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Mohnstriezel Recipe: This is How It Works

Mohnstriezel is a sweet pastry from Silesia. It is traditionally eaten at Christmas or Easter. We show you a delicious recipe with a vegan version.

Originally Mohnstriezel comes from the former Silesia. The area is now mostly in Poland. The Silesian Mohnstriezel are still served in these regions as a traditional pastry at Easter or Christmas. They consist of a sweet yeast dough filled with poppy seeds or almonds. There are also delicious sprinkles and a sweet glaze. You too can make the Silesian Mohnstriezel yourself. We will show you a recipe for the sweet pastry with a vegan version.

Pay attention to the organic quality of the ingredients. In this way you can support species-appropriate animal husbandry and avoid chemical-synthetic pesticides. Above all, we can recommend the organic seals from Demeter, Bioland and Naturland, as they comply with stricter criteria than the EU organic guidelines. Also, make sure to buy eggs without chick shredding.

Buy ingredients that are locally and seasonally sourced. This avoids long transport routes and reduces global CO2 emissions. You can also support local providers in your region.

Mohnstriezel: The recipe

Ingredients:

600 gwheat flour
42 g yeast
630 mlmilk
230 g butter
260 gsugar
1vanilla bean
0.5 untreated lemon
100 g marzipan raw mass
2 tablespoons starch
1 egg
180 g blue poppy seeds
100 gicing sugar

Directions:

Put 500 grams of flour in a large mixing bowl and make a small well in the middle.
Crumble the yeast and pour it into the well.
Heat 130 milliliters of milk until lukewarm. Pour the warm milk over the yeast and let it soak briefly.
Cut 150 grams of butter into flakes and add them to the mixing bowl.
Now add 100 grams of sugar and process the ingredients with the hand mixer to form an even dough. Cover and let the dough rise for about an hour.
In the meantime, you can make the sprinkles. Put the remaining flour and 80 grams of sugar in a bowl.
Halve the vanilla bean and carefully scrape out the pulp with a knife. Put this in the bowl as well.
Wash the lemon thoroughly and grate half of the lemon zest into the bowl.
Now add the remaining butter in flakes and mix the ingredients into a crumbly dough. You can put the finished crumbles in the fridge.
Then it’s time for the filling. To do this, cut the raw marzipan into small pieces. Pour the marzipan into a pot.
Pour half of the remaining milk into a measuring cup. Whisk together the cornstarch or cornstarch substitute and egg until smooth.
Heat the marzipan with the remaining milk and sugar. Stir constantly so it doesn’t burn. Let the ingredients boil up briefly.
Then take the marzipan off the stove and stir in the blue poppy seeds and the milk with starch. Reheat the filling and keep stirring until you get a smooth mass. Then let them cool down.
On a floured work surface, roll out the dough into an oval shape.
Spread the poppy seed filling evenly over the pastry base. Roll up the Striezel from the two longer sides towards the middle.
Place the finished Mohnstriezel on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Spread the crumbles evenly over the pastry and press lightly.
Bake the Mohnstriezel at 180 degrees top and bottom heat for about 45 to 50 minutes. Then let it cool down completely.
Halve the lemon. Use the half that you already scraped off the skin. Squeeze out the juice from this lemon half and stir in the icing sugar (tip: make your own icing sugar). Brush the cooled Mohnstriezel with the glaze as you like.

Mohnstriezel: Tips for the preparation

The Silesian Mohnstriezel need a certain resting and baking time. However, the effort is worth it for the tasty treat. With a little practice and patience, even baking beginners can prepare the sweet Striezel. The following tips will help you with a sustainable, varied or even vegan preparation:

Blue poppy consists of the seeds of the opium poppy. It contains alkaloids that are used in the production of intoxicants and narcotics. The well-known morphine is also obtained from the opium poppy. The poppy seeds usually do not contain morphine, but they can become contaminated with it during harvest. The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment therefore recommends a maximum intake of 6.3 micrograms of morphine per day and kilogram. This corresponds to around 94.5 grams of poppy seeds per day for a person weighing 60 kilograms.
Vanilla originally comes from Mexico. Madagascar is now the largest cultivation area for vanilla beans. Unfortunately, pods from Germany or Europe are not available. Since the vanilla has to travel long distances, you should use it sparingly. Consume them consciously and preferably buy them with the Fairtrade seal.
You can refine the Mohnstriezel with various ingredients. For example, healthy raisins, almonds or other chopped nuts taste great in the filling. Jam or pieces of apple also give the filling a whole new taste. If you replace the wheat flour with wholemeal spelled flour, your pastries will be more nutritious and rich in fibre. However, the dough may need more liquid.
If you want your Striezel to be less sweet, you can reduce the sugar as you like.
You can also prepare your Mohnstriezel vegan. Replace the milk with plant-based milk and the butter with vegan margarine. You can use an egg substitute instead of eggs.

