Mechline Developments Limited introduce new CO/CO2 safety devices to ensure safe air quality conditi

CaterSense is Mechline’s range of kitchen environment safety devices designed for safety management in commercial foodservice premises. New to the range is Mechline’s Carbon Monoxide and Carbon Dioxide sensor (CO/CO2 Sensor), designed to interface with Gas Interlock Systems (G.I.S.). Using unique technology, the wall-mounted CaterSense CO/CO2 sensor will detect a build up of CO or CO2 in the commercial kitchen, providing a constant visual indication of underlying levels of harmful gases. If the air CO or CO2 content exceeds recommended industry levels, the battery-powered CaterSense CO/CO2 sensor will pulse a signal to the G.I.S. and shut off the gas supply to the kitchen while emitting an audible alarm thus ensuring the safety and well being of kitchen staff. The CaterSense CO/CO2 sensor can be installed in conjunction with existing Gas Interlock Systems. Another brilliant safety device idea that can be used easily and practically in commercial foodservice.

Exhibiting at Hotelympia, 19-23 Feb 2006, in the North Hall, Stand: N1919, ExCel Exhibition Centre, London, Mechline will demonstrate its popular brands and launch new, exciting products guaranteed to be of interest to the Hotelympia visitor. Also at the show are Mechline’s familiar brands: QuickLink - patented quick-disconnect systems AquaJet - WRAS approved pre-rinse spray units, taps and spare parts CaterTap -WRAS approved basin, sink and mixer taps ideal for contractual opportunities Pegler - WRAS approved premier manufacturer of basin, sink, mixer and specialty taps Dormont - specially engineered gas hoses and gas hose safety accessories for mobile catering equipment; plus Dormont SWIRL coiled water hose and Dormont Metric FlexTube for OEMs Delabie - premium pre-rinse spray units; water-saving, electronic, hands-free and standard taps; and speciality plumbing components. Look for new, “hands-free” products in the range to improve hygiene and good practice in the catering environment–including revolutionary designs to combat the risk of spreading the potentially fatal Legionella bacteria. Mo-El - traditional electric grid designed insect killers, plus attractive adhesive and fan-assisted models, including the award-winning Insectivoro Mechline GIS - Mechline’s Gas Interlock System that cuts off gas flow in the event of kitchen ventilation fan failure, as recommended by HSE Sheet No. 23 - Gas Safety in Catering and Hospitality CaterSense - reliable carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide sensor to work with Mechline’s GIS for the ultimate in air-quality safety in the Catering and Hospitality sector GreasePak - ecologically friendly grease management system

The Many Uses of a Flax Seed Grinder

Ground flax seed is nutrient rich

If you are fascinated by the health industry and often keep tabs on new products in the market that help to provide a healthy lifestyle, then you’ve no doubt heard about flax seed. The grain that’s been used for centuries to promote wellness in the body has made a resurgence in the past years and is once again recognized for all of its health benefits. It’s no secret why flax seed has become so revered with the rediscovery of its disease prevention qualities. These benefits include being able to fight against cancer and heart disease, promoting fitness and beauty, reducing hypertension and arthritis, raising vitamin D levels in the body, and retaining magnesium, phosphate, and calcium within the body. flax seeds however, are not supposed to be eaten whole because they can pass through the body undigested. To fully benefit from the nutrient rich seeds grinding first will allow for complete digestion and absorption.

What grinder to use

In the past, if a person wanted ground flax seed, they would’ve had to go to a health food store and have them grind it. Unfortunately, this was very inconvenient and sometimes the ground seed would be spoiled by the time a person made it home. Luckily, with portable flax seed grinders, people can grind the seed at home and enjoy its benefits right away. The most common grinders are the household food processor and the small portable coffee bean grinder. Daily portions of flax seed are usually not large enough to warrant the use of a food processor. A small portable coffee bean grinder is ideal. Cleaning and storage are both a snap for grinding small amounts.

