIDN'T upload is the 2 or 3 that were absolutely underexposed only a few yards from these. Lighting angles alone make all the difference between enough and too little exposure. There were a couple that had the nighttime effects the trailer is one of those and I thought I would see what interesting things happened when I adjusted it, although there was very little room for adjustment.
H&W Control Water (60ºC) 75 ml
Sodium Sulfite, anhydrous 1.9 g preservative
Hydroquinone 0.3 g developer agent
Sodium Carbonate 8.7 g alkali, accelerator
Phenidone 2.07 g developer agent
Add Water to make 125 ml
Sodium Sulfite 15.15 g preservative
And finally, Water to make 250 ml
Capacity at 1+15 dilution 4 L for 13 rolls
Gnesta, Sweden
The deep red colored paint called "Falu red" or sometimes "Falun red" originated from a copper mine in the city of Falun located in Dalarna, Sweden. The paint was made of water, rye flour, linseed oil and tailings from the copper mine which has iron oxides, copper compounds and zinc. Often used on Swedish barns and cottages, the paint was found to be a natural wood preservative that was long-lasting like iron. When the paint would wear out and flake, the loose flakes could easily be brushed off and repainted to look like new again.
The paint was cheap and poorer farmers would even use it to paint their houses during the 19 century. Falu red is still widely used in the Swedish countryside.
www.itechpost.com/articles/9062/20130512/why-barns-painte...
The pomegranate (/ˈpɒmᵻɡrænᵻt/), botanical name Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between 5 and 8 m tall.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the fruit is typically in season from September to February, and in the Southern Hemisphere from March to May. As intact arils or juice, pomegranates are used in cooking, baking, meal garnishes, juice blends, smoothies, and alcoholic beverages, such as cocktails and wine.
The pomegranate originated in the region of modern-day Iran and has been cultivated since ancient times throughout the Mediterranean region and northern India. It was introduced into America (Spanish America) in the late 16th century and California by Spanish settlers in 1769.
Today, it is widely cultivated throughout the Middle East and Caucasus region, north Africa and tropical Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, the drier parts of southeast Asia, and parts of the Mediterranean Basin. It is also cultivated in parts of California and Arizona. In recent years, it has become more common in the commercial markets of Europe and the Western Hemisphere.
ETYMOLOGY
The name pomegranate derives from medieval Latin pōmum "apple" and grānātum "seeded". Perhaps stemming from the old French word for the fruit, pomme-grenade, the pomegranate was known in early English as "apple of Grenada" - a term which today survives only in heraldic blazons. This is a folk etymology, confusing Latin granatus with the name of the Spanish city of Granada, which derives from Arabic.
Garnet derives from Old French grenat by metathesis, from Medieval Latin granatum as used in a different meaning "of a dark red color". This derivation may have originated from pomum granatum describing the color of pomegranate pulp or from granum referring to "red dye, cochineal".
The French term for pomegranate, grenade, has given its name to the military grenade.
DESCRIPTION
A shrub or small tree growing 6 to 10 m high, the pomegranate has multiple spiny branches, and is extremely long-lived, with some specimens in France surviving for 200 years. P. granatum leaves are opposite or subopposite, glossy, narrow oblong, entire, 3–7 cm long and 2 cm broad. The flowers are bright red and 3 cm in diameter, with three to seven petals. Some fruitless varieties are grown for the flowers alone.
The edible fruit is a berry, intermediate in size between a lemon and a grapefruit, 5–12 cm in diameter with a rounded shape and thick, reddish skin. The number of seeds in a pomegranate can vary from 200 to about 1400. Each seed has a surrounding water-laden pulp — the edible sarcotesta that forms from the seed coat — ranging in color from white to deep red or purple. The seeds are "exarillate", i.e., unlike some other species in the order, Myrtales, no aril is present. The sarcotesta of pomegranate seeds consists of epidermis cells derived from the integument. The seeds are embedded in a white, spongy, astringent membrane.
CULTIVATION
P. granatum is grown for its fruit crop, and as ornamental trees and shrubs in parks and gardens. Mature specimens can develop sculptural twisted-bark multiple trunks and a distinctive overall form. Pomegranates are drought-tolerant, and can be grown in dry areas with either a Mediterranean winter rainfall climate or in summer rainfall climates. In wetter areas, they can be prone to root decay from fungal diseases. They can be tolerant of moderate frost, down to about −12 °C.
Insect pests of the pomegranate can include the pomegranate butterfly Virachola isocrates and the leaf-footed bug Leptoglossus zonatus, and fruit flies and ants are attracted to unharvested ripe fruit. Pomegranate grows easily from seed, but is commonly propagated from 25– to 50-cm hardwood cuttings to avoid the genetic variation of seedlings. Air layering is also an option for propagation, but grafting fails.
VARIETIES
P. granatum var. nana is a dwarf variety of P. granatum popularly planted as an ornamental plant in gardens and larger containers, and used as a bonsai specimen tree. It could well be a wild form with a distinct origin. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The only other species in the genus Punica is the Socotran pomegranate (P. protopunica), which is endemic to the island of Socotra. It differs in having pink (not red) flowers and smaller, less sweet fruit.
CULTIVARS
P. granatum has more than 500 named cultivars, but evidently has considerable synonymy in which the same genotype is named differently across regions of the world.[15]
Several characteristics between pomegranate genotypes vary for identification, consumer preference, preferred use, and marketing, the most important of which are fruit size, exocarp color (ranging from yellow to purple, with pink and red most common), seed-coat color (ranging from white to red), hardness of seed, maturity, juice content and its acidity, sweetness, and astringency.
CULTURAL HISTORY
Pomegranate is native to a region from Iran to northern India. Pomegranates have been cultivated throughout the Middle East, South Asia, and Mediterranean region for several millennia, and also thrive in the drier climates of California and Arizona.
Carbonized exocarp of the fruit has been identified in early Bronze Age levels of Jericho in the West Bank, as well as late Bronze Age levels of Hala Sultan Tekke on Cyprus and Tiryns.[citation needed] A large, dry pomegranate was found in the tomb of Djehuty, the butler of Queen Hatshepsut in Egypt; Mesopotamian cuneiform records mention pomegranates from the mid-third millennium BC onwards.
It is also extensively grown in South China and in Southeast Asia, whether originally spread along the route of the Silk Road or brought by sea traders. Kandahar is famous in Afghanistan for its high-quality pomegranates.
Although not native to Korea or Japan, the pomegranate is widely grown there and many cultivars have been developed. It is widely used for bonsai because of its flowers and for the unusual twisted bark the older specimens can attain. The term "balaustine" (Latin: balaustinus) is also used for a pomegranate-red color.
The ancient city of Granada in Spain was renamed after the fruit during the Moorish period and today the province of Granada uses pomegranate as a charge in heraldry for its canting arms.
Spanish colonists later introduced the fruit to the Caribbean and America (Spanish America), but in the English colonies, it was less at home: "Don't use the pomegranate inhospitably, a stranger that has come so far to pay his respects to thee," the English Quaker Peter Collinson wrote to the botanizing John Bartram in Philadelphia, 1762. "Plant it against the side of thy house, nail it close to the wall. In this manner it thrives wonderfully with us, and flowers beautifully, and bears fruit this hot year. I have twenty-four on one tree... Doctor Fothergill says, of all trees this is most salutiferous to mankind."
The pomegranate had been introduced as an exotic to England the previous century, by John Tradescant the elder, but the disappointment that it did not set fruit there led to its repeated introduction to the American colonies, even New England. It succeeded in the South: Bartram received a barrel of pomegranates and oranges from a correspondent in Charleston, South Carolina, 1764. John Bartram partook of "delitious" pomegranates with Noble Jones at Wormsloe Plantation, near Savannah, Georgia, in September 1765. Thomas Jefferson planted pomegranates at Monticello in 1771: he had them from George Wythe of Williamsburg.
