Going Back To Childhood Sweets

Remember those sweets and candies we used to have as kids. The delight of sneaking a sweet in the middle of the day or  especially when you were not allowed any is altogether different. Those memories of waiting and waiting for a sweet, to be on  good behaviour for that sweet, sticky treat, to wait for that favorite relative who would spoil you silly with a packet of  sweets at every visit. Fond memories that now will no longer take place again.

Especially as candy now is very different from  the times we used to have. Now the candy looks very tiny and not as large sized as in our time. Also with the amount of junk  food infiltrating our lives, sweets seem to be disappearing. Not all though, there are a few shops that have retained making  sweets. The trend is novelty and many of the sweet shops are going back to stocking on the old sweets that we would have in  our childhood.

One of the first things to clear up though are the terms. In America confectionary is called candy and in the united kingdom  sweets. They both are the same just called different names. Although there are different types of confectionary which have  different names. The shops that are specializing in sweets and candies also have websites and one can go through the webpage  and categories to select and order online which makes it even more convenient due to the hustle bustle of daily life.

These  shops have different categories of sweets like American sweets that we would have as kids like laffy taffy, baby ruth bar,  butterfingers, hershey’s kisses, fluff - marshmallow paste, airheads etcetera. They have old fashioned sweets known as retro  sweets; like crunchy candy, dip dap, fish n chips, flying saucers, jazzles milk chocolate, jazzles white, jelly sprogs, juocy  fruit chewing gum, large pear drops among others.

Another speciality of the U.K. are the boiled sweets also known as hard  sweets like lollipops, jawbreakers, gobstoppers, lemon drops, peppermint drops, candy canes, disks, rock candy, having  flavours like kopiko. Other sweets like fudge, taffy, caramel, liquorice, jelly candies. All the retro sweets are packed just  like in the old times. They are displayed in the old screw on fat glass jars filled to the brim with our favorite candy. One  can buy them loose and get the sweets packed up in wrapping and brown paper bags just like in the old days.

Game For A Gamey Meat

Venison is the name for any type of meat that is hunted. Its roots lie in the latin word venor which means to hunt or to  pursue. Initially venison was used for any hunted animal belonging to the family of deer, wild pigs or boars , hares,  particular types of goats and ibex like elk, red deer, moose, roe deer, reindeer, fallow deer, caribou, brown hare, blue  hare, artic hare, pronghorn. Today the term is exclusively used for species of deer including antelope.

This meat is eaten in  various forms; such as steaks, sausages, roasts, jerky, tournedos, minced meat etcetera. Its flavour is similar to beef but  is much richer and the taste described is gamey meaning not bland. Since this meat comes from wild animals, the flavour of  the meat is largely dependent on what the game lived on and the quality of life it had. This meat has picked up in recent  years as it considered as much healthier than beef for its low content in fat, calories and cholesterol. It is high in  moisture but is still quite tough just like beef.

A haunch of venison is usually available in Europe during the hunting  season. Many Jews have this meat once its prepared the kosher way. Due to the rise in demand for this meat, deer farms have  been cultivated and it has become a delicacy just like Ostrich meat. This meat at one time was considered as the rural  people’s meat especially in places like the mid south of U.S, Mississippi Valley, the Midwest. The meat is available in the  supermarkets of the U.S. as jerky. When preparing it as hamburgers, additional fat or oil needs to be added as the meat is  very lean to get a texture like the hamburger.

Kosher version of this meat is not available in the U.K. As mentioned venison  is available widely in Europe during the months of October to December. One needs a license for deer hunting and can hunt  only in areas deemed suitable for game hunting. Heavy fines are thrust upon violators and there is poaching of meat happening  due to the rise in demand. Most of the venison in the world that is available in super markets comes form New Zealand. Due to  the difficulty on encounters in buying the meat, today orders can be placed online and delivered to your house.

Different Ways Lamb Is Eaten

A domesticated sheep when served in food is called as lamb or mutton. Lamb refers to young sheep that are not more than a  year; Mutton refers to adult sheep, though in some parts of Asia goat meat is also referred to as mutton irrespective of the  age of the goat. The younger the animal, the more tender is the meat, the older the animal the more tough is the meat,  although some recipes have ingredients that tenderize the meat when cooking.

Tough meat is usually eaten in most of Europe  and North America. Tenderized meat is eaten in parts of Asia. Some parts of Europe like Spain, Greece and Turkey eat tender  lamb or kid meat which is a typical flavour enjoyed there. Different parts of the lamb are eaten differently; it is not just the recipes pertaining to every region or area. The most  common types of lamb pieces available are: lamb shanks, rack of lamb and lamb steaks.

Lamb shank refers to that piece of lamb that is the leg bone under the knee. It is also referred to as the shin; it resembles  the drumstick in appearance sometimes. Rack of lamb refers to the spine of the lamb cut with the sixteen ribs also known as chops. It is sold in a pair of eight and  called as single, the double means all sixteen of it. When sold single the lamb is cut in the middle of the spine. Three  inches of bone from beyond the meat is exposed and sold. This part of the lamb is used for roasts and is a big favorite of  many people.

Lamb steak is the piece of meat cut near the shoulder also called chops. This meat can be cooked in various ways such as  grilling, pan broiling, sautéing, frying, breading, baking. In parts of Asia the meat is chopped up either with bone or without and cooked with spices. Some are cooked with rice and  served like the Mutton biryani. Another specialty found in Asia is Kheema which is grounded mutton, which has been chopped up  and thus tenderized. This meat is prepared with a lot of spices and usually eaten with pav – a type of bread.