Breaking
FoodNerdy Recipes Management System
Tag

variants

Browsing
Food

Lungo, Ristretto, Macchiato and Co: 10 Popular Espresso Variants

You know espresso, café latte and cappuccino. But what is a ristretto? And what exactly do you need to order if you want to try a shot espresso or over ice? Mamis Caffè introduces you to ten delicious espresso variants. With this knowledge, you can master the drinks menu on your next holiday in Italy like an expert.

Italians don’t drink espresso, they drink coffee – at any time of the day or night. Whether on the go at the bar, after a meal in the restaurant or at home fresh from the stove, the quick pick-me-up is omnipresent. To ensure that there is something suitable for every taste and every occasion, various variations have developed from the classic espresso. So many that even connoisseurs lose track of things.

1. Ristretto

Strong, stronger ristretto. The ristretto is even smaller and stronger than the classic espresso. The same amount of ground coffee is prepared with less water. This is how the shortened or “narrowed”, almost viscous version of the caffè is created.

2. Doppio

After a long night in Rome, you order a caffé doppio, the double espresso, the next morning. It’s quite simply double the amount.

3. Lungs

The lungo is basically the counterpart to the ristretto, a lengthened espresso. The same amount of ground coffee is prepared with more water and served in a correspondingly larger cup.

4. Americano

The caffé americano is a double espresso that is diluted with water. Unlike the lungo, the additional water does not go into the machine, but is added afterwards. Professionals fill a cappuccino cup two-thirds full with hot water and pour the double espresso straight from the machine on top.

5. Coffee macchiato

Beware of confusion: The Caffè macchiato is an espresso with milk froth, which you drink from a small espresso cup. The latte macchiato is much better known in Germany. In this version, an espresso is poured into a large glass of frothed milk, creating the well-known three layers of coffee, milk and milk froth.

6. Corretto

If the Italians want to fix or “correct” their caffè, that means a strong sip of hard liquor. For the Corretto, an espresso is refined with grappa, cognac, amaretto or sambuca. Do you have a special preference? Then order the right spirit right away with: “Caffè corretto con Amaretto, prego.”

7. Coffee freddo

Espresso also tastes cold. A caffè freddo is a chilled, heavily sweetened espresso served in a tall glass with ice cubes. Tip: professionals pour the fresh espresso directly onto the ice cubes. If it cools down too slowly, the coffee can become bitter.

8. Bicerin

Now chocolate comes into play. Bicerin is the right variant for cocoa lovers: Here, a hot chocolate is refined with espresso. The basis is milk and bitter cocoa powder, the drink is sweetened and served with a little cream or milk foam.

9. Morocco

For a Maroccino, liquid chocolate is poured into a glass, followed by the espresso, topped with a little frothed milk and cocoa powder.

10. Coffee moca

Another chocolaty coffee specialty is the Caffè moca. To do this, an espresso is mixed with twice the amount of hot milk and cocoa or liquid chocolate. The moca also tastes best with a topping of cream or milk foam.

Curious? Don’t wait until your next vacation in Italy. With high-quality coffee beans from Italy, you can make an aromatic espresso at home, which forms the ideal basis for your new favorite drink.

Keep Reading
By
Food

Make Mustard Yourself: Simple Recipe with 4 Variants

Making mustard yourself is not as complicated as you think. We’ll show you how to make a basic recipe, which you can then expand on as you wish.

Mustard is a delicious and versatile condiment. It should not be missing from any barbecue party and rounds off the taste of sauces and salad dressings. You can make the popular spice paste yourself with just a few ingredients and refine it according to your taste. In addition to the basic recipe, we will tell you four other variants for the homemade mustard: extra hot, fruity, sweet and with a herbal note.

Choose mustard seeds for the homemade mustard

There are white, brown and black mustard seeds – here the rule is: the darker the colour, the sharper the seeds. If you want to make medium-hot mustard, mix white and brown mustard seeds in a 50:50 ratio. You can get high-quality mustard seeds in health food stores or at the weekly market.

