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How Sage Honey Works and a Recipe to Make Yourself

Sage honey is an effective home remedy for cold and flu symptoms. Here you can find out how sage honey works and how you can make it yourself.

A sore throat, cough and hoarseness are among the most common symptoms of a cold or flu. Sage honey can provide quick relief and aid in healing. It is also a natural alternative to conventional cough syrups, which often contain questionable ingredients and should be used with caution, especially in children. You can find out more about this in our article cough syrup for children: risks, home remedies and what you should consider.

As the name suggests, sage honey consists of only two ingredients: sage and honey.

Sage is a well-known medicinal herb that has anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antibacterial properties. That is why it is a popular home remedy for sore throats and coughs.
Honey also has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. It is therefore well suited as a carrier for the sage.
Important: If possible, use regional organic honey from Germany for the sage honey. This way you can be sure that it was not imported via CO2-intensive transport routes. In another Utopia article you will find out what you should consider when buying honey.

Make sage honey yourself: Here’s how

Ingredients:

20leaves of fresh sage
500 ghoney
optional: lemon juice

Directions:

Wash the sage leaves thoroughly and then drain them. Then cut them into small pieces.
Place the honey in a large sterilized jar. The glass should be able to hold at least 700 grams.
Stir in the chopped sage. Tip: If the honey is very thick and stirring is too difficult, you can dilute it with a little lemon juice.
Place the sage honey in a dark place and let it steep for at least four weeks. After this time he is finished.

Sage honey: tips and hints

The earlier you take the sage honey, the better it can work. At the first scratchy throat, start applying the sage honey. Let it slowly melt on your tongue.

Since sage contains the neurotoxin thujone, you should consider the following points when using sage honey:

Overdoses of thujone can cause symptoms of poisoning such as tachycardia, dizziness and cramps. Since the thujone content of sage honey is difficult to determine, to be on the safe side, you should consume a maximum of five teaspoons of sage honey a day.
New studies have shown that sage is suitable for long-term use without hesitation. However, you should seek medical help if your symptoms have not improved within three days.
Children younger than one year should not eat honey. As a natural product, honey can contain bacteria that can cause life-threatening bacterial infections in babies.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women should also avoid taking sage honey.

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Food

Flat White: This is How Cappuccino Works Down Under

It has been the trend in hip cafés and bars for some time: the flat white – translated as “flat white”. This coffee specialty is something like the little Australian cousin of the Italian cappuccino. But what exactly is a flat white – and how is it prepared? Find out here.

The little difference between flat white and cappuccino

Although the delicious coffee specialty only recently came to Europe, the Flat White is actually a child of the 1980s. It was at this time that the recipe first spread to Australia and New Zealand. Basically, it’s a version of the world-famous Italian cappuccino, but with its own character.

The main difference between flat white and cappuccino is already evident in the name: the “flat white” contains a lower proportion of milk foam. It is also more liquid and homogeneous overall than the half-solid, half-liquid froth of the cappuccino. This is because, unlike cappuccino, the milk is frothed with just a little air.

This so-called micro-foam should be a maximum of 5 mm high for Flat White. Accordingly, the almost liquid foam of the “flat white” ends with the rim of the cup. With a cappuccino, on the other hand, it typically curves up a bit.

What the flat white lacks in foam, it makes up for in espresso: instead of a simple one, like a cappuccino, it has an espresso doppio intus and accordingly contains twice the amount of caffeine. The right drink for everyone who likes milk froth but likes to have a little more punch in the cup.

Make Flat White yourself: The recipe

You need:

Coffee machine with steam nozzle for milk froth (preferably a portafilter machine or fully automatic machine)
milk can
cappuccino cup
50ml espresso
130 ml whole milk
That’s how it works:

Warm up the cappuccino cup.
Prepare double espresso in the cup.
Make milk froth: Pour milk into the jug and use the steam nozzle to prepare the froth. Tip: The typical “hissing” should only be heard briefly when foaming, so that not too much air gets into the foam and it remains nice and fine-pored and creamy. Swirl the jug under the nozzle for an even consistency.
Pour the milk froth onto the espresso: the froth should have a consistency that blends well with the espresso and is flush with the rim of the cup.
Tip: Want to impress your guests? Try your hand at latte art and conjure up a work of art out of milk foam and crema on the top layer of the flat white.