CULINARY USE
After the pomegranate is opened by scoring it with a knife and breaking it open, the seeds are separated from the peel and internal white pulp membranes. Separating the seeds is easier in a bowl of water because the seeds sink and the inedible pulp floats. Freezing the entire fruit also makes it easier to separate. Another effective way of quickly harvesting the seeds is to cut the pomegranate in half, score each half of the exterior rind four to six times, hold the pomegranate half over a bowl, and smack the rind with a large spoon. The seeds should eject from the pomegranate directly into the bowl, leaving only a dozen or more deeply embedded seeds to remove. The entire seed is consumed raw, though the watery, tasty sarcotesta is the desired part. The taste differs depending on the variety or cultivar of pomegranate and its ripeness.
Pomegranate juice can be sweet or sour, but most fruits are moderate in taste, with sour notes from the acidic tannins contained in the juice. Pomegranate juice has long been a popular drink in Europe, the Middle East and is now widely distributed in the United States and Canada.
Grenadine syrup long ago consisted of thickened and sweetened pomegranate juice, now is usually a sales name for a syrup based on various berries, citric acid, and food coloring, mainly used in cocktail mixing. In Europe, Bols still manufactures grenadine syrup with pomegranate. Before tomatoes, a New World fruit, arrived in the Middle East, pomegranate juice, molasses, and vinegar were widely used in many Iranian foods, and are still found in traditional recipes such as fesenjān, a thick sauce made from pomegranate juice and ground walnuts, usually spooned over duck or other poultry and rice, and in ash-e anar (pomegranate soup).
Pomegranate seeds are used as a spice known as anardana (from Persian: anar + dana, pomegranate + seed), most notably in Indian and Pakistani cuisine. Dried whole seeds can often be obtained in ethnic Indian subcontinent markets. These seeds are separated from the flesh, dried for 10–15 days, and used as an acidic agent for chutney and curry preparation. Ground anardana is also used, which results in a deeper flavoring in dishes and prevents the seeds from getting stuck in teeth. Seeds of the wild pomegranate variety known as daru from the Himalayas are regarded as quality sources for this spice.
Dried pomegranate seeds, found in some natural specialty food markets, still contain some residual water, maintaining a natural sweet and tart flavor. Dried seeds can be used in several culinary applications, such as trail mix, granola bars, or as a topping for salad, yogurt, or ice cream.
In the Caucasus, pomegranate is used mainly for juice. In Azerbaijan, a sauce from pomegranate juice narsharab, (from Persian: (a)nar + sharab, lit. "pomegranate wine") is usually served with fish or tika kabab. In Turkey, pomegranate sauce (Turkish: nar ekşisi) is used as a salad dressing, to marinate meat, or simply to drink straight. Pomegranate seeds are also used in salads and sometimes as garnish for desserts such as güllaç. Pomegranate syrup or molasses is used in muhammara, a roasted red pepper, walnut, and garlic spread popular in Syria and Turkey.
In Greece, pomegranate (Greek: ρόδι, rodi) is used in many recipes, including kollivozoumi, a creamy broth made from boiled wheat, pomegranates, and raisins, legume salad with wheat and pomegranate, traditional Middle Eastern lamb kebabs with pomegranate glaze, pomegranate eggplant relish, and avocado-pomegranate dip. Pomegranate is also made into a liqueur, and as a popular fruit confectionery used as ice cream topping, mixed with yogurt, or spread as jam on toast. In Cyprus and Greece, and among the Greek Orthodox Diaspora, ρόδι (Greek for pomegranate) is used to make koliva, a mixture of wheat, pomegranate seeds, sugar, almonds, and other seeds served at memorial services.
In Mexico, they are commonly used to adorn the traditional dish chiles en nogada, representing the red of the Mexican flag in the dish which evokes the green (poblano pepper), white (nogada sauce) and red (pomegranate seeds) tricolor.
IN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE
In the Indian subcontinent's ancient Ayurveda system of traditional medicine, the pomegranate is frequently described as an ingredient in remedies.
In folk medicine pomegranate has been thought a contraceptive and abortifacient when the seeds or rind are eaten, or when as a vaginal suppository.
NUTRITION
A 100-g serving of pomegranate seeds provides 12% of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin C, 16% DV for vitamin K and 10% DV for folate (table).
Pomegranate seeds are an excellent source of dietary fiber (20% DV) which is entirely contained in the edible seeds. People who choose to discard the seeds forfeit nutritional benefits conveyed by the seed fiber and micronutrients.
Pomegranate seed oil contains punicic acid (65.3%), palmitic acid (4.8%), stearic acid (2.3%), oleic acid (6.3%), and linoleic acid (6.6%).
RESEARCH
JUICE
The most abundant phytochemicals in pomegranate juice are polyphenols, including the hydrolyzable tannins called ellagitannins formed when ellagic acid and/or gallic acid binds with a carbohydrate to form pomegranate ellagitannins, also known as punicalagins.
The red color of juice can be attributed to anthocyanins, such as delphinidin, cyanidin, and pelargonidin glycosides. Generally, an increase in juice pigmentation occurs during fruit ripening.
The phenolic content of pomegranate juice is adversely affected by processing and pasteurization techniques.
PEEL
Compared to the pulp, the inedible pomegranate peel contains as much as three times the total amount of polyphenols, including condensed tannins, catechins, gallocatechins and prodelphinidins.
The higher phenolic content of the peel yields extracts for use in dietary supplements and food preservatives.
Health claims
Despite limited research data, manufacturers and marketers of pomegranate juice have liberally used evolving research results for product promotion. In February 2010, the FDA issued a Warning Letter to one such manufacturer, POM Wonderful, for using published literature to make illegal claims of unproven anti-disease benefits.
SYMBOLISM
ANCIENT EGYPT
Ancient Egyptians regarded the pomegranate as a symbol of prosperity and ambition. According to the Ebers Papyrus, one of the oldest medical writings from around 1500 BC, Egyptians used the pomegranate for treatment of tapeworm and other infections.
ANCIENT GREECE
The Greeks were familiar with the fruit far before it was introduced to Rome via Carthage. In Ancient Greek mythology, the pomegranate was known as the "fruit of the dead", and believed to have sprung from the blood of Adonis.
The myth of Persephone, the goddess of the underworld, prominently features the pomegranate. In one version of Greek mythology, Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and taken off to live in the underworld as his wife. Her mother, Demeter (goddess of the Harvest), went into mourning for her lost daughter, thus all green things ceased to grow. Zeus, the highest-ranking of the Greek gods, could not allow the Earth to die, so he commanded Hades to return Persephone. It was the rule of the Fates that anyone who consumed food or drink in the underworld was doomed to spend eternity there. Persephone had no food, but Hades tricked her into eating six pomegranate seeds while she was still his prisoner, so she was condemned to spend six months in the underworld every year. During these six months, while Persephone sits on the throne of the underworld beside her husband Hades, her mother Demeter mourns and no longer gives fertility to the earth. This was an ancient Greek explanation for the seasons. Dante Gabriel Rossetti's painting Persephona depicts Persephone holding the fatal fruit. The number of seeds Persephone ate varies, depending on which version of the story is told. The number ranges from three to seven, which accounts for just one barren season if it is just three or four seeds, or two barren seasons (half the year) if she ate six or seven seeds.
