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Storing Apples: You Have to Pay Attention to That

If you store apples correctly, they stay fresh and tasty longer and can even be stored for many months – just like grandma used to do! Utopia tells you what you should consider here.

Why is proper storage of apples important?

The ripening process of an apple continues even after it has been picked and the texture of the harvested fruit changes. If you store apples incorrectly, they can overripe, rot, or dry up.

In order to avoid food waste, save money and simply enjoy the healthy fruit for longer, you should follow a few tips and store apples correctly.

Store apples separately from other fruit

Anyone who has ever put together a decorative fruit basket with apples, bananas, plums or pears knows how quickly the fruit ripens.

Apples give off the plant hormone ethylene, which causes the other fruits to ripen faster or even rot. Potatoes also suffer if they are stored with apples – they become shriveled and old faster. Therefore, you should always store apples separately.
You should also make sure to keep your apples cool and dark, ideally in a closet or basement. The vegetable drawer in the refrigerator is also suitable, but it should not contain any other fruit and vegetables because of the ethylene. The fridge shouldn’t be too cold either, because apples don’t tolerate frost.
If you still have old plastic bags at home, you can also use these for storage: the film retains moisture and the fruit is protected from drying out. But make sure that not too much water accumulates in the bag.

Stock up on apples to keep them fresh through the winter

With a few tricks, you can not only store the apples for a few days or weeks, but make them durable for the whole winter or even until the next harvest in autumn. This is far more ecological than buying imported apples from overseas.

Keep the following points in mind when storing apples:
Find a dark, cool storage place with a constant temperature – preferably between three and four degrees Celsius. For example, a basement compartment, a garage or a shed is suitable. Under certain circumstances, an unheated hallway or a cool pantry may also be suitable.
Make sure there is enough humidity so that the apples don’t dry out and shrivel up. For example, regularly set out bowls of water or loosely cover the apples with a perforated plastic wrap, if you have one. In this way, moisture is retained, but excessive condensation can escape.
At the same time, make sure there is enough air supply so that the apples don’t get moldy. If you’re storing them in wooden crates, only put one layer of apples per crate and make sure the fruit doesn’t touch each other. Boxes with side or bottom slots are particularly suitable.
If you store your apples in a shed in the garden, be sure to protect them from frost and rodents, such as mice!
Before storage: Only choose apples that are in good condition for storage – i.e. only fruit without bruises, signs of eating or rot. It is best to store the apples with the stem.

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Food

Apple: It Really is That Healthy – Vitamins, Nutritional Values, Сalories

The apple is the undisputed favorite fruit. It can be processed in many ways and is considered very healthy. But why is that?

An apple contains many healthy ingredients

Vitamins: Apples contain the vitamin A and B vitamins. The vitamin C content depends heavily on the variety: the Braeburn is the front runner with 24-35 milligrams per 100 grams and can even keep up with a tangerine. The well-known varieties Golden Delicious and Elstar rank further behind with around 10-15 milligrams per 100 grams.
Nutrients: Not only the vitamins make the apple so healthy: It is also rich in minerals such as potassium and calcium and contains fructose and glucose, i.e. easily digestible carbohydrates. The natural dietary fiber pectin promotes digestion.
Skin: Most of the healthy components of the apple are in or directly under the skin: For a balanced diet, you should therefore eat them. The color of the skin also reveals something about the nutritional value of the apple: reddish apples contain anthocyanins, which are beneficial for blood vessel health. In addition, green-skinned apples are often imported from overseas and harvested when they are still unripe – so they have less time to form their nutrients. In addition, their long transport route has a negative impact on the climate.
Calories: Apples are mostly made up of water. A medium-sized apple weighing 100 grams therefore only has an average of 57 kilocalories. Because of the pectin it contains, it is still filling and therefore the ideal snack for in between.