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Food

Cook and Preserve Horseradish: This is How It Works

You can prepare horseradish in the form of dips, sauces and soups, for example. If you bought too much or had a particularly rich harvest, horseradish can also be easily preserved.

Horseradish is a particularly hot type of radish that is in season in Germany between October and January. The horseradish root is considered healthy because it is rich in vitamin C and is said to have an antibacterial effect due to its mustard oils. At the same time, the mustard oils ensure the characteristic spiciness of horseradish, which gives various dishes their special flavor.

In this article, we will show you how you can prepare horseradish and how best to store it.

Cook horseradish: This is how you use the root

Due to its sharpness, horseradish is hardly edible on its own. In the kitchen, it is therefore used in small amounts to flavor sauces and similar dishes – often in combination with cream or other ingredients that reduce the heat somewhat.

The classic horseradish sauce is traditionally often served with meat or fish, but it also goes well with potatoes, dumplings, vegetables or vegetarian patties. You can also prepare salad dressings, dips or soups with horseradish.

If you are particularly fond of horseradish, you can plant it in your own garden and harvest the roots yourself. You can find detailed instructions on how to do this in our guides on harvesting and planting horseradish. If you buy the horseradish at the weekly market or in the shop, you should do so in season if possible and pay attention to organic quality. In this way you avoid unnecessarily long transport routes and residues of harmful pesticides.

When cooking, you often only need small amounts of horseradish root. Because of this, it’s easy to end up buying or harvesting more horseradish than you can cook. So that you don’t have to throw away the excess horseradish, you can make it last longer. We’ll show you a simple method to do this.

Preserve horseradish: Simple method with salt and vinegar

Ingredients:

200 g fresh horseradish
1 tsp salt
1 squirt vinegar (plus more for topping if needed)

Directions:

Wash the horseradish, peel it and grate it finely.
Mix the grated horseradish with a teaspoon of salt and a dash of vinegar. Important: Make sure that the vinegar is evenly distributed so that the entire horseradish mixture can be preserved. Otherwise it will quickly turn gray later.
Pour the mixture into a sterilized jar, covering the surface with a little extra vinegar if necessary. Then close the jar tightly.
It is best to keep the pickled horseradish in the fridge. Unopened, it will keep for at least four weeks. Just like with fresh horseradish, you can use it to prepare various horseradish dishes. Once opened, you should use the jar within a few days if possible.

By the way: As an alternative to this method, you can also preserve horseradish by freezing it. This is possible with both the unpeeled whole root and with grated horseradish, which you should mix with a little vinegar or lemon juice before freezing. The horseradish will keep in the freezer for about half a year. However, it may lose some of its flavor when frozen.

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Cooking Tips

Make Ice Cubes Yourself: This is How It Works Without an Ice Cube Mold

Need ice cubes but don’t have an ice cube mold? No problem! We have put together various ways for you to make ice cubes yourself at any time.

If you want to prepare ice cubes, the only option is usually to use molds made of plastic or silicone. You can also buy plastic ice cube bags everywhere, which end up in the garbage after one use. Both plastic and silicone are harmful to the environment and to your own health. Over time, for example, a silicone mold can release plasticizers into the ice cubes. Make sure that your ice cube mold is free of plasticizers such as BPA.

But if you don’t have such a shape or you want to produce ice cubes in an environmentally friendly way, you have to improvise. We have several ways for you to make ice cubes without an ice cube mold.

Make ice cubes without an ice cube mold

Use the shape of a box of chocolates. You can use any type of chocolate. We recommend buying chocolates made from fair trade chocolate. There are some seals for Fairtrade chocolate such as the Fairtrade seal. So keep the shape of a box of chocolates or you transfer the chocolates. You don’t have to throw these away, of course, but put them in a lockable box. The good thing about this variant is that you do not produce any additional garbage. Another plus is that you get ice cubes in special shapes. After all, chocolates often come in a wide variety of shapes. BTW: You can use other forms of candy as long as they are stored in a plastic mold.

