Artichokes look like one of the most intimidating vegetables to grace the shelves of any supermarket. A widely consumed vegetable throughout the Mediterranean, it's actually a member of the thistle family, as you might probably guess from its thick, almost thorn-like “leaves” and tough outer skin. ...

When we talk about capers, we're referring to the flower buds of the Capparis spinosa (caper bush) perennial plant (ie. living longer than 2-years) that are usually salted, pickled and used to garnish and season dishes. Capers are native to the Mediterranean basin. They are produced mainly in ...

Natto is a Japanese speciality made of fermented soybeans. Legend says that it was discovered a thousand years ago (around 1051 AD) and was studied for the first time in 1894 by Dr. Kikuji Yabe (at the University of Tokyo) referring to it as "vegetable cheese". In 1980 the nattokinase enzyme, a ...

White tea - what is it? It might sound like a milky cup of English Breakfast, but White Tea is actually a particular strain of green tea made from the Camellia sinensis plant, that gets its name from the ripeness of the leaves; picked just before they fully open, they are covered in tiny white ...

Miso (みそ or 味噌) is a traditional Japanese and Chinese fermented ingredient that has been used for centuries. Its paste is made by fermenting soybeans with koji (fungus) and salt (sometimes other ingredients like rice, millet and barley may be added). There are many different types of Miso mainly ...

As we have seen with kimchi, fermented foods date back a long way. It seems that the Romans already mentioned preserving turnips and cabbage with salt. Sauerkraut originated from China and was then “exported” to Europe, some claim, by the Tartars who changed the original recipe a bit by ...

Olives. Something we know all about, right? Wrong! Olives come in a wide array of forms, fermentation/growth processes, and with those come varying yet glorious advantages. Olive trees grow most typically in hotter climates as the soil in coastal areas suits them better. Greece is the country most ...

Black sesame is a small black seed also referred to as 'Hei Zhi Ma' in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It originated in Africa, and its oil was praised in Babylon and Assyria times some four thousand years ago. According to an Assyrian legend, the gods were even drinking sesame-based wine ...

Kimchi (김치 in Korean) is a traditional Korean side dish made from fermented and salted vegetables, scallions and different seasonings such as garlic, chilli powder, ginger, salted seafood (jeotgal). There are hundreds of kimchi varieties with the most popular probably being the napa cabbage and ...

The overconsumption of processed sugar and carbohydrate intake make us look today at alternatives to sugar. Alternatives still have sugar but they are easier for your body to process. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently dropped the recommended daily allowance of sugar from 10% to 5%. ...

You may be wondering - gunpowder tea, really? Well, gunpowder tea is a strain of Chinese green tea which literally translates as “pearl tea” in English. It gets its rather unique sounding name from the way it looks; the tea is rolled up into tight pellets and is often said to resemble the look of ...

Lecithin is usually derived from soy or sunflower, it is rich in choline and is often used as a food additive as an emulsifier, allowing to mix fats with water, making it also very useful for the cosmetic industry. It was first isolated in egg yolks, in 1850 and can also be found in peas and ...