The pomegranate also evoked the presence of the Aegean Triple Goddess who evolved into the Olympian Hera, who is sometimes represented offering the pomegranate, as in the Polykleitos' cult image of the Argive Heraion (see below). According to Carl A. P. Ruck and Danny Staples, the chambered pomegranate is also a surrogate for the poppy's narcotic capsule, with its comparable shape and chambered interior. On a Mycenaean seal illustrated in Joseph Campbell's Occidental Mythology 1964, figure 19, the seated Goddess of the double-headed axe (the labrys) offers three poppy pods in her right hand and supports her breast with her left. She embodies both aspects of the dual goddess, life-giving and death-dealing at once. The Titan Orion was represented as "marrying" Side, a name that in Boeotia means "pomegranate", thus consecrating the primal hunter to the Goddess. Other Greek dialects call the pomegranate rhoa; its possible connection with the name of the earth goddess Rhea, inexplicable in Greek, proved suggestive for the mythographer Karl Kerenyi, who suggested the consonance might ultimately derive from a deeper, pre-Indo-European language layer.
In the 5th century BC, Polycleitus took ivory and gold to sculpt the seated Argive Hera in her temple. She held a scepter in one hand and offered a pomegranate, like a 'royal orb', in the other. "About the pomegranate I must say nothing," whispered the traveller Pausanias in the 2nd century, "for its story is somewhat of a holy mystery." In the Orion story, Hera cast pomegranate-Side (an ancient city in Antalya) into dim Erebus — "for daring to rival Hera's beauty", which forms the probable point of connection with the older Osiris/Isis story.[citation needed] Since the ancient Egyptians identified the Orion constellation in the sky as Sah the "soul of Osiris", the identification of this section of the myth seems relatively complete. Hera wears, not a wreath nor a tiara nor a diadem, but clearly the calyx of the pomegranate that has become her serrated crown.[citation needed] The pomegranate has a calyx shaped like a crown. In Jewish tradition, it has been seen as the original "design" for the proper crown. In some artistic depictions, the pomegranate is found in the hand of Mary, mother of Jesus.
A pomegranate is displayed on coins from the ancient city of Side, Pamphylia.
Within the Heraion at the mouth of the Sele, near Paestum, Magna Graecia, is a chapel devoted to the Madonna del Granato, "Our Lady of the Pomegranate", "who by virtue of her epithet and the attribute of a pomegranate must be the Christian successor of the ancient Greek goddess Hera", observes the excavator of the Heraion of Samos, Helmut Kyrieleis.
In modern times, the pomegranate still holds strong symbolic meanings for the Greeks. On important days in the Greek Orthodox calendar, such as the Presentation of the Virgin Mary and on Christmas Day, it is traditional to have at the dinner table polysporia, also known by their ancient name panspermia, in some regions of Greece. In ancient times, they were offered to Demeter[citation needed] and to the other gods for fertile land, for the spirits of the dead and in honor of compassionate Dionysus.[citation needed] When one buys a new home, it is conventional for a house guest to bring as a first gift a pomegranate, which is placed under/near the ikonostasi (home altar) of the house, as a symbol of abundance, fertility, and good luck. Pomegranates are also prominent at Greek weddings and funerals.[citation needed] When Greeks commemorate their dead, they make kollyva as offerings, which consist of boiled wheat, mixed with sugar and decorated with pomegranate. It is also traditional in Greece to break a pomegranate on the ground at weddings and on New Years. Pomegranate decorations for the home are very common in Greece and sold in most home goods stores.
ANCIENT ISRAEL AND JUDAISM
Pomegranates were known in Ancient Israel as the fruits which the scouts brought to Moses to demonstrate the fertility of the "promised land". The Book of Exodus describes the me'il ("robe of the ephod") worn by the Hebrew high priest as having pomegranates embroidered on the hem alternating with golden bells which could be heard as the high priest entered and left the Holy of Holies. According to the Books of Kings, the capitals of the two pillars (Jachin and Boaz) that stood in front of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem were engraved with pomegranates. Solomon is said to have designed his coronet based on the pomegranate's "crown" (calyx).
It is traditional to consume pomegranates on Rosh Hashana because, with its numerous seeds, it symbolizes fruitfulness. Also, it is said to have 613 seeds, which corresponds with the 613 mitzvot or commandments of the Torah.[61] This particular tradition is referred to in the opening pages of Ursula Dubosarsky's novel Theodora's Gift.
The pomegranate appeared on the ancient coins of Judea. When not in use, the handles of Torah scrolls are sometimes covered with decorative silver globes similar in shape to "pomegranates" (rimmonim). Some Jewish scholars believe the pomegranate was the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.[60] Pomegranates are one of the Seven Species (Hebrew: שבעת המינים, Shiv'at Ha-Minim) of fruits and grains enumerated in the Hebrew Bible (Deuteronomy 8:8) as being special products of the Land of Israel. The pomegranate is mentioned in the Bible many times, including this quote from the Songs of Solomon, "Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks." (Song of Solomon 4:3). Pomegranates also symbolize the mystical experience in the Jewish mystical tradition, or kabbalah, with the typical reference being to entering the "garden of pomegranates" or pardes rimonim; this is also the title of a book by the 16th-century mystic Moses ben Jacob Cordovero.
IN EUROPEAN CHRISTIAN MOTIFS
In the earliest incontrovertible appearance of Christ in a mosaic, a 4th-century floor mosaic from Hinton St Mary, Dorset, now in the British Museum, the bust of Christ and the chi rho are flanked by pomegranates. Pomegranates continue to be a motif often found in Christian religious decoration. They are often woven into the fabric of vestments and liturgical hangings or wrought in metalwork. Pomegranates figure in many religious paintings by the likes of Sandro Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci, often in the hands of the Virgin Mary or the infant Jesus. The fruit, broken or bursting open, is a symbol of the fullness of Jesus' suffering and resurrection.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, pomegranate seeds may be used in kolyva, a dish prepared for memorial services, as a symbol of the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom.
IN THE QUR´AN
According to the Qur'an, pomegranates grow in the gardens of paradise (55:68). The Qur'an also mentions pomegranates three times.(6:99, 6:141, 55:68)
AFGHANISTAN
Pomegranate, a favorite fall and winter fruit in Afghanistan, has mainly two varieties: one that is sweet and dark red with hard seeds growing in and around Kandhar province, and the other that has soft seeds with variable color growing in the central/northern region. The largest market for Afghan pomegranates is India followed by Pakistan, Russia, United Arab Emirates and Europe.
ARMENIA
The pomegranate is one of the main fruits in Armenian culture (the others being apricot and grapes). Its juice is famous with Armenians in food and heritage. The pomegranate is the symbol of Armenia and represents fertility, abundance and marriage. For example, the fruit played an integral role in a wedding custom widely practiced in ancient Armenia: a bride was given a pomegranate fruit, which she threw against a wall, breaking it into pieces. Scattered pomegranate seeds ensured the bride future children. In Karabakh, it was customary to put fruits next to the bridal couple during the first night of marriage, among them the pomegranate, which was said to ensure happiness. It is likely that newlyweds also enjoyed pomegranate wine. The symbolism of the pomegranate is that it protected a woman from infertility and protected a man's virility. Both homemade and commercial wine is made from pomegranate in Armenia. The Color of Pomegranates (1969) is a movie directed by Sergei Parajanov. It is a biography of the Armenian ashug Sayat-Nova (King of Song) which attempts to reveal the poet's life visually and poetically rather than literally.
AZERBAIJAN
Pomegranate is considered one of the symbols of Azerbaijan. Annually in October, a cultural festival is held in Goychay, Azerbaijan known as the Goychay Pomegranate Festival. The festival features Azerbaijani fruit-cuisine mainly the pomegranates from Goychay, which is famous for its pomegranate growing industry. At the festival, a parade is held with traditional Azerbaijani dances and Azerbaijani music. Pomegranate was depicted on the official logo of the 2015 European Games held in Azerbaijan. Nar the Pomegranate was one of the two mascots of these games. Pomegranates also featured on the jackets worn by Azerbaijani male athletes at the games' opening ceremony.
