Palm oil is derived from the fruit of the oil palm tree, and the oil the fruits create makes palm trees one of the most productive crops a farmer can plant. One of the most interesting current uses of palm oil is as a biofuel. Biofuels are a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, the supply of which is limited and increasingly expensive to find, drill and process. Though crude oil prices have proven they can go up and down, the cost per barrel tends to be on an upward trend, making palm oil a very cost-effective, and sustainable, replacement. One hectare, which is approximately two and a half acres, of oil palm trees can create as much as 6,000 liters of crude oil. By way of comparison, similar biofuel crops do not yield such results. A hectare of soybeans can create 446 liters of crude fuel, while a hectare of corn produces only 172 liters. With the cost of a barrel of palm oil now competitive with the price of traditional crude oil, palm oil is not just a productive crop – it is a profitable one, as well.
Palm oil has many other uses than simply biofuel. It can be used as a food ingredient, as an industrial lubricant, and is used in cosmetic production. Palm oil, which has a reddish appearance due to the levels of beta-carotene that naturally occur in the oil, has a high oxidative level, which makes it a very stable oil, less likely to oxidize and grow rancid, which is extremely important when the oil is used in cosmetics and as a food ingredient. When palm oil is refined and milled, the fatty acids created in this process can be used as an important component for soaps and household cleaners.
Palm is a tree that is native to the wetlands in Western Africa and was produced and used long before scientists began to look at the viability of biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels. The people of Sierra Leone, a West African country with miles of wetlands where oil palm trees flourish, have long used palm oil in their diet, and it is a staple in many native recipes. The beta-carotene levels in palm oil ensure plenty of Vitamin A consumption, which is necessary for eye and bone health, as well as for a strong immune system. Sierra Leone’s economy is agriculturally based, and palm kernels, the part of oil palm that produces oil, and palm oil itself are among Sierra Leone’s main cash crops and the country’s top exports.
Increasing palm tree agriculture in Sierra Leone, as well as creating the industry to extract and refine palm oil from the oil palm fruit, has helped stabilize the economy. Small farmers are able to participate in and realize great profits from palm oil production. Approximately two-thirds of the population in Sierra Leone earns a living through subsistence agriculture. As markets for palm oil increase in biofuels and other commercial products, more and smaller farmers will realize greater profits by growing oil palm trees and contributing to the palm oil market.
Click here to read the rest of Palm Oil Sierra Leone. If you enjoyed this article, you also might like our other stories about Palm Oil West Africa.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
How Did Rice Come To Be Such An Important Ingredient In Mexican Cooking
Rice is among the most heavily cultivated of all grains and is the cultivated crop, which is eaten by more people around the world than any other is. In much of Asia, Africa and South and Central America as well as Mexico. It is hard to imagine Mexican cuisine without rice; after corn, it is the most important staple of the Mexican diet, with a large number of Mexican rice recipes being classic examples of Mexican cooking.
This grain is an immigrant to the Americas, having first been cultivated in Asia and brought to Mexico by Spanish and Portuguese explorers and colonists, who began growing the crop in the new world. Rice quickly became an important ingredient in Mexican cooking, with many a traditional Mexican rice recipe having its origin shortly after its introduction to the continent.
Classic Mexican Rice Recipes
One of the best known and most popular of all Mexican rice dishes is arroz con pollo, which is also among the most popular Mexican chicken recipes. The name means "rice with chicken" and is the Mexican version of a classic comfort food combination.
This dish is a Mexican adaptation of a Spanish recipe, with some ingredients, which are native to the Americas. Tomatoes are a common ingredient in arroz con pollo, as is oregano - and in Mexico, cooks prefer to use the stronger-flavored Mexican oregano instead of Greek oregano as cooks would use in Europe. While the Spanish influence is undeniable, these small changes have made this very much a Mexican rice recipe.
