Culinary, cooking, food and restaurant

When you’re planning an all inclusive holiday to Majorca, perhaps the last thing on your mind is the excellent food available while out there. Obviously the beaches, sunshine and activities are at the forefront of your mind at this stage, but you’ll be relieved to hear that Majorca’s food is really good and made from local produce. The seafood, especially is fresh and flavoursome, and although it’s possible to get every type of cuisine under the sun (you can easily find an authentic curry house, or a full English breakfast in the resorts) the local Majorca cuisine is hearty, flavoursome and fairly priced. In this article, I shall outline some of the traditional foods you can expect to find on a package holiday to Majorca.

Breakfasts

Common wisdom dictates that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and whether you believe this or not, it’s best to become a temporary subscriber so you can enjoy an ensaimada each morning. These are spiral yeast buns dusted with icing sugar, and are rarely seen outside of the island, making them a popular product for tourists to fill their suitcases with when the time comes to leave the island paradise. Make sure you bring a few back when you reach the end of your all inclusive holiday to Majorca.

Light Bites

Although these are labelled as light bites, it’s very easy to come back to these Majorcan food items, making them into a whole meal and spoiling your dinner! Treats range from trampos (similar to vegetarian pizza), cocarrious (local pasties), local soups and pa’amb oli – a traditional mix of Majorcan bread, garlic, tomato and olive oil, sometimes with cheese or cured ham on top. You should definitely try these delicacies of Majorca’s cuisine during your visit to the island.

Filling Dinners

If you have managed to resist filling up on cocarrious, the main meals are sure to leave you satisfied. Pork is the main meat in Majorca’s cuisine, and the lechona asada (roast sucking pig) is a favourite for those who usually end up with eyes bigger than their stomachs. Pork also plays a big part in sobrasada (chorizo sausages) and llom amb col, an old favourite of pork wrapped in cabbage with pine nuts and raisons. Lamb is an alternative to pork based dishes, and fish eaters will delight in the fresh monkfish and bream, and may even indulge in the lobster stew on a special occasion. Another favourite in Majorcan food is ‘frit mallorqui’ – a fry up of offal, potatoes, tomatoes and onions.

All of this sounds a little worrying for vegetarians looking to find good cuisine in Majorca, but rest assured there are a number of options available for them, all using vegetables grown locally: cauliflower with raisins and pine nuts, pumpkin fritters, various mushroom dishes, and my personal favourite: tumbet, which is a ratatouille of aubergines, peppers and potatoes in olive oil.

Indulging the Sweet Tooth

Majorca’s deserts aren’t the strong point of Majorcan food, but there’s still enough here to warrant saving some space for afters. Turron is handmade nougat with local almonds, puding is the name for a desert similar to crème caramel and geixonera de brossat is delightful local cheese cake. For those without enough room, the local fruit and nuts are considered a good way to round off a meal.

…and to drink?

But to compliment Majorca’s cuisine, you need a good drink to wash it down. It seems natural for an island that was once occupied by the Romans to be big wine drinkers, and the Majorcans do not disappoint. The central plains of the island have proved excellent for grape production, with Benissalem the main village for wine. The red wine named after the settlement is particularly recommended. Elsewhere, the island also makes rather fine brandy – and you may find yourself sneaking a couple of bottles home from your package holiday to Majorca!

The flavors of Jamaica are the product of the island’s history combined with a verdant, lush climate. The Spanish, British, African and East Indian have all had an influence over what is today a unique island cuisine made colorful by the many tropical fruits that thrive here.

The waters off Jamaica have always teemed with fish and seafood is the primary protein source for islanders. Snapper, grouper, sea bass and other reef a deep sea fish are caught daily by the many fishermen whose boats line the beaches. Spiny lobster, shrimp and freshwater crustaceans are readily available and cooked usually in a thick sauce. Chicken and goats are well suited to the small mountainous island and are kept by many families but cattle are rare and beef is not the predominant meat.