Grinding can be often, here are some tips.

Grinding flax seed can be the least enjoyable part of using flax seed in your diet. Make sure that when buying a grinder that it is convenient. Models that have a cord that winds up makes it easy to get out and put away. One handed operation makes every day use and consumption a breeze. Remember, a proper diet is made into a habit if it can be integrated into your every day activities. A good grinder can make that happen.

Visit this link to get discount Flax Seed Grinders.

Great Appetizers for Baby Showers and Other Parties

One of the biggest challenges for planning a baby shower or any other party is picking the right food. Appetizers and snacks are great for all types of parties, big and small. Here are some delicious appetizer ideas that you can make yourself or buy for your party:

1) Stuffed Mushrooms - Stuffed mushrooms are a tasty treat for any party. Larger mushroom caps of course are better and you can be creative with your stuffing choices. Some popular ingredient choices are cheese, bacon, and breadcrumbs.

2) Cheese and Crackers - Cheese and crackers are a simple snack idea for any party. This snack is also great for health conscious people. For upscale occasions, cheese logs or gourmet cheese balls can be used.

3) Fruit Platter - Another healthy and simple idea is fruit salad or a fruit platter. These platters can contain canned fruits, fresh fruits, or a mix of both. Some popular choices are apples, pears, grapes, and strawberries. Add in marshmallows or raisins if desired.

4) Chips and Dip - Chips and dip are a good idea for any party. Tortilla chips and potato chips are both popular and salsa, sour cream, cheese dips, and artichoke dips are great for parties.

5) Mini Sandwich Squares - Sandwiches are easy to make. The bread can also be buttered, seasoned, and toasted if desired. Apply any toppings you like and then cut the sandwich into bite-sized squares. Then stick a toothpick into each square and place them on a nice tray.

6) Brownies - If you don’t mind doing some baking, then you can make your own brownies, or you can purchase them at a bakery. There are many possibilities as far as flavor goes, including traditional chocolate, fudge, and peanut butter. You can also add nuts and candy, but be sure your guests are not allergic.

7) Cookies and Cake - Cookies and cake come in many flavors and are great party treats. Popular flavors for cakes are cheesecake and carrot cake and for cookies are chocolate chip, oatmeal, and peanut butter.

8) Ice Cream - Finally, ice cream is another great party treat, especially during the summer. Vanilla and chocolate are the most popular flavors, but parties are also a great opportunity to offer unique flavors like blueberry cheesecake ice cream.
About the Author - Criss White is a professional web writer on baby and new mother topics for baby and pregnancy websites. For related products, go to Baby Shower Recipes (http://www.101babyshowerideas.com/bsrecipes.htm) and Baby Shower Candy Wrappers (http://www.101babyshowerideas.com/bscandywrap.htm). Note: If you find this article useful, you may reprint it on your website, e-zine, or in your newsletter as long as the credits above remain in tact and the hyperlinks stay active.

Bottled Spring Water

Spring water is ground water that flows unassisted or by a pump or well to a surface opening. In other words, a spring is a concentrated discharge of ground water to the surface. Ground water flows through aquifers from certain recharge areas on uplands where it is replenished by rainfall and snow to discharge areas in valleys so that it flows to the surface into streams and rivers.

The water flowing from this recharge area has energy acquired from the higher elevation of that area. This gravitational energy forces the water to move through the aquifer. Mostly, the energy is used up by the time the ground water becomes a stream. Most of these springs can be classified as the gravitational springs due to the above mentioned reason.

Natural spring water is protected from microorganisms, but companies producing bottled drinking water in most states are required to reveal its source and the treatment system used to the state, and the source of the spring water must be stated on the label of the bottled spring water.

Spring water can be collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground spring. External force may sometimes be used to collect the spring water but this must be from the same underground stratum as the spring and must have all the physical properties, composition and quality before treatment.

