TOBACCO - ORIGIN

The Spanish word "tabaco" is thought to have its origin in Arawakan language, particularly, in the Taino language of the Caribbean. In Taino, it was said to refer either to a roll of tobacco leaves (according to Bartolome de Las Casas, 1552), or to the tabago, a kind of Y-shaped pipe for sniffing tobacco smoke (according to Oviedo; with the leaves themselves being referred to as Cohiba).

However, similar words in Spanish and Italian were commonly used from 1410 to define medicinal herbs, originating from the Arabic tabbaq, a word reportedly dating to the 9th century, as the name of various herbs

TOBACCO - AN INTRODUCTION

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the fresh leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide, and in the form of nicotine tartrate it is used in some medicines. In consumption it may be in the form of smoking, chewing, snuffing, dipping tobacco, or snus. Tobacco has long been in use as an entheogen in the Americas. However, upon the arrival of Europeans in North America, it quickly became popularized as a trade item and as a recreational drug. This popularization led to the development of the southern economy of the United States until it gave way to cotton. Following the American Civil War, a change in demand and a change in labor force allowed for the development of the cigarette. This new product quickly led to the growth of tobacco companies until the scientific controversy of the mid-1900s.

There are many species of tobacco, which are all encompassed by the plant genus Nicotiana. The word nicotiana (as well as nicotine) was named in honor of Jean Nicot, French ambassador to Portugal, who in 1559 sent it as a medicine to the court of Catherine de Medici.

Because of the addictive properties of nicotine, tolerance and dependence develop. Absorption quantity, frequency, and speed of tobacco consumption are believed to be directly related to biological strength of nicotine dependence, addiction, and tolerance. The usage of tobacco is an activity that is practiced by some 1.1 billion people, and up to 1/3 of the adult population. The World Health Organization reports it to be the leading preventable cause of death worldwide and estimates that it currently causes 5.4 million deaths per year. Rates of smoking have leveled off or declined in developed countries, however they continue to rise in developing countries.

Tobacco is cultivated similar to other agricultural products. Seeds are sown in cold frames or hotbeds to prevent attacks from insects, and then transplanted into the fields. Tobacco is an annual crop, which is usually harvested in a large single-piece farm equipment. After harvest, tobacco is stored to allow for curing, which allow for the slow oxidation and degradation of carotenoids. This allows for the agricultural product to take on properties that are usually attributed to the "smoothness" of the smoke. Following this, tobacco is packed into its various forms of consumption which include smoking, chewing, sniffing, and so on.

Made in "Sparkling" India

Moet-Hennessy has launched a new line of sparkling wine grown and produced in India in a bid to create a new “consumption culture” among young, affluent and sophisticated Indians. 

The French wines and spirits house is launching an aggressive marketing campaign for ‘Chandon Nashik’ in a country where wine consumption is still low and the potential for growth very high, said Mark Bedingham of Moet-Hennessy Asia Pacific, in an interview with Harpers.co.uk.

Produced in the Nashik region of western India, the home-grown bubbly benefits from the drier, more moderate temperatures of the area which is located inland and at a higher altitude, he told the publication.

The Chandon Brut is a mix of Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and is described as having a fresh aroma and “subtle complexity.” The Rosé, made from Shiraz, is ripe with red fruit aromas and a full flavoured palate.

The luxury brand’s marketing strategy, meanwhile, is to catch both the demographic and the wine market while they’re still young. That means engendering brand loyalty among young, cosmopolitan and social Indian consumers while the wine-sipping culture is just beginning to find its feet.

Chandon Nashik India is rolling out in wine shops, restaurants, bars, hotels and nightclubs across the country

Food & Wine Pairing Guidelines

Pairing guidelines

Food and wine are intrinsically linked so choose a wine that complements the meal and brings out the best in the food’s flavors. The guidelines below will steer you in the right direction.

Pair wines and foods of the same flavors
Similar food and wine flavors complement each other. Sole with lemon sauce and Sauvignon Blanc both have citrus flavors.

Pair wines and foods with the same weight/texture
Similarly weighted food and wine complement each other. Food and wine can be light, medium or heavy-bodied. Lobster and Chardonnay are both medium-weight and rich so they complement each other.