Effects of the apple on health

Because the apple is so rich in healthy phytochemicals, numerous studies have been conducted into possible healing effects. Researchers have observed several positive health effects:

Gastrointestinal complaints: Very finely grated apple is a tried and tested home remedy for diarrhea. The pectin swells in the intestine and helps the body to bind the intestinal contents.
Cholesterol levels: Anyone who eats apples regularly can lower their cholesterol – this was the result of a study by Florida State University. The participants were able to lower their cholesterol levels by 23 percent within six months and slightly reduce their body weight by regularly eating dried apples and plums.
Colon cancer: In a laboratory experiment, oligosaccharides, a specific form of carbohydrates, were extracted from apples. According to the researchers, these substances were able to fight human colon cancer cells more effectively than chemotherapy. This is mainly due to the fact that the natural active ingredients are not toxic to healthy cells. They can therefore be dosed higher. However, the result has not yet been confirmed by further studies.
Antioxidant effect: Secondary plant substances are among the antioxidants, so they can render free radicals in the body harmless and thus strengthen the cells. This effect was demonstrated in particular in an experiment with apples as part of a study by the Max Rubner Institute in Karlsruhe: After test persons had eaten a larger quantity of apples, their cells were significantly less damaged.
An apple has the most healthy ingredients when it is eaten fresh and ripe. Only a few of the secondary plant substances are lost through storage. If the apple is processed into juice or mush, on the other hand, there are hardly any healthy nutrients left.

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Food

Toast is Unhealthier Than Bread: Does That Also Apply to Wholemeal Toast?

Because toast is considered unhealthy, more and more people are now turning to normal bread. Could whole grain toast be a healthier alternative to buttered toast? How does it compare to real whole wheat bread?

Fresh from the toaster for breakfast or as a juicy sandwich in between – toast bread is popular and versatile. However, toast has been criticized for some time: Compared to normal bread, it is unhealthy. Wholemeal toast, on the other hand, enjoys a better image, after all it contains the whole grain. We explain how butter toast, wholemeal toast and normal (wholemeal) bread compare.

This is what toast is made of

Every conventional bread contains flour, water, yeast and usually also salt. This applies to mixed rye bread from the bakery as well as to rolls from the discounter – and also to packaged toast.

Unlike conventional bread, toast bread also contains a whole range of other ingredients: in addition to fat and sugar, it often also contains milk, soy and numerous additives such as acidity regulators, acidifiers, emulsifiers, stabilizers, preservatives and enzymes.

In a nutshell:

Toast contains more additives, making it a more processed product than regular bread.
Toast bread provides significantly less fiber and is therefore less full.
At the same time, it contains significantly more sugar and fat than conventional bread.

Is Wholemeal Toast a Healthier Alternative?

The industry has now responded to consumer demand: in addition to classic butter toast, most supermarkets and brands also offer wholemeal toast products. These are considered healthier because they contain whole grains.

The Bavarian Consumer Advice Center states in a comparison of butter and wholemeal toast:

Wholemeal toast contains significantly more fiber than regular toast. As a result, it has a better satiety value than buttered toast.
Therefore, fewer slices of whole grain toast fill you up, which means you need fewer spreads that are high in sugar and fat.
A breakfast with whole grain toast therefore tends to be healthier as it is lower in sugar and fat than one with conventional buttered toast.

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Food

Is Sugar Vegan? You Have to Know That

It actually seems clear that sugar is vegan – it is obtained from plants such as sugar beet or sugar cane. In some cases, however, sugar is refined with animal substances. We explain when sugar is vegan – and when not.

Sugar is often hidden in processed foods in particular. But the sweetener is also often used in your own kitchen, when baking or for coffee or tea. Even vegans do not do without sugar, since the food itself is purely vegetable. A closer look reveals, however, that this is not always entirely true. In some cases, animal substances are used in production.

Sugar is vegan – but not always

Sugar is usually obtained from sugar beets or sugar cane and is therefore a plant-based food. Animal charcoal is sometimes used to make refined sugar.

Refined sugar is a particularly white, pure sugar that is almost 100 percent sugar and contains no trace elements or by-products. In order to obtain this, the sugar is also filtered and decolorized in addition to various other processing steps. Various substances and means can be used for this process – including animal charcoal.