Treatment for spring water is similar to that used for tap water. The water is treated to control any microbiological or chemical hazards of the raw water, and to provide consumers with clear, taste-and-odor free, colorless product. The water undergoes a minimum of filtration and disinfections by either ozone or UV light. Other treatment processes, such as reverse osmosis, UV, ozone or activated carbon filtration can also be used to remove minerals and trace organic chemicals. All the bottles undergo an internal, external wash before being filled with spring water.

Bottled Water provides detailed information about bottled water, bottled water brands, and more. Bottled Water is affiliated with Traditional Mediterranean Diet.

What are your cooking career goals?

You may have joined a culinary arts program because of your love of preparing and of partaking food. What are you wishing to achieve? Is your dream to become the next restaurant tycoon? Or are you just looking to learn a few more “tricks of the trade” to better enjoy your hobby? Just like you, cooking schools and culinary institutes have their own potential. All culinary arts courses are based on the same objectives, just some of the course structure and training programs vary from one another.

Although as aspiring chefs you might feel it is unnecessary for you to learn the basics needed for entry-level food service employees, these are core objectives for a degree in culinary arts. To become a culinary arts professional, training is required on all levels.

Over the years the culinary arts profession has increased in popularity. More people, looking for a better career, are interested in obtaining a formal education in the culinary arts. To find out if you are talented enough to be in the culinary fields, the institute will require you to take interviews and exams beforehand. Culinary arts training focuses on intensive training for anyone that has the energy and abilities necessary to maintain a career in the field.

Their students do internships at some of the most popular restaurants. We believe real world experience supplies the best training.

Vitamin D A Powerhouse in the Fight Against Cancer

Reducing the risk of various types of cancer by taking Vitamin D has been under the microscope a lot lately. It’s actually been a hot topic for researchers for many years. Recent studies show a positive link. Studies published by the University of California in 2005, with a review in 2006, indicated that a daily oral intake of 1000 IU Vitamin D can reduce the risk (by up to 50%) of several types of cancer, including:

  • colon
  • breast
  • ovarian

In the fall of 2006, in a study led by researchers at Northwestern and Harvard Universities, consumption of Vitamin D tablets was found to cut the risk of pancreatic cancer nearly in half. In fact, just by taking the recommended daily allowance of 400 IU the risk was reduced by 43%. Noting that areas with greater sunlight exposure have lower incidence of prostate, breast and colon cancers led them to investigate Vitamin D’s potential for fighting the risk of pancreatic cancer.

The published study also advised that further research would be necessary to determine if ingesting Vitamin D from dietary sources, like eggs, liver, fatty fish or fortified dairy products, or through sun exposure might be preferable to multivitamin supplements.

Vitamin D is normally manufactured in the body, through exposure to sunlight, however, with time in the sun limited by most people, for a variety of reasons ranging from longer workdays, shorter days of sunlight, and concerns about skin cancer caused by sun exposure, it’s become quite difficult for most people to get the amount of sunshine they need for their bodies to manufacture the amount of Vitamin D that is required by the body to reduce the risk of various other types of cancer. And although vitamin supplements are a current option, there is another source.

While there are not many foods that contain a significant amount of Vitamin D (enough to meet the daily requirement) there are a few foods that are an excellent, high source. So, if you’d prefer to go natural to get your Vitamin D, you can look to the following to get your daily allowance:

Clover Leaf Wild Salmon is one of the best sources you’ll find of Vitamin D and it comes in a variety of sizes, even a snack size premixed with light dressing. Getting enough Vitamin D in your daily diet to reduce your risk of cancer just got a lot easier.

The Perfect Mashed Potato

Mash, Potato Mash, Spud Mash.

Which ever way you say it, it conjures up images of comfort food.

Smooth creamy mash with; sausages; chops and gravy; peas and gravy; mum’s stew…. The list goes on.

But as with most things in life, not all Potato Mash is created equally.

If it is too runny, too floury, too lumpy or too tasteless, it is just not going to make the grade.

