Lactose is the sugar found in the milk of all mammals. It is normally broken down in the small intestine by an enzyme called lactase. Most mammals stop producing lactase after weaning, but many humans continue to produce the enzyme and can digest milk throughout life....
Pears notes Pears are wonderful eaten on their own. Either choose from traditional pear varieties such as Williams, Packham, Beurre Bosc or Corella, all of which you eat when ripe. Or just go out and try the wonderful, crisp, juicy Nashi pear anytime, which is eaten...
Worried about having to prepare a three course meal for your next dinner party? Peter Valder suggests getting around the problem by serving your guests something fairly substantial with the pre-dinner drinks. Baked ricotta is delicious, filling, easy to make, and best...
Capsicums are plentiful and inexpensive in autumn and according to Geoff Jansz, you can’t beat the red ones for their sweet taste. If you love great flavours, vibrant colours and healthy foods that fill the kitchen with wonderful aromas, why not give...
Our cave-dwelling ancestors were hunter gatherers. Their diet varied depending on where they lived, but generally the men hunted large animals and the women gathered seeds, nuts, fruit, eggs and wild greens. They ate a lot of protein and very little fat. When our...
Frumenty is a kind of porridge made from wheat boiled in milk. The recipe can be found in Medieval cookbooks, but it’s thought that the dish may even date back to prehistoric times. Although it is one of the oldest dishes in the world, frumenty still makes a...
We’ve all had bad pies with thin, runny fillings. Usually you end up wearing more than you manage to eat. Next time you feel the urge for a freshly baked pie, don’t buy one. Instead, try Geoff’s recipe for a nutritious, crusty, chicken and...
A summer heatwave: mercury rising, relentless heat and no relief in sight. Unless of course you serve your guests a chilled cucumber soup with a yoghurt and mineral water base. This recipe from Geoff Jansz is very hard to beat on a hot day. All the preparations can be...
Cooked or Raw? There are books that praise raw foods and even warn people against cooking vegetables. However, the latest research shows that many of the antioxidants in vegetables are used better by the body if you cook the vegetables first. This rule applies to the...
Cumquats: The French Alternative It’s cumquat eating time! The problem is that cumquats are a bit tart eaten straight from the tree, and although you don’t want to waste your cumquats you might not want to go to the trouble of making cumquat marmalade....