Animal charcoal, also known as carbo animalis, is an activated charcoal made from animal products such as bones, blood, or skin. Since these occur in large quantities as slaughterhouse waste products, animal charcoal is a particularly cheap filter material.  Alternatively, sugar is refined with activated carbon from other raw materials or kieselguhr.

Recognizing vegan sugar: you need to know that

Animal charcoal does not have to be specified on the packaging as a production aid. It is therefore not clear by what means the sugar was processed and refined.
To be on the safe side, you have two options:

Ask the sugar producer directly whether or not they use animal products in their production.
Skip refined sugar and buy whole cane sugar instead.

Whole cane sugar has even more advantages over refined sugar: Since the molasses with its valuable minerals and vitamins remains in the sugar, it is considered the healthiest type of sugar.

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Food

Pomegranate – Heavenly Fruit With That Certain Extra

Unlike some of the newer superfoods, the pomegranate has been known in this country since the Middle Ages. Hardly anyone seriously doubts that he is healthy. But what about sustainability?

The bright red pomegranate with its many seeds is often referred to in tradition as the food of the gods. Some even believe that it was a pomegranate that Adam and Eve ate that led to their expulsion from paradise. The pomegranate has been known and loved as a natural household remedy or special treat for the upper class for several thousand years.

Modern studies certify numerous possible medicinal effects of the fruit, its seed and its juice. In addition, the pomegranate should be rich in vitamins, minerals and healthy secondary plant substances. The fruit is not only delicious, but is also said to be extremely healthy in any form, a real superfood.

The origin of the superfood pomegranate

The pomegranate has been known and widespread in Europe for so long that it is no longer possible to say exactly where it originally came from. He probably comes from Central or Southeast Asia and reached the Middle East and various campaigns in ancient times to (Southern) Europe. The Spaniards, in turn, eventually brought the pomegranate plant to Latin America.

Today, the pomegranate tree is grown commercially primarily in India, China, the southern United States, Latin America, the Middle East, Spain and Italy. The plant does not tolerate low temperatures and prefers tropical or subtropical climates, so in Central Europe there are only isolated cultures in heated greenhouses, but in southern Europe it can already be found without a greenhouse or growing wild.

Harvest time for the fruits, which are actually berries but are called apples because of their appearance, is from September to December.

The pomegranate seeds and their pitfalls

Only the seeds of the pomegranate are eaten, as the white flesh tastes very bitter. However, the seeds are firmly attached to the rest of the fruit, so it takes a special technique to extract them. Caution is advised: the juice of the fruit has a strong staining effect, and stains on clothing can hardly be removed.

When storing, make sure that the apple of paradise is never exposed to excessive heat. On the one hand, the pomegranate can be kept for several weeks if stored in the refrigerator or in a cool, not too humid place. On the other hand, the shell bursts under the influence of heat and the pomegranate seeds splatter everywhere – the berry also owes its name to this “explosive” property.

Cut and eat pomegranate properly

Cutting and eating a pomegranate properly is a real challenge. Peeling it makes only limited sense, because too much juice escapes.

Instead, we recommend rolling the ripe pomegranate back and forth on the kitchen worktop with the palm of your hand and applying little pressure to remove the stone. But beware: too much pressure will cause the seeds to burst, resulting in the (also very tasty) juice.

After rolling, remove the stalk at the top and make a radial cut in the pomegranate – like an orange. The upper half can then be bent open so that the seeds can be knocked out with a wooden spoon or something similar.

If you want to reduce the risk of juice splashes, open and core the fruit in a bowl of water. The pomegranate seeds taste great on their own, in muesli or in numerous dishes, from savory to sweet.

Make your own pomegranate juice

Of course, you can also buy pomegranate juice in organic shops. But the pleasantly sour juice is easy to make yourself. As with pitting, roll the pomegranate back and forth with your hand at first, but more often and with significantly more pressure. The pomegranate can then be squeezed with a press or by hand like a lemon.

The faster version: after rolling, simply cut off the stalk, insert a straw into the opening and enjoy the pomegranate juice straight from the fruit.