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Cooking Tips

Plant Buckthorn and How It Works

The buckthorn is ideal for a natural garden as its flowers provide food for many native animals. In this article we will show you how to plant the tree and what medicinal effects its berries have.

The buckthorn is a native plant that, as a valuable habitat for birds and insects, is of particular importance for the preservation of biodiversity. You will find it in the form of dense hedges and bushes, especially in alluvial forests, sparse forests and at the edges of forests. Butterflies, wild bees and many other insects feed on the flowers and leaves of the buckthorn. The buckthorn gets its German name from its thorns, which sit at the end of the short shoots and overlap with the branches in a cross shape. From September onwards, the deciduous tree bears pea-sized black drupes, which birds like to eat. The raw fruits are poisonous for humans, in dried form they are known in folk medicine as a strong natural laxative.

Planting buckthorn: This is how you do it right

As an ecologically valuable tree species, the buckthorn enhances every natural garden. With its dense branches, it offers birds and other animals a safe retreat in your garden. You can plant the robust shrub on its own or grow it together with honeysuckle, dog rose or dogwood to form a wild hedge. Before you plant buckthorn, you should consider the following tips:

Location: The buckthorn thrives best in a sunny spot in the garden. But you can also successfully plant the robust woody plant in semi-shade. Blazing sun and wind do not bother the buckthorn. In too shady locations, its leaves are slightly larger.
Soil: In the wild, buckthorn grows on stony, loamy and gravel soils. In the garden, it loves well-drained soil with a high lime content. Even slightly damp soil is no problem for him – only permanently wet roots can cause the shrub to die.
When to plant: You can get young buckthorn plants from well-stocked garden shops. There they are usually offered in plant containers or as bales. In theory, you can plant the buckthorn in pots all year round, as long as there is no frost on the ground. If you buy the tree as a root ball, it is best to put it in the ground in spring or autumn.

Plant buckthorn correctly:

First, dip the buckthorn root ball in a bucket of water. As soon as no more air bubbles rise, the young plant is sufficiently watered.
If you want to plant the buckthorn as a hedge, dig several planting holes about two meters apart. Make sure that the holes are at least as wide and deep as the root ball.
Place the young plants in the holes. With baled goods, make sure that no soil trickles down when you lift the plant. Untie the top of the bale cloth so that it doesn’t hinder the growth of the buckthorn and has a better chance of rotting later.
Mix the excavated soil with some compost and pour the mixture back into the hole.
Press down the top layer of soil and water the buckthorn generously at the end.
By the way: the buckthorn has very strong, deep roots with many runners. That’s why you can use it to fasten embankments and slopes.

Proper care for the buckthorn

In the right location and with the right care, the buckthorn can grow up to six meters high. Fortunately, like most wild trees, buckthorn is relatively undemanding and therefore fits well in a low-maintenance garden. With the following care tips, the wood grows particularly vigorously:

Watering: You rarely have to water the buckthorn, as it prefers to be only moderately moist. Therefore, always check first whether the top layer of soil has dried before you water the wood. Since buckthorn is sensitive to limescale, you should water it with stagnant tap water or rainwater from the barrel. In winter you should water the shrub even more sparingly and just make sure that the soil does not dry out completely.
Fertilizer: In theory, buckthorn does well without additional fertilizer if you mix some compost under the soil when planting.
Pruning: Buckthorn trees usually do not need a topiary. You can remove broken or dead branches at any time. Note, however, that the buckthorn copes with pruning measures less and less with increasing age and then no longer sprout so strongly.