Many of Jamaica’s fruits, including pineapple, mango, banana and avocado were brought to the region by slave traders and plantation owners experimenting with crops. What were once sugar cane fields are now being used to grow fruits and ackee for export and domestic use.

Few other cuisines mix such a range of spices and tastes – sweet, hot and savory – as Jamaican cooking. Jamaican food wouldn’t be the same without the spices, seasonings and colors from: Allspice, the pimento berry.

Among many of the spices grown in Jamaica are nutmeg, ginger, thyme, scotch bonnet peppers, which are integral distinct flavors of Jamaican cooking. The pungent thyme grows rampantly on the island and is found in the majority of Jamaican foods.

Favourite Jamaican foods are those for coconut cake, rum punch & beef jerky recipies.

Real Jamaican food, when cooked with feeling, is a soul-satisfying experience.

For further tips and ideas for cooking great and traditional food from around the world, visit Jamaican Recipes

This article was submitted by Jen Carter, owner of the World Recipes website.

Staple foods in the Nigerian diet include: peanuts or ground-nuts, yams, cassava, fish, rice, okra, bananas, guinea corn and millet, and palm nuts.

They are usually starchy and Nigerians love to cook with a lot of pepper and spices especially those from the southwest and southeast. This recipe uses all local ingredients to create a tasty and nourishing meal.

These recipes celebrate the traditional food of Nigeria: -

Egusi Soup

Ground Egusi seeds give this soup a unique color and flavour. If you can’t find Egusi seeds in your store, you can substitute pumpkinseeds or Pepitas, which you can find in Latin American grocery stores. This soup is thickened with flour ground from seeds of gourds, melons, pumpkins, and squashes, many of which are native to Africa.

200 g Water Leaves
50 g Egusi seeds
1 teaspoon Dry Ground Red Pepper
1 medium Onion
100ml Palm Oil
10g Dry Ground Crayfish
120g Fresh Tomatoes
100ml Water
Salt & Pepper to taste

Wash the water leaves well in clean, fresh water.
Liquidise or pulverise the onions, tomatoes and egusi seeds until smooth.
Add the dry ground pepper and fry in palm oil for five minutes.
Add the water, put the lid on and cook for five minutes.
Now add the water leaves, replace lid and cook for a further five minutes.
Finally, add the crayfish and seasoning, warming through well.

Serve with pounded yam or cooked rice and a meat stew, to provide protein.
Alternatively, serve with eba, fufu or any suitable carbohydrate.

Curried Okra

This traditional recipe for Okra (or Okro, as it is called in some part of Nigeria) is one that can be created anywhere in the world, as it uses ingredients that can be found in any local store.

The word “okra” comes from Africa and means “lady’s fingers” in Igbo, one of the languages spoken in Nigeria. Although Okra originated from Africa, it is now available around the world. Some people consider Okra alone is too gooey, but this tasty recipe makes good use of it’s properties.

When buying fresh okra, look for young pods free of bruises, tender but not soft, and no more than 4 inches long.

500g Okra
2 Onions
180g Oil
3 cloves garlic
2 Tomatoes
2 teaspoons of curry powder
½ teaspoon of turmeric
Pinch of black pepper
½ teaspoon of salt

Slice one of the onions finely and fry gently in oil.
Liquids the remaining onion, tomatoes and garlic.
Add this puree to the frying onions.
Add the spices.
Fry gently for five minutes.
Top and tail the okra and cut into pieces about 1cm thick.
Add to the spices and cook gently for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with cooked rice and a meat stew, for protein.

With thanks to the Nigerian people who made us so welcome in their homes, gave us a love of traditional Nigerian food and who helped us overcome our fear of eating with our fingers!

