When cooking for friends, family or restaurant patrons, food safety should be your number one priority. Contaminates can easily latch onto your ingredients if proper caution is not exercised. Washing your hands with soap and water before handling items is one way to prevent germs from spreading. Listed below are a few ways to maintain food safety.

Sanitizing the Kitchen

A key way to ensure your food is safe from harm is by keeping your kitchen and appliances clean. When preparing a meal on a countertop, remember to scrub down the surface afterwards with hot soapy water. This is a good way to prevent cross-contamination from happening. Consider cleaning out your fridge and freezer once a week and giving each a good washdown.

Organizing Your Food

You should always separate different types of food, whether you are storing them or shopping at the grocery store. Dairy, meats and produce should never be stored in the same spot. Fresh produce should always be washed thoroughly before usage. Never use the same cutting utensil for meat and fresh produce, as this is an easy way for bacteria to spread. Remember to always check the expiration date or “best used by” date. Use date labels for food to plot out when meals should be prepped and served. Cooked items sitting in your fridge for over a week should be thrown out, as they are no longer safe to eat.

Maintaining Temperature

It’s okay for some food items to be kept at room temperature, but others need to be properly refrigerated or frozen. Maintain routine checks on your fridge and freezer units to ensure they are kept at proper temperatures. A food thermometer is also a wise investment. This will help to make sure ingredients are cooked properly and ready for consumption.

Whether you’re running a restaurant or hosting a dinner party, food safety should be your number one concern. By practicing these techniques, you can have a happy and healthy kitchen while impressing your guests with outstanding meals.…

No matter where you’re at, alcohol and celebration always seem to come hand-in-hand to the party. In the U.S., “cheers” is the most common thing to say when raising your glass before drinking, and it means good wishes and good health. Numerous other languages have similar mini-toasts, sometimes paired with a specific drink or occasion. Here are five ways to drink to good health if you ever find yourself in the company of good spirits and new friends.

German: Prost

Every September in Munich, Germany, millions of people attend Oktoberfest, a two-week-long festival that revolves around one thing: beer. If you ever get to visit this epic event, you’d better have your “prost” practiced and ready, because you’re going to need it.

Norwegian: Skal

While beer and wine are the more accessible drinks to find in Norway today, their ancestral seafarers, the Vikings, mainly indulged on ale and mead. If you want to drink more like a Viking, click here to discover a brewing company that takes its Nordic history to the next level.

Greek: Yamas

You can say “yamas” before swigging any drink in Greece, but if you’re drinking like a local, your glass will most likely contain ouzo, an aperitif with strong anise flavoring.

Japanese: Kanpai

Kanpai has come to mean “cheers” today, but it began as a way to say “bottoms up” before emptying a cup of sake — a widely popular rice wine in Japan.

Hebrew: L’chaim

Meaning “to life,” this toast can be given followed by a drink of wine or vodka, especially for a special occasion like an engagement.

Afrikaans: Gesondheid

From umqombothi (a beer made from maize and sorghum) to pinotage (a red wine) there will be no lack of opportunities to say “gesondheid” while exploring South African cuisine.

Whether you’re a tourist trying to experience as much foreign culture as possible or a friend trying to adopt another’s customs, it never hurts to have a little language knowledge on your side. Even something as simple as “cheers” can go a long way.…

Themed vacations are growing in popularity, but if dude ranches, ski packages and safaris aren’t your style, maybe you would enjoy a vacation for food lovers. Whether you take your cooking seriously or just like to eat, these vacations or tours may be just the ticket.

Guided Culinary Vacations

These culinary vacations are generally purchased as a package that can be semi-customized, have a guide and may take you to destinations you have only dreamed of visiting. They may be centered on giving you the experience of tasting the local cuisine and participating in the cooking experience yourself. Among these are popular Tuscany cooking vacations.

Experience Local Fare

A Tuscan vacation, of course, would take you to Italy. You may visit major cities such as Rome, small, picturesque towns such as Pienza, winemaking villages such as Montepulciano, or even tiny hillside villages such as Cortona. You might enjoy local pasta dishes including linguini with clam sauce, bucatini or carbonara along the way. Scenic and unforgettable places you only imagined you could visit may unfold right before you, drawing you in with their sights, smells and tastes.