Spanish Cuisine Adapts To The New World
After the Spanish began to grow rice in Mexico, it quickly became a hit, working its way into dishes, which combined old and new ingredients, with some of the results now known as authentic Mexican rice recipes. One dish, which we think of as Spanish as can be is paella, but a look at the ingredients commonly, used in this dish reveal something very interesting. For example, tomato is a common ingredient; a new world ingredient, which must inevitably have found its way into a pot of rice and seafood long before a cook in Valencia, thought to do the same.
Not only is the tomato often featured in Spanish paella from the Americas, but also bell peppers, another new world crop are also often used. Here you have an example of the cuisines of Spain and Mexico having a sort of conversation with each other across the Atlantic Ocean, with European cooks finding the new vegetables and fruits from the Americas valuable additions to their own recipes and the people of Mexico making the ingredients and recipes of Europe their own.
Lightly seasoned Mexican rice is another of the better-known Mexican rice recipes. This rice is served as a complement to a wide variety of Mexican dishes, particularly beans. This is a dish, which is quite similar to Spanish rice; and just as with paella, this rice actually contains some new world ingredients.
Rice is an incredibly important ingredient in the Mexican pantry; this oldest of old world staples has become as essential to the Mexican diet as it is in Asia, Africa and much of the rest of the globe. Like many of the ingredients introduced by Europeans and later waves of immigrants to Mexico. it has been welcomed with open arms, combined with the native ingredients of the Americas, and become something all its own - from Mexican rice recipes to soups, which include this grain, Mexican food, is a distinct cuisine unto itself and rice has been a big part of its development.
One of the most misunderstood Mexican foods has to be tacos. The prefab U-shaped taco shells served in Mexican fast food restaurants bear little resemblance to authentic Mexican tacos. You can also make your own fish, meat, chicken or vegetarian tacos at home and homemade tacos will definitely delight your family.
This grain is an immigrant to the Americas, having first been cultivated in Asia and brought to Mexico by Spanish and Portuguese explorers and colonists, who began growing the crop in the new world. Rice quickly became an important ingredient in Mexican cooking, with many a traditional Mexican rice recipe having its origin shortly after its introduction to the continent.
Classic Mexican Rice Recipes
One of the best known and most popular of all Mexican rice dishes is arroz con pollo, which is also among the most popular Mexican chicken recipes. The name means "rice with chicken" and is the Mexican version of a classic comfort food combination.
This dish is a Mexican adaptation of a Spanish recipe, with some ingredients, which are native to the Americas. Tomatoes are a common ingredient in arroz con pollo, as is oregano - and in Mexico, cooks prefer to use the stronger-flavored Mexican oregano instead of Greek oregano as cooks would use in Europe. While the Spanish influence is undeniable, these small changes have made this very much a Mexican rice recipe.
Spanish Cuisine Adapts To The New World
After the Spanish began to grow rice in Mexico, it quickly became a hit, working its way into dishes, which combined old and new ingredients, with some of the results now known as authentic Mexican rice recipes. One dish, which we think of as Spanish as can be is paella, but a look at the ingredients commonly, used in this dish reveal something very interesting. For example, tomato is a common ingredient; a new world ingredient, which must inevitably have found its way into a pot of rice and seafood long before a cook in Valencia, thought to do the same.
Not only is the tomato often featured in Spanish paella from the Americas, but also bell peppers, another new world crop are also often used. Here you have an example of the cuisines of Spain and Mexico having a sort of conversation with each other across the Atlantic Ocean, with European cooks finding the new vegetables and fruits from the Americas valuable additions to their own recipes and the people of Mexico making the ingredients and recipes of Europe their own.
Lightly seasoned Mexican rice is another of the better-known Mexican rice recipes. This rice is served as a complement to a wide variety of Mexican dishes, particularly beans. This is a dish, which is quite similar to Spanish rice; and just as with paella, this rice actually contains some new world ingredients.
Rice is an incredibly important ingredient in the Mexican pantry; this oldest of old world staples has become as essential to the Mexican diet as it is in Asia, Africa and much of the rest of the globe. Like many of the ingredients introduced by Europeans and later waves of immigrants to Mexico. it has been welcomed with open arms, combined with the native ingredients of the Americas, and become something all its own - from Mexican rice recipes to soups, which include this grain, Mexican food, is a distinct cuisine unto itself and rice has been a big part of its development.
