DESCRIBE FOOD INGREDIENTS 5

Thyme

                    Thyme is an aromatic perennial evergreen herb with culinary, medicinal, and ornamental uses. The most common variety is Thymus vulgaris. Thyme is of the genus Thymus of the mint family (Lamiaceae), and a relative of the oregano genus Origanum.

                     Thyme is a low growing (6-12 inches tall) to almost prostrate, wiry stemmed perennial.  Stems are stiff and woody and leaves are small, oval and gray-green in color.  Flowers can be white to lilac and are in small clusters.  Thyme is highly aromatic with a hint of clove and mint fragrance.  There are numerous culinary and ornamental varieties of thyme.

History

                   Ancient Egyptians used thyme for embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing it was a source of courage. The spread of thyme throughout Europe was thought to be due to the Romans, as they used it to purify their rooms and to "give an aromatic flavour to cheese and liqueurs". In the European Middle Ages, the herb was placed beneath pillows to aid sleep and ward off nightmares. In this period, women also often gave knights and warriors gifts that included thyme leaves, as it was believed to bring courage to the bearer. Thyme was also used as incense and placed on coffins during funerals, as it was supposed to assure passage into the next life.

                  The name of the genus of fish Thymallus, first given to the grayling (T. thymallus described in the 1758 edition of Systema Naturae by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus) originates from the faint smell of the herb thyme, which emanates from the flesh.

Culanary Used

                In some Levantine countries, and Assyria, the condiment za'atar (Arabic for thyme) contains thyme as a vital ingredient. It is a common component of the bouquet garni, and of herbes de Provence. Thyme is sold both fresh and dried. While summer-seasonal, fresh greenhouse thyme is often available year round. The fresh form is more flavourful, but also less convenient; storage life is rarely more than a week. However, the fresh form can last many months if carefully frozen.[7]

                Fresh thyme is commonly sold in bunches of sprigs. A sprig is a single stem snipped from the plant. It is composed of a woody stem with paired leaf or flower clusters ("leaves") spaced 1⁄2 to 1 inch (13 to 25 mm) apart. A recipe may measure thyme by the bunch (or fraction thereof), or by the sprig, or by the tablespoon or teaspoon. Dried thyme is widely used in Armenia in tisanes (called urc).

                Depending on how it is used in a dish, the whole sprig may be used (e.g., in a bouquet garni), or the leaves removed and the stems discarded. Usually, when a recipe specifies "bunch" or "sprig", it means the whole form; when it specifies spoons, it means the leaves. It is perfectly acceptable to substitute dried for whole thyme.

                Leaves may be removed from stems either by scraping with the back of a knife, or by pulling through the fingers or tines of a fork. Thyme retains its flavour on drying better than many other herbs.

Madicinal use

                 Oil of thyme, the essential oil of common thyme (Thymus vulgaris), contains 20–54% thymol.Thyme essential oil also contains a range of additional compounds, such as p-cymene, myrcene, borneol, and linalool. Thymol, an antiseptic, is an active ingredient in various commercially produced mouthwashes such as Listerine. Before the advent of modern antibiotics, oil of thyme was used to medicate bandages. It has also been shown to be effective against various fungi that commonly infect toenails. [non-primary source needed] Thymol can also be found as the active ingredient in some all-natural, alcohol-free hand sanitizers.

Source : http://extension.illinois.edu/herbs/thyme.cfm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyme

https://www.google.co.id/search?q=THYME&biw=1600&bih=794&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjt8dXNuq3WAhXB31QKHeclAm4Q_AUICigB#imgrc=WWJduNHEUcuF1M:

Sugar

                  Sugar is the generic name for sweet, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose, and galactose. The "table sugar" or "granulated sugar" most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide of glucose and fructose. Sugar is used in prepared foods (e.g., cookies and cakes) and it is added to some foods and beverages (e.g., coffee and tea). In the body, sucrose is hydrolysed into the simple sugars fructose and glucose. Other disaccharides include maltose from malted grain, and lactose from milk. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides or polysaccharides. Some other chemical substances, such as glycerol may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Diet food substitutes for sugar, include aspartame and sucralose, a chlorinated derivative of sucrose.
                 Sugars are found in the tissues of most plants and are present in sugarcane and sugar beet in sufficient concentrations for efficient commercial extraction. The world production of sugar in 2011 was about 168 million tonnes. The average person consumes about 24 kilograms (53 lb) of sugar each year (33.1 kg in developed countries), equivalent to over 260 food calories per person, per day. Since the latter part of the twentieth century, it has been questioned whether a diet high in sugars, especially refined sugars, is good for human health. Over-consumption of sugar has been implicated in the occurrence of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, and tooth decay. Numerous studies have been undertaken to try to clarify the position, but with varying results, mainly because of the difficulty of finding populations for use as controls that do not consume or are largely free of any sugar consumption.