Pomegranate: calories, vitamins and other nutritional values

The pomegranate and its seeds are excellent sources of minerals and vitamins during the cold and wet season.

Thanks to its long shelf life, the pomegranate provided people with vitamin C, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and B6, folic acid, vitamin E and beta-carotene as early as the Middle Ages.
However, the vitamin C content is not nearly as high as one often hears: oranges, for example, contain about six times as much of the important vitamin.
On the other hand, the pomegranate is relatively low in calories, 100 g contain 74 kcal.
In terms of minerals, the red giant berries mainly provide potassium, but also calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron and zinc.

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Cooking Tips

Freeze Pizza Dough: You Have to Pay Attention to That

Freezing pizza dough is useful if you have misjudged the quantity or want to build up a small supply. We’ll explain how to freeze.

Freeze pizza dough in portions

Ideally, you freeze the pizza dough before it has risen – this way the pizza doesn’t get soggy. If you’ve made a lot of pizza dough, you should freeze the dough in the portions you need for one pizza at a time.

When freezing, it is important to pack the dough airtight. This works with cling film or freezer bags, but for the sake of the environment and your health you should avoid plastic. A good plastic-free alternative is a beeswax wrap.

You can freeze pizza dough particularly well in a cake tin: Roll out each portion of dough into a circle and place them in a round cake tin. Always put a layer of baking paper between the flatbreads (you can use the baking paper later).

Then you pack the whole thing airtight, for example in wax paper. The advantage of this method: You can take individual pizza bases straight out of the fridge. They thaw faster thanks to their flat shape and you don’t have to roll them out after freezing.

thawing and shelf life

Well packaged, the pizza dough can be stored in the freezer for up to three months. That’s enough to create a small supply.

You should defrost the dough slowly, ideally over a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. This allows the pizza dough to rise again. If it has to be quick, you can save yourself the hassle, the pizza will be a bit crispy.

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Cooking Tips

Baking Basic Bread: You Have to Pay Attention to That

Baking alkaline bread is not difficult and does not take long. We present three recipes with which you can bake the healthy and low-acid bread in your kitchen.

Alkaline bread differs from conventional bread in the way it is made: For alkaline bread, the grain must first begin to germinate before it is crushed. The baking result most closely resembles crispbread. Basic bread is said to prevent an overly acidic diet. However, this has not yet been scientifically proven.

The big advantage is rather that with basic bread you do without unhealthy foods such as white flour or sugar.

Alkaline bread can consist not only of germinated (!) grain, but also of germinated oilseeds such as pumpkin seeds or sesame. In addition to herbs and spices, fruit and vegetables can also be part of alkaline bread. This works for example with bananas, zucchini and celery.

We recommend that you use organic food from regional suppliers for the following recipes. In this way you can support food with a low transport distance and a good carbon footprint.

Bake basic bread: Recipe for buckwheat bread

The first recipe is for a basic bread with grains. You can prepare it with chia seeds or alternatively with sunflower seeds or sesame:

You need these ingredients for a buckwheat bread:

500 grams of buckwheat flour
2 tbsp chia seeds
120 grams of buckwheat
100 g pumpkin seeds
3 tsp honey
450ml + 440ml + 400ml water
50 g amaranth
3 tsp sea salt
some olive oil
You should start preparing your basic buckwheat bread the day before:

Soak the buckwheat and pumpkin seeds in a glass of water in the morning. Use about 440 milliliters, twice as much water as seeds. Then let them dry overnight. The best way to do this is to spread the seeds out on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and place them on the heater.
Soak the chia seeds in a glass filled with water overnight. The chia seeds should be completely covered with water. Use about 400 milliliters of water for this.
Preparation:

Puree the buckwheat grains and pumpkin seeds in a blender and then set them aside for a moment.
Blend the soaked chia seeds and water again in the blender.
Now put the chia seeds, buckwheat, pumpkin seeds, honey, water, sea salt and amaranth in a bowl and stir vigorously with the buckwheat flour.
Spread the batter on a greased baking sheet.
Let the basic bread dry in the oven at around 40 degrees for eight hours.
Turn the bread and let it dry for another eight hours, then it will have the right consistency.
Tip: If you like, you can sprinkle your bread dough with sunflower seeds or sesame seeds before you put it in the oven.