IRAN AND ANCIENT PERSIA
Pomegranate was the symbol of fertility in ancient Persian culture.[citation needed] In Persian mythology, Isfandiyar eats a pomegranate and becomes invincible. In the Greco-Persian Wars, Herodotus mentions golden pomegranates adorning the spears of warriors in the phalanx. Even in today's Iran, pomegranate may imply love and fertility.
Iran produces pomegranates as a common crop.[citation needed] Its juice and paste have a role in some Iranian cuisines, e.g. chicken, ghormas and refreshment bars. Pomegranate skins may be used to stain wool and silk in the carpet industry.
Pomegranate Festival is an annual cultural and artistic festival held during October in Tehran[citation needed] to exhibit and sell pomegranates, food products and handicrafts.
PAKISTAN
The pomegranate (known as "anār" in Urdu) is a popular fruit in Pakistan. It is grown in Pakistan and is also imported from Afghanistan.
INDIA
In some Hindu traditions, the pomegranate (Hindi: anār) symbolizes prosperity and fertility, and is associated with both Bhoomidevi (the earth goddess) and Lord Ganesha (the one fond of the many-seeded fruit). The Tamil name maadulampazham is a metaphor for a woman's mind. It is derived from, maadhu=woman, ullam=mind, which means as the seeds are hidden, it is not easy to decipher a woman's mind.
CHINA
Introduced to China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), the pomegranate (Chinese: 石榴; pinyin: shíliu) in olden times was considered an emblem of fertility and numerous progeny. This symbolism is a pun on the Chinese character 子 (zǐ) which, as well as meaning seed, also means "offspring" thus a fruit containing so many seeds is a sign of fecundity. Pictures of the ripe fruit with the seeds bursting forth were often hung in homes to bestow fertility and bless the dwelling with numerous offspring, an important facet of traditional Chinese culture.
WIKIPEDIA
The pomegranate (/ˈpɒmᵻɡrænᵻt/), botanical name Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between 5 and 8 m tall.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the fruit is typically in season from September to February, and in the Southern Hemisphere from March to May. As intact arils or juice, pomegranates are used in cooking, baking, meal garnishes, juice blends, smoothies, and alcoholic beverages, such as cocktails and wine.
The pomegranate originated in the region of modern-day Iran and has been cultivated since ancient times throughout the Mediterranean region and northern India. It was introduced into America (Spanish America) in the late 16th century and California by Spanish settlers in 1769.
Today, it is widely cultivated throughout the Middle East and Caucasus region, north Africa and tropical Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, the drier parts of southeast Asia, and parts of the Mediterranean Basin. It is also cultivated in parts of California and Arizona. In recent years, it has become more common in the commercial markets of Europe and the Western Hemisphere.
ETYMOLOGY
The name pomegranate derives from medieval Latin pōmum "apple" and grānātum "seeded". Perhaps stemming from the old French word for the fruit, pomme-grenade, the pomegranate was known in early English as "apple of Grenada" - a term which today survives only in heraldic blazons. This is a folk etymology, confusing Latin granatus with the name of the Spanish city of Granada, which derives from Arabic.
Garnet derives from Old French grenat by metathesis, from Medieval Latin granatum as used in a different meaning "of a dark red color". This derivation may have originated from pomum granatum describing the color of pomegranate pulp or from granum referring to "red dye, cochineal".
The French term for pomegranate, grenade, has given its name to the military grenade.
DESCRIPTION
A shrub or small tree growing 6 to 10 m high, the pomegranate has multiple spiny branches, and is extremely long-lived, with some specimens in France surviving for 200 years. P. granatum leaves are opposite or subopposite, glossy, narrow oblong, entire, 3–7 cm long and 2 cm broad. The flowers are bright red and 3 cm in diameter, with three to seven petals. Some fruitless varieties are grown for the flowers alone.
The edible fruit is a berry, intermediate in size between a lemon and a grapefruit, 5–12 cm in diameter with a rounded shape and thick, reddish skin. The number of seeds in a pomegranate can vary from 200 to about 1400. Each seed has a surrounding water-laden pulp — the edible sarcotesta that forms from the seed coat — ranging in color from white to deep red or purple. The seeds are "exarillate", i.e., unlike some other species in the order, Myrtales, no aril is present. The sarcotesta of pomegranate seeds consists of epidermis cells derived from the integument. The seeds are embedded in a white, spongy, astringent membrane.
CULTIVATION
P. granatum is grown for its fruit crop, and as ornamental trees and shrubs in parks and gardens. Mature specimens can develop sculptural twisted-bark multiple trunks and a distinctive overall form. Pomegranates are drought-tolerant, and can be grown in dry areas with either a Mediterranean winter rainfall climate or in summer rainfall climates. In wetter areas, they can be prone to root decay from fungal diseases. They can be tolerant of moderate frost, down to about −12 °C.
Insect pests of the pomegranate can include the pomegranate butterfly Virachola isocrates and the leaf-footed bug Leptoglossus zonatus, and fruit flies and ants are attracted to unharvested ripe fruit. Pomegranate grows easily from seed, but is commonly propagated from 25– to 50-cm hardwood cuttings to avoid the genetic variation of seedlings. Air layering is also an option for propagation, but grafting fails.
VARIETIES
P. granatum var. nana is a dwarf variety of P. granatum popularly planted as an ornamental plant in gardens and larger containers, and used as a bonsai specimen tree. It could well be a wild form with a distinct origin. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The only other species in the genus Punica is the Socotran pomegranate (P. protopunica), which is endemic to the island of Socotra. It differs in having pink (not red) flowers and smaller, less sweet fruit.
CULTIVARS
P. granatum has more than 500 named cultivars, but evidently has considerable synonymy in which the same genotype is named differently across regions of the world.[15]
Several characteristics between pomegranate genotypes vary for identification, consumer preference, preferred use, and marketing, the most important of which are fruit size, exocarp color (ranging from yellow to purple, with pink and red most common), seed-coat color (ranging from white to red), hardness of seed, maturity, juice content and its acidity, sweetness, and astringency.
CULTURAL HISTORY
Pomegranate is native to a region from Iran to northern India. Pomegranates have been cultivated throughout the Middle East, South Asia, and Mediterranean region for several millennia, and also thrive in the drier climates of California and Arizona.
Carbonized exocarp of the fruit has been identified in early Bronze Age levels of Jericho in the West Bank, as well as late Bronze Age levels of Hala Sultan Tekke on Cyprus and Tiryns.[citation needed] A large, dry pomegranate was found in the tomb of Djehuty, the butler of Queen Hatshepsut in Egypt; Mesopotamian cuneiform records mention pomegranates from the mid-third millennium BC onwards.
It is also extensively grown in South China and in Southeast Asia, whether originally spread along the route of the Silk Road or brought by sea traders. Kandahar is famous in Afghanistan for its high-quality pomegranates.
Although not native to Korea or Japan, the pomegranate is widely grown there and many cultivars have been developed. It is widely used for bonsai because of its flowers and for the unusual twisted bark the older specimens can attain. The term "balaustine" (Latin: balaustinus) is also used for a pomegranate-red color.
The ancient city of Granada in Spain was renamed after the fruit during the Moorish period and today the province of Granada uses pomegranate as a charge in heraldry for its canting arms.
Spanish colonists later introduced the fruit to the Caribbean and America (Spanish America), but in the English colonies, it was less at home: "Don't use the pomegranate inhospitably, a stranger that has come so far to pay his respects to thee," the English Quaker Peter Collinson wrote to the botanizing John Bartram in Philadelphia, 1762. "Plant it against the side of thy house, nail it close to the wall. In this manner it thrives wonderfully with us, and flowers beautifully, and bears fruit this hot year. I have twenty-four on one tree... Doctor Fothergill says, of all trees this is most salutiferous to mankind."