The mustard oils contained in the grains are not only responsible for the spiciness – they are also very healthy, have an antibacterial and appetizing effect and promote digestion. According to a study by the University of Freiburg, spicy mustard can even have a preventive effect against cancer.

Make mustard yourself: The basic recipe

For about three glasses of mustard you will need:

200 g mustard seeds
275 ml white balsamic vinegar
100ml of water
80 grams of sugar
3 tsp salt
some turmeric for the color
How to prepare the homemade mustard:

Grind the mustard seeds as finely as possible. The best way to do this is with a coffee grinder, alternatively with a mortar. The finer you grind the grains, the finer the mustard will be. Tip: If you don’t want to grind the grains yourself, you can use 200 grams of mustard flour.
Heat the water with the balsamic vinegar in a saucepan.
Remove the pot from the heat and let the liquid cool to a lukewarm temperature. This step is especially important to keep the mustard from turning bitter.
Mix all dry ingredients together.
Pour the liquid over the mustard flour and mix with a mixer for at least 5 minutes.
Pour the mustard into sterilized, sealable jars.
Leave the mustard for three days and it will lose its initial spiciness.
The mustard can be stored in a cool place for up to three months. So don’t do too much at once.

Make mustard variations yourself

Extra hot mustard: If you like your mustard to be extra hot, add some wasabi paste or crushed chillies to the basic recipe.
Fruity mustard: To give the basic recipe a fruity note, you can add the zest of an organic orange, some fig puree or other pureed dried fruit to the recipe before bottling.
Apple mustard: Replace the white balsamic vinegar in the basic recipe with apple cider vinegar. Instead of sugar, use ten organic dates that you soak in water beforehand and a grated apple. Use just a small pinch of salt. Mix all the ingredients together with a blender. This mustard can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four weeks.
Herb mustard: Supplement the basic recipe with fresh herbs. The following are particularly suitable: wild garlic, rosemary, thyme and dill.

Keep Reading
By
Cooking Tips

Froth Milk: With a Hand Blender, Without a Frother and Other Variants

Whether on coffee, cocoa or chai latte: frothed milk is part of it. Here you can find out which methods you can use to froth milk.

There are countless ways you can froth milk – from whisks to fully automatic milk frothers. The reason why you can whip the milk at all is mainly due to the natural protein content in milk. It is around three and a half percent. However, how good the froth is depends on the temperature of the milk: about 60 to 70 degrees is ideal, but you can also produce milk froth from cold milk.

Finally, the waiting time also has an effect on the milk froth: it is creamy immediately after frothing, a little later some of the milk becomes liquid again and solid, coarse-pored froth settles on top. Depending on how you like the milk best, you can use it straight away or wait a moment before mixing it with your drink.

Frothing milk – with which accessories?

There are different types of milk frothers on the market. You will find electric or mechanical hand milk frothers, fully automatic devices or cups with a movable sieve insert. But you can also use some household items to froth milk.

Froth milk with a hand blender

Almost everyone has a hand blender in their house. Have you ever used it to whip creamy soup? You can also use it to froth milk.

Since the milk squirts quickly, you should pour it into a tall, narrow container.
Note that the volume of the milk can almost double when frothed. Fill the container only half full with milk.
You can either froth the milk cold or warm it up beforehand on the stove or in the microwave. If it’s steaming but not yet boiling, it’s at a good temperature.

Froth milk by shaking

You can get by without electricity if you fill the milk in a screw-top glass and shake it vigorously for 30 to 60 seconds. Again, you should not fill the glass more than half full. Accordingly, this method is more suitable if you only want to froth a small amount of milk. If you want to heat the milk in the glass before or after frothing it in the microwave, the glass must be microwaveable.

Froth milk with a whisk or hand milk frother

Frothing milk with a whisk takes some strength and practice. You’ll get better and easier frothed milk if you use a hand-held milk frother instead. There are both electrically operated and mechanical variants. You can buy them for just a few euros, but they sometimes differ greatly in the quality of the milk froth. You can froth both small and large amounts of milk.