The first issue to the perfect mash is the potato skin. Peel it off - right! Well, my family often actually enjoy ‘country mash’, which leaves the skin on. This results in a more lumpy style mash, which tastes good and is more healthy with more fiber. It is just great with large meaty sausages and gravy. So maybe next time, you may try leaving the skin on.

But regardless of whether you peel or not, the biggest obstacle to mashed potato is water.

Water actually leaches out all the flavor from the spud.

So if your mum taught you to cook mash like mine did “Peel the spud, cut up, put in a saucepan full of water, set aside and when ready, put on to boil.

Then it is time to evolve.

Now this is a big step, but ’steam’ the potatoes instead.

Peel and cut the potatoes into even sizes. Put in a steamer, place on a tight lid and gently boil the water for 20-25 minutes.

To check to see if the spuds are cooked, stab a fork into the thickest part. If it is soft, then it is ready.

Once ready, remove from heat and drain the water from the steamer. Place a clean tea towel over the pot for 5 minutes. This will absorb any excess steam and stop the potato becoming soggy.

Then it is time to do your best with your masher, and use your favorite additives - milk and a knob of butter; cream; crme fraiche and milk….

And then enjoy.

However, if steaming is too much of a leap and you can’t get mum’s instructions out of your head and still insist on boiling. Then use as little water as possible, use boiling water and keep the lid on.

Which ever way you cook your mash, remember to enjoy its simplicity and have a fantastic meal.

Until our next cooking tip together.
Enjoy!

Lisa “The Crock Cook”

Lisa can be found adding delicious simple Crock Pot Recipes at a-crock-cook.com or deliberating her fortune at chinese fortune cookies and creating stunning cupcakes at cupcake-creations.com.

**Webmasters - Please feel free to add this article to your site. Just remember to ensure the links remain live and static back to my websites.
Regards Lisa**

For the Love of Chocolate

For the Love of Chocolate.

Almost everyone loves chocolate. In a recent study conducted by the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, chocolate was ranked as America’s favorite flavor. Of course, the love of chocolate is not unique to modern society. As far back as 2000 years ago, the Mayans created a drink from crushed cocoa beans and referred to chocolate as “food of the gods.”

Chocolate might even be good for us! Some medical studies have indicated some health benefits associated with eating chocolate. According to Larry Graham, president of the American Cocoa Research Institute (ACRI), chocolate is very high in antioxidants. In fact, it contains one of the highest levels of antioxidant compounds that can be found in any food and may reduce the risk for coronary heart disease. Subjects in a study conducted at Pennsylvania State University experience higher HDL, “good,” cholesterol levels when they included small amounts of chocolate in their diets. Experts have concluded that eating chocolate might increase endorphins, “feel-good” chemicals in our brains, and lift our moods. Chocolate also contains several important minerals and is a major source of copper in our diet.

So go ahead, indulge that craving. Enjoying chocolate in moderation, as part of a sensible diet, is not only tasty, it’s good for you too.

Here are some recipes to help you get your chocolate fix:

ULTIMATE BROWNIES

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350F. Grease 13×9x2-inch baking pan.

Place butter in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH (100%) 2 to 2-1/2 minutes or until melted. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well. Blend in cocoa. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat well. Stir in milk chocolate chips and nuts, if desired. Pour batter into prepared pan

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes about 36 brownies.

DECADENT CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cup confectionary sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 cup heavy or whipping cream
1 tablespoon coffee liquer (such as Kahlua)*
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, very finely chopped

*may substitute 1 tablespoon chocolate extract

Cream butter in large bowl. Combine confectionary sugar and cocoa. Add alternately with cream, coffee liquer and vanilla to butter. Blend well. Chill until firm. Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in semi-sweet chocolate until coated. Chill until firm. Makes about 36 truffles.

About the Author

Sherri Allen is the editor of an award-winning website devoted to topics such as family, food, garden, house&home and money. For free articles, information, tips, recipes, reviews and coloring pages, visit http://www.SherriAllen.com/