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Collect Edible Mushrooms: You Have to Pay Attention to That

Do you want to collect mushrooms, but don’t have any experience yet? No problem! Here you can find out everything you need to know for your first trip to the mushrooms.

Collect mushrooms – when and where?

Autumn time is fungus time – strictly speaking, that’s not true. In theory, you can pick mushrooms all year round. However, most of them are ready for harvest, especially in late summer and autumn. The humid and warm climate is ideal for many mushrooms.

But where do edible mushrooms grow? This is not so easy to answer:

The morel likes to grow in damp alluvial forests,
the meadow mushroom in meadows.
On the other hand, you can often find the Edelreizker under pine trees.
As you can see from the examples, you sometimes have to go to different places to collect different mushrooms. The condition of the soil plays an important role: some mushrooms grow particularly well on sandy soil, while others require acidic forest soil. Overall, you have a good chance of encountering edible mushrooms in the forest. Which one you ultimately find depends heavily on local conditions and the time of year.

Equipment and what to look out for

When collecting mushrooms, there are a few things to keep in mind. For example, mushroom picking is taboo in nature reserves. In all other forests, you are usually allowed to collect mushrooms for your own use, but do some research beforehand to be on the safe side. As with any other stay in the forest, you should behave considerately.

To collect mushrooms you need the following equipment:

a basket,
a knife
and a good mushroom identification book.
The collected mushrooms lie nice and airy in a basket. Plastic bags are not good at all. In it, mushrooms spoil very quickly.

Collect and identify mushrooms: This is how you do it

Here’s how you go about picking mushrooms:

If you have found a mushroom, you should first identify it. You can use the guide book to help you with this. Over time, however, you will be able to identify some mushrooms without a book.
If it’s an edible mushroom, you can use the knife to cut it off just above the ground, or gently twist it out of the ground.
Then you should cover the resulting hole with some soil and leaves.
When in doubt, leave a mushroom that you cannot identify with certainty. Some toadstools can be mistaken for edible mushrooms! Don’t just rely on illustrations in your mushroom book. Depending on the environment, individual mushrooms of a species can look very different.

Important characteristics for identifying fungi are, for example:

Shape and color of cap and stem
Distinction between lamellae and tubes on the underside of the mushroom
Staining of the lamellae and tubes
The site
The season
Color and smell of the pulp
Striking coloring when cut or when pressed
Especially at the beginning it will be difficult for you to identify the different species with certainty. It is best to let experienced collectors accompany you when you go mushroom picking. Mushroom tours are a great help. They are often offered by adult education centers in the fall. NABU also offers such excursions in many regions. Other good people to talk to about identifying mushrooms are mushroom consultants. You can find them in many mushroom regions.

Important: If you feel unwell after consuming your mushrooms, you should seek immediate medical attention or go to a hospital. As I said, certain fungi can sometimes be deadly to humans. Symptoms such as drowsiness, sweating or diarrhea can indicate mushroom poisoning.

The most popular edible mushrooms

There are countless types of mushrooms. Some are deadly poisonous, others are simply indigestible or inedible, for example because they are extremely bitter. A lot of mushrooms are edible, but they don’t taste very good. And then there are the really good edible mushrooms.

In Germany, for example, you can collect these well-known mushrooms:

porcini mushrooms
chestnuts
Morels
chanterelles
Other popular edible mushrooms are muscari, young ink caps, meadow mushrooms or birch mushrooms.

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Food

Cooking or Soaking Chickpeas – You Should Know That

Cooked chickpeas are delicious, healthy and add variety to your diet. We show you how you can easily prepare them yourself and when you have to soak the chickpeas.

The chickpea, which originated in Asia, came to Europe in the Middle Ages and is very popular today. Whether in curries, salads, falafel or hummus – the buttery-nutty-tasting legume gives many dishes an oriental touch and is also very healthy.

Never eat chickpeas raw

Organic chickpeas are commercially available in two forms:

as a pre-cooked preserve in a jar or in a can
raw and dried
If you are in a hurry, you can use the pre-cooked chickpeas directly. Do not throw away the chickpea water from the jar or can, you can use the aquafaba as vegan egg whites.

Dried chickpeas, on the other hand, have to be soaked and cooked first. If you cook the raw chickpeas, the toxin phasin they contain is destroyed and makes the valuable legume safe for us to eat. Caution: You have to throw away the soaking water in which the raw chickpeas were, because the toxin phasin dissolves in the water during soaking. The chickpeas and the cooking water can only be eaten after cooking.

Soaking chickpeas – time-consuming, but useful

Soaking the chickpeas takes time. It is best to plan one night for this. However, the time investment pays off: If you have soaked the chickpeas, they will be easier to digest. In addition, it shortens the subsequent cooking time considerably and thus allows energy-saving preparation that is gentle on vital substances.

How to properly soak chickpeas:

In a saucepan, cover the chickpeas with twice the amount of water and let them soak for at least 12 hours.
During the swelling period, the chickpeas absorb a lot of water. You may have to add a little more water if necessary.
Discard the soaking water afterwards to remove any residue of the toxin phasin.
Rinse the chickpeas thoroughly with fresh water.