Mechanical milk frother for the stove

From around 15 euros you can get milk frothers made of glass or stainless steel. They usually come with strainers that you slide up and down to create foam. With a little practice you will get very good milk froth in this way.

Depending on the capacity of the vessel, you can froth different amounts of milk. A disadvantage is that most stovetops have a larger diameter than the milk frother and therefore some of the energy is lost during heating. You can also froth the milk cold or heat it up in a saucepan and then decant it. When buying such a milk frother, you should make sure that the sieve insert can be cleaned easily

Warm up and froth milk with an electric milk frother

Electric milk frothers are the most convenient option: they not only froth the milk, but also heat it to the right temperature. This works either by induction or by a concealed heating coil at the bottom of the vessel.

Stiftung Warentest tested milk frothers in 2017 and found that most electric milk frothers produce much better froth than you can with a hand blender or hand-held milk frother. However, the test also showed that really good devices are comparatively expensive at at least 50 euros.

From an environmental point of view, it is difficult to say whether electric milk frothers have a higher consumption than heating milk on the stove or in the microwave. There are milk frothers that consume more or less. However, electric milk frothers are more resource-intensive to produce than, for example, a screw-top glass. So before you buy it, you should think twice about whether you will really use the milk frother on a regular basis.

Which milk is the best to froth?

When shopping in the supermarket you will find a large variety of animal milks and plant-based milk alternatives. Since the latter usually have a lower protein content than cow’s milk, they do not froth as well. Of the plant-based milk alternatives, soy milk is the best for frothing.

In the meantime, however, you can also find oat milk in stores that has been enriched with proteins so that it foams better. However, it is cheaper if you make your own plant-based milk with a suitable protein content.

In principle, the fat content of the milk is irrelevant for frothing. However, the fat makes the foam creamier and also serves as a flavor carrier. The same applies to the degree of freshness of the milk: You can froth both long-life milk and fresh milk, but you will get the better taste result with the latter.

Keep Reading
By
Cooking Tips

Iced Coffee: Cool Caffeine Enjoyment With Numerous Variants

So much for cold coffee – iced coffee is a classic that makes a comeback every summer. As Caffè freddo, it is traditionally served in Italy as an often sweetened espresso lengthened with ice-cold water, as a café frappé in Greece and in Cyprus as cold frothed coffee with pieces of ice. And even if people like to use ready-mixed powder bags these days – a home-made iced coffee is a pleasure that is well worth the little effort!

Our favorite iced coffee: Nutella iced coffee

Similar, but alcohol-free and a bit sweeter, is “Nutella Iced Coffee”. Here the glass is first garnished with chocolate and caramel sauce, then cold coffee or espresso (depending on your taste) is filled with vanilla ice cream. Then stir in a spoonful of Nutella, decorate with cream and grated chocolate and enjoy.

Viennese Iced Coffee & Co

The variation of the frozen cappuccino is also enjoying increasing popularity. To prepare it, you need a blender with a cup of espresso, about three quarters of a cup of milk, a teaspoon of brown sugar and 60 grams of ice cubes. After mixing the ingredients, let stand briefly and then pour into a glass. Of course you can also use sugar syrup instead of cane sugar here or use other syrup variations as you like. Another specialty is Viennese iced coffee. Here the vanilla ice cream is poured directly into the still warm coffee, then milk and sugar are added and the whole thing is carefully stirred. This sweet mixture then goes into the freezer for two hours. Before serving, briefly whip the melange again and serve with a little cream if desired. For a fruity variation on cold coffee, take two tablespoons of freshly brewed or instant coffee, stir in a tablespoon of sugar and allow the drink to cool. Add 100 milliliters of orange juice and the coffee to about 250 grams of whipped cream. Mix well and add 320 grams of vanilla ice cream, finish with coffee beans and, if desired, additional whipped cream. If you prefer something stronger, you can take a chilled double espresso as the basis and refine it with one or two scoops of ice cream and some frothed milk.

Keep Reading
By