Another option is to prepare glasses in advance that you want to drink from later or that you want to serve. To do this, fill in some water (a few centimeters high) and place it in the freezer compartment. But make sure that the glasses are freezer-safe. So don’t use glasses that are too thin. You can then simply pour the drink onto the thin layer of ice.

Crushed ice is also possible. You can use any type of container that is freezer-safe.

Cool drinks with alternative ice cubes

There are other ways you can cool drinks:

You can use frozen fruit as ice cubes: for example, put grapes in the freezer for about two hours and then put them in the glass. Alternatively, you can buy already frozen organic fruit. If the frozen fruit is no longer needed, you can simply eat it – it tastes delicious and you haven’t wasted anything.

You can also slice and freeze lemons or limes. It is best to use organic ones. Then you can be sure that they are free of chemical-synthetic pesticides.

Another option is to pre-chill the empty glasses or just the drinks yourself in the fridge. These are then cool from the start and remain so for a little longer thanks to the cool glasses.

Since the main problem is the material of conventional ice cube molds, you can use stainless steel molds, which can be bought online. There are also so-called whiskey stones made of stainless steel that you can freeze and use again and again.

Try making ice cubes out of liquids other than water. For example, freeze organic juices, yoghurt or fair trade coffee as cubes.

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Cooking Tips

Freezing Tomatoes: How It Works and What You Have to Consider

Tomatoes can be frozen, but they lose their flavor in the process. You can read here what you should pay attention to and when it makes sense to freeze tomatoes.

Freezing tomatoes: Only good quality, please

Tomatoes are wonderfully aromatic and a real treat in summer. If you have too many tomatoes, you can freeze them so they don’t break. Here, however, it is important that the tomatoes are not soft and have no rotten spots or bruises. You should also remove the green stalk.

Of course, it only makes sense to freeze tomatoes if you really can’t process them fresh. Because when they freeze, they lose their aroma – after defrosting, you can no longer eat them raw, for example in a salad, but should cook them. It is ideal if you process them into a tomato sauce, for example.

Three ways to freeze tomatoes

You now have several options for freezing tomatoes:

fresh and freeze whole
Freeze cut into small pieces
pureed (and seasoned) and freeze as a sauce
tomatoes in one piece

If you freeze the tomatoes whole, you should remove the skin first. During the freezing process, the water in the fruit expands and the tomato can burst. You can easily remove the skin by blanching the tomatoes briefly and then carefully peeling off the skin. (More info: Peeling and skinning tomatoes: easily with a simple trick)
Place the round tomatoes, which are still whole, on a small baking sheet or similar surface (e.g. cutting board) and place in the freezer.
As soon as they are frozen, take out the pads and put the tomatoes in a cotton bag, for example, and put them back in the freezer.
Sliced ​​Tomatoes

For the diced version, you don’t need to skin the tomatoes because slicing them gives them room to expand.
Dice the tomatoes, remove the core and place in a mason jar.
After the small pieces of tomato have thawed, they are particularly good for pizza toppings or sauces that you don’t want to have a completely smooth puree.
Pureed tomatoes

The easiest way to freeze tomatoes is to freeze them already pureed and ideally seasoned.
For example, you can use the plastic-free method with ice cube trays.
In addition, if it has to be quick, you have a ready-made tomato sauce immediately.
So prepare the tomatoes according to your favorite recipe, let them cool and then freeze them. Alternatively, you can cook them without spices and freeze them.

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Cooking Tips

Make Crushed Ice Yourself: This is How It Works Without an Ice Cube Machine

Making crushed ice yourself is easy and there is no plastic packaging. We’ll show you how to make the cool refreshment. This makes hot summer days more bearable.

You can buy crushed ice, but making it yourself isn’t difficult. Especially on hot summer days, it is a refreshing addition to drinks such as slush ice and summer (non-alcoholic) cocktails, or you can use it to cool other alcoholic drinks such as sparkling wine. All you need are ice cubes. With our tips you can easily make crushed ice yourself.