How to properly cook chickpeas

You can boil the chickpeas in water the classic way:

Place the soaked chickpeas in a pressure cooker.
Cover them with fresh water. Make sure that the top third of the pressure cooker remains free.
Close the pot and set steam pressure level 2.
If the lid starts to hiss, turn off the stove or reduce the heat significantly.
After 20 minutes, open the lid as instructed in the pressure cooker instructions.
The chickpeas are done when you can easily mash them with a fork.
Put the chickpeas in a colander and rinse them with fresh water.
Tip: If you don’t have a pressure cooker, the peas will need to cook longer—at least an hour. Basically, the longer the chickpeas were soaked beforehand, the faster they will cook. That saves energy. If you let them soak in water for 24 hours, the cooking time in the pressure cooker is reduced to just ten minutes.

The cooking time also depends on whether you need the chickpeas buttery soft for making hummus or still al dente for use in curry or salad.

Another rule: the fresher the chickpeas are, the shorter they need to cook.

Chickpeas – not only delicious, but also healthy!

Chickpeas not only taste delicious, but are also extremely healthy. Chickpeas have these nutritional values:

With their high fiber content, they promote healthy digestion.
They have a high protein content and are therefore a vegetable protein source.
The legumes contain notable amounts of iron, zinc and magnesium.
Chickpeas are low in calories and fill you up at the same time.

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Culture

7 Coffee Records That Amaze Coffee Lovers

The world of coffee is exciting, diverse and full of records that make even the experts and coffee machine manufacturers drop their jaws. Coffee sets a record on its own: with over 800 flavors, it is one of the most aromatic foods in the world. In addition, there are many curiosities and superlatives: Which is the most expensive coffee in the world? Which fully automatic coffee machine manufacturer has managed to produce the smallest fully automatic coffee machine in the world? And who owns the largest collection of coffee pots in the world? We introduce you to the strangest records about coffee and coffee machines.

1. The most expensive coffee in the world

The most expensive type of coffee in the world is by far the Indonesian Kopi Luwak. The so-called “cat coffee” is sold at a kilo price of the equivalent of 800 to 1200 euros and is considered an absolute luxury coffee by coffee lovers and experts such as coffee machine manufacturers.

But the somewhat – let’s call it “unusual” – production of the extraordinary coffee variety at least partly justifies the high price: the raw coffee cherries are fed to Indonesian civets, which can only digest the pulp, but not the beans. However, their stomach enzymes remove bitter substances from the bean, so that the roasted coffee has a rather soft and mild taste.

The second most expensive coffee in the world is based on a very similar principle: in the case of Black Ivory for 850 euros per kilo, it is Thai elephants through whose digestive tract the coffee beans migrate. The resulting coffee is only served in a few exclusive resorts in northern Thailand and the Maldives.

2. The largest collection of coffee pots

Once you have made your favorite coffee with the professional coffee machine, it must of course be filled into a container. Most people use a coffee pot for this – nothing special it seems. But Robert Dahl, a Rostock entrepreneur, probably had a great love for the coffee pot, because he has been collecting the most diverse types of crockery for many years.

Large, small, round, thick, decorated with gold rims or flowers – Robert Dahl has them all. Or at least very many. His collection of around 800 pieces in 2007 has increased fortyfold and has grown to over 32,000 copies. This makes Dahl the clear world record holder.

3. Swiss coffee machine manufacturer builds the world’s fastest espresso machine

Even if the Swiss are generally better known for taking a little more time with all things in life – there is no trace of comfort in the invention of the coffee machine manufacturers A. Schurr, J. Lüönd and A. Lütold.

The wondrous espresso machine actually manages to produce a proud 11.5 liters of espresso in one minute, which, according to the coffee machine manufacturer, is of course very enjoyable. With the “Swiss Espressi Extractor”, the coffee machine manufacturers have thus created the fastest professional coffee machine in the world.

4. World Barista Championship: There can only be one

Every year, the national champions of the barista championships meet to host the world championships: who will get the crown? In 15 minutes, the coffee experts demand everything from the professional coffee machine and make four espressos, four cappuccini and four of their own coffee creations.

These are then evaluated by a jury in terms of taste, appearance, aroma and consistency. Jooyeon Jeon from South Korea won in 2019, and in 2020 the World Barista Championship will be held in Melbourne, Australia.

5. The miracle of the fully automatic coffee machine manufacturer: The smallest fully automatic coffee machine in the world

It is only 180 millimeters wide, the smallest fully automatic coffee machine in the world. The fully automatic coffee machine manufacturer who has managed to do this is called KOENIG and once again comes from Switzerland.

Despite its small size, the coffee machine has all the components that a professional coffee machine needs: Patented brewing system, touchscreen, precision conical grinder, height-adjustable coffee spout – in short, everything that coffee lovers could wish for from the coffee machine manufacturer. The biggest advantage: This device really fits in every kitchen.

6. The biggest cappuccino in the world

The biggest cappuccino in the world that was ever made is a real giant: 2000 liters of cappuccino were prepared in Zagreb by 1000 baristas using a professional coffee machine and then poured into a large cup. We only have one question: Who was allowed to drink the giant cappuccino again…?

