crymad writes:

Lewis Perin wrote:

crymad writes:

[...rice, white and brown...]

For those who really demand the added nutrition, a grade of rice in
Japan called haiga-mai is a pleasant compromise. It has all the
nutrient-rich germ, but none of the coarse bran, so it cooks just like
standard white rice. And if you're eating your vegetables, who needs
the fiber anyway?

This is interesting. But is there an issue with rancidity, with the
germ unprotected by the hull?

Nowadays, with modern storage and quick retail turnover, it's not really
a concern. Also, remember that a family of four can easily polish off a
20lb bag of rice in two weeks.

OK, so that 5 pound bag I bought today gets tightly sealed and
refrigerated, I guess.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

"Abouna" wrote in message
om...
Wow! Thanks fo the follow-up. Exactly the kind of information I was
looking for.

For starters I have ordered the Green Tea Sampler from
SpecialTeas.com. A bit pricey but not terrible, and I suspect more
than I will be paying once I know what I like.

As for using tea more than once, do you let it dry out between
steepings or should the 2nd steep be in the same sitting (i.e. not
saved for another time)?

No, don't let the tea dry out between steepings. Don't use tea that's
more than a few hours old to resteep.

Oh... and you should only use 1 1/2 TEASPOONS (not tablespoons, sorry) of
large leaf tea. But getting a good digital scale is the best way to measure
out loose tea, because it's by weight, not by volume.

"Abouna" wrote in message
om...
Wow! Thanks fo the follow-up. Exactly the kind of information I was
looking for.

For starters I have ordered the Green Tea Sampler from
SpecialTeas.com. A bit pricey but not terrible, and I suspect more
than I will be paying once I know what I like.

As for using tea more than once, do you let it dry out between
steepings or should the 2nd steep be in the same sitting (i.e. not
saved for another time)?

No, don't let the tea dry out between steepings. Don't use tea that's
more than a few hours old to resteep.

Oh... and you should only use 1 1/2 TEASPOONS (not tablespoons, sorry) of
large leaf tea. But getting a good digital scale is the best way to measure
out loose tea, because it's by weight, not by volume.

"RJP" wrote in message
news:ySEbd.241733$MQ5.77026@attbi_s52...
"Abouna" wrote

As for using tea more than once, do you let it dry out between
steepings or should the 2nd steep be in the same sitting (i.e. not
saved for another time)?

Just another opinion here - I never do multiple steeps with any of
my teas. I enjoy tea a lot, but I am also very keen on the health
benefits and I cannot believe that 2nd (or later) steepings have as
much of the beneficial compounds in them. I also like a mild
caffeine punch, which is very attenuated in multiple steeps.

1- don't overheat the water for steeping the green or oolong. Keep it on
the cool side.
2- keep the steep short, around a minute or two.

Doing that, you can steep the tea at least two times. I haven't found
resteeped black tea to work as well.

You are correct that the first steep has much of the caffeine removed from
the leaf, however some of the bioflavanoids in tea are the same compounds
that give tea its color. So if the tea is still coloring water, there are
still polyphenols/bioflavanoids not yet extracted. I don't remember
exactly, but I believe it takes 5 minutes of steeping tea in hot water to
remove 95 percent of the epicatechin, from one abstract I looked at on green
tea.

Another option might be to brew green tea for five minutes, then dilute it
with water to taste. But in my experience this produces a different quality
of tea vs. the traditional steeping. I tend to use a single cup filter for
my tea, and heat water in a microwave. I can easily re-steep tea this way,
just for one cup. Another option is I fill a thermos flask up with two
steepings of tea.

It's really academic, though. If you drink first steep green tea, you are
getting bioflavanoids, but the ratio of caffeine to bioflavanoids will be
higher with a single steeping vs. multiple steepings.

"RJP" wrote in message
news:ySEbd.241733$MQ5.77026@attbi_s52...
"Abouna" wrote

As for using tea more than once, do you let it dry out between
steepings or should the 2nd steep be in the same sitting (i.e. not
saved for another time)?

Just another opinion here - I never do multiple steeps with any of
my teas. I enjoy tea a lot, but I am also very keen on the health
benefits and I cannot believe that 2nd (or later) steepings have as
much of the beneficial compounds in them. I also like a mild
caffeine punch, which is very attenuated in multiple steeps.

1- don't overheat the water for steeping the green or oolong. Keep it on
the cool side.
2- keep the steep short, around a minute or two.

Doing that, you can steep the tea at least two times. I haven't found
resteeped black tea to work as well.

