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Cake Decorating – How To Master Sugarcraft

In cake decorating circles, sugarcraft is probably the most misunderstood term. What exactly is sugarcraft? To clear things up a bit, sugarcraft is a type of cake decorating that is three- dimensional. Sugarcraft is decorating that stands out from all other forms of cake decorating.

Sugarcraft is to cake decorating what clay is to sculpting. It is the art of modeling 3-D figures on a cake. The type of icing used in sugarcraft, rolled fondant, is a dough, that can be used to cover the cake and making cake decorations. Sugarcraft is rolled into sheets and draped over cakes, or cut to make ribbons, bows, and flowers. Fondant is made in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container until needed.

When a rolled fondant is prepared for cake decorating, liquid food coloring should not be used, it can make the fondant runny and unusable. It is better to use coloring paste.

It takes a bit of time to learn sugarcraft decorating, and the process can be frustrating. There is no set formula for sugarcraft, you will need to use your artistic eye, and practice until you feel you have it right.

If you are serious about mastering sugarcraft, it is to your advantage to purchase a DVD or video that will show you the art step-by-step. An even better option would be to take a class in sugarcraft, as the teacher can give you tips and feedback as you learn.

When you look for sugarcraft supplies, Surbiton Sugarcraft is an online store with everything you will need. Based in the UK, this company has so many items this article does not afford the space to list them all.

A sampling of their sugarcraft art and tools:

– Stainless Steel Cutters to Make: Blossoms, flowers, Leaves, Calyx, Micro and Midi cutters.

– A large array of tools that are food grade plastic and stainless steel such as: Ribbon cut from flower paste, ribbon insertion, garrett frill cutters, and plaque cutters.

– Icecraft Sugarpaste: A superior professional sugarpaste that is ready to use. This sugarpaste allows for a smooth finish every time it is used and covers cakes without cracking and forming craze lines. This paste is less gritty and oily than other sugarpastes and easy to handle. It is bright white and unflavored.

– Edible Lustre Air Brush Colours: A Lustre air brush spray for food in a can. Works wonderfully for coloring sugarpaste, modeling paste, marzipan, buttercream etc. Available in 6 colors.

– Sugarcraft rosebuds and roses: The rosebuds come in lemon, peach, violet, pink, red, ivory, white, cerise, claret. They are sold in various quantities and are incredibly beautiful.

– Piped roses – These wonderful roses are a bit smaller and a bit different. They are great for cupcake decoration. Available in dark pink, pink, or white.

– There are many more sugarcraft decorations including orchids, cake pans, cake dummies, cake boxes, leaves, and flower sprays all made with sugarcraft.

For pricing and more information visit the website and see the wonderful sugarcraft designs and tools to assure your cake decorating will be spectacular.

Best Coffee Makers

One will always get and ear-full of how great a coffee maker is when walking into a friend’s home. You put up with all the details of the machine and eventually try out the greatest coffee it can produce. At another friend you get the same story, but concerning a different coffee maker. You can make the best cup of coffee with a very simple coffee maker, and one specific machine is the manual drip machine.

The French Press is a glass jar. It has vertical sides and a plunger, and attached to the plunger is a mesh filter. The coffee is inserted in the jar, hot water is poured in, the lid is attached, and after 4 minutes all you have to do is slowly press the plunger down. That is all it takes, and with that you will be able to enjoy a tasteful cup of coffee.

Next are coffee percolators. You do not want to make your coffee with one of these. Percolators are pots that have to stand on the stove for endless hours. This is not the best way to use up the coffee beans that you carefully selected. When coffee is brewed, the temperature of the water has to be just below the boiling stage. Percolators are culprits for boiling the flavor out of the beans. If you think otherwise, keep your old percolator. However, if you want the quality out of your coffee beans, try using a different maker.

Yum, Coffee Drip Brewers are probably the most common and the best when it comes to coffee machines. You probably own one or have one at work. All this requires is for you to add your coffee in the filter, fill with water, flick the switch and watch the container fill with coffee. If you have a good coffee maker model, the water will hit the coffee at the exact temperature. These brewers can supply you with a cup of coffee you will never forget.