7. Time for a coffee party

Better, faster, more expensive – why not set a world record with comfort? That’s what 8162 coffee fans thought when they met in 2009 in Cologne’s youth park for a coffee party. Right at the front: Gisela – the unmistakable fictional character of the comedian Hape Kerkeling. What fun!

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Food

3 Healthy Winter Smoothies That Will Warm You Up

Delicious winter smoothies can also be mixed from “winter vegetables”. Here are three delicious smoothie recipes with seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Of course, citrus fruits in particular are everywhere in winter, but they have come a long way. Tropical fruits are also delicious, but ecologically not sensible.

Instead, there are enough fruits and vegetables from local cultivation or from your own cellar to make healthy smoothies. Our winter smoothie recipes are based on the Utopia seasonal calendar. In it you can read when which fruit and vegetables are in season with us.

We have three simple recipes for you that require few ingredients, are therefore quick to prepare and are suitable for any time of the day. So that the fat-soluble vitamins can also be absorbed by the body, you should never omit the nuts.

Winter Smoothie Recipe #1: Spicy Beetroot

You only need a few ingredients for a smoothie that warms you from the inside with the spicy spiciness of ginger:

1 medium sized beetroot
1 large pear
1 piece of ginger
1 handful of hazelnuts
some water
How to prepare the winter smoothie:

Peel the beetroot and cut into pieces. Because the red juice stains strongly, it is better to wear gloves when processing the tuber or rub your fingers with lemon juice afterwards. Remove the core of the pear and peel the piece of ginger.
Now add water to taste and process all the ingredients into a creamy smoothie. The more ginger you use, the more warming the winter smoothie will be.
Tip: You can also use nut oil instead of grated hazelnuts. Simply add your nut oil of choice while blending so it emulsifies well. If you use roasted oil, the nut aroma is more intense.

Beetroot bulbs can weigh up to 600 grams and can be stored very well. That’s why they are also considered “winter vegetables”, although their harvest takes place in summer from July. So there is no reason to only eat them in winter.

The vegetables contain a lot of vitamins and minerals, especially potassium, B vitamins, iron and folic acid. With manganese, copper and selenium, beetroot also provides rare but important trace elements.
However, beetroot also has quite a lot of oxalic acid. Anyone who tends to form kidney stones should avoid excessive consumption of the red tuber.
Beetroot is also a good nitrate storer. Nitrates are used as fertilizer in agriculture and can be converted into toxic nitrite. If the field is over-fertilized, a relatively large amount of nitrate is stored in the beetroot. To minimize this risk, you should only buy organic beetroot.

Winter Smoothie Recipe #2: Winter Apple

Apples are a native fruit that is available to us practically all year round. They contain a lot of soluble and insoluble fiber such as pectins. Pectins are water soluble and cannot be seen with the naked eye.

Dietary fiber promotes digestion. They are also said to be helpful in preventing colon cancer. There is evidence that a high-fiber breakfast can directly or indirectly lower cholesterol levels. Tip: It is best to eat apples in their most natural form – as a whole fruit with skin.

The taste of this smoothie is reminiscent of baked apple. You need:

1 large apple
50 grams of raisins
1 handful of hazelnuts
Cinammon
some water
Here’s how to enjoy the winter smoothie for breakfast:

Soak the raisins in water the night before.
The next morning, remove the core of the apple. Then put the apple in the blender with the raisins, the soaking water and the hazelnuts.
If the raisins aren’t soaking in enough water to make them drinkable, add a little more water. Season with cinnamon and enjoy immediately.
In case you forgot to soak the raisins the night before, they will swell faster if you pour hot water over them. The better the raisins are soaked, the less power your blender will need. You can then also make the smoothie with a regular hand blender.

Smoothie Recipe #3: Fresh with lamb’s lettuce

Lamb’s lettuce also grows outdoors in winter in sheltered locations or under fleece. Not only in the cold months it is a good alternative to lettuce from greenhouses or southern growing areas.

Tip: If you don’t have any lamb’s lettuce at hand, you can also use other “winter salads” such as winter purslane, which is also called postelein.

For the green winter smoothie you need:

125 g lamb’s lettuce
1 large apple
1 tbsp walnuts
some water
How to prepare the winter smoothie:

Wash and clean the lamb’s lettuce well and cut the core out of the apple.
Put the apple and lettuce in a blender with a little water or use an immersion blender to make a green smoothie.
Roughly chop the walnuts and sprinkle over the smoothie. Do not puree with the other ingredients, the bitter substances in the walnuts would literally “bitter” the smoothie.
Tip: The smoothie recipe also tastes good with cress instead of lamb’s lettuce. In winter you can simply grow cress yourself on the window sill. You don’t need any special equipment for this: a plate and some kitchen paper are all you need to grow your own salad in the kitchen.

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Flaxseeds: They Really are That Healthy

Flaxseeds are considered a healthy local superfood. We will show you which nutrients they contain and how you can use and process them.

What are flaxseeds?

Flaxseed is the seed of the flax, also known as common flax. It grows up to a meter high and has blue flowers. It is mainly grown in China, Russia and Ukraine. But it can also be found in Europe, for example in France, Germany and the Netherlands.