You are correct that the first steep has much of the caffeine removed from
the leaf, however some of the bioflavanoids in tea are the same compounds
that give tea its color. So if the tea is still coloring water, there are
still polyphenols/bioflavanoids not yet extracted. I don't remember
exactly, but I believe it takes 5 minutes of steeping tea in hot water to
remove 95 percent of the epicatechin, from one abstract I looked at on green
tea.

Another option might be to brew green tea for five minutes, then dilute it
with water to taste. But in my experience this produces a different quality
of tea vs. the traditional steeping. I tend to use a single cup filter for
my tea, and heat water in a microwave. I can easily re-steep tea this way,
just for one cup. Another option is I fill a thermos flask up with two
steepings of tea.

It's really academic, though. If you drink first steep green tea, you are
getting bioflavanoids, but the ratio of caffeine to bioflavanoids will be
higher with a single steeping vs. multiple steepings.

No, don't let the tea dry out between steepings. Don't use tea that's
more than a few hours old to resteep.

Why? What is wrong with it? I resteep sometimes leaves that were sitting
there for a day or two. I may have 5-6 different teas sitting in their
chahus at the same time during the week and me resteeping them now and then.
Never a problem, never a disappointment. Never saw any mold or anything like
that or any unhealthy looking films or spots developing on the leaves. I
live in Reno, about 1200 feet above the city (altogether 5200 feet above
ocean level) and on its NW side, which means that air quality here is one of
the best possible in the country, so may be in other, more polluted parts of
the world it would not be so, but in that case I would just put my chahus in
a fridge, instead of keeping them as I do - on the kitchen table.

For puerh drinkers it may be interesting to know that steeps of the puerh
tea that has been kept in a chahu for several days after initial brewing
appear to be quite different. May be it gets some rejuvenation of its
fermentation? I have no idea. All I object to is the notion that one "SHOULD
NOT USE TEA MORE THAN FEW HOURS OLD TO RESTEEP" without any arguments
explaining why not.

Sasha.

10/15/04



Michael Plant wrote:

Is it not
so that the word for "rice" and "food" are the same in Japanese? What about
Chinese? Rice. Yummy. I've never cooked Japanese rice, but I'm going to go
out of my way to find some.

In Japanese, it's more like "rice" and "meal" being the same word. You
say you've never cooked Japanese rice, but surely you've eaten some at
restaurants, haven't you?

Yes, of course I have. And of course it seems just right for sushi and
sashimi. I'd like to try it in the at home context though.

Speaking of which, in New York City most of the Japanese restaurants are now
actually run and staffed by Chinese people. Hope nobody considers this
biased, biased though it be, but I eat only in Japanese restaurants owned
and staffed by Japanese people. This almost guarantees a reasonably high
quality.

I seem to have bad luck with with stumbling into Japanese restaurants
run by Koreans. We have a Japanese buffet-type place here that's quite
popular. As unappealing as all-you-can-eat Japanese sounds, I've been
told that also it is staffed entirely by Mexicans. I'll eat Mexican
food from a street stand without hesitation, but I want Japanese food
prepared by Japanese.

How about the myriad Mexican fast food places that are all over NYC now and
all run by Chinese families?

Michael

10/15/04



Michael Plant wrote:

Is it not
so that the word for "rice" and "food" are the same in Japanese? What about
Chinese? Rice. Yummy. I've never cooked Japanese rice, but I'm going to go
out of my way to find some.

In Japanese, it's more like "rice" and "meal" being the same word. You
say you've never cooked Japanese rice, but surely you've eaten some at
restaurants, haven't you?

Yes, of course I have. And of course it seems just right for sushi and
sashimi. I'd like to try it in the at home context though.

Speaking of which, in New York City most of the Japanese restaurants are now
actually run and staffed by Chinese people. Hope nobody considers this
biased, biased though it be, but I eat only in Japanese restaurants owned
and staffed by Japanese people. This almost guarantees a reasonably high
quality.

I seem to have bad luck with with stumbling into Japanese restaurants
run by Koreans. We have a Japanese buffet-type place here that's quite
popular. As unappealing as all-you-can-eat Japanese sounds, I've been
told that also it is staffed entirely by Mexicans. I'll eat Mexican
food from a street stand without hesitation, but I want Japanese food
prepared by Japanese.

How about the myriad Mexican fast food places that are all over NYC now and
all run by Chinese families?

