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The Giving Season is Upon Us
Every year Christmas seems to sneak earlier into the year, whether we’re aware of it or not the advertising starts and we subconsciously begin planning for the big day. How many people do I need to buy for? What the heck do I get Dad who has everything? Who’s hosting? Do I have to get a gift for all the cousins? Where has all my money gone? Another Christmas party? It’s coming, slowly but surely, it’s coming!! The lights are going up, the occasional dash of red, green and gold is appearing in storefronts. An unexpected mannequin Santa all dressed in red, belt barely holding his rotund belly in …. I was happy to see him but seriously?? It’s October. Every year Christmas seems to sneak earlier into the year, whether we’re aware of it or not the advertising starts and we subconsciously begin planning for the big day. How many people do I need to buy for? What the heck do I get Dad who has everything? Who’s hosting? Do I have to get a gift for all the cousins? Where has all my money gone? Another Christmas party? Whether in the Northern or Southern hemisphere, the holiday season is infectious. But the snow and mulled wine, or sunburn and BBQ’s can also bring a lot of stress. We are a very consumer-based society and every year it takes up far too much of my time brainstorming what to get everyone. Kids are relatively easy to buy for, there’s always a few hints (in our family it’s a list) of things that hopefully Santa will bring. It’s the adults where it gets tricky, often they have everything they want – at least everything that fits in my budget. During my brainstorming moments, I tend to think back over previous gifts I’ve received that have given me the warmest, fuzzy feelings and it’s always the thoughtful ones that stand out. Homemade gifts are hands down a winner for me, if I know that someone has given up their time to lovingly create something, it’s priceless. It’s also a significantly more enjoyable way to go about Christmas shopping. The throngs of people in the malls or sweeping down the streets, all with the same steely mindset – I will not go home until I’ve found the perfect thing for Sarah or John or whoever it may be. Literally my worst nightmare. This year rather than traipsing the streets or the internet, why not use your Mad Millie kit to create something? Or get someone a kit that you can enjoy together? With cheese, vegan cheese, ginger beer, lager, sauerkraut and chocolate to choose from there are a multitude of options. We’ve been doing a bit of brainstorming ourselves and have come up with some inspiration for you. Recipes coming on the blog in a few weeks! For those of you lucky enough to be proud owners of a ginger beer or lager kit, now is the time to start planning ahead. Both kits involve steps over a few weeks for fermentation and ageing, you will need to purchase bottles (we think the flip tops are best for gifting) and make sure you still have everything in your kit. Have a look online if you need top-ups, all available through the Mad Millie website. If you want to get really organised there is no harm in starting early and popping your products in the fridge when they're ready. Don't forget to make an extra one for yourself, taste testing is essential!
The Benefits of Kefir
Kefir is a delicious fermented beverage, similar in flavour to yoghurt with a tart, sour taste but is a thinner consistency and with a slight fizz due to the fermentation process. Fermented foods are becoming more popular as people gain a greater understanding of gut health and the benefits of good bacteria and yeast. Kefir is a delicious fermented beverage that originates from the mountainous region between Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia. The name originates from the Turkish word keyif which means ‘feeling good’. It is similar in flavour to yoghurt with a tart, sour taste but is a thinner consistency and with a slight fizz due to the fermentation process. • Kefir contains an abundance of good bacteria, yeast, vitamins and minerals. If made with milk it is also a good source of calcium and protein. • Consumers choose to drink kefir as it contains more strains of beneficial bacteria than other cultured products like yoghurt. • Kefir consumption is on the rise due to the increasing associations of good bacteria or probiotics and the beneficial effects on overall health. • Kefir can be made with milk, soy milk, coconut water or juice depending on your preference. Kefir can be drunk as a beverage, used as a base for smoothies or added to your cereal. Without using any heat (this will kill the good bacteria) it can also be used to accompany baking, as an ingredient for dips, salad dressing, a dollop into some soup, the options are endless! Mad Millie Kefir Culture contains 7 different strains of bacteria and one strain of yeast. Because it is a culture rather than grains it is perfect for those that want to try and make kefir without having to maintain their kefir grains. The culture can be reused one to two times – that’s up to 2 L (2 US qt) of kefir for every kefir culture packet! To make kefir the culture is added to a glass jar and then whatever you choose to use (milk, juice, coconut water etc) added on top. Give it a mix, cover it up with a cheesecloth, leave it at room temperature for 24 hours or until it has reached your desired tartness and voila! During that time the bacteria and yeast in the culture will have had time to ferment the sugars and the bacteria can proliferate and grow. After the 24 hours pop it into the fridge and use it as you desire.