You can buy flaxseed whole, ground or as flour. We recommend that you use organic flaxseed and choose a product that comes from regional cultivation. In this way you avoid long transport routes and the associated high consumption of resources as well as chemical-synthetic pesticides in cultivation.

It’s in flaxseed

Flaxseeds contain a lot of fiber, which has a digestive effect. In addition, so-called mucilage is found in the seeds. They form a protective layer in the stomach and ensure that pathogens and other impurities can be transported more easily through the intestine.

Flaxseeds are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which should be an essential part of your diet. They have an anti-inflammatory effect, are important for the metabolism and contribute to a healthy immune system.

In addition to fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, flaxseeds contain protein, magnesium, iron and zinc as well as vitamins B1, B6 and vitamin E.

Here’s how you can use flaxseed

Linseed has been used medicinally for thousands of years, also in the form of linseed oil. The seeds are particularly popular as home remedies for gastrointestinal diseases. If you suffer from constipation or irritable bowel syndrome, you can use flaxseed as follows:

Eat 1 tablespoon of whole or ground flaxseeds.
Drink around 250 milliliters of water.
Repeat this two to three times a day.
The flaxseeds take effect after about twelve to 24 hours. Sometimes it takes up to three days for the full effect to take hold.

Linseed in the form of poultices has proven itself for colds, skin inflammation and muscle tension. To put on a flaxseed poultice:

Place 2-3 tablespoons of flaxseed on a cotton towel and tie a knot. Alternatively, you can stuff the flaxseeds into a clean cotton sock.
Pour hot water over the flaxseed poultice and let the flaxseeds soak for about 15 minutes.
Place the compress on the affected area and fix it with a dry cloth.

You should keep this in mind when using flaxseed

Since flaxseed contains cadmium, you should consume a maximum of 20 grams per day.
Flaxseed is said to limit the absorption of drugs from the gut. If you are taking medication, you should only eat flaxseed three to four hours after ingestion.
If you are currently pregnant, you should only use flaxseed after consulting a doctor.
If you eat flaxseed, it is important that you drink a lot – at least 1.5 to two liters per day, preferably water or unsweetened tea. Or you can make yourself a flaxseed tea directly.
Do not use flaxseed poultices on open wounds.
Flaxseeds are not very suitable for children.
If you have severe abdominal pain, an intestinal obstruction or a narrowed esophagus, you should not eat flaxseed. In these cases, seek medical advice and have the symptoms clarified.

Process flaxseed

However, you can not only eat flaxseed when you have symptoms, you can also use it in delicious recipes. In the following recipe, the flaxseeds provide a filling effect and a thicker consistency. For a smoothie you need:

250 g unsweetened soy yoghurt
1 tsp agave nectar or maple syrup
1 tsp flaxseed
150 grams of raspberries
2 tbsp almonds

And this is how it works: Put all the ingredients in the blender and puree them until you get a creamy smoothie.

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Unhealthy Eating: 10 Foods That Aren’t As Good As Many Think

We think of some food as healthy when the opposite is true. Much of it is also too tasty to do without entirely. However, with these ten unhealthy foods, less would be better.

Actually, we all want to eat healthy – at least in theory. And you probably can’t hear nutrition tips anymore or you’re completely confused about what you should and shouldn’t eat. There are a lot of myths about food and especially about healthy eating. There are a wide variety of diets: from Paleo, to raw food and low carb, to veganism, detoxing or so-called clean eating. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide which diet you feel comfortable with.

However, some well-known foods fall under the category of unhealthy food – and sometimes even harm our environment. We should therefore not eat this food anymore (or at least much less often). Fortunately, there is a good alternative for almost everything.

Unhealthy Eating: White rice contains fewer nutrients

Rice is not just rice: For white rice, the grains are ground. This means that the husk, the so-called silver skin and the germ are removed from the paddy rice. Then the grains are polished. Only the starchy kernel of the rice grain remains. The valuable nutrients contained in the peel are lost in the process.

So white rice “only” fills you up without providing you with many nutrients. People who regularly eat large amounts of white rice can also increase the risk of developing diabetes.

So-called parboiled rice is a little better than white rice: it is soaked, treated with steam pressure and dried before it is peeled and polished. As a result, the nutrients migrate inside and the end product still contains around 80 percent of the vitamins and minerals. However, it lacks fiber.

The healthiest rice is wholegrain rice: it is neither ground nor polished and therefore contains much more fibre, vitamins and minerals. Wholemeal rice looks brownish and is also called brown rice. We recommend whole grain rice in organic quality Good to know: Öko-Test has proven that problems with cadmium and arsenic occur time and again in rice.

Instant Vegetable Broth: Too much isn’t healthy

Instant Vegetable Broth Powder is handy for quick soups, broths or sauces. But often there are not many vegetables in it: Salt is usually the first ingredient in the list of ingredients. Followed by the flavor enhancer glutamate. Glutamate has fallen into disrepute because it can possibly lead to allergic reactions and is said to stimulate the appetite. The scientific evaluation is not yet complete, so recommendations are ambiguous.