The combination of BatchMaster Software, for superior operational efficiencies, and Microsoft Dynamics GP for mission-critical financial management and reporting tools, will realistically address the challenges Traditions Foods seem to be facing and eliminate current barriers to their growth by diminishing incurred losses in efficiency and profits, especially as Tradition Foods enters the contract manufacturing arena, where they may need to manage potential customer supplied inventory.

Inventory Control

• BatchMaster customers have reduced out-of-stocks by understanding demand. As a result, customer satisfaction is improved and sales increased, leading to an improved margin per year.

• On the other hand, other customers were over-stocking. In such cases, customers were able to run more lean by reducing inventory levels, allowing for better cash flow.

• Inventory Turns – After implementing BatchMaster ERP, the increase averaged to 7.9 with projections of 11.2 turns per year. On-time delivery averaged to 94.6% versus the 73.9% pre ERP.

• Once a wireless warehouse system is in place, data accuracy, efficiency, and tight inventory control is simplified even further by utilizing hand held devices to scan barcodes upon receipt of goods, for bin transfers, and for shipping. When shipping multi-media data formats are also supported in the case where you may want to include a picture of a palate on the shipping documents to decrease the number of lost packages that Traditions Foods occassionally encounters.

Nutritional Information

BatchMaster is a unique ERP system; as an industry specific solution it includes a very mature lab, recipe, and nutritional analysis toolset that other ERP systems do not supply. Traditions Foods already has a standalone system in place for nutritional management, however, Tradition Foods finds great value having such features available as part of an integrated system.

Regulatory Compliance

The BatchMaster product will support Bio-Terrorism Act, FDA, HACCP, and 21 CFR Part 11 requirements to the full extent of the regulations in place.

Integrated Environment

In an integrated solution, all major departments (recipe management, production, sales, purchasing, shipping, accounting) are integrated and share a common database. This allows for management reporting and analysis for decision support and determining key performance indicators. There is also one version of the truth.

BatchMaster Software, Inc. has provided advanced ERP solutions for over two decades with more than one thousand five hundred installations worldwide. BatchMaster’s customers can be found in every formula or recipe-based business, including food, beverage, cosmetic, personal care, paint, coating, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and specialty chemical industries. Flexible, easy to learn and use, and scalable to grow with a process manufacturing business, BatchMaster is the definitive solution for the challenges facing small to midsize process manufacturers. BatchMaster has more than a hundred technical staff numbers of highly-qualified software professionals.

BatchMaster’s vice-president, Ingrid Leon noted, “To understand why the Traditions Foods’ management team selected BatchMaster ERP requires looking the choices available. The evaluation was very structured and objective; they wanted a system built for food and beverage manufacturing as well as a supplier who understood their industry and was vested in their success. Since this was a long-term investment, they wanted the ERP system selected to be built on leading not bleeding edge technology. Traditions Foods was one of the few management teams who talked about a Return-on-Investment Analysis for the project…clearly world-class thinking.”

While there are those who prefer to stick to traditional methods of cooking and traditional food, there are also classes of people who are always willing to experiment with new culinary delights! The French cuisine consists of traditional and regional dishes, as well as continental food flavored with the French ethnic touch. It is because of this that French food has become so popular in the rest of Europe, USA, for more help visit to: www.cheese-cake-recipes.com.and many other countries. This popularity has therefore led to the initiation of the French Cooking School USA.

The French Cooking School USA, an association of different schools, was inaugurated with the idea of imparting knowledge about French recipes and French delicacies to people wishing to qualify as professionals in the art of French cooking. Development of teaching skills is also a part of the program. In addition, the advancement of science and technology and schools under this association being placed at varied locations has ensured that distance poses no problem to learning.

Having earned the distinction of being the most exploratory international institution where the culinary arts and cooking are concerned, the French Cooking School USA uses varied cooking techniques unique to France and innovative recipes to provide an extraordinary learning experience for its students. The School is run by people thoroughly acquainted with French gourmet cooking as well as the essence of France’s culture. Is it any wonder then that superb masterpieces like Soufflés and Bisques have come from the French Cooking School USA?