Make crushed ice yourself with a tea towel

Probably the most sustainable and easiest way to make your own crushed ice is with a clean tea towel and a solid object. So there is no plastic packaging and you don’t have to buy any additional new devices.

To do this, place ready-made ice cubes in the middle of a clean tea towel. Hold the open sides tightly together. Now you need a solid object. For example, a hammer, a rolling pin or something similar are suitable. Now break the ice cubes out of the kitchen towel with your solid object. Your homemade and sustainable crushed ice is ready.

Tip: Be careful not to break the ice cubes too small. This way you get more of your crushed ice because it melts more slowly.

Make your own crushed ice with a stand mixer

Another way to make your own crushed ice is with a stand mixer. However, this method only makes sense if you already own a stand mixer. In general, you should not buy any new equipment for the production of crushed ice to avoid wasting unnecessary resources. You can prevent this by using the dishcloth crushed ice method above.

If you already own a stand mixer, the crushed ice method with a stand mixer is the faster and less complicated method for you.

Simply put the ice cubes in a blender and crush them in batches. This makes it easier to crush the ice cubes than if you use the normal smoothie function. In addition, the blade of the blender does not wear out as quickly. Also make sure that your blender has enough power to crush the ice cubes.

Tip for sustainable ice cubes for your crushed ice

The basis for making crushed ice yourself are ice cubes. But you don’t necessarily need the classic plastic ice cube tray. A sustainable alternative is to simply make the ice cubes yourself in glasses. Make sure that you fill the water mainly in cone-shaped glasses and do not screw a lid on top. Let the ice cubes thaw briefly at room temperature before processing them into crushed ice – this is how you get them out of the glasses. Also, to avoid expanding the glass, you should only fill the glass up to three quarters full with water.

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Food

Process Gelatine Correctly – That’s How it Works!

No more fear of gelatin! Gelatine is often required to make cakes, slices, and roulades firm. Processing these is not as tricky as some might think. With our tips & tricks, nothing can go wrong.

Correct dosage of gelatine

The amount of gelatin needed depends on the amount and desired consistency of the mass you want to gel. As a guideline: For 500 ml of liquid, either 1 pack of ground gelatine or 6 sheets of gelatine are used.

Soaking is part of it

Leaf gelatin needs to be soaked in cold water in a wide bowl for about 5 minutes. So that the leaves do not stick together and can swell sufficiently, they should be placed individually in the water. Mix the powdered gelatine with a few tablespoons of the cold mass, juice, cold water, or liqueur (depending on the recipe) in a small saucepan and leave to swell for about 5 minutes.

Cold masses gel

Remove the swollen gelatine leaves from the water, squeeze them out well and dissolve them in a small saucepan over low heat. Here you can also add a few tablespoons of the mass to be gelled or some juice. You can also slowly dissolve swollen powdered gelatine over low heat.

Before you add the gelatine to the rest of the mass, it should be leveled. To do this, stir a few tablespoons of the cold mass into the dissolved gelatine and then mix the gelatine mass with the cold mass.

Hot masses gel

If you want to gel hot masses, you can immediately add the gelatine undissolved to the hot, no longer boiling liquid and stir until it has completely dissolved.

The liquid should not be boiled after the gelatin has been added, otherwise, the gelatin will lose its gelling power.

Tips and tricks

Gelatine is not suitable for creams or jellies with fresh kiwi, pineapple, papaya, and figs, as these contain an enzyme that reduces the gelling power.

A plant-based alternative to gelatin is agar-agar. The difference is that agar-agar has to be boiled for 2 minutes in order to develop its gelling power. It is therefore very suitable for fruit jellies.

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Cooking Tips

Make and Use Sunflower Seed Butter Yourself: This is How It Works

You can quickly make sunflower seed butter yourself with just a few ingredients. The mush can be used in a variety of sweet and savory dishes. We show you a recipe and what you should pay attention to.

Sunflower seed butter made from Europe sunflower seeds is a regional alternative to almond butter and other nut butters. This avoids long transport routes and packaging.