The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment and the German Society for Nutrition consider occasional consumption to be harmless. However, consumer centers advise against frequent consumption. In addition to salt and flavor enhancers, there are flavors, palm oil and sugar in vegetable broths. And they are a good reason to do without instant vegetable powder.

A better alternative are organic vegetable broths, no flavor enhancers and other questionable additives may be used here. Although there is yeast extract in some organic vegetable broths, which contains a small amount of glutamate, a study by the Münster University of Applied Sciences and the Bundesverband Naturkost Naturwaren could not make any clear scientifically based statement for or against the use of yeast extract in organic food.

Ready-made salad – an unhealthy food

Salad from the bag is tempting: no washing, no chopping, all that’s missing is the (ready-made) salad dressing and the “healthy” meal is ready. But unfortunately it’s not that simple. Apart from the fact that ready-to-eat salad cannot do without plastic packaging that is harmful to the environment and therefore ultimately unhealthy for people, it is also directly unhealthy for several reasons.

Instead of unhealthy white flour products, it is better to use whole grains

Unhealthy food: White flour usually refers to “Type 405” or “Type 550” wheat flour. It is normal household flour, which is often used for rolls, for example, because of its good baking properties. The number stands for a low degree of grinding and reflects the mineral content. Type 405 is the lowest number and therefore also contains the fewest minerals. The higher the number of a flour type, the healthier the flour.

In addition to the low nutrient content, white flour products have other health disadvantages: they are often high-calorie, high-fat and high-sugar products such as biscuits, croissants, cakes or toast. Similar to white rice, white flour products simply fill you up without supplying your body with important nutrients.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s wheat or spelt: with wholemeal flour, all the components of the grain are retained. Whole grain products therefore contain more minerals, vitamins and fiber and keep you full for longer.

Avoid unhealthy food: muesli instead of breakfast cereals

Unfortunately, chocolate muesli, cornflakes and honey pops are not a good start to the day. Breakfast cereals are highly processed and unhealthy foods because they often contain way too much sugar. They are high in calories, don’t fill you up for long, and are often fortified with artificial minerals and vitamins.

The latter sounds good, but it’s not: In Germany, most people are sufficiently supplied with nutrients. Excessive intake of fortified foods can even have adverse health effects. How about a muesli made from whole grain flakes, fresh seasonal fruit and a few hazelnuts from Germany instead? We have put together the best organic mueslis without palm oil for you – feel free to vote for your favourite.

Chocolate spread is not a healthy breakfast

A slice of white bread with chocolate cream on top. The perfect day begins, the ads lead us to believe. But the sweet cream for breakfast is not a good idea: Half of it consists of sugar, followed by palm oil, followed by hazelnuts and cocoa. This is actually more of a candy than a healthy breakfast.

Fruit juice drinks contain too much sugar

Fruit juice drinks promise an extra portion of vitamins for the immune system. Unfortunately, fruit juice drinks are rarely healthy: They contain a relatively high amount of sugar, which is why you should not drink them as a thirst quencher.

The fruit content in fruit juice drinks is often low. For this, water, sweeteners and vitamins are mixed in (therefore they can no longer be called “juice”). Manufacturers are happy to add vitamins C, E and provitamin A (beta-carotene). But the benefit of such artificial vitamins for our body is also controversial. Organic not-from-concentrate juices are better!

Legumes instead of protein and energy bars

As a (hobby) athlete, you treat yourself to a protein or energy bar every now and then. It gives you strength and promotes muscle growth – you think so. The reality is different: the bars are anything but healthy and natural. They are high in calories, highly processed and require added sugar, flavorings and isolated vitamins and minerals.

For athletes, a healthy and balanced diet makes more sense than energy and protein bars. For example, legumes such as lentils and peas or potatoes and whole grain products contain many valuable proteins. Or simply make energy balls yourself as a healthier alternative to energy bars.

Beware of unhealthy food: avoid cured sausage and meat products

Curing is an ancient preservation method. Meat and sausage products are preserved by treating them with curing salt, a mixture of salt and potassium or sodium nitrites (E249 – E252). The nitrite can form the so-called nitrosamines with amines (proteins). They occur particularly at high temperatures. Nitrosamines have been shown to be carcinogenic in animal experiments.

Today, meat and sausage products only contain small amounts of nitrite. But the consumer centers advise against frequent consumption. If you eat meat, choose organic meat instead. Organic farming associations such as Bioland or Demeter do not use nitrite curing salt.

Unhealthy food: better no light and diet foods

Light and diet products promise to contain less energy, sugar or fat. However, the reduced nutrient is often replaced by another and in the end the calorie content hardly differs from each other. To make light and diet products taste good, manufacturers use flavor enhancers, aromas and sweeteners.

Unprocessed products are better than industrially processed light and diet products. For example, try natural yoghurt with fresh fruit instead of light fruit yoghurt.

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Eat Cheese Rind or Not? You Should Know That

Whether you can eat the cheese rind depends on various factors. Here you can find out when you should avoid the cheese rind and when you can eat it without hesitation.

Eat cheese rind?