History

              Sugar has been produced in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. It was not plentiful or cheap in early times and honey was more often used for sweetening in most parts of the world. Originally, people chewed raw sugarcane to extract its sweetness. Sugarcane was a native of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. Different species seem to have originated from different locations with Saccharum barberi originating in India and S. edule and S. officinarum coming from New Guinea. One of the earliest historical references to sugarcane is in Chinese manuscripts dating back to 8th century BC that state that the use of sugarcane originated in India.

                   Sugar was found in Europe by the 1st century CE, but only as an imported medicine, and not as a food. The Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides in the 1st century CE described sugar in his medical treatise De Materia Medica, and Pliny the Elder, a 1st-century CE Roman, described sugar in his Natural History: "Sugar is made in Arabia as well, but Indian sugar is better. It is a kind of honey found in cane, white as gum, and it crunches between the teeth. It comes in lumps the size of a hazelnut. Sugar is used only for medical purposes."

                  Sugar remained relatively unimportant until the Indians discovered methods of turning sugarcane juice into granulated crystals that were easier to store and to transport.[ Crystallized sugar was discovered by the time of the Imperial Guptas, around the 5th century CE. In the local Indian language, these crystals were called khanda (Devanagari: खण्ड, Khaṇḍa), which is the source of the word candy. Indian sailors, who carried clarified butter and sugar as supplies, introduced knowledge of sugar on the various trade routes they travelled. Buddhist monks, as they travelled around, brought sugar crystallization methods to China. During the reign of Harsha (r. 606–647) in North India, Indian envoys in Tang China taught methods of cultivating sugarcane after Emperor Taizong of Tang (r. 626–649) made known his interest in sugar. China then established its first sugarcane plantations in the seventh century. Chinese documents confirm at least two missions to India, initiated in 647 CE, to obtain technology for sugar refining. In South Asia, the Middle East and China, sugar became a staple of cooking and desserts.

                Crusaders brought sugar home with them to Europe after their campaigns in the Holy Land, where they encountered caravans carrying "sweet salt". Early in the 12th century, Venice acquired some villages near Tyre and set up estates to produce sugar for export to Europe, where it supplemented honey, which had previously been the only available sweetener. Crusade chronicler William of Tyre, writing in the late 12th century, described sugar as "very necessary for the use and health of mankind". In the 15th century, Venice was the chief sugar refining and distribution centre in Europe.

Type Sugar
                There are numerous types of sugar, although most people might first think of basic table sugar, the white crystals used in most homes and in much cooking. This sugar is called sucrose and comes from sugar beets or sugarcane. Sucrose appears in other plants, too, along with glucose and fructose. It's actually in every plant since sugar and oxygen are products of photosynthesis. But unlike sugar beets and sugarcane, other plants don't produce sucrose in sufficient quantities for harvesting.
Other types of sugar include:

1. Frugctose: found in fruits and honey
2. Galactose: found in milk and dairy products
3. Glucose: found in honey, fruits and vegetables
4. Lactose: found in milk, made from glucose and galactose
5. Maltose: found in barley
6. Sucrose: made up of glucose and fructose and found in plants
7. Xylose: found in wood or straw
               Besides beets and cane, sugar also can be derived from honey, many fruits (such as dates and coconuts) and tree saps. Molasses isn't technically a sugar; it's actually a potent black syrup that's a byproduct of when sugar is extracted from beets or sugarcane. White sugar contains almost no molasses, but brown or "raw" sugar contains some. Molasses can also make brown sugar stickier and, of course, a darker shade of brown.     
                  Sugar crystals, particularly white sugar, may come in different granulations. Some common types are:   

1. Icing: very small crystals that quickly dissolve in liquids or can be used for decorating 2. 2. Desserts, like confectioners' sugar
3. Caster: larger crystals than icing
4. Granulated: basic table sugar, with larger crystals than caster or icing
5. Preserving: very coarse sugar used as a preserve in jams and similar confections




Source : http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/sugar1.htm
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar
https://financialtribune.com/sites/default/files/field/image/17january/04-ff-sugar_131-ab_0.jpg


Cucumber

               Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. It is a creeping vine that bears cucumiform fruits that are used as vegetables. There are three main varieties of cucumber: slicing, pickling, and seedless. Within these varieties, several cultivars have been created. In North America, the term "wild cucumber" refers to plants in the genera Echinocystis and Marah, but these are not closely related. The cucumber is originally from South Asia, but now grows on most continents. Many different types of cucumber are traded on the global market.