A Culinary Vacation is More Than Just Cooking

Your vacation may include visiting unforgettable Italian cities and landmarks, perusing the many artists, vendors, shops and boutiques. You may taste the fare at a number of wineries, restaurants and outdoor cafes. You might also have the opportunity to visit a number of local artisans to learn how cheeses or loaves of bread and other staples of Tuscan cuisine are made.

Hone Your Cooking Skills

Of course, the main reason for these vacations is to get some hands-on experience in local kitchens (cucinas) where, you may learn to make your own hand-made pasta, ragu, risotto or gnocchi. You might learn the art of cooking rustic sauces or the techniques used in preparing fish and seafood Mediterranean style.

Whatever your interest in cooking, you are likely to walk away with life-long memories and an appreciation for the satisfying flavors of Italian cuisine.…

When looking for alternatives to prescribed medication, many people turn to natural supplements derived from nature to help improve their health. From fish oil to shark cartilage, the sea can provide many natural alternatives to medication. Green shell mussels, also known as green-lipped mussels, are a shellfish found in the waters of New Zealand, and they have recently been studied for their health properties. While the health community is still learning all the positive aspects of greenshell mussel powder, researchers have already identified conditions that can be improved with the addition of a green mussel supplement.

Inflammation Reduction

Green shell mussel powder or extract contains an Omega-3 fatty acid similar to that found in fish oil. This fatty acid blocks the compounds within the body that lead to inflammation and can be helpful in the treatment of chronic conditions like arthritis and asthma.

Joint Protection

Another important compound of green shell muscle extract is mucopolysaccharides. These proteins build up cartilage and increase joint fluid to protect against normal wear and tear activity of daily life. This can aid in slowing down the signs of arthritis with age.

Stomach Protection

Lipids, also known as fats, in the green mussel extract help protect the sensitive lining of the stomach. For people who are undergoing chemotherapy, this can reduce the nausea side effects that can occur with treatment. If a person has to take a daily non-steroidal medication like aspirin, green shell mussel extract can buffer the erosive effects of the drugs on the stomach lining.

Antioxidant Source

In nature, antioxidants in our food are known to boost the immune system. Green shell mussel extract also contains antioxidants that that decrease damaging compounds called free radicals inside the body. By decreasing free radicals in our systems, we can decrease overall cell damage.

By turning to nature, manufacturers can provide more organic and holistic choices for those invested in alternative approaches.…

You may have that certain person in your life that is difficult to shop for, but that you want to give something special. Or you may be invited to a dinner party and want to take a hostess gift. What do you give when you can’t think of anything that sounds right? You might consider gourmet gift baskets to suit their taste.

Choose Unusual Ingredients

The fun of receiving a gourmet food basket is finding things inside that you may not always have around but would enjoy trying. Such ingredients as smoked salmon, specialized mustards and exotic teas star in these baskets. Quality Camembert, Brie and wine–flavored cheese spreads, or caviar, Greek olives and smoked almonds may hit the spot. Imported candies and cocoa can bring a smile to anyone’s face.

Match the Container to the Recipient

Gourmet baskets may be arranged in refined stitched leather boxes, rustic wooden crates, or even velvet-trimmed containers. You might also find them in lovely woven baskets and elegant scroll-topped metal tins. You can really order them in as fancy or casual a container as suits the occasion. A galvanized tin pail filled with smoked meats and cheeses is someone who likes entertaining outdoors in the summer.

For Special Occasions or Everyday

Finding a unique gift for a special birthday is easy when you choose a basket full of gourmet treats, but sending one to someone for no other reason than to show them you care can be a memorable experience for them. For a wedding gift, choose a silver container with a classic sheer charcoal and silver harlequin design. If it is a housewarming, you might select a rustic wooden box tied in a big red bow to resemble a ribbon cutting. The sky is the limit.

So the next time you feel stuck and uninspired, consider a gift basket full of gourmet goodies. It’s sure to be a hit!…