Pair wines and foods with the same sweetness level
Wine should be equal to or higher in sugar than the dish. Roasted pork with apple glaze pairs beautifully with Riesling.

Salt
Crisp wines balance salty flavors. A crisp Sauvignon Blanc balances salty olives and feta cheese.

Sauces
Pair the wine to the sauce served.
-Light citrus sauces pair with Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.
-Heavy cream and mushroom sauces are ideal with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
-Red and meat sauces match Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah.

Protein
Match wine to meat, fish or poultry when serving without a sauce. Pinot Noir tastes great with duck.

Spicy Food
Sweeter wines offer relief from spicy foods. Riesling pairs well with Asian cuisines.

Tannins
Tannic wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon cut through the coating that fat leaves in the mouth. Cabernet pairs great with steak.

Color
Nature has color-coded fruit and vegetables with the wine best suited to their flavors. Sauvignon Blanc is pale yellow and pairs well with citrus.

Acid
Wine should be equal to, or higher, in acid than the dish. A perfect example is pairing Pinot Noir with tomato tapenade.

CHAMPAGNE COUPE MOULDED FROM KATE MOSS’S BREAST LAUNCHED

English supermodel Kate Moss’s left breast has been immortalised in a Champagne coupe designed by painter Lucian Freud’s daughter.

Taking Marie Antoinette as her inspiration, whose left breast was said to have served as the model for the first Champagne coupe in the late-18th century, British artist Jane McAdam Freud crafted the coupe from a mould of Moss’s left breast.

The glass has an elongated, slender stem, while the outside of the bowl features an intricate Art Deco-inspired pattern and the base bears the model’s signature.

“I was excited to participate in this project – what an honour to be alongside Marie Antoinette, she was a very intriguing and mischievous character,” Moss said.

“Champagne is always associated with celebration and happy occasions and I had fun creating this beautiful coupe,” she added.

McAdam Freud was commissioned by 34 Restaurant in London’s Mayfair to create the coupe in honour of Moss’s 40th birthday and to mark her 25-year milestone in the fashion business.

The second release of the Champagne house’s 1998 vintage will be paired to a “seasonal menu” created by 34’s head chef, Harvey Ayliffe.

The coupes will be in use at 34 and sister Caprice Holdings restaurants The Ivy, Daphne’s and Scott’s, all of which are owned by restaurateur Richard Caring.

Moss is no stranger to artistic collaborations – she posed for late painter Lucian Freud in 2003 while pregnant with her daughter Lila Grace.

Three years later Moss modelled for sculptor Marc Quinn on Sphinx, a life-sized sculpture of Moss in a yoga position with her hands and feet behind her head.

This is also not the first reinterpretation of the Marie Antoinette coupe. In 2008 Chanel’s creative director Karl Lagerfeld collaborated with Dom Pérignon on a Champagne coupe inspired by his muse, Claudia Schiffer’s bosom.

Sold with bottles of 1995 Oenothèque, the coupes cost £2,123.

Courtesy:http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/

Smartphones are the hotel room keys of the future

US-headquartered hotel chain Starwood just launched its new program, dubbed SPG Keyless, to allow guests across 10 Aloft, Element and W brand hotels in its portfolio, to skip the reception desk and gain access to their pre-booked hotel rooms using their smartphones. New locks at these hotels communicate with guests’ phones via Bluetooth to allow for quick locking and unlocking with a simple tap on the lock pad attached to each door.

Travelers who book a room via official Starwood channels online or via phone can use the SPG app for Android and iOS to receive their room number and unlock their rooms upon arrival. The app also allows you to access gyms and elevators at participating hotels — making for one less key for guests to worry about, reduced check-in time and increased convenience when using hotel amenities. 

Currently, only one phone is activated per room, so guests sharing a room will have to get a traditional key for access when the assigned device or its owner aren’t close at hand.

Starwood plans to expand its smartphone-based room access to 140 more properties by mid-2015, and we’ll probably see this functionality extend to smartwatches like the Apple Watch then too. You can also expect to see Hilton Worldwide hotels implement this next year as well, but the chain hasn’t mentioned just how many properties it will be available at.

