Tag: Room Temperature

Equal Sweetener – What is it About

Recent studies have shown that too much sugar may be bad for the health. This could to lead diseases such as diabetes that could lead to the complications.

Since people still need sugar in the system but in reduced amounts, companies have decided to make artificial sweeteners and Equal is one of the popular brands in the market.

This product is marketed and exported throughout the world by the Merisant Corporation. The company has offices in the United States, Mexico, Switzerland and Australia.

The main ingredient is aspartame which is a substitute for natural sugar that can be mixed in food or in the persons drink. The chemical composition is made up of 50% phenylalanine, 40% aspartic acid and 10% methanol.

There are those who claim that taking this either through food or drink is harmful to the health but there have been no studies published in any magazines to publicly announce the potential risk.

However, there have been some reports that this can cause dizziness, headaches, weight gain, memory loss, anxiety and rashes.

It is funny to know that this is used on a variety of products and people dont really realize it. These products are breath mints, toothpaste, cereals and multi-vitamins that are all available in the supermarket. People have been taking this for years!

Equal sweetener can be purchased at the grocery. This also comes now in bars with various flavors such as Peach, Lemon and Vanilla Bean. This can be purchased in bottles, box or packets making this easy to have around the house or when going on a business trip or a vacation out of town.

The product should be stored in room temperature at all times and is good for up to 3 years.

Equal and the main ingredient aspartame have undergone more than 200 lab tests by various organizations. These bodies have been certified to be safe by the United States Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization.

Studies have shown that this can be mixed with tea or coffee more than once a day. According to one study, a person can drink up to 97 packets a day which is still safe.

It has been proven to be safe for those diagnosed with diabetes since sugar is also needed to maintain the carbohydrate count in the body.

The person can check with a dietitian before trying this product and get information from other brands that also provide artificial sweeteners in the market before choosing the one to use for the home.

Meat On The Outdoor Grill

Meat-A Classic On The Grill

When it comes to outdoor grilling, the first thing most likely that would come to most peoples minds are the nice and tender prime rib cuts, steaks, rack of ribs and many other cuts of meat that are undoubtedly good tasting when grilled. Considering this, an outdoor grilling party with family or friends would never be complete without a few slices of these.

So for you to enjoy grilling meat outdoors, you could use a few tips and guidelines when it comes to choosing, preparing and grilling them. So to help you with that matter, here are some seemingly helpful tips and guidelines to turn your favorite cuts of meat into something that would make outdoor barbecues much more enjoyable for you and everyone else.

Choosing The Perfect Cut

The perfect grilled meats start of by choosing a good cut. The better the quality you would get the better tasting the meat is. By saying good quality, that means that the meat should have a good marble of fat in it. The marble of fat must not be too much or too little but just a good amount. If you are wondering why it is so, the fat makes the meat tender and adds a good flavor. Too little of it could make the beef tough and too much of it would make it good either.

Also make sure that the meat that you will be choosing is quite red in color. The redder it is, the better. This is a good sign that the meat is freshly cut. Never pick one that is pale since it might have been on the shelves for days. The quality of the food you will grill will rely heavily on how good the meat is so make sure that you choose carefully.

Preparing The Meat

When you get home from where you bought the meat, you can keep the meat in room temperature as long as you will grill it that very same day. The very common misconception people would have on this is that you should put the meat straight into the refrigerator right after you get home from the market. This however is not true since meat does not spoil that easily and if you put it in the refrigerator the very same day you grill it, it could even lose some of its flavor.

Before grilling, the meat should be completely thawed and ready for grilling. Try to cut off amounts of fat that can be seen on the side. Depending on what you are planning to make, you can also season the cuts with marinade although a lot of people would prepare having the meat unseasoned or a la pobre.

Grilling The Meat

Now that everything is ready, the meat is all suited up to be tossed on top of your grill and get cooked. In grilling meat, you can have it rare, medium-rare, medium-well or well done and never have it overcooked. Overcooked meat is very tough and is practically tasteless so be careful not to burn it. For steaks, the best way to have it is to have it directly on top of fire.

If you do this right, you will have steaks that are very tasty, tender with all the juices right in it. Serve the meats with some nice side dishes and some red wine and you are sure to have another pleasant outdoor grilling memory.

Helpful Tips For Prime Rib Grilling

Prime rib has always been one of the most sought after items on the grill. This is because aside from its being quite large enough to fill up anyone, it is more moist, tender and juicy than most other cuts. This cut has been so popular that most restaurants would have it as a specialty, most of the time making a nice steak out of it. More than that, it is also great for an outdoor grill. Outdoor grilling sessions with your family are sure to be much better with some good slices of prime rib.