The pomegranate had been introduced as an exotic to England the previous century, by John Tradescant the elder, but the disappointment that it did not set fruit there led to its repeated introduction to the American colonies, even New England. It succeeded in the South: Bartram received a barrel of pomegranates and oranges from a correspondent in Charleston, South Carolina, 1764. John Bartram partook of "delitious" pomegranates with Noble Jones at Wormsloe Plantation, near Savannah, Georgia, in September 1765. Thomas Jefferson planted pomegranates at Monticello in 1771: he had them from George Wythe of Williamsburg.
CULINARY USE
After the pomegranate is opened by scoring it with a knife and breaking it open, the seeds are separated from the peel and internal white pulp membranes. Separating the seeds is easier in a bowl of water because the seeds sink and the inedible pulp floats. Freezing the entire fruit also makes it easier to separate. Another effective way of quickly harvesting the seeds is to cut the pomegranate in half, score each half of the exterior rind four to six times, hold the pomegranate half over a bowl, and smack the rind with a large spoon. The seeds should eject from the pomegranate directly into the bowl, leaving only a dozen or more deeply embedded seeds to remove. The entire seed is consumed raw, though the watery, tasty sarcotesta is the desired part. The taste differs depending on the variety or cultivar of pomegranate and its ripeness.
Pomegranate juice can be sweet or sour, but most fruits are moderate in taste, with sour notes from the acidic tannins contained in the juice. Pomegranate juice has long been a popular drink in Europe, the Middle East and is now widely distributed in the United States and Canada.
Grenadine syrup long ago consisted of thickened and sweetened pomegranate juice, now is usually a sales name for a syrup based on various berries, citric acid, and food coloring, mainly used in cocktail mixing. In Europe, Bols still manufactures grenadine syrup with pomegranate. Before tomatoes, a New World fruit, arrived in the Middle East, pomegranate juice, molasses, and vinegar were widely used in many Iranian foods, and are still found in traditional recipes such as fesenjān, a thick sauce made from pomegranate juice and ground walnuts, usually spooned over duck or other poultry and rice, and in ash-e anar (pomegranate soup).
Pomegranate seeds are used as a spice known as anardana (from Persian: anar + dana, pomegranate + seed), most notably in Indian and Pakistani cuisine. Dried whole seeds can often be obtained in ethnic Indian subcontinent markets. These seeds are separated from the flesh, dried for 10–15 days, and used as an acidic agent for chutney and curry preparation. Ground anardana is also used, which results in a deeper flavoring in dishes and prevents the seeds from getting stuck in teeth. Seeds of the wild pomegranate variety known as daru from the Himalayas are regarded as quality sources for this spice.
Dried pomegranate seeds, found in some natural specialty food markets, still contain some residual water, maintaining a natural sweet and tart flavor. Dried seeds can be used in several culinary applications, such as trail mix, granola bars, or as a topping for salad, yogurt, or ice cream.
In the Caucasus, pomegranate is used mainly for juice. In Azerbaijan, a sauce from pomegranate juice narsharab, (from Persian: (a)nar + sharab, lit. "pomegranate wine") is usually served with fish or tika kabab. In Turkey, pomegranate sauce (Turkish: nar ekşisi) is used as a salad dressing, to marinate meat, or simply to drink straight. Pomegranate seeds are also used in salads and sometimes as garnish for desserts such as güllaç. Pomegranate syrup or molasses is used in muhammara, a roasted red pepper, walnut, and garlic spread popular in Syria and Turkey.
In Greece, pomegranate (Greek: ρόδι, rodi) is used in many recipes, including kollivozoumi, a creamy broth made from boiled wheat, pomegranates, and raisins, legume salad with wheat and pomegranate, traditional Middle Eastern lamb kebabs with pomegranate glaze, pomegranate eggplant relish, and avocado-pomegranate dip. Pomegranate is also made into a liqueur, and as a popular fruit confectionery used as ice cream topping, mixed with yogurt, or spread as jam on toast. In Cyprus and Greece, and among the Greek Orthodox Diaspora, ρόδι (Greek for pomegranate) is used to make koliva, a mixture of wheat, pomegranate seeds, sugar, almonds, and other seeds served at memorial services.
In Mexico, they are commonly used to adorn the traditional dish chiles en nogada, representing the red of the Mexican flag in the dish which evokes the green (poblano pepper), white (nogada sauce) and red (pomegranate seeds) tricolor.
IN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE
In the Indian subcontinent's ancient Ayurveda system of traditional medicine, the pomegranate is frequently described as an ingredient in remedies.
In folk medicine pomegranate has been thought a contraceptive and abortifacient when the seeds or rind are eaten, or when as a vaginal suppository.
NUTRITION
A 100-g serving of pomegranate seeds provides 12% of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin C, 16% DV for vitamin K and 10% DV for folate (table).
Pomegranate seeds are an excellent source of dietary fiber (20% DV) which is entirely contained in the edible seeds. People who choose to discard the seeds forfeit nutritional benefits conveyed by the seed fiber and micronutrients.
Pomegranate seed oil contains punicic acid (65.3%), palmitic acid (4.8%), stearic acid (2.3%), oleic acid (6.3%), and linoleic acid (6.6%).
RESEARCH
JUICE
The most abundant phytochemicals in pomegranate juice are polyphenols, including the hydrolyzable tannins called ellagitannins formed when ellagic acid and/or gallic acid binds with a carbohydrate to form pomegranate ellagitannins, also known as punicalagins.
The red color of juice can be attributed to anthocyanins, such as delphinidin, cyanidin, and pelargonidin glycosides. Generally, an increase in juice pigmentation occurs during fruit ripening.
The phenolic content of pomegranate juice is adversely affected by processing and pasteurization techniques.
PEEL
Compared to the pulp, the inedible pomegranate peel contains as much as three times the total amount of polyphenols, including condensed tannins, catechins, gallocatechins and prodelphinidins.
The higher phenolic content of the peel yields extracts for use in dietary supplements and food preservatives.
Health claims
Despite limited research data, manufacturers and marketers of pomegranate juice have liberally used evolving research results for product promotion. In February 2010, the FDA issued a Warning Letter to one such manufacturer, POM Wonderful, for using published literature to make illegal claims of unproven anti-disease benefits.
SYMBOLISM
ANCIENT EGYPT
Ancient Egyptians regarded the pomegranate as a symbol of prosperity and ambition. According to the Ebers Papyrus, one of the oldest medical writings from around 1500 BC, Egyptians used the pomegranate for treatment of tapeworm and other infections.
ANCIENT GREECE
The Greeks were familiar with the fruit far before it was introduced to Rome via Carthage. In Ancient Greek mythology, the pomegranate was known as the "fruit of the dead", and believed to have sprung from the blood of Adonis.
The myth of Persephone, the goddess of the underworld, prominently features the pomegranate. In one version of Greek mythology, Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and taken off to live in the underworld as his wife. Her mother, Demeter (goddess of the Harvest), went into mourning for her lost daughter, thus all green things ceased to grow. Zeus, the highest-ranking of the Greek gods, could not allow the Earth to die, so he commanded Hades to return Persephone. It was the rule of the Fates that anyone who consumed food or drink in the underworld was doomed to spend eternity there. Persephone had no food, but Hades tricked her into eating six pomegranate seeds while she was still his prisoner, so she was condemned to spend six months in the underworld every year. During these six months, while Persephone sits on the throne of the underworld beside her husband Hades, her mother Demeter mourns and no longer gives fertility to the earth. This was an ancient Greek explanation for the seasons. Dante Gabriel Rossetti's painting Persephona depicts Persephone holding the fatal fruit. The number of seeds Persephone ate varies, depending on which version of the story is told. The number ranges from three to seven, which accounts for just one barren season if it is just three or four seeds, or two barren seasons (half the year) if she ate six or seven seeds.