Two of the more popular schools associated with the French Cooking School USA are the Cole Dijon Cooking School and the Cook Street School of Fine Cooking.

The Cole Dijon Cooking School conducts classes at Chef Drew Holladay Home. There are small groups of students who are scheduled to attend eight sessions of teaching. This school basically caters to cooking in the home. So people who wish to confine their culinary skills to their own homes or bring a change in their regular menus take admission here. Trained cooks demonstrate newer ways of cooking routine food to bring about variety.

The students at Cook Street School of Fine Cooking in Colorado learn specialized French cooking and how to prepare wine. Certificates are awarded at the end of the course. Though the fees demanded are quite affordable, the students get thorough training in the science of good eating. They can therefore opt for careers in culinary art. The course program imparts knowledge about the heritage of French cuisine, how a menu has to be prepared, knowledge about wines, and how an appetite for good food is to be developed.

Another school of mention associated with the French Cooking School USA, is the New School of Cooking. For more detail go to:www.cooking-groundbeef.com.An amateur takes admission and departs as a professional cook! There is the flexibility of taking up part-time, or full-time baking courses of one-year duration. Training is given by professional chefs. There is also the option of learning Italian and Asian cooking in addition to French cooking.

Thus, the French Cooking School USA provides an ideal atmosphere and learning experience for anyone desiring to master French cooking!

BatchMaster Software, Inc. has provided process manufacturing software solutions for over two decades with more than one thousand five hundred installations worldwide. BatchMaster’s customers can be found in every formula and recipe based industry segment, including food, beverage, cosmetic, personal care, paint, coating, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and specialty chemical. Some of the key benefits of using BatchMaster software include keeping accurate inventory, lot traceability and lot recall, regulatory compliance and just-in-time manufacturing resulting in lower production costs and improved customer service. Flexible, easy to learn and use, and scalable to grow with a process manufacturing business, BatchMaster is the definitive solution for the challenges facing small to midsize process manufacturers. BatchMaster team consists of over a hundred professionals, bringing on-going innovation to product offerings and serving customers as trusted advisors for all process manufacturing and supply-chain challenges.

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The combination of BatchMaster Software, for superior operational efficiencies, and Microsoft Dynamics GP for mission-critical financial management and reporting tools, will realistically address the challenges Traditions Foods seem to be facing and eliminate current barriers to their growth by diminishing incurred losses in efficiency and profits, especially as Tradition Foods enters the contract manufacturing arena, where they may need to manage potential customer supplied inventory.

Inventory Control

• BatchMaster customers have reduced out-of-stocks by understanding demand. As a result, customer satisfaction is improved and sales increased, leading to an improved margin per year.

• On the other hand, other customers were over-stocking. In such cases, customers were able to run more lean by reducing inventory levels, allowing for better cash flow.

• Inventory Turns – After implementing BatchMaster ERP, the increase averaged to 7.9 with projections of 11.2 turns per year. On-time delivery averaged to 94.6% versus the 73.9% pre ERP.

• Once a wireless warehouse system is in place, data accuracy, efficiency, and tight inventory control is simplified even further by utilizing hand held devices to scan barcodes upon receipt of goods, for bin transfers, and for shipping. When shipping multi-media data formats are also supported in the case where you may want to include a picture of a palate on the shipping documents to decrease the number of lost packages that Traditions Foods occassionally encounters.

Nutritional Information

BatchMaster is a unique ERP system; as an industry specific solution it includes a very mature lab, recipe, and nutritional analysis toolset that other ERP systems do not supply. Traditions Foods already has a standalone system in place for nutritional management, however, Tradition Foods finds great value having such features available as part of an integrated system.

Regulatory Compliance

The BatchMaster product will support Bio-Terrorism Act, FDA, HACCP, and 21 CFR Part 11 requirements to the full extent of the regulations in place.