Varieties :

In general cultivation, cucumbers are classified into three main cultivar groups: "slicing", "pickling", and "burpless".

1. Slicing

                 Cucumbers grown to eat fresh are called slicing cucumbers. The main varieties of slicers mature on vines with large leaves that provide shading.[4] They are mainly eaten in the unripe green form, since the ripe yellow form normally becomes bitter and sour. Slicers grown commercially for the North American market are generally longer, smoother, more uniform in color, and have a much tougher skin. Slicers in other countries are smaller and have a thinner, more delicate skin. Smaller slicing cucumbers can also be pickled.

2. Pickling

                  Cucumbers can be pickled for flavor and longer shelf-life. Although any cucumber can be pickled, commercial pickles are made from cucumbers specially bred for uniformity of length-to-diameter ratio and lack of voids in the flesh. Those cucumbers intended for pickling, called picklers, grow to about 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) long and 2.5 cm (1 in) wide. Compared to slicers, picklers tend to be shorter, thicker, less regularly shaped, and have bumpy skin with tiny white or black-dotted spines. They are never waxed. Color can vary from creamy yellow to pale or dark green. Pickling cucumbers are sometimes sold fresh as “Kirby” or “Liberty” cucumbers. Pickled cucumbers are soaked in brine or a combination of vinegar and brine, although not vinegar alone, often along with various spices. Pickled cucumbers are called "pickles" in the US or "gherkins" or "wallies" in the UK, the latter name being more common in the north of England and London, where it refers to the large vinegar-pickled cucumbers commonly sold in fish and chip shops.

3. Burpless

                Burpless cucumbers are sweeter and have a thinner skin than other varieties of cucumber, and are reputed to be easy to digest and to have a pleasant taste. They can grow as long as 2 feet (0.61 m). They are nearly seedless, and have a delicate skin. Most commonly grown in greenhouses, these parthenocarpic cucumbers are often found in grocery markets, shrink-wrapped in plastic. They are sometimes marketed as seedless or burpless, because the seeds and skin of other varieties of cucumbers are said to give some people gas.   

Tips of preparing amd cooking cucumber.

                  Two common questions about cucumbers involve consumption of their skin and their seeds. There are several facts you need to know before making your decision about consumption of cucumber skins and seeds. First, it is important to remember that the skins and seeds of cucumbers are both rich in nutrients. In fact, the nutrient richness of both plant parts is significantly higher than the flesh. For this reason, consumption of both skins and seeds is desirable from a nutritional standpoint. Both conventionally grown and organically grown cucumbers may have been waxed. However, the only waxes that can be used on organically grown cucumbers are non-synthetic waxes, and these waxes must be free of all chemical contaminants that are prohibited under organic regulations. Conventionally grown cucumbers may be waxed with synthetic waxes that contain unwanted chemical contaminants. For these reasons, we recommend leaving the skin of organically grown cucumbers intact regardless of whether the organically grown cucumber has been waxed. For conventionally grown cucumbers, we recommend removal of the waxed skin. For conventionally grown cucumbers that have not been waxed, we don't have a good research basis for recommending either removal or non-removal of the skin. However, if you do decide to consume the skin of a non-waxed, conventionally grown cucumber, we recommend thorough washing of the whole cucumber under cool running water while gently scrubbing with a natural bristle brush.

                 Some people have a personal preference for removal of cucumber seeds, and we respect this preference. The seeds can easily be removed from a cucumber if it's cut lengthwise and the tip of a spoon is used to gently scoop out the seeds. Our general recommendation, however, is to keep and consume the seeds, since they are an unusually rich source of nutrients. Getting optimal nourishment from your cucumbers while minimizing your health risks will mean choosing organically grown cucumbers over conventionally grown varieties.

Source : http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=42

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucumber

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