Sunflower seeds are healthy because they contain important nutrients. They are rich in vitamins, fiber, unsaturated fatty acids, minerals and vegan proteins. The seeds are therefore particularly suitable for a balanced plant-based diet. Processed as a mush, you can use sunflower seeds in a variety of ways in the kitchen.

Make sunflower seed butter yourself

When buying your ingredients, make sure that they are organic and, if possible, from regional cultivation. This makes your sunflower seed puree a sustainable alternative to conventional nut spreads and you avoid chemical-synthetic pesticides.

Ingredients:

200 gorganic sunflower seeds
1 pinch(s) of salt

Directions:

Soak the sunflower seeds in water overnight or for at least 8 hours. This makes them softer and easier to work with.
After soaking, drain the sunflower seeds through a sieve.
Place the sunflower seeds and salt in a high powered blender. Mix everything into a smooth mass.
If the mousse is still too chewy, you can add some tasteless oil.

Variation tips for sunflower seed butter

You give your sunflower seed butter a particularly nutty aroma when you roast the sunflower seeds. They shouldn’t be too dark.

Variants:

You can add some olive oil or oat milk. This makes the sunflower seed butter a little milder and creamier.
For a savory taste, you can add a clove of garlic.
For a sweet alternative, you can add a spoonful of honey or syrup, some cinnamon and vanilla to the mousse.
As a regional alternative to tahini sauce, you can add some salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil and fresh herbs to your sunflower seed puree.

Use sunflower seed butter

Sunflower seed puree can be refined as a sweet or savory puree. You can therefore use it in many ways. Here are some tips on how to use your sunflower seed butter:

As a hearty spread: If you refine your sunflower seed puree with fresh herbs and spices, you can use it as a delicious spread.
As a sweet spread: Alternatively, you can make a sweet variant of the spread from the sunflower seed butter. This goes particularly well with pancakes and fresh rolls.
As a dip: Use more liquid during preparation to create a sauce-like consistency. This dip goes great with raw vegetables, crackers or homemade falafel.
As a vegan butter substitute: neutral sunflower seed butter is an excellent vegan alternative to butter.
As a salad dressing: Use the puree to make a delicious salad dressing. Simply add a tablespoon of puree to your favorite dressing.
As a cooking cream: You can refine warm dishes such as soups or stews with the sunflower seed butter. The mush gives the dish a creamier consistency.
As a muesli topping: You can put sunflower seed butter on your muesli or porige for a wholesome breakfast.

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Food

Vegan Lard with Onions: This is How It Works

You can easily make vegan lard with onions yourself. We use kidney beans as a healthy base. We show you a delicious recipe for vegan lard.

Lard is an animal fat that is commonly used in cooking and frying. Butter lard or onion lard is also very popular as a spread. Since lard consists entirely of fat, it is considered very unhealthy. It also contains a lot of saturated fatty acids, which, according to the German Nutrition Society, can have a bad effect on the cardiovascular system and promote lipid metabolism disorders. Therefore, more and more people are turning to vegetarian or vegan lard.

Vegan lard with onions is mostly made from vegetable fats like margarine. We avoid using too much fat in our recipe. Our onion lard is prepared with white beans. These are very healthy as they are rich in protein and fiber. They provide important proteins, especially for a vegetarian and vegan diet. We show you a vegan recipe for delicious onion lard.

Vegan lard: the recipe

Ingredients:

2 onions
2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
2 pieces of bay leaves
2 pieces of cloves
0.5 teaspoon
400 g kidney beans (one can)
40 ml water
1 tsp soy sauce
1 pinch(s) of salt
1 pinch(s) of pepper
0.5 tsp marjoram

Directions:

Peel the onions and chop them finely. Heat the rapeseed oil in a pan and fry the onions in it.
Add the bay leaves, cloves and allspice. Let everything simmer for another five minutes. Then remove the pan from the stove.
Drain the white beans and put them in a measuring cup with the water and soy sauce.
Using an immersion blender, mash the beans until they have a mushy consistency.
Pick the cloves and bay leaves from the pan. Stir the onions into the bean paste.
Depending on the desired consistency, you can further puree the lard with the onions. If you prefer coarser pieces, this step isn’t necessary.
Season the lard with salt, pepper, and marjoram to taste. Pour the finished onion lard into a mason jar.