Cacao or Cocoa?
Cacao powder, cacao butter, natural cocoa powder, dutch cocoa powder, cacao and cocoa nibs – just one or two of the delicious products that we extract from the cacao bean. But what is really the difference between them all – specifically cacao and cocoa? Cacao vs Cocoa? Cacao powder, cacao butter, natural cocoa powder, dutch cocoa powder, cacao and cocoa nibs – just one or two of the delicious products that we extract from the cacao bean. But what is really the difference between them all – specifically cacao and cocoa? With the release of our new Raw Cacao Chocolate Kit, we thought we better explain so when you’re popping out to get top up ingredients, you know what to look for. The answer is in the processing (as it so often is). Both raw cacao and cocoa originate from the same place, the fruit of the Theobroma cacao tree. Once the fruit is harvested the two processes change. Raw cacao powder uses cold processing. Cocoa powder uses hot processing. Both products are low in fat as they have the cacao butter separated out right at the start of the process; it is the manner of separation that provides the difference. With the cold pressed process, the nutrients that are naturally present in cacao beans are not impacted in any way. The calcium, magnesium, iron and antioxidants are still all right there readily available to be absorbed by us. This is why the nutrient rich cacao powder is a superfood. Don’t get me wrong, I love anything with cocoa. Whether it’s chocolate cake, mousse, truffles, chocolate bars, a hot chocolate. The list goes on and on, however, the more I learn about raw cacao the more I try to substitute it in whenever I can. Cocoa powder is roasted at high temperatures, this will impact flavour (in a good way depending on what you’re after) and will reduce the levels of antioxidants and nutritional benefits. There are two main types of cocoa powder – Natural and Dutch. The Natural cocoa powder is still quite bitter as its only treatment is the heat and pressing. When baking or cooking this will tend to be partnered with leavening agents e.g. baking soda to help neutralise the pH. Dutch cocoa powder, on the other hand, has already been neutralised during the processing steps. It’s easily recognisable due to its darker colour and earthy flavour profile and will generally be partnered with baking powder which is also neutral. With that information why wouldn’t you choose cacao powder over cocoa? It very nearly justifies chocolate (made with cacao) as a healthy snack. Or at least a less guilty treat!
Cheese Guide for Lactose Intolerance
The extent to which someone is lactose intolerant varies from person to person, but being sensitive to cheese doesn't mean you should avoid cheese completely. Cheese Guide for Lactose Intolerance The extent to which someone is lactose intolerant varies from person to person, but being sensitive to cheese doesn't mean you should avoid cheese completely. Lactose is a sugar found in milk. This sugar is consumed by certain lactic acid bacteria cultures causing milk pH to decrease due to the production of lactic acid. The majority of lactose is found in the whey, and low levels can remain after manufacture. Soft cheeses contain more lactose as the majority of the whey is kept. Look out for cheese with fewer grams of sugar. If you wish to explore your lactose intolerance I would suggest starting with aged and hard cheeses. Aged and hard cheese can be digested by most people with lactose intolerance. In the production of hard cheeses, much of the whey is released thereby giving the cheese far less lactose compared to a fresh cheese. In addition, during cheese ripening, remaining lactose gets metabolised to lactate which then gets utilised by other microorganisms making way to a series of other chemical reactions in the cheese. Below is a list of cheeses you should avoid if you are lactose intolerant and ones that you could try. Avoid: Cottage Cheese Cream Cheese Feta Mozzarella Ricotta Try: Camembert Cheddar Havarti Blue Vein Gorgonzola All the above cheeses can be made at home by using our Mad Millie Cheese Kits, click here to view our range. Using lactose-free milk with our kits Based on our trials, lactose-free milk worked well with feta, cream cheese, ricotta, camembert, blue cheese, hard cheeses, but not so good with halloumi and mozzarella. Halloumi turned out to be floury in texture and had a grainy appearance, while mozzarella was granular and dense and it didn’t stretch as well as expected.