The cheese rind fulfills a number of important functions, as it protects the cheese from dirt, mold and keeps it from drying out. The rind also gives some types of cheese their typical aroma.

There are different types of cheese rinds. The naturally ripened rind is created when the wheel of cheese is bathed in salt water during production and then stored dry. In addition, some types of cheese are sprinkled with salt and regularly turned, brushed and rubbed with brine during ripening. Depending on the type of cheese, this forms a more or less hard rind. You can basically eat this naturally occurring rind – even particularly hard rinds such as that of mountain cheese, Emmental or Parmesan are suitable for consumption. However, the bark is not for everyone, because it is sometimes very hard and tastes very intense. Whether you eat the bark or not is up to you.

In contrast to the naturally ripened rind, some types of cheese are also covered with an artificial rind. This usually consists of paraffins, plastic or wax and is therefore not edible. This is the case, for example, with Gouda or Edam. Corresponding products must be provided with the notice “Plastic coating not suitable for consumption”.

Can you eat cheese rind with noble mold and goo?

Certain types of cheese are treated with special mold cultures, such as soft cheeses such as Camembert, Brie or blue cheese. You can eat these without hesitation and they give the cheese its special aroma.

The same applies to types of cheese with smear, which you can generally also eat. Bacterial cultures are added here, which form the typical smear in yellow or red smear cheese. Examples are Munster cheese or Limburger with the typical red smear.

Plant ash is also sometimes used to protect the cheese from mold. The vegetable charcoal, or activated charcoal, is listed as E153 in the list of ingredients and you can also eat it (an example is the French Morbier).

Natamycin: cheese rind with preservative

The rind of certain cheeses is partially treated with the preservative natamycin (E235). The preservative has an antibiotic effect and is used to prevent mold growth. It is also used, for example, in medicines to treat fungal infections.

Although the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) rates natamycin as negligible in terms of resistance problems, you should still not eat cheese rinds with the preservative. Check the packaging for this, because cheese treated with natamycin must be labeled accordingly. It’s best to ask at the cheese counter – the only thing that often says there is “conserved”. By the way: Organic cheese is basically free of natamycin.

When not to eat the cheese rind

The Baden-Württemberg State Center for Nutrition recommends that pregnant women and people with a weakened immune system should refrain from eating naturally ripened bark and smear. These can contain listeria – i.e. bacteria – which can be dangerous without an intact immune system. The same applies to raw milk cheese, by the way.

Conclusion: Unless the cheese is marked with a note that the rind is not suitable for consumption, you can eat the rind (if you are not part of a risk group).

Buy cheese: preferably organic or vegan

When it comes to animal products such as cheese, always look for organic quality whenever possible. Not only can you avoid natamycin in the bark, but you ensure that no synthetic chemical pesticides end up in your food and in the environment. In addition, the housing conditions for animals with organic seals are often better than with conventionally manufactured products. You can find organic products, for example, at the market, in the shop around the corner or delivered in an eco box. Particularly strict organic seals include those from Demeter, Naturland and Bioland.

Vegan cheese as an alternative:

There are now also many vegan cheese alternatives – this not only benefits animal welfare and the environment, but you also have to worry less about the rind.

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Food

8 Self-sufficiency Tips That Anyone Can Implement

If you want to grow your own fruit and vegetables, you don’t have to live in the country – these tips for self-sufficiency also work in the city and sometimes even without a balcony.
Self-sufficiency is fun, you learn a lot and the lettuce you plant yourself or the laboriously watered tomatoes simply taste better – probably also because of your own work. You don’t have to switch to complete self-sufficiency right away – that would be difficult and very time-consuming. Even those who only produce a little themselves gain a little bit of independence.

Self-sufficiency basic: Grow your own vegetables

Sowing radishes, growing lettuce or planting tomatoes – many things also grow on the balcony in pots, tubs and boxes. If you want to start small with self-sufficiency, you can first try a herb garden on the balcony. Take a look at our picture gallery to see how you can grow your own vegetables without a garden.

But you can also bring edible greens into your own four walls with a herb shelf for the window sill or the wall and start self-sufficiency. And yes, you can even grow some vegetables in the apartment.

Do you need more space than the window sill or the balcony at home offers? There are many ways to bring at least a little more self-sufficiency into your life and grow your own fruit and vegetables: urban community gardens, shared gardens or solidarity agriculture are just three ways you can harvest fresh vegetables without a garden.

What to do with all the harvest? This “problem” is familiar to many who grow themselves on a larger scale. You can make jam out of strawberries, apples can be stored well for a long time – and your friends will surely be happy about home-grown fruit and vegetables.

Grow fruit

Not only lettuce, tomatoes or potatoes can thrive in a relatively small space – there are also types of fruit that you can grow on the balcony or terrace. You will not be able to be completely self-sufficient. But depending on how much space, creativity, and patience you have, you may well harvest some apples, strawberries, or even peaches.

If you happen to have more fruit than you can use, you can preserve some by making jam or syrup from it.

Pull sprouts

If you don’t have a garden or balcony, you can still start self-sufficiency in mini format – for example with self-grown sprouts. Crunchy sprouts from alfalfa, lentils, radishes or mung beans are high-quality foods rich in vitamins and minerals. Especially in winter, when there are few seasonal fruits and vegetables, sprouts enrich our diet.