Buckthorn: Native plant with a strong laxative effect

In the vernacular, buckthorn is also known as purging buckthorn because of the laxative effect of its fruits. Once dried, the fruits were used as a laxative and for blood purification. However, the medical journal PTAheute advises against using the berries in this way because their effects are difficult to regulate. Smaller amounts can cause painful side effects such as vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea. This strong reaction is caused by anthraquinone glycosides contained in the fruit. These substances inhibit the absorption of water in the intestine and at the same time ensure that more water flows into the intestinal tract. In this way, the pressure in the intestine increases.

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French Press Instructions: This is How The Preparation Works

A cheap alternative to conventional coffee preparation is the French Press. We will explain how the French press works and what the pot has to do with France, Denmark and Italy.

What is a french press?

With a French press, also known as a press pot or coffee press, you can easily prepare coffee with hot water and ground coffee. The hot drink is prepared directly in the pot, which can also be used as a serving vessel. This method is called the full immersion method. In contrast to the pour-over method, in which water is poured over the coffee powder, with the full immersion method the ground coffee is directly in the water.

Where does the stamp pot come from?

As the name suggests, the device was invented in France around 1850. However, the pot was not patented until 1929 by the Italian Attilio Calimani. The shape we know today was only introduced to the market in the 1970s by the Danish manufacturer Bodum.

How is a French Press constructed?

Every French press is basically the same. Only the design varies from model to model. In most cases, a French press is made of glass, but there are also variants made of stainless steel or directly as a thermos flask. French presses are commercially available in different sizes from 0.35 to 1.5 liters filling volume. It consists of a holder in which a mostly glass, removable jug sits. A press stamp is integrated in the lid, on which a metal sieve is located. When preparing the coffee, the plunger is pressed down and the coffee grounds are separated from the finished coffee through the sieve.

How does the preparation of coffee in a French press work?

With the French Press, the coffee is ready to serve within minutes. All you need is hot water and ground coffee.

Ingredients required for 1 liter of coffee from the French Press:

Coffee beans for 60 grams of coffee powder
1 L of water with a temperature of about 96 degrees

Step 1: grind the coffee beans

The degree of grinding should not be too fine for preparation in a French press. Choose a medium to coarse grind. As a guide: The degree of grinding should be similar to that for filter coffee. If you don’t have a coffee grinder, you can also buy ready-made coffee powder. However, be sure to pay attention to the degree of grinding when buying.

Step 2: Boil the water

Before the water comes into contact with the ground coffee, the temperature should be around 86 to 96 degrees. Too high a temperature would result in a bitter taste.

Step 3: Fill in the coffee powder

Check the capacity of your French Press and how much coffee you want to prepare. As a guideline: If you have a pot with a capacity of one liter, put 60 grams of coffee powder in the French press. Then pour the appropriately tempered water completely into the pot. Make sure all the powder is wetted and don’t stir the mixture.

Step 4: Break open the crust

After four minutes, break up the crust that has formed on the liquid with a spoon. This process interrupts the extraction and most of the coffee powder sinks to the bottom.

Step 5: Continue Infusing (Optional)

Then wait five to eight minutes again. During this time, the fines (fine coffee particles) and the coarse particles of the coffee grounds sink to the bottom. This will make the cup a little clearer. However, this is only a recommendation and not a must. The coffee itself is ready to serve after four minutes of extraction (step 4). The longer you let the coffee steep, the stronger it gets. Of course, you can also influence the intensity of the coffee by choosing the coffee beans.

Step 6: Press down the stamp

Place the lid on the jug using the stamp press. Press down slowly and steadily using only the weight of your arm. This prevents the coffee powder from being stirred up again and nothing sloshing out.

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Pumpkin Spice Latte: This is How The Recipe Works

Cozy afternoons can be perfectly enjoyed with a Pumpkin Spice Latte. We explain why pumpkin coffee is so popular, where it comes from and how you can easily make it yourself.

What is a Pumpkin Spice Latte?

A Pumpkin Spice Latte is a coffee variation that is essentially made with espresso or strong coffee, pumpkin puree, spices and milk froth. Depending on the season, mainly autumnal spices such as cinnamon or cloves are used.

The drink was made famous by the American coffee chain Starbucks, which offers the drink in its branches every year around Halloween. The first Pumpkin Spice Latte went over the counter in January 2003. At that time, the company tried to extend the Christmas season with the drink by launching a hot drink with Christmas spices.