Baking basic bread: A sweet variant

You can bake sweet basic bread with the help of fruit, sweet spices and nuts. How about a sunflower seed bread with banana and cinnamon?

You need these ingredients:

500 g wholemeal flour
100 g sunflower seeds
150 grams of flaxseed
1 liter of water
1 banana
3 tsp honey
3 tsp vanilla
3 tsp cinnamon
some sunflower oil
How to prepare this basic bread:

Fill a jar with 1 liter of water and let the sunflower seeds and flax seeds soak in it overnight.
Then let the seeds dry for a few hours without the water.
Puree the dried sunflower seeds and flaxseeds.
Peel the banana and cut it into small pieces.
Put the banana, honey, vanilla and cinnamon in the blender and blend until smooth.
Mix the seeds, the mixture from the mixer and the whole wheat flour.
Spread the batter on a greased baking sheet.
Let the basic bread dry in the oven at around 40 degrees for eight hours.
Turn the bread and let it dry for another eight hours, then it will have the right consistency.

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Cooking Tips

Viennese Coffee Houses: Stylish Tradition That Needs to be Protected

Viennese coffee houses were declared a World Heritage Site in 2011. After all, the coffee house tradition has its origins in Austria and nowhere else, except perhaps in Prague and Budapest, are there such beautiful coffee houses. The Viennese coffee houses have produced a whole range of Viennese coffee specialties. But what exactly makes them so special?

Viennese coffee house culture and its history

Towards the end of the 19th century, the Viennese coffee house experienced its heyday. They are true “temple of pleasure” in which drinking coffee is celebrated. From the very beginning, they have been places for the exchange of ideas and workplaces for writers who spent many hours here every day. Art Nouveau is not the only thing that is clearly evident in the historic ambience: Even today, Viennese coffee houses exude the special flair of the creativity and freedom of thought of great writers.

Austria is not a pioneer when it comes to coffee houses

The Venetians opened the first coffee house more than a century before the Austrians. Only when they appeared in England did the trend spill over to Vienna. Johannes Theodat, an Armenian merchant, opened it on today’s Rotenturmstrasse. The coffee house culture was born. By the middle of the 19th century, 150 coffee houses were opened in Vienna, which served as a meeting place for the Viennese.
Did you know: In the 19th century, only men were allowed to enter coffee houses!

Viennese coffee houses in danger

This golden era did not last forever for coffee houses. Napoleon’s trade embargo made coffee more and more expensive and many of the cafes were struggling to survive. Therefore, more and more of them also offered food – their survival was assured. When televisions suddenly found their way into households in the 1950s, coffee house culture fell into crisis. Many of them had to close their doors.

The rescue of the Viennese coffee houses

In the last 35 years, however, the coffee houses in Vienna have recovered somewhat. Since the 300th anniversary of the coffee house culture in 1983, people have returned to their coffee house tradition. In 2011, Viennese coffee house culture was even recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO thanks to the Club of Viennese Coffee House Owners.

Traditional coffee house in Vienna The unique atmosphere that they radiate is recognized as worthy of protection. And we are pleased that this intangible value has now been officially established.
However, visitors to Vienna have known this for a long time, because the special flair of the Viennese coffee houses is, along with Schönbrunn Palace, the reason why Vienna is the most visited tourist destination in Europe.

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Cooking Tips

Espresso in Italy: You Should Consider That as a Tourist!

Italy is the mecca for every coffee lover. Traditional barista celebrate the coffee preparation and that tastes and you can see. The ambience is also right: sun, rustic furniture, sociable chatting. Word has now been getting around that this fun of coffee is not quite cheap.
But, is this really the truth? A small “Caffè” knig.