One of the most misunderstood Mexican foods has to be tacos. The prefab U-shaped taco shells served in Mexican fast food restaurants bear little resemblance to authentic Mexican tacos. You can also make your own fish, meat, chicken or vegetarian tacos at home and homemade tacos will definitely delight your family.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Free Printable Food Coupons All Can Use
In this world of rising prices, everyone is looking for ways to save time and money. There are many options available to people in today�s fast moving, high technology driven world and one such great option is free printable coupons. These can be used at many places and the most frequently used are the free printable food coupons. These coupons can be used to save a lot of money in the long run.
Contrary to the perception of many, these coupons are not all difficult to find. One can easily get these coupons and that also without spending anything from your pocket. Once you get these coupons on the net you can take a print of them and use them the way you like thereafter. You can use them at restaurants, fast food places, grocery stores and many other places. This way you can save a considerable amount of money every month and it helps you manage your monthly budget easily.
Another way to get these coupons is to participate in surveys where you can voice your opinion. All that you will need is a valid email id to start doing these surveys and winning yourself free coupons. By participating in these surveys you can easily save a lot of money on the products you use by voicing your opinion about them. You can discard the coupons you do not need and print the ones which you like. The free printable coupons are very convenient and a great money saving option.
You can help your family and friends by referring these coupons to them. They can also use them and save money on the things they buy and at restaurants where they eat. A free printable coupon is a great way which assists you in saving a lot of money on your monthly budget and mostly in the food bill.
To find coupons that will save you money sitting in the comfort of your home and then having the choice to print them also is a very convenient option which is available today with internet. It is essentially at the end, a three step process which is very easy and can be easily performed. You need to find them, print them and then keep them in a proper place where you can use it easily. This used to be a nightmare for many people but now it is simply very easy and can be done by anyone. These can be found and printed at any time of the day and you do not need to plan it in advance.
The free printable coupons are one great option which makes you save money directly. When one sits back and calculates the amount of money that you could save or have saved you will be proud of yourself as you have actually ended up increasing your monthly disposable income. Coupons are easily and readily available for many products and also for new products which are promoted by offering them for free through these coupons.
Scott Sherman is author of this article on Free Coupons.
Find more information about Promo Codes here.
Contrary to the perception of many, these coupons are not all difficult to find. One can easily get these coupons and that also without spending anything from your pocket. Once you get these coupons on the net you can take a print of them and use them the way you like thereafter. You can use them at restaurants, fast food places, grocery stores and many other places. This way you can save a considerable amount of money every month and it helps you manage your monthly budget easily.
Another way to get these coupons is to participate in surveys where you can voice your opinion. All that you will need is a valid email id to start doing these surveys and winning yourself free coupons. By participating in these surveys you can easily save a lot of money on the products you use by voicing your opinion about them. You can discard the coupons you do not need and print the ones which you like. The free printable coupons are very convenient and a great money saving option.
You can help your family and friends by referring these coupons to them. They can also use them and save money on the things they buy and at restaurants where they eat. A free printable coupon is a great way which assists you in saving a lot of money on your monthly budget and mostly in the food bill.
To find coupons that will save you money sitting in the comfort of your home and then having the choice to print them also is a very convenient option which is available today with internet. It is essentially at the end, a three step process which is very easy and can be easily performed. You need to find them, print them and then keep them in a proper place where you can use it easily. This used to be a nightmare for many people but now it is simply very easy and can be done by anyone. These can be found and printed at any time of the day and you do not need to plan it in advance.
The free printable coupons are one great option which makes you save money directly. When one sits back and calculates the amount of money that you could save or have saved you will be proud of yourself as you have actually ended up increasing your monthly disposable income. Coupons are easily and readily available for many products and also for new products which are promoted by offering them for free through these coupons.
Scott Sherman is author of this article on Free Coupons.
Find more information about Promo Codes here.
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