Since the drink was very well received by customers, but the pumpkin season generally begins in autumn, the decision was subsequently made to sell the pumpkin coffee in the branches as early as September. Since then, the Pumpkin Spice Latte has developed into a real cult drink that is so popular that Starbucks was already offering the drink in selected branches in mid-August.

This is how the Pumpkin Spice Latte works

If you are looking for a pumpkin and coffee recipe to take home, you’ve come to the right place. The recipe is quite simple, but requires some preparation if you want to make all the ingredients yourself.

List of ingredients for about 0.4 l Pumpkin Spice Latte:

1-2 tbsp fine pumpkin puree
1 tsp Pumpkin Spice spice mix
2 tbsp agave syrup
Milk/milk alternative for milk froth
espresso
Options:
Coffee syrup for refining or sweetening, such as vanilla or caramel

Step 1: Prepare the pumpkin puree

In the USA you can get the ready-made pumpkin puree in almost every supermarket. In Germany you can occasionally find the puree at the weekly market or in some delicatessens. You can also easily prepare pumpkin puree yourself in just three steps:
cut pumpkin
Cut a Hokkaido pumpkin into four equal parts and remove the seeds.
Cook Pumpkin
Put the pieces, including the peel, in boiling water and leave them there for around 15 to 20 minutes.
puree
Using a hand blender, mash the soft pumpkin pieces into a puree.
Storage Tip: You’ll probably need a lot less puree than you get from a whole squash. But that doesn’t matter. If you pack the puree airtight, it will keep in the fridge for about a week for further processing. Of course, you can also plan ahead and store the finished puree in the freezer.

Step 2: Preparation of the spice mixture

The listed ingredients for our pumpkin recipe can be found in almost every supermarket or easily ordered online. You can also make the spice mixture yourself and create your own individual taste. Depending on your preference, you can change the proportion accordingly. To make it, simply mix the following ground ingredients together:
3 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp nutmeg
1.5 tsp allspice
1 tsp cloves

Step 3: Prepare Pumpkin Spice Latte

Now the ingredients for the pumpkin coffee can finally be mixed together:
Pour pumpkin puree into a glass
Prepare a large glass and fill it with 1-2 tablespoons of fine pumpkin puree. To get it particularly fine, you can scrape it through a sieve into the glass again.
mix ingredients
Take a small bowl and mix 1 teaspoon of the spice mixture with the 2 tablespoons of agave syrup. Then spread the mixture over the pumpkin puree.
Add milk froth
In the next step you need milk foam. You can open it yourself or get it quickly and easily from a fully automatic coffee machine. Then add the milk froth to the glass.
Add espresso
Now it is important to make a particularly strong espresso. This is only possible with the help of a fully automatic machine or portafilter. A strong coffee can be made with an espresso maker, for example. Now pour the espresso into the glass very slowly so that the individual layers do not mix with each other. This creates a great visual effect when serving.
Stir
The Pumpkin Spice Latte is ready and ready to be enjoyed. Just before drinking, you should stir the drink well with a long-handled spoon so that all the ingredients mix together and the typical pumpkin taste can unfold.
Optional: Add syrup and cream
If you would like to refine your pumpkin coffee, you can optionally add cream to the PSL as a topping or add coffee syrup instead of agave syrup.

Vegan Pumpkin Coffee

For the vegan variant of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, you can also easily become a milk alternative. Soy milk or oat milk are best suited for frothing. Rice, coconut, almond or spelled milk are less suitable. After all, the milk froth is an essential part of the pumpkin latte. But in the end it’s a matter of taste.

Pumpkin Spice Latte without coffee – the version for children

For people who don’t want to drink coffee, malt coffee is an alternative preparation option. It’s actually not real coffee, since it’s made from grain, but the taste is similar and the pumpkin malt coffee is also very tasty. So that it doesn’t get too sweet, you can also do without the agave syrup and use honey instead.

How many calories does a Pumpkin Spice Latte have?

You may have guessed it: Starbucks finished PSL is anything but a diet drink. A 12 ounce Tall cup contains approximately 300 calories. The calories of the Pumpkin Spice Latte are divided into about 10 g of fat and 40 g of sugar, which corresponds to about 10 sugar cubes. This increases the daily energy requirement. If you prepare the coffee with pumpkin puree at home, you can of course control the addition of sugar and fat. This delicious and homemade alternative is not quite as impressive. A glass (250 ml) with fine puree and 1.5% milk has approx. 135 Kcal.

