Arts & Entertainment
Is the perfect food always perfect?
Published
3 years agoon
Posted By
AdminBy Scott Mechura EBS Food Columnist
If you’ve read anything I’ve written, you know my thoughts on sugar and, though yes I do consume sugar, how I have warned of its devastating effects on the body if consumed in excess. I choose the word devastating deliberately.
But not all sugar is created equal.
To be fair, most every sugar is still sugar and does essentially the same thing once it enters the human body. Over the last four or five decades, we have created and disguised sugar in many forms of sheep’s clothing. From agave nectar to the rainbow of colored substitute packets, sugar is still sugar and it’s bad for you—with a possible almost exception of Stevia.
But one sugar separates itself as not only good for you, but often gets called the perfect food – honey.
Clay pots discovered in the Tbilisi area of Georgia shows humans were harvesting honey as far back as 5,500 years. And not just one variety but several.
Honey is good for you and comes with many health benefits. Aside from being good for our brain (brains need sugar to function), it has been linked to fighting metabolic syndrome, upper respiratory tract infections, maintaining healthy gut bacteria, as well providing small amounts of 31 different minerals.
The honey making process begins with the honey bee sucking a plants nectar through its proboscis, or long flexible snout, and into its honey stomach which is separate from its food stomach.
Once back at the hive, the nectar gets transferred from bee to bee several times, each breaking it down further with their bodies enzymes until it is ready to be excreted into the comb.
At this point, it is left open until some of the excess water and other moisture evaporates to just the right consistency. And what more efficient way to assist in that evaporation than to create a natural fan by yet another set of bees whose job it is to beat their wings to create air flow. Then that individual chamber in the comb is sealed with more wax which is produced by separate bees with that specific task.
And while this perfect food is one of nature’s most fascinating creations, not all honey is perfect.
Some honey you purchase it not real, that is to say, not all of it is 100 percent pure. It may be adulterated with other sugars or syrups.
I know, is nothing sacred?
Here are some tricks to figure out if the honey you purchased is real or fake.
The first and most obvious is to read the label. If it says anything other than “pure” or “Raw” honey, it has some sort of water or additives such as corn syrup.
And if the price seems too good to be true, it is probably because there are additives in your honey.
When there is enough room in the jar, tip the jar upside down and watch how long it takes for the honey to go from a steady stream to a drip. The longer your honey drizzles, the purer it is.
Fill a pint jar about half way with water. Pour an ounce or two of your honey in, screw a lid on tightly and shake vigorously for five to ten seconds. The longer the foam takes to dissipate on the surface of the water the purer your honey is.
So, the next time you’re at the store and looking for the perfect sugar alternative, at least do your due diligence and make sure they honey is pure, and from the bees.
Scott Mechura has spent a life in the hospitality industry. He is a former certified beer judge and currently the multi-concept culinary director for a Bozeman based restaurant group.
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
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14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
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Please join the Arts Council of Big Sky for free music from Jacob Rountree at the Wilson Hotel Lobby Bar from 5-7 p.m.
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Please join the Arts Council of Big Sky for free music from Jacob Rountree at the Wilson Hotel Lobby Bar from 5-7 p.m. on April 24.
Jacob Rountree is an alternative/indie songwriter living in the stunning alpine of Montana. Contemplative yet playful, his lyric forward style is reflective of his love for philosophy, poetry and quantum physics.
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(Wednesday) 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
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The Wilson Hotel
145 Town Center Ave
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Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
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Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
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(Wednesday) 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
The Waypoint
50 Ousel Falls Rd