Vegan lard: tips for preparation

The vegan onion lard is ready in just 15 minutes. You can prepare it ahead of time and store it in the fridge. The lard can be kept for several days in this way. With the following preparation tips, the lard is not only delicious, but also sustainable:

When shopping, pay attention to the organic quality. The Demeter seal, the Bioland seal and the Naturland seal are particularly recommended, as they represent strict guidelines.
Buy preferably regional and seasonal ingredients. In this way you can support local providers, avoid long transport routes and reduce CO2 emissions. White beans originally come from tropical areas. However, Europe is now one of the main growing regions. Since they grow all year round, you can prepare the onion lard for every season. Onions are in season in Germany from June to October. But you can buy them all year round from German storage. You can find out when which fruit and vegetables are seasonal in Germany in our seasonal calendar.
You can refine and vary the vegan lard with different ingredients. For example, chickpeas or kidney beans are an alternative to white beans. Garlic, chilli or cumin also give the lard a whole new taste.
The vegan onion lard is delicious and versatile. You can use it to fry for stir-fries or stews. It also tastes delicious as a dip or as a spread. Sometimes lard is also used in baking recipes.

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Food

Pick Wild Fruit From Nature or Grow It Yourself: Here’s How It Works

Don’t buy fruit but pick it yourself? That is possible because there is a lot of wild fruit that grows in Europe. In this article, you will find out what it is and how you can process it further.

Wild fruit in Europe: what, where, and when you pick it best

There is a lot of wild fruit in Germany that you can pick yourself. These include, among others:

Blackberry (May-June)
Elder (May-June: flowers, August-October: berries)
Pear (June-July)
wild plum (July-August)
Raspberry (depending on species; July-October)
Sea Buckthorn (August-October)
Quince (September)
Sloe (November-December)
You have probably already seen or heard of most of the varieties mentioned, but of course there are also some other varieties that are not so common.

Once you have found out what sorts there are, you can go and pick them. However, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

While you are allowed to pick in public areas such as parks, forests and fields, it is forbidden in nature reserves and on designated private property. Also, try not to pick along roads or next to chemically treated fields, as the wild fruit you find there may be contaminated with pollutants
Harvest only fully ripe fruit, because once picked they will no longer ripen
Only take as much of the wild fruit with you as you really need to avoid unnecessary food waste.
So that you don’t go out completely without a plan and look for possibly edible wild fruit, there is a website called Mundraub. On the website you will find a directory of different places where you can find wild fruit. Herbs, nuts and groups of other “mouth predators” are also listed. You can also look out for trees or bushes that are marked with a yellow band. As a result, the private owners invite you to pick them, as they cannot eat the entire harvest themselves.

So you can plant wild fruit yourself

Instead of picking wild fruit from nature, you can also plant it yourself. Of course you need a (Schreber) garden for that. Then think about the following:

What wild fruit would you like to plant?
In what form would you like to do this, for example a hedge or a tree?
What are the requirements for the wild fruit you want to plant and how does it grow in the nest?
Once you’ve done that, you can start planting.

If you don’t have your own (allotment) garden, just a balcony, that’s no problem either. You can also plant wild fruit plants such as wild strawberries, blueberries or cranberries on the balcony. More on this here: Creating a balcony garden: Simple step-by-step instructions and growing fruit on the balcony and terrace.

Wild fruit recipes to try

When you harvest wild fruit fresh, you often end up with large amounts of fruit. You can process them in different ways.

The most common methods are in the form of jam, compote, cake, juice or jelly. You can also boil the fruit to make it last longer.

Some wild fruit varieties also help against certain ailments in processed form. For example you can:

Dry blueberries and then use them against diarrhea
Juice elderberry, which relieves feverish colds
Prepare sloe juice, which helps with loss of appetite

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