Integrated Environment

In an integrated solution, all major departments (recipe management, production, sales, purchasing, shipping, accounting) are integrated and share a common database. This allows for management reporting and analysis for decision support and determining key performance indicators. There is also one version of the truth.

BatchMaster’s vice-president, Ingrid Leon noted, “To understand why the Traditions Foods’ management team selected BatchMaster ERP requires looking the choices available. The evaluation was very structured and objective; they wanted a system built for food and beverage manufacturing as well as a supplier who understood their industry and was vested in their success. Since this was a long-term investment, they wanted the ERP system selected to be built on leading not bleeding edge technology. Traditions Foods was one of the few management teams who talked about a Return-on-Investment Analysis for the project…clearly world-class thinking.”

BatchMaster’s vice-president, Ingrid Leon noted, “To understand why the Traditions Foods’ management team selected BatchMaster ERP requires looking the choices available. The evaluation was very structured and objective; they wanted a system built for food and beverage manufacturing as well as a supplier who understood their industry and was vested in their success. Since this was a long-term investment, they wanted the ERP system selected to be built on leading not bleeding edge technology. Traditions Foods was one of the few management teams who talked about a Return-on-Investment Analysis for the project…clearly world-class thinking.”

The combination of BatchMaster Software, for superior operational efficiencies, and Microsoft Dynamics GP for mission-critical financial management and reporting tools, will realistically address the challenges Traditions Foods seem to be facing and eliminate current barriers to their growth by diminishing incurred losses in efficiency and profits, especially as Tradition Foods enters the contract manufacturing arena, where they may need to manage potential customer supplied inventory.

Inventory Control

• BatchMaster customers have reduced out-of-stocks by understanding demand. As a result, customer satisfaction is improved and sales increased, leading to an improved margin per year.

• On the other hand, other customers were over-stocking. In such cases, customers were able to run more lean by reducing inventory levels, allowing for better cash flow.

• Inventory Turns – After implementing BatchMaster ERP, the increase averaged to 7.9 with projections of 11.2 turns per year. On-time delivery averaged to 94.6% versus the 73.9% pre ERP.

• Once a wireless warehouse system is in place, data accuracy, efficiency, and tight inventory control is simplified even further by utilizing hand held devices to scan barcodes upon receipt of goods, for bin transfers, and for shipping. When shipping multi-media data formats are also supported in the case where you may want to include a picture of a palate on the shipping documents to decrease the number of lost packages that Traditions Foods occassionally encounters.

Nutritional Information

BatchMaster is a unique ERP system; as an industry specific solution it includes a very mature lab, recipe, and nutritional analysis toolset that other ERP systems do not supply. Traditions Foods already has a standalone system in place for nutritional management, however, Tradition Foods finds great value having such features available as part of an integrated system.

Regulatory Compliance

The BatchMaster product will support Bio-Terrorism Act, FDA, HACCP, and 21 CFR Part 11 requirements to the full extent of the regulations in place.

Integrated Environment

In an integrated solution, all major departments (recipe management, production, sales, purchasing, shipping, accounting) are integrated and share a common database. This allows for management reporting and analysis for decision support and determining key performance indicators. There is also one version of the truth.

BatchMaster Software, Inc. has provided process manufacturing software solutions for over two decades with more than one thousand five hundred installations worldwide. BatchMaster’s customers can be found in every formula and recipe based industry segment, including food, beverage, cosmetic, personal care, paint, coating, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and specialty chemical. Some of the key benefits of using BatchMaster software include keeping accurate inventory, lot traceability and lot recall, regulatory compliance and just-in-time manufacturing resulting in lower production costs and improved customer service. Flexible, easy to learn and use, and scalable to grow with a process manufacturing business, BatchMaster is the definitive solution for the challenges facing small to midsize process manufacturers. BatchMaster team consists of over a hundred professionals, bringing on-going innovation to product offerings and serving customers as trusted advisors for all process manufacturing and supply-chain challenges.