The pomegranate also evoked the presence of the Aegean Triple Goddess who evolved into the Olympian Hera, who is sometimes represented offering the pomegranate, as in the Polykleitos' cult image of the Argive Heraion (see below). According to Carl A. P. Ruck and Danny Staples, the chambered pomegranate is also a surrogate for the poppy's narcotic capsule, with its comparable shape and chambered interior. On a Mycenaean seal illustrated in Joseph Campbell's Occidental Mythology 1964, figure 19, the seated Goddess of the double-headed axe (the labrys) offers three poppy pods in her right hand and supports her breast with her left. She embodies both aspects of the dual goddess, life-giving and death-dealing at once. The Titan Orion was represented as "marrying" Side, a name that in Boeotia means "pomegranate", thus consecrating the primal hunter to the Goddess. Other Greek dialects call the pomegranate rhoa; its possible connection with the name of the earth goddess Rhea, inexplicable in Greek, proved suggestive for the mythographer Karl Kerenyi, who suggested the consonance might ultimately derive from a deeper, pre-Indo-European language layer.
In the 5th century BC, Polycleitus took ivory and gold to sculpt the seated Argive Hera in her temple. She held a scepter in one hand and offered a pomegranate, like a 'royal orb', in the other. "About the pomegranate I must say nothing," whispered the traveller Pausanias in the 2nd century, "for its story is somewhat of a holy mystery." In the Orion story, Hera cast pomegranate-Side (an ancient city in Antalya) into dim Erebus — "for daring to rival Hera's beauty", which forms the probable point of connection with the older Osiris/Isis story.[citation needed] Since the ancient Egyptians identified the Orion constellation in the sky as Sah the "soul of Osiris", the identification of this section of the myth seems relatively complete. Hera wears, not a wreath nor a tiara nor a diadem, but clearly the calyx of the pomegranate that has become her serrated crown.[citation needed] The pomegranate has a calyx shaped like a crown. In Jewish tradition, it has been seen as the original "design" for the proper crown. In some artistic depictions, the pomegranate is found in the hand of Mary, mother of Jesus.
A pomegranate is displayed on coins from the ancient city of Side, Pamphylia.
Within the Heraion at the mouth of the Sele, near Paestum, Magna Graecia, is a chapel devoted to the Madonna del Granato, "Our Lady of the Pomegranate", "who by virtue of her epithet and the attribute of a pomegranate must be the Christian successor of the ancient Greek goddess Hera", observes the excavator of the Heraion of Samos, Helmut Kyrieleis.
In modern times, the pomegranate still holds strong symbolic meanings for the Greeks. On important days in the Greek Orthodox calendar, such as the Presentation of the Virgin Mary and on Christmas Day, it is traditional to have at the dinner table polysporia, also known by their ancient name panspermia, in some regions of Greece. In ancient times, they were offered to Demeter[citation needed] and to the other gods for fertile land, for the spirits of the dead and in honor of compassionate Dionysus.[citation needed] When one buys a new home, it is conventional for a house guest to bring as a first gift a pomegranate, which is placed under/near the ikonostasi (home altar) of the house, as a symbol of abundance, fertility, and good luck. Pomegranates are also prominent at Greek weddings and funerals.[citation needed] When Greeks commemorate their dead, they make kollyva as offerings, which consist of boiled wheat, mixed with sugar and decorated with pomegranate. It is also traditional in Greece to break a pomegranate on the ground at weddings and on New Years. Pomegranate decorations for the home are very common in Greece and sold in most home goods stores.
ANCIENT ISRAEL AND JUDAISM
Pomegranates were known in Ancient Israel as the fruits which the scouts brought to Moses to demonstrate the fertility of the "promised land". The Book of Exodus describes the me'il ("robe of the ephod") worn by the Hebrew high priest as having pomegranates embroidered on the hem alternating with golden bells which could be heard as the high priest entered and left the Holy of Holies. According to the Books of Kings, the capitals of the two pillars (Jachin and Boaz) that stood in front of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem were engraved with pomegranates. Solomon is said to have designed his coronet based on the pomegranate's "crown" (calyx).
It is traditional to consume pomegranates on Rosh Hashana because, with its numerous seeds, it symbolizes fruitfulness. Also, it is said to have 613 seeds, which corresponds with the 613 mitzvot or commandments of the Torah.[61] This particular tradition is referred to in the opening pages of Ursula Dubosarsky's novel Theodora's Gift.
The pomegranate appeared on the ancient coins of Judea. When not in use, the handles of Torah scrolls are sometimes covered with decorative silver globes similar in shape to "pomegranates" (rimmonim). Some Jewish scholars believe the pomegranate was the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.[60] Pomegranates are one of the Seven Species (Hebrew: שבעת המינים, Shiv'at Ha-Minim) of fruits and grains enumerated in the Hebrew Bible (Deuteronomy 8:8) as being special products of the Land of Israel. The pomegranate is mentioned in the Bible many times, including this quote from the Songs of Solomon, "Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks." (Song of Solomon 4:3). Pomegranates also symbolize the mystical experience in the Jewish mystical tradition, or kabbalah, with the typical reference being to entering the "garden of pomegranates" or pardes rimonim; this is also the title of a book by the 16th-century mystic Moses ben Jacob Cordovero.
IN EUROPEAN CHRISTIAN MOTIFS
In the earliest incontrovertible appearance of Christ in a mosaic, a 4th-century floor mosaic from Hinton St Mary, Dorset, now in the British Museum, the bust of Christ and the chi rho are flanked by pomegranates. Pomegranates continue to be a motif often found in Christian religious decoration. They are often woven into the fabric of vestments and liturgical hangings or wrought in metalwork. Pomegranates figure in many religious paintings by the likes of Sandro Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci, often in the hands of the Virgin Mary or the infant Jesus. The fruit, broken or bursting open, is a symbol of the fullness of Jesus' suffering and resurrection.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, pomegranate seeds may be used in kolyva, a dish prepared for memorial services, as a symbol of the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom.
IN THE QUR´AN
According to the Qur'an, pomegranates grow in the gardens of paradise (55:68). The Qur'an also mentions pomegranates three times.(6:99, 6:141, 55:68)
AFGHANISTAN
Pomegranate, a favorite fall and winter fruit in Afghanistan, has mainly two varieties: one that is sweet and dark red with hard seeds growing in and around Kandhar province, and the other that has soft seeds with variable color growing in the central/northern region. The largest market for Afghan pomegranates is India followed by Pakistan, Russia, United Arab Emirates and Europe.
ARMENIA
The pomegranate is one of the main fruits in Armenian culture (the others being apricot and grapes). Its juice is famous with Armenians in food and heritage. The pomegranate is the symbol of Armenia and represents fertility, abundance and marriage. For example, the fruit played an integral role in a wedding custom widely practiced in ancient Armenia: a bride was given a pomegranate fruit, which she threw against a wall, breaking it into pieces. Scattered pomegranate seeds ensured the bride future children. In Karabakh, it was customary to put fruits next to the bridal couple during the first night of marriage, among them the pomegranate, which was said to ensure happiness. It is likely that newlyweds also enjoyed pomegranate wine. The symbolism of the pomegranate is that it protected a woman from infertility and protected a man's virility. Both homemade and commercial wine is made from pomegranate in Armenia. The Color of Pomegranates (1969) is a movie directed by Sergei Parajanov. It is a biography of the Armenian ashug Sayat-Nova (King of Song) which attempts to reveal the poet's life visually and poetically rather than literally.