Caffè much coffee

Espressoin Italy is traditionally an espresso. There are filter coffee, but you should expressly mention that when ordering. There are even localities in which a so -called Caffè Tedesco is not even served. In principle, he is only offered for tourists in hotels and tourist -close cafés.

The “counter trick”

If you were evil, you could call it a tourist trap. But you could also say that most vacationers are simply poorly informed. Because: For the fast espressogenic nut at the counter – standing, of course – the highest prices apply by law. The so-called “Al Banco” prices are binding for all bars, whether large or small, well-known or alternative, in Milan or in a small provincial village. However, the exact prices depend on the region, although they are a maximum of 1 euro. The prices at the table are completely different. Here the host can decide which “service surcharge” he demands. In Venice, for example, well and also 6 euros upwards. Of course, it can still be worth that. Most of the time it is still the case that the advertised prices relate to consumption at the counter. A look at the table menu should therefore be risked in any case!

Cappuccino for breakfast

Cappuccino strict, the cappuccino is actually only appropriate for breakfast. Because after 11 a.m. it is a bit frowned upon by the Italians. Only imaginable when it’s cold outside. Why it is like that? A cappuccino is considered a heavy drink that is not digestive, but must primarily be digested itself. If you do not want to oppose this tradition, but still want some milk to your espresso, then as an alternative there is the so-called Caffé Macchiatto (an espresso stained with milk, i.e. almost a mini cappuccino without foam). While there is still a tolerance limit at this point, it is an absolute “no-go” to order a cappuccino right after the meal.

Finally, it should also be said that there are no fixed “coffee times” in Italy. Espresso is drunk around the clock and everywhere. Also, the glass of water for espresso is by no means mandatory as is often reported. In most cases, water is reserved for free, but this is not typical of Italian.

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health

Oatmeal Diet: It Really is That Useful

How does an oatmeal diet work? And how can you lose weight with the healthy type of grain? We will explain to you what is behind it and how useful it is.

Oatmeal Diet: How it works

Oatmeal is healthy and can help you lose weight. These are the most important basic assumptions of the oatmeal diet:

The main component of the diet is oatmeal. You should consume 250 g of this per day. Whole grain oatmeal is best, as this keeps the blood sugar level constant. You can combine the oatmeal with yoghurt, quark, milk and fruit as you wish.
While you can use the oatmeal dishes for breakfast and lunch, a fresh salad, raw vegetables or vegetables are recommended for dinner. In some cases, this is also combined with lean meat, although meat production should be viewed critically due to animal suffering and the ecological balance.
You should drink two liters of water per day. Fruit and herbal teas and vegetable juices without sugar are also allowed.
Avoid sugar as much as possible during this diet, as this promotes cravings and raises blood sugar levels.
You should not exceed the calorie limit of 1000 to 1300 kcal.

Why does oatmeal help you lose weight?

Despite the relatively high calorie content, oatmeal is a healthy food. Oats are characterized by these nutrients:

Dietary fibre: The large amount of dietary fiber contained in oatmeal ensures that you feel full for a long time and promotes digestion.
Proteins: The vegetable proteins promote muscle growth.
Carbohydrates: The high carbohydrate content is a valuable supplier of energy that keeps the blood sugar level stable. You store less fat, so there are no food cravings.
The following nutritional values apply to 100 g of oatmeal:

Calorific value: 371 kcal
Fat: 7g
Carbohydrates: 59 g
of which sugar: 1.1 g
Protein: 13g
Dietary fiber: 10 g

How useful is the oatmeal diet?

The oatmeal diet requires a lot of commitment and creativity. If you combine oatmeal with many different foods, you can lose weight without showing signs of deficiency. However, you must make sure that you count the calories you burn very precisely every day and come up with varied oatmeal recipes every day.

However, you should not follow this diet for longer than three weeks, because even with a lot of inventiveness, the oatmeal will certainly become monotonous at some point. Instead, it is more sustainable to eat a balanced diet and do enough exercise. With this way of life you can maintain your desired weight in the long term, feel balanced and at the same time treat your body with respect.

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