There is however a downfall with these machines and you’ve probably tasted the downfall two hours after it was made in the machine. What happens is after the coffee has brewed and is now standing on the hotplate, after some time the hotplate starts cooking your coffee. The solution is to make just the right amount you think you will consume in the next thirty minutes. It is advisable to make a fresh pot if you want more coffee an hour later.

Single mug coffee brewers have their advantages and their disadvantages. The advantages are that you will have a fresh cup of coffee every single time and there will be no mess and coffee ground will not be spilled. The disadvantages are that you can only brew the coffee that is sold in these pods or cups. You will not be able to go down to the store to try a new blend of coffee beans. Manufacturers have their own coffee suppliers, and what they have on the shelf is what you get.

All About German Beer

Throughout Germany, beer is very popular with the culture. Germany contains well over 1,000 breweries, which is more than any other location in the world. All beer that is manufactured in Germany must follow the purity law, which lets manufacturers know what ingredients can and cant be used. Basically, the only ingredients allowed to make beer in Germany are water, hops, and barley malt.

Due to the strict purity requirements, you can easily notice German beers by their overall level of quality. They have a distinct taste, with little to no aftertaste. Some styles of German ale include Koelsch, Weizen, and Altbier. Some types of German lagers include Bock, Pilsener, Dunkel, Helles, and Maerzen. Keep in mind that the taste, aroma, and color can vary, although all can be identified as being true German beers.

The German beer Altbier is a very common dark ale, that is top fermented in the lower regions of Germany. The beer proposes a yellow color, with a taste that is rich in hops. Another ale, Rauchbier, is known to have a smoky flavor with a smoked color. These beers taste great, and happen to be very popular throughout the regions of Germany.

German lagers are also very popular, and happen to be popular in other areas of the world as well. Pilsener is one of the most popular and most familiar of all German beers, providing you with more hops and less malt. Pilsener can be found for sale all over the world, and happens to be very popular throughout North America as well. Several bars serve it as well, as it happens to be one of the most popular dark lagers out there.

Throughout Germany, there are several different companies, produce over 4,000 different brands of beers. Some of the more well known and larger companies of north Germany are Beck, St. Pauli, Warsteiner, and Krombach. In the southern region of Germany, there are more breweries, although most of them are smaller, as they are locally owned and operated. Southern Germany also contains the Benedictine Abbey, which is one of the oldest breweries in the world. This brewery started producing beer in 1040 – very impressive indeed!

Germany is also home to Oktoberfest, which is held every year in Munich. Oktoberfest starts in late September and carries on for two weeks, ending in early October. During Oktoberfest, beer drinkers from all over the world will travel to Germany and celebrate German beers. Each and every year, over 5 million people attend the event, making it one of the biggest beer celebrations in the world.

During Oktoberfest, local breweries in Munich are the only breweries allowed to serve beer in the bigger tents. There are six breweries in total, producing a variety of different beers. By attending this yearly event, you can learn more about German beer, sample the different varieties, and enjoy the rich bold flavors that make German beer so very popular.

Due to the success Oktoberfest gets each and every year, other cities around the world try and mimic this event. Even though they have success, their level of success isnt near as much as the original Oktoberfest – Germany. German beers are very popular around the world, with Oktoberfest helping to prove that very claim. If you drink beer but have never experienced what beers from Germany have to offer, you really should give them a try. Once you do, youll quickly realize why German beers are so very popular – and why the taste simply cant be duplicated with any other beer.

Cooking Classes for the Masses

Whether you are a seasoned pro when it comes to the fine art of cooking or an utter novice there should be some cooking classes or resources in your area that can help you learn and improve your existing skills. Surprisingly few people manage to utilize the many wonderful opportunities that are available to them when it comes to cooking classes.

If you are considering a cooking class you should be glad to know that many communities offer them for a nominal fee at night and sometimes on the weekend. These classes are rather basic and often designed to help women learn the basics of a few economical and healthy meals to prepare for their beginning families. If you fit the bill for this, then you should check out your local library for possible leads for these sorts of classes in your area. Even if they do not have the information available it is quite likely that they can point you in the right direction.