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Latte Art: This is How Barista Art Works

How does the heart actually get into the milk froth of a cappuccino? Anyone who has always wondered how the artistic motifs get into the milk crown of a coffee drink will find out all the important information about latte art in this article.

What is latte art?

Latte art is the predominant method for creating beautiful patterns and decorations on the surface of coffee. By pouring the milk froth – or the milk – in a special way, patterns and images are worked into the surface of the drink. Popular patterns are the heart, the fern leaf and the swan. The motifs can even be combined with a little practice.

In addition to simple pouring, there are also many tools that can be used for more precise and extensive creations. For example, pens, stencils or chocolate syrup can be used. The master of latte art is the so-called barista. He is responsible for artistic and tasty coffee creations. In the meantime, even championships for the most beautiful latte art are held.

Dense crema thanks to Robusta

Since the espresso is first poured into the bulbous cup, the crema should have a thick consistency and a hazelnut-brown colour. In this way, optimal motifs can be created in it. If a part of Robusta is in the coffee beans, a stable crema should succeed. The slightly reduced oil content compared to Arabica is an advantage here.

Milk (alternative) needs protein

The quality of the milk foam plays an important role so that the barista can fully develop his artistic streak, after all, the foam is the artist’s canvas. The milk froth must be of optimal consistency, temperature and density.

Which milk or milk alternative is used to prepare the milk froth can be decided individually. The most important thing is the protein content. The protein gives the foam its stability and density. The fat content makes the milk foam creamy and looks good.

Many prefer fresh whole milk, but condensed milk and UHT milk work just as well. Milk alternatives are also suitable for producing a nice milk froth. Frothing works particularly well with soy, oat, almond or spelled milk. We even recorded this in an in-house test.

In general, care should be taken to ensure that the milk froth has a dense, creamy consistency that is not too firm.

Equipment needed

Mastering latte art is a lot harder than it first appears. The barista needs:

Espresso, either from the portafilter or the fully automatic coffee machine
Milk frother or a steam wand
milk jug
Bulbous cup, e.g. for cappuccino

Good to know: milk can be foamed on professional fully automatic machines or produced manually using a steam lance. Both are possible.
The cup should ideally have a round bottom and open upwards. A wide opening offers space for pouring in the motifs. The ideal size for the milk jug is 0.6 to 1 liter. The espresso is now used as the basis for the new coffee creation. The actual work begins with pouring the milk froth.

Step 1: Frothing the milk

For frothing, the milk jug should only be filled halfway, as the volume can quickly double during the frothing process. In addition, the milk should be chilled before frothing, as the milk froth must not be warmer than 60 to 70 degrees. Otherwise it will fall apart.

The most important factor in frothing is the pulling and rolling movement of the milk in the jug. It doesn’t matter whether the milk is set in motion via the frother of the portafilter machine or by means of an electric milk frother. First, air is drawn under the surface of the milk. The rotation of the milk distributes the air in the milk and creates foam. For even better creaminess, the milk froth is then swirled around. You can find out more about this in our article on milk foam.

Step 2: Pour in the milk froth

Incidentally, after frothing, pouring should be done quite quickly, since the foam and milk can separate again within about 20 seconds. The desired pattern is now created when pouring the milk froth into the espresso.

The cup with the espresso must be held at a 45 degree angle. Begin pouring from the deepest part of the cup, pouring in the frothed milk in a circular motion to create a base. The crema rises to the edge of the cup and the color is a nice, even brown. Now place the pot with the spout close to the surface of the coffee and carefully pour the pattern into the crema. The angle of the cup becomes smaller and smaller until the cup is full.

The most popular motifs for latte art

Not every motif is equally suitable for learning latte art. We have compiled a few of the most popular milk froth artworks per level for you here.

beginner

The following works of art are ideal for beginners:
heart
Sun
shamrock

Advanced

If you already have some barista skills, then you will like these motifs:
fern leaf
Rosette
star

professional

The absolute latte art professionals can be recognized by these motifs in the coffee:
swan
Angel

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Food

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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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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