The common misconception people would have with prime rib is that it is quite difficult to cook and to handle. This however is false; grilling prime rib is just like grilling any other cuts of meat and would just require similar procedures or methods of grilling. Anyone who has grilled other cuts of meat before would be able to make a great prime rib the first time trying it.

Choose The Cut

One of the most common problems for prime rib is that after grilling, a lot of them would get too tough, dry and chewy. This is because the tenderness of a cut would also depend on the meat itself that is why it is important for you to know how to choose the perfect cut. In choosing, pick a cut that has a good marble of fat, not too much but just right. This is because the fat would add tenderness to the meat and would also add a good taste; too much of it however will not make it taste good.

If you could not find this at your favorite shop, then do not hesitate to ask anyone standing by. Prime rib is too basic for a good food store to miss and the people who are standing by are there to help you so never hesitate to ask them. Sometimes, they can even help you choose from a lot of different meats and could offer a lot of different helpful advices that you can really use.

Storing It

Once your cut of prime rib makes its way home, you can store it at room temperature as long as you will grill it that very same day. The most common mistake people make here is that they would immediately toss it in the refrigerator, thinking that it would spoil immediately. This however is not true. You can put it in the refrigerator however if you plan on using it some other day rather than the day you got the prime rib in.

Make sure that you do not keep the meat in your refrigerator for too long. It would be best if you would consume it within 3 days of having it in the refrigerator. Items stored in the refrigerator would tend to lose flavor and tenderness if kept for too long. You do not want this to happen to your prime rib so dont keep it in the refrigerator for too long.

Preparing Prime Rib

After doing all of that, you are now ready to toss that nice cut of prime rib on the grill. You can first marinate it for at least 20-30 minutes and toss it into the grill after. Take not that grilling prime rib is really quite simple and is just like baking it, grilling however is much better than baking and also tastes far better.

After it is done, you can brush some strokes of barbecue sauce on the surface and there it is, your cut of prime rib is ready to be served and enjoyed by everyone.

Tips for Better Barbequing

If you are new to barbequing, chances are you have run into some problems when it comes to barbequing. Barbequing, like anything else, takes practice. Learning from your mistakes, as well as the mistakes of other will help you learn quickly.

Before you begin cooking, spray your cooking area with a nonstick cooking spray. This will prevent your meat from sticking when you are rotating or removing it. If your meat sticks and tears, you will lose a large amount of juice, and your meat may dry out.

Never place food on the grill until the temperature is correct. The fluctuation in temperatures will cause your food to dry out or burn. If you are using a charcoal grill, make sure that the coals are completely gray before putting the meat on the grill. This will allow the temperatures to level out, and the majority of the lighter fluid to burn off.

Cooking with charcoal lighter fluid can be good or bad. The lighter fluid will cause the food you are cooking to taste different then with other types of grills. Alternatively, attempting to not use lighter fluid may cause a lot of frustration due to the fact that charcoal can be difficult if not impossible to light without lighter fluid.

You must properly prepare the meat you are cooking, before cooking it. You should never attempt to cook meat on a grill when it is still frozen, or even partially frozen. Thaw your meat by sitting it out about 12 to 24 hours before you plan on cooking it, or by thawing it in a microwave. If you meat is thawed, but in the refrigerator, set it out long enough for the meat to get to room temperature.

Once meat is cooked, never put it back in on the same plate you had it on when it was raw. This could cause the spread of many unwanted illnesses. Do not handle cooked meat with the same utensils that you used when it was raw.

Never poke you meat while it is cooking. Poking holes in meat will cause the juice inside to leak out into the bottom of the grill. Not only will this make your food dry and unappealing in the end, but it also could potentially ruin your barbeque grill. At the very least, it will cause a buildup of unwanted grease and juices on your girll, which will make cleanup harder.

Once the meat is on the grill, try not to open the lid to many times. Each time you open the lid, you change the temperature in the grill. The constant change in temperature and the air flow will cause your meat to dry up quickly.

Remember that the higher the heat is not always the better. While it is ok to quickly cook food, turning the heat up will just cause the meat to dry up and potentially burn.

While using tin foil or aluminum foil will make cleaning easier, it will cause your food to have more of a fried taste then a grilled taste.

If you are planning on using your favorite barbeque sauce, be sure to wait as long as possible to put it on the meat. Putting barbeque sauce on to early will not only potentially cause your meat to dry out, but it could also burn.