If you are looking for cooking classes that you can take with your children, check out your library once again for the first resource. There are also many gourmet food shops that offer cooking classes for parents to take with their children. This is a great opportunity to bond with your child while you both learn to prepare a new dish or two together. It is quite likely that you will be quite surprised by the things you can learn from your child as well as the things you can learn by simply taking the class.

For those among us who are seeking culinary experience with very specific cuisines you will have to search a little more for the perfect cooking classes in which you can achieve your goal. They do exist however, though your chances of learning Thai cooking are much greater in a larger city than in smaller towns throughout the country. If you are really interested in learning some exotic cooking techniques perhaps you should consider a vacation in which you can try out a few new cooking classes while you are there. If you prefer other things on your vacation to cooking you could make a point of attempting one basic class in the cuisine of your choice for each vacation you take. This will give you a little more than the same old souvenir to bring back from your trip and an experience that in many cases is quite memorable.

Finally, if you are looking for a romantic idea, how about signing up to take a couples cooking class? Believe it or not, these classes are often offered in both big and smaller cities. They seem to be all the rage around Valentine’s day, perhaps the hint is that the other partner in a relationship can share some of the cooking responsibility or perhaps the idea is that there is more than one way to steam up the kitchen.

Regardless of the reason for taking cooking classes they can bring not only a great deal of enjoyment to your dining room, but also increase your ease in your kitchen. If you’ve never taken a cooking class, there is no time like the present to do so. No matter how skilled you are in the kitchen there is always something that can be learned.

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What is Tex-Mex Cuisine

Tex-Mex cuisine is a name used to describe dishes that are found in the state of Texas that is primarily American. It blends available foods in the United States with traditional Mexican cuisine. Some of the Tex-Mex foods may differ from actual Mexican dishes, but are still referred to Mexican dishes in Texas. People who live outside of Texas sometimes refer to Tex-Mex as Southwestern food.

Tex-Mex is considered “America’s oldest original cuisine” by some. Tex-Mex got its name back in 1875. It started when the Texas-Mexican Railway was nicknamed Tex-Mex to refer to the railroad and describe the Mexicans that were born in Texas. The mission era blended Texas foods with Spanish and Mexican. It got its name by the Tejanos (Hispanics born in Texas). The different regions of the state kept the foods similar to each other. Eventually other meats such as goat and cow’s head gained popularity. In the twentieth century, cheese was added because it was readily available and inexpensive in the United States.

More than 60% of the population of Texas has ancestors that were from Mexico. It is no surprise as to why that state has become popular for its Tex-Mex dishes. Tex-Mex is most popular in the South Central part of the state, which includes the cities of Austin and San Antonio. Tex-Mex dishes commonly use the ingredients of garlic, sour cream, cilantro, beans, avocado, and chorizo, which is a spicy Mexican sausage that originated from Spain. Chiles are also important in Tex-Mex dishes.

The chilies range from sweet and mild to hot fiery and are added to a variety of dishes. Some chiles that are used in Tex-Mex cuisine include ancho, jalapeno, and the hottest of them all, the habanero pepper. The food is contemporary and can easily be made. There are dishes that require more detail such as casseroles, black bean soup, and bunuelos, which is fried bread that is eaten with sugar and cinnamon that is sprinkled on the top.

Tex-Mex cuisine contains large amounts of beef, spices, and beans. Texas-style chili, crispy chalupas, and fajitas are all Tex-Mex originals. A serving of tortillas with hot sauce or salsa is another Texas invention. Other tasty creations include seven-layer dip, and tamale pie. Mango margaritas are a modern drink in the Tex-Mex menu.
Many of these recipes are simple and require little skill, but there are some foods that involve preparation of another recipe to complete the main dish.

One dish that is shouts Texas, is chili. It is a combination of meat and spices, with no beans added. Sauce is the main ingredient of the chili. Chili started by the Chili Queens of San Antonio. They made the chili to sell at stands for cowboys who came to the town.

If you are ever visiting Texas, it is worth trying the unique foods of the region. You will be able to taste Mexican classics with a Texas twist. Many dishes are available, but don’t be surprised when the dish arrives and the food doesn’t taste the same. That is part of the experience you will have when you eat Tex-Mex.