Can officially declare that Burgundy and pheasant do NOT go well together...need something a bit grippier to deal with the bird's gaminess, am thinking a bordeaux would have been a better call. Regardless, CAN officially say that champers and smoked salmon does work, as does Xmas pud and Pedro X. And highland whiskey aged in PX casks is even better. Plus, it does help a girl sleep.
However, got distracted by more important things, like http://www.foodpairing.be/ and http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2007/11/herv_this.php and http://sifter.org/~aglisi/. What fun, eclecticism!
Monday 26 November 2007
Thursday 22 November 2007
Flavanols
So what ARE antioxidants? Most reports in the general media will tell you that they're good for you, found in a number of key plant produced consumables (every other week there's a new kind of berry we should be eating more of), prevent cardiac arrest, keep cancer away, are GOOD THINGS to eat and drink.
This is why it is good to have a glass of wine a day, especially red wine, so the "experts" say.
But what exactly ARE they?? What do they LOOK like, especially the beneficial ones? Are there any that aren't beneficial, and where are they found? What exactly do they do, once they're in our bodies, to prevent us from getting heart attacks, cancer, etc.?
This I will tell you, NOBODY KNOWS.
"They" are trying, supposedly to find out...but then, what would you do, handed a grant proposal to fund research into "wine chemistry"? Would you not laugh, make some comment about "obvious alcoholics", and fund some much more "promising" research into a synthetic antiobesity drug or erectile dysfunction (remember, Viagra was originally intended for cardiac treatments, opening up blood flow to specific tissues and having unintended effects upon fortunate clinical trials volunteers)? What if we actually discovered that the aphrodisiacal effects both red wine and chocolate have upon women is based purely on the specific (and DIFFERENT) flavanoids (the wider class of compounds to which flavanols belong) that each respectively contain?
Just a thought. There WILL be more on this, as there IS research that is being done and which NEEDS to be better, and more accurately, reported.
This is why it is good to have a glass of wine a day, especially red wine, so the "experts" say.
But what exactly ARE they?? What do they LOOK like, especially the beneficial ones? Are there any that aren't beneficial, and where are they found? What exactly do they do, once they're in our bodies, to prevent us from getting heart attacks, cancer, etc.?
This I will tell you, NOBODY KNOWS.
"They" are trying, supposedly to find out...but then, what would you do, handed a grant proposal to fund research into "wine chemistry"? Would you not laugh, make some comment about "obvious alcoholics", and fund some much more "promising" research into a synthetic antiobesity drug or erectile dysfunction (remember, Viagra was originally intended for cardiac treatments, opening up blood flow to specific tissues and having unintended effects upon fortunate clinical trials volunteers)? What if we actually discovered that the aphrodisiacal effects both red wine and chocolate have upon women is based purely on the specific (and DIFFERENT) flavanoids (the wider class of compounds to which flavanols belong) that each respectively contain?
Just a thought. There WILL be more on this, as there IS research that is being done and which NEEDS to be better, and more accurately, reported.
November 22 - An Early Thanksgiving
Finished this puppy off last night, a lovely Barbera with a nice rump steak and Italian-style veg. Now Barbera (best known type is Barbera d'Asti, others are Barbera del Monferrato and Barbera d'Alba which rarely leave Italy) is one of the most widely-planted grapes in Italy, and is a very high-yielding little bugger, so usually when one purchases, especially at a lower price point (under 10 quid), one does not expect too much. However, this one delivered, and had the backbone to last me a week once opened as well. Cherries with a light vanilla and a definitive caramel toastiness; more acid than tannin. Typically aged in large barrels of Slovenian oak, but the trend recently has been to use small French; the black late-harvesting grape likes warmish climes, but grown in northwestern Italy mostly, under same conditions as Nebbiolo, so go figure. 13.5%, this beauty from the province of Alessandria (the "d'Asti" bit) is grown in a 40 hectare vineyard up in the hills of Alice Bel Colle with other worthies like Nebbiolo, Moscato and Dolcetto.
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