AZERBAIJAN
Pomegranate is considered one of the symbols of Azerbaijan. Annually in October, a cultural festival is held in Goychay, Azerbaijan known as the Goychay Pomegranate Festival. The festival features Azerbaijani fruit-cuisine mainly the pomegranates from Goychay, which is famous for its pomegranate growing industry. At the festival, a parade is held with traditional Azerbaijani dances and Azerbaijani music. Pomegranate was depicted on the official logo of the 2015 European Games held in Azerbaijan. Nar the Pomegranate was one of the two mascots of these games. Pomegranates also featured on the jackets worn by Azerbaijani male athletes at the games' opening ceremony.
IRAN AND ANCIENT PERSIA
Pomegranate was the symbol of fertility in ancient Persian culture.[citation needed] In Persian mythology, Isfandiyar eats a pomegranate and becomes invincible. In the Greco-Persian Wars, Herodotus mentions golden pomegranates adorning the spears of warriors in the phalanx. Even in today's Iran, pomegranate may imply love and fertility.
Iran produces pomegranates as a common crop.[citation needed] Its juice and paste have a role in some Iranian cuisines, e.g. chicken, ghormas and refreshment bars. Pomegranate skins may be used to stain wool and silk in the carpet industry.
Pomegranate Festival is an annual cultural and artistic festival held during October in Tehran[citation needed] to exhibit and sell pomegranates, food products and handicrafts.
PAKISTAN
The pomegranate (known as "anār" in Urdu) is a popular fruit in Pakistan. It is grown in Pakistan and is also imported from Afghanistan.
INDIA
In some Hindu traditions, the pomegranate (Hindi: anār) symbolizes prosperity and fertility, and is associated with both Bhoomidevi (the earth goddess) and Lord Ganesha (the one fond of the many-seeded fruit). The Tamil name maadulampazham is a metaphor for a woman's mind. It is derived from, maadhu=woman, ullam=mind, which means as the seeds are hidden, it is not easy to decipher a woman's mind.
CHINA
Introduced to China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), the pomegranate (Chinese: 石榴; pinyin: shíliu) in olden times was considered an emblem of fertility and numerous progeny. This symbolism is a pun on the Chinese character 子 (zǐ) which, as well as meaning seed, also means "offspring" thus a fruit containing so many seeds is a sign of fecundity. Pictures of the ripe fruit with the seeds bursting forth were often hung in homes to bestow fertility and bless the dwelling with numerous offspring, an important facet of traditional Chinese culture.
WIKIPEDIA
Vacation shots – Carlsbad California April 2021. Kodak 2238 shot at ISO 20 in Nikon F4s with Nikkor Ai-s 35-105mm zoom and 75-260 zoom on T2 mount. Hand rolled in used 35mm canister which had a light leak, thus the fogging and streaks. Developed in H&W Control* 1:15 dilution for 12:30 minutes of constant agitation at 68 degrees F. water stop/wash for 5 minutes and fixed for 2 minutes in Ilford Hypam Rapid 1:4. Scanned as color with some minor colorization in photoshop as interpreted through vuescan and PS.
*To prepare this developer, start with 75 ml of distilled water at 60ºC. Add 1.9 g of Sodium Sulfite, anhydrous. Next, add 0.3 g of Hydroquinone, then add 8.7 g of Sodium Carbonate. Add the second developer agent, 2.07 grams of Phenidone.
The solution is then diluted with 125 ml of distilled water. Add another 15.15 g of preservative Sodium Sulfite, anhydrous. Finally, add distilled water to make up 250 ml of this concentrate.
To use this version of the H&W Control developer, dilute it 1+15 with distilled water. The 250 ml of concentrate will yield 4 litres of working solution, adequate for processing 13 rolls of film
Jean Philippe Pâtisserie holds the official world record, recognized by Guinness World Records for having the largest chocolate fountain in the world. The 26-foot 3 and 3/16-inch fountain circulates nearly two tons of melted dark, milk and white chocolate in front of the pâtisserie surrounded by 300-pound glass viewing panels.
World Pastry Champion Jean-Philippe Maury delivers a light, casual dining atmosphere that serves up soups, salads and sweets with Jean Philippe Pâtisserie, located in the Spa Tower at Bellagio. Maury, who is also executive pastry chef at the Bellagio, offers sweets like chocolates filled with sensational chocolates including dark chocolate truffles coated in cocoa powder and hazelnut-filled chocolate hearts. Chocolates like these can be displayed in decorative boxes, which Maury designs himself.
Maury is a chocolate purist, which means that at Jean Philippe Pâtisserie, a minimum of 65 percent chocolate mass is used. The maximum can span all the way to 97 percent for a rich dark chocolate flavor.
At Jean Philippe Pâtisserie, items are made on site with over 80 bakers in the kitchen below the storefront. Everything is made fresh, nothing is made with preservatives. Therefore, the chocolate has a shelf life of about two weeks and should be stored at room temperature. Pastries probably won't last too long anyway, but should be consumed the same day for peak freshness.
The highlight of Jean Philippe Pâtisserie's décor is the floor-to-ceiling 27-foot chocolate fountain, with nearly two tons of dark, milk and white melted chocolate. The glass-enclosed chocolate fountain is a great sight for the kids and adults alike.
A variety of souvenirs are available to take home, including chocolates, candies, and pastries.
Jean Philippe Pâtisserie serves fresh salads like a cobb salad or crab salad - fresh crab, papaya, mango, tomatoes, cabbage and romaine lettuce served with a citrus vinaigrette. The Pâtisserie also serves paninis like spiced tomato chicken. A unique item served is the sweet and savory crêpes. Sweet crêpes are served with a traditional sweet dough and are filled with decadent items like nutella, bananas foster and exotic pineapple, mango and passion fruit mix.
An assortment of gelatos and sorbets are available, as well as an assortment of beautifully decorated pastries. Petit fours and full cakes are available for parties and special events. They also offer specialty coffees and hot cocoa.
Stop by any time of year and see the beautifully crafted chocolate sculptures that act as the centerpiece to the Pâtisserie. The sculptures change seasonally and are ornate works of edible art.
Recipes for muffins, in their yeast-free "American" form, are common in 19th century American cookbooks. Recipes for yeast-based muffins, which were sometimes called "common muffins" or "wheat muffins" in 19th century American cookbooks, can be found in much older cookbooks.
A somewhat odd combination of circumstances in the 1970s and 1980s led to significant changes in what had been a rather simple, if not prosaic, food. The decline in home-baking, the health food movement, the rise of the specialty food shop, and the gourmet coffee trend all contributed to the creation of a new standard of muffin.
Preservatives in muffin mixes led to the expectation that muffins did not have to go stale within hours of baking, but the resulting muffins were not a taste improvement over homemade.
On the other hand, the baked muffin, even if from a mix, seemed almost healthy compared to the fat-laden alternatives of doughnuts and Danish pastry. "Healthy" muffin recipes using whole grains and such "natural" things as yogurt and various vegetables evolved rapidly. But for "healthy" muffins to have any shelf-life without artificial preservatives, the sugar and fat content needed to be increased, to the point where the "muffins" are almost indistinguishable from cupcakes. The rising market for gourmet snacks to accompany gourmet coffees resulted in fancier concoctions in greater bulk than the original, modestly sized corn muffin.
The marketing trend toward larger portion sizes also resulted in new muffin pan types for home-baking, not only for increased size. Since the area ratio of muffin top to muffin bottom changed considerably when the traditional small round exploded into a giant mushroom, consumers became more aware of the difference between the soft texture of tops, allowed to rise unfettered, and rougher, tougher bottoms restricted by the pans. There was a brief foray into pans that could produce "all-top" muffins, i.e., extremely shallow, large-diameter cups. The TV sitcom Seinfeld made reference to this in the "The Muffin Tops" episode in which the character Elaine Benes co-owns a bakery named "Top o' the Muffin to You!" that sold only the muffin tops. Along with the increasing size of muffins is a contrary trend of extremely small muffins. It is now very common to see muffin pans or premade muffins that are only one or two inches in diameter.
