Chinese mustard is a condiment made with brown mustard seeds, which come from a variety of mustard plant called Brassica juncea. It is a relative of the plant that gives us black mustard, called Brassica nigra and the plant that …
Boldo leaves have been used in South American folk medicine for centuries. The boldo plant is native to parts of Chile and Peru. Archaeologists have found evidence that people in Southern Chile were using boldo leaves more than 12,000 years …
The gyro is a Greek sandwich served on pita bread. The Greek word gyro means spin, which is what the meat does as it is being cooked on its vertical spit. The gyro meat cooks as it turns and the …
The cacao plant had been cultivated for centuries in Central America before Europeans encountered it in the 1600s. It would eventually prove very popular in Europe over the following century. By the 1800s, Europeans were very familiar with chocolate. Even …
Avocado oil is a relatively new phenomenon when it comes to culinary oils. It has become a trendy oil because of a unique set of properties such as its high smoke point — the temperature at which it begins smoking …
Getting the right flavor profile for Thai cuisine can be difficult, especially if you have limited experience cooking Thai dishes. The right flavors require that you know how to use the most common Thai spices. Here is a look at …
Avocado is a member of the laurel family, which also provides us with bay leaves and cinnamon. Botanically speaking, the avocado fruit is considered a berry. There is archaeological evidence of wild avocados being gathered and consumed 10,000 years ago …
Like many New World food cultures, Peru’s cuisine features blends of local and Old World seasonings. The flavor profiles of Peruvian dishes can be complex, pungent and heavy on the herbs. Here is a look at the most popular spices …