Read how easy it is to grow sprouts and how at least a little self-sufficiency can be achieved with it.

By the way: It’s even easier to grow your own cress. All you need is a bag of organic cress seeds, a shallow bowl and some potting soil or cotton wool and water every day. Line the bowl with the potting soil or cotton, moisten it and sprinkle the cress seeds on top. Don’t forget to moisten the bowl daily. You can harvest fresh cress after about five to seven days. Tastes great in a salad or on bread!

Preserving Food – Self-Sufficiency Level: Advanced

Knowing how to preserve food is also part of self-sufficiency – it’s not that difficult. Fermenting, boiling down, pickling or drying used to be part of kitchen knowledge. Luckily, many people are acquiring this knowledge again today.

Here is an overview:

Preserving: Is particularly suitable for fresh fruit and vegetables and is a simple way of preserving seasonal produce for a long time.
Pickling: This is where food is preserved in liquid, using vinegar, oil or alcohol. Works well with most fruits, herbs and vegetables.
Drying: One of the oldest and simplest methods of preserving food. Especially good for fruit, vegetables, herbs, seeds, nuts, fish and meat.
Fermentation: is the conversion of substances by bacteria, fungi or enzymes. This produces gases, alcohol and acids, which ensure that food lasts.

Collect wild herbs, mushrooms and fruit

If you want a little more self-sufficiency, you can go wild-gathering in addition to your home-grown vegetables and fruits. The classic are wild herbs – even in the city you can find a lot here if you know something. However, we advise you to take a course first so that you can correctly identify the right herbs – i.e. the edible and tasty ones. For inspiration, here are 10 weeds you can eat.

In addition to lots of herbs, there is also a lot of wild fruit in Germany that you can collect – for example blackberries, elderberries, pear or sloes.

And last but not least, if you know your way around, you can make fat loot by collecting mushrooms in autumn. In the beginning, it is not easy to identify the different species with certainty. It is best to let experienced collectors accompany you. Mushroom tours, which can often be booked at adult education centers, are a great help. NABU also offers such excursions in many regions.

By the way, you can easily preserve collected mushrooms by drying or freezing the mushrooms.

Save public fruit

Another possibility for self-sufficiency: Use the public fruit trees in your area and pick the apples, pears or cherries for the next cake. So you not only save valuable fruit from rotting, you also take care of yourself.

On the map of Mundraub you can find fruit trees, fruit bushes, nuts and herbs and also mark them on the map yourself.

The Mundraub organization has been taking care of fruit trees in Germany since 2009 and planting new ones. Their vision: More edible cityscapes. In addition, Mundraub organizes harvest, planting and care campaigns and offers guided discovery tours for self-sufficient people.

Bake your own bread

Strictly speaking, of course, it only indirectly contributes to self-sufficiency – at least as long as you don’t grow your own grain and paint flour. Nevertheless: Baking your own bread regularly makes you a little more independent – and it’s fun.

Most bread recipes contain yeast from the supermarket. But baking with sourdough in particular is an old art of natural baking: without yeast and without artificial additives or emulsifiers. The basis for the bread, the sourdough, must first be prepared – alternatively, you can order sourdough starters online or ask around among friends and acquaintances if anyone would make a starter.

Integrate self-sufficiency into your everyday life

As you can see, self-sufficiency doesn’t have to mean that you live in the country and only spend time gardening. With many small steps you can at least integrate a little more self-sufficiency into your everyday life. You can already think about it while shopping: Do I really need it or can I not do it myself? For example, you no longer need to buy cress, with a small balcony herb garden you can also save on supermarket herbs and you can make delicious vegan spreads from pumpkins or zucchini that you grow yourself.

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Food

Eggs and Their Shelf Life: You Should Know That

The shelf life of eggs depends on various factors. Here’s how long to store eggs and how to preserve them.

Raw Eggs: This is their shelf life

Eggs can be kept unrefrigerated for about 20 days from the laying date. Their shell protects them from germs. If you want to store them longer, you have to keep them in the fridge.

If you want to know how long the eggs you have bought will keep, you can always use the best before date printed on the egg code on the egg carton. According to the Federal Center for Nutrition, the best before date is 28 days after the laying date. The egg cartons usually also state when you should start refrigerating the eggs.

If the best-before date has passed, you don’t have to throw the eggs away right away. Instead, you can easily find out if the eggs are still good with the egg test. To be on the safe side, the AFCN recommends always cooking the eggs at at least 70 degrees if the best-before date has already passed. This kills any salmonella and other pathogens.

In order for eggs to last as long as possible, you should always store them in a clean and dry environment. If you find eggs with damaged shells in your egg carton, you should use them the same day and cook them well. You should also cook eggs that have feces or feathers on them as quickly as possible and store them separately from the other eggs.