Given that there could be issues relating to security and malfunctioning, other hospitality companies will probably watch closely before enabling smartphone access to their rooms around the world.

Courtesy:www.thenextweb.com

SAVOURY

SAVOURY DISHES

The following are the popular savoury dishes:

Savouries on Toast

Welsh Rabbit

Rarebit, Welsh rarebit, or Welsh rabbit is traditionally

a sauce made from a mixture of cheese and butter,

poured over toasted bread which has been buttered.

In current popular use, cheese on toast is simply

slices of cheese placed on toasted bread and melted

by heat from above in a grill or salamander.

Buck Rabbit

A Welsh rarebit garnished with a poached egg.

Moelle on Toast

Chilled marrow is sliced and poached gently in a little

white stock. Drained well and dressed on hot

buttered toast. Seasoned and coated with beurre

noisette, sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Haddock on toast

Poached haddock and flake mixed with cream

sauce. Spreaded on toast and decorated to serve.

Anchovies on toast

Breads are toast and anchovy’s fillets are laid side

by side. Finished with the heated oil from the

anchovies. Decorated with sieved hard boiled yolk of

egg and chopped parsley.

Sardines on toast

Sardines are split and backbone is removed. From

head to tail is laid on the toast. Finished with the oil

from the sardines.

Roes on toast

Roes are shallow fried and dressed on toast.

Sprinkled with lemon juice, coated with beurre

noisette and served.

Canapés

Generally canapés are small, decorative pieces of bread

(toasted or untoasted) that are topped with a savory garnish such asanchovy, cheese or some type of spread.

Canapé Baron Garnished with slices of fried mushrooms, grilled bacon and poached bone marrow.

Canapé Ritchie Creamed Haddock, garnished with slices of hard boiled eggs.

Canapé Quo Vadis Grilled roes garnished with small mushroom heads

Canapé Nina Half small grilled tomato, garnished with mushroom head and a pickled walnut

Canapé Charlemagne Garnish with shrimps bound with a curry sauce

Angels on horseback Shucked oysters wrapped in bacon, though sometimes scallops are used in place of the

oysters. This is then baked in the oven and quite

often served on toast.

Devils on horseback

Contains a pitted prune (dates are sometimes

used) stuffed with mango chutney and wrapped in

bacon. This is then baked in the oven and quite

often served on toast, with watercress. Hot pepper

sauce is often added.

Croutes

These are shaped pieces of bread approximately ¼ inch thick

shallow fried.

Croute Derby Spread with ham puree and garnished with a

pickled walnut.

Croute Windsor

Spread with ham puree and garnished with small

grilled mushrroms

Croute Diane Partly cooked chicken livers (fried) wrapped in

streaky bacon and grilled on a skewer

Scotch wookcock

Scrambled egg garnished with a trellis of anchovy

and studded with capers

Tartlettes (Round) or Barquettes (Oval)

These are normally made from unsweetened shortcrust

pastry.

Charles V Soft roes mixed with butter, covered with cheese

soufflé mixture and baked in the oven.

Favorite Filled with cheese soufflé mixture and slices of

truffle. Garnished with slices of crayfish tails or

prawns.

Haddock Filled with diced haddock bound with a curry

sauce, sprinkled with breadcrumbs and cooked au

gratin.

Bouchées

These are small puff pastry cases. A small edition of a vol-auvent.

They have various fillings: shrimp, lobster, prawn and haddock.

Indiene Filled with curried shrimps and chutney

Omelettes Two / three egg omelettes with various flavours

such as mushroom, spinach, sardine, anchovy,

haddock, cheeses etc.

Flan

These are made from unsweetened shortcrust pastry.

Quiche Lorraine

Flan made from unsweetened shortcrust pastry

and filled with rashers of streaky bacon and slices

of cheese. Covered with a savoury egg custard

mixture and baked in the oven.

Soufflés

These are made in soufflé dishes. Various flavours such as

mushroom, spinach, sardine, anchovy, haddock, cheeses etc. are

used.