Just a couple last photos from shooting at a particular barn... This shows the eastern gambrel end which was not included when the front (southern) side was resided. Except for the missing roof and exterior ladder, the silo appears to be in excellent condition. Just barely visible behind the grass is one of the open window casings looking into the lower area where the cows were stanchioned.
Found a bit more info on red paint in Wikipedia's barn description:
"Many barns in the northern United States are painted barn red with a white trim. One possible reason for this is that ferric oxide, which is used to create red paint, was the cheapest and most readily available chemical for farmers in New England and nearby areas. Another possible reason is that ferric oxide acts a preservative[16] and so painting a barn with it would help to protect the structure."
Vacation shots – Carlsbad California April 2021. Kodak 2238 shot at ISO 20 in Nikon F4s with Nikkor Ai-s 35-105mm zoom and 75-260 zoom on T2 mount. Hand rolled in used 35mm canister which had a light leak, thus the fogging and streaks. Developed in H&W Control* 1:15 dilution for 12:30 minutes of constant agitation at 68 degrees F. water stop/wash for 5 minutes and fixed for 2 minutes in Ilford Hypam Rapid 1:4. Scanned as color with some minor colorization in photoshop as interpreted through vuescan and PS.
*To prepare this developer, start with 75 ml of distilled water at 60ºC. Add 1.9 g of Sodium Sulfite, anhydrous. Next, add 0.3 g of Hydroquinone, then add 8.7 g of Sodium Carbonate. Add the second developer agent, 2.07 grams of Phenidone.
The solution is then diluted with 125 ml of distilled water. Add another 15.15 g of preservative Sodium Sulfite, anhydrous. Finally, add distilled water to make up 250 ml of this concentrate.
To use this version of the H&W Control developer, dilute it 1+15 with distilled water. The 250 ml of concentrate will yield 4 litres of working solution, adequate for processing 13 rolls of film
Using small batch format production we as independent operators deliver uniquely integrated beauty, wellbeing and environmentally conscious products. PURE is Sodium Laurel Sulphate and Paraben free and is created without dyes or synthetics. We only use high quality essential oils to scent and each product is made in small batches to ensure quality. Through the use of natural, botanical ingredients, free of harsh chemicals and preservatives we deliver health and beauty products to the eco minded health conscious consumers through hotels, spas and retail locations throughout North America.
(If you'd like to use any of these photos for anything pls contact Kris Krüg first - kriskrug@gmail.com or 778. 898. 3076. Thank you! (c) (r) (tm) 2016)
Stamping cookie cutters appear to be the new trend in cookie making, but you have to have the right recipe, or the cookies will puff-up, or spread, and you will lose all that wonderful detail.
This recipe is PERFECT for use with all stamp plunger cookie cutters.
The detail stays sharp and crisp, and they taste delicious. Plus these ship nicely to your loved ones because the creamy filling doesn't need refrigeration.
We filled them with a creamy filling, just like “America’s Favorite Cookie”, without all the additives and preservatives.
A couple of these, with a glass of milk=Happy Tummies Everywhere!
Recipes and step by step tutorial here:
The deep red colored paint called "Falu red" or sometimes "Falun red" originated from a copper mine in the city of Falun located in Dalarna, Sweden. The paint was made of water, rye flour, linseed oil and tailings from the copper mine which has iron oxides, copper compounds and zinc. Often used on Swedish barns and cottages, the paint was found to be a natural wood preservative that was long-lasting like iron. When the paint would wear out and flake, the loose flakes could easily be brushed off and repainted to look like new again.
The paint was cheap and poorer farmers would even use it to paint their houses during the 19 century. Falu red is still widely used in the Swedish countryside.
www.itechpost.com/articles/9062/20130512/why-barns-painte...
Welcome to the Heart of Dutch Country, in the Scenic Hills of Holmes County, Ohio Heini's Place: Home of the World Famous Mini-Wheel Cheeses. See the world's largest wheel of cheese known: Net wt. 20,462 lbs. Observe the art of cheese making in our modern facility. Visit our cheese house, featuring 27 varieties of Semi-soft, Natural Cheeses (No preservatives). Located just off U.S. 62; one mile northeast of Berlin, Ohio 500 ft. North at the blinker light on County Road 77.
Lowry Lithograph
CAPA-014198
On 27th April 1942, the crew of Halifax W1048 TL-S from 35 Squadron took off at 2030 hrs from RAF Kinloss on the North East coast of Scotland to participate in an attack on the German Battleship Tirpitz which was moored at the time in Fættenfjord in Norway.
This aircraft and crew located Tirpitz and succeeded in dropping their mines as near as was possible to the target. However, during their bombing run over the target the aircraft was hit and seriously damaged by AA fire causing a fire to break out onboard. Unable to extinguish the fire and with the aircraft becoming more and more unstable in the air the pilot, Pilot Officer Don MacIntyre, was left with little choice other than to try and land the stricken aircraft. In the mountainous terrain in which they were flying this was not going to be easy, however, a frozen lake presented a flat surface and an opportunity to attempt a crash landing.
With enormous courage and skill, Pilot Office MacIntyre brought the blazing Halifax down onto the frozen surface of the lake with the undercarriage retracted as was the procedure for this type of landing. The aircraft hurtled along the ice for about half a mile or so before coming to a halt in the middle of the lake still on fire. It was shortly after 0100 hrs.
All six members of the crew survived the crash uninjured, with the exception of the Flight Engineer, Sergeant Vic Stevens, who sustained a broken ankle.
The aircraft crashing onto the lake had attracted the attention of the Germans, and it wasn't long before shots were being fired at the crew as they ran over the ice towards the shore to seek cover.
Surrender was considered and rejected by the crew, who decided to try to escape capture and attempt to reach the safety of neutral Sweden, some distance away.
Sergeant Stevens didn't want his injured ankle slowing the group's progress and surrendered himself to the local Norwegian police officer. The policeman was sympathetic to the Allied cause and delayed informing the Germans for some hours, giving the rest of the crew a head start.
With the help of members of the Norwegian Resistance, the remaining crew members reached Sweden after spending nearly a week battling sub-zero temperatures and blizzard conditions with very little food. Eventually the five crew members were repatriated back to England and all survived the war.
On the 30th June 1973, thirty one years after the attacks on Tirpitz in the spring of 1942, Halifax W1048 TL-S "Sugar" was raised from the depths of Lake Hoklingen where she had crashed and was brought to the shore by an RAF Sub Aqua expedition and members of a local Trondheim diving club, Draugen, who had made the initial discovery of the Halifax in 1968
The initial plan was to restore the Halifax to her original appearance. The forward fuselage section was sent to RAF Wyton for restoration, however, this was not a successful project and was abandoned. It became apparent that a great proportion of the aircraft was in a very fragile condition and that if full restoration was undertaken little of the original aircraft would remain. The front gun turret was refurbished as a separate project and one engine was restored. Other than this, it was decided that the Halifax should be left in the condition that she had been found and would be displayed at Hendon. Meanwhile, the Halifax was sprayed with PX-9, a lanolin based preservative.
Unfortunately, prior to this application the airframe had already started to corrode, it was later discovered that the Halifax should have been treated with another product prior to the PX-9 which could have prevented further corrosion. The application of PX-9 had not coated the Halifax uniformly, and as a result some areas continued to corrode. With the opening of the Bomber Command Hall at Hendon in 1983 the Halifax finally had a home. The display is a reminder to visitors that war has its costs in material and in lives and serves as a memorial to the aircraft and crews who did not return to these shores
During WW2, RAF Bomber Command crews suffered an extremely high casualty rate: 55,573 killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew (a 44.4 percent death rate)
RAF Museum Hendon