Food that contains raw eggs should always be kept in the refrigerator and consumed within a day.
You can store raw egg yolks and egg whites in the refrigerator in a clean, sealed container for 2-3 days.
By the way: Where your eggs come from usually has no influence on their shelf life. In any case, you should pay attention to this. It is best to buy organic eggs that, in addition to the EU organic seal, also carry the seal of an organic association such as Naturland. This is how you support species-appropriate animal husbandry. In the meantime, you can also find eggs in many shops from farms where the male chicks are not shredded, but also reared.

Extend the shelf life of eggs: This is how you can preserve eggs

There are several ways you can extend the shelf life of your eggs past the best before date:

Freezing: You can freeze the yolk and egg white separately in airtight containers. According to AFCN, egg yolk keeps in the freezer at minus 18 degrees for six to ten months, egg white even for up to 12 months.
Hard-boiling: Hard-boiled eggs will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. In order to keep them as long as possible, you should not put off the eggs after cooking. Rinsing the eggs in cold water while they are still hot can cause fine cracks to form in the shell, allowing bacteria and germs to get into the eggs. That’s why the consumer advice center recommends refrigerating quenched eggs and using them within two weeks. If you haven’t quenched the eggs, they will keep for at least four weeks in the refrigerator. By the way: coloring for Easter does not affect the shelf life of eggs.
Pickling: For centuries, people have been preserving eggs by pickling hard-boiled eggs with their shells in brine. Since brine is also known as brine, eggs preserved in this way are called brine eggs. Brine eggs can be kept for about two weeks, but become saltier over time.

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Food

Mixed Diet: Can That Be Sustainable?

If you answer the question of what you eat roughly with “everything”, then you probably eat according to the mixed diet principle. We will explain to you exactly what a mixed diet means and how you can make this type of diet more sustainable.

There are many different types of diets. If you only consume plant-based foods, you are eating vegan. If you also eat eggs and dairy products, it is a vegetarian diet. Mixed diets also include meat and fish in the diet.

For environmental and animal protection, a vegan or at least vegetarian diet is particularly recommended. If you pay attention to a few points, you can at least make the mixed diet more sustainable. This article gives you specific tips on how to do this.

What does mixed food mean?

According to the Spectrum Nutrition Lexicon, mixed diet refers to “diets made up of plant and animal foods”. If you also pay attention to a good ratio of fats, proteins and carbohydrates, you are talking about a balanced mixed diet.

A pizza with salami, for example, would be mixed food thanks to grain, meat, cheese and tomato sauce, but not particularly balanced.

The 10 recommendations of the DGE

The German Society for Nutrition (DGE) recommends ten rules for a wholesome diet as part of a mixed diet. Some of these also have a direct impact on the sustainability of your diet.

It is particularly important that you make your diet varied and plant-based. That means: more plant-based than animal-based foods and as many different ones as possible. As a guideline, the DGE recommends at least 400 grams of vegetables and 250 grams of fruit per day for adults. With the plant-based diet, you also eat more environmentally friendly. According to the Bavarian State Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry, a plant-based mixed diet reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent compared to a meat-based one and saves land and water.
You can eat fish once or twice a week, but adults should limit themselves to 300 to 600 grams of meat and sausages per week. By consuming smaller amounts of meat and fish, you should be able to afford organic and more species-appropriate animal husbandry at the same time.
When preparing food, you can make sure that you only cook it for as long and as hot as it is really necessary. On the one hand, this means that more nutrients are retained, and on the other hand, you can easily save energy.

This is how sustainable mixed food works

The DGE also gives direct advice on sustainable nutrition. You can combine these with mixed foods.

The central aspect is the already mentioned plant-based diet.
It is also important that you buy ecologically and fairly produced food.
Whenever possible, you can also shop regionally.
It is best to only buy foods that are in season. Then you are more likely to find an offer from your region.
In addition to the diet itself, you can make your mixed diet sustainable by handling food consciously. For example, try to throw away as little as possible to avoid food waste:

When shopping, make sure you only buy as much as you can safely eat.
If an expiration date has passed, check food for its appearance, smell and taste. Most of the time, the food is still edible without any problems even after it has expired.
Buy unpackaged products whenever possible. You can find fruit and vegetables at a weekly market – but often also in supermarkets and always in organic markets – to buy loose. You can simply pack it in old paper or cloth bags you brought with you. Maybe you would like to pay a visit to a packaging-free shop? There you will find a lot of different things, such as pasta or muesli, to fill in containers you brought with you.

If possible, avoid ready meals and frozen foods or at least reduce your consumption. It is almost always heavily processed food that is provided with preservatives, colorings or other additives. And by the way, you save money if you cook yourself and plant-based.

Try new things

Even if you eat a mixed diet every day, it can be a valuable experience to try a different diet from time to time. A particularly popular example of this is the “Veganuary“. You eat vegan for a month. By name, most people try it in January, but there’s nothing wrong with going vegan in April – or any other time.

In the Veganuary or just like that you can test vegan meat alternatives and alternatives to dairy products as part of the mixed diet. For example, there are various vegan cheeses or plant milk as a milk substitute.

For maximum regionality, you can also grow your own fruit and vegetables. A garden is the best option for this, but even with a balcony, you can take care of a lot of things. For example, you can plant tomatoes on the balcony, and even potatoes on the balcony are an option.

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