Michael

Michael Plant wrote:
10/15/04

I seem to have bad luck with with stumbling into Japanese restaurants
run by Koreans. We have a Japanese buffet-type place here that's quite
popular. As unappealing as all-you-can-eat Japanese sounds, I've been
told that also it is staffed entirely by Mexicans. I'll eat Mexican
food from a street stand without hesitation, but I want Japanese food
prepared by Japanese.


How about the myriad Mexican fast food places that are all over NYC now and
all run by Chinese families?

My favorite sushi place in upstate NY was run by Koreans.. It was quite
good.. They made a spicy tuna second to none... They used the
Vietnamese Sur Racha spicy sauce in it.. Granted, it may not be as
authentic, but the quality was good.

Michael Plant wrote:
10/15/04

I seem to have bad luck with with stumbling into Japanese restaurants
run by Koreans. We have a Japanese buffet-type place here that's quite
popular. As unappealing as all-you-can-eat Japanese sounds, I've been
told that also it is staffed entirely by Mexicans. I'll eat Mexican
food from a street stand without hesitation, but I want Japanese food
prepared by Japanese.


How about the myriad Mexican fast food places that are all over NYC now and
all run by Chinese families?

My favorite sushi place in upstate NY was run by Koreans.. It was quite
good.. They made a spicy tuna second to none... They used the
Vietnamese Sur Racha spicy sauce in it.. Granted, it may not be as
authentic, but the quality was good.

Lewis Perin wrote:

crymad writes:


Nowadays, with modern storage and quick retail turnover, it's not really
a concern. Also, remember that a family of four can easily polish off a
20lb bag of rice in two weeks.

OK, so that 5 pound bag I bought today gets tightly sealed and
refrigerated, I guess.

Does your rice happen to be Tamaki brand, in a thick brown bag?

--crymad

Lewis Perin wrote:

crymad writes:


Nowadays, with modern storage and quick retail turnover, it's not really
a concern. Also, remember that a family of four can easily polish off a
20lb bag of rice in two weeks.

OK, so that 5 pound bag I bought today gets tightly sealed and
refrigerated, I guess.

Does your rice happen to be Tamaki brand, in a thick brown bag?

--crymad

cc wrote:

"Lewis Perin" wrote in message

This is interesting. But is there an issue with rancidity, with the
germ unprotected by the hull?

Yeah, that germed rice can become green (covered by mold) in 24 hours if you
don't store it
in the fridge after opening the package. OK, that happens only with the
version without additives. But where do you go if need additives even in
your rice ?

This is news to me. What sort of additives? Do they come off during
the routine rinsing just before cooking?

Mold in 24 hours? Is this really possible?

[...]
Contemporary Japanese have problems of teeth and gums, and specialists think
it is because they no longer eat much food that need to be chewed.

Yes, Japanese have an unhealthy desire for softness in most anything
they eat, be it rice, bread, vegetables, meat, or cakes. In fact, on
those TV shows featuring young ladies out on gustatory adventures, the
first word out of their mouths after swallowing something they enjoy is
very often "yawarakai" ("soft"). Flavor is a secondary concern. Drives
me nuts.

--crymad

cc wrote:

"Lewis Perin" wrote in message

This is interesting. But is there an issue with rancidity, with the
germ unprotected by the hull?

Yeah, that germed rice can become green (covered by mold) in 24 hours if you
don't store it
in the fridge after opening the package. OK, that happens only with the
version without additives. But where do you go if need additives even in
your rice ?

This is news to me. What sort of additives? Do they come off during
the routine rinsing just before cooking?

Mold in 24 hours? Is this really possible?

[...]
Contemporary Japanese have problems of teeth and gums, and specialists think
it is because they no longer eat much food that need to be chewed.

Yes, Japanese have an unhealthy desire for softness in most anything
they eat, be it rice, bread, vegetables, meat, or cakes. In fact, on
those TV shows featuring young ladies out on gustatory adventures, the
first word out of their mouths after swallowing something they enjoy is
very often "yawarakai" ("soft"). Flavor is a secondary concern. Drives
me nuts.

--crymad

I seem to have bad luck with with stumbling into Japanese restaurants
run by Koreans. We have a Japanese buffet-type place here that's quite
popular. As unappealing as all-you-can-eat Japanese sounds, I've been
told that also it is staffed entirely by Mexicans. I'll eat Mexican
food from a street stand without hesitation, but I want Japanese food
prepared by Japanese.


How about the myriad Mexican fast food places that are all over NYC now and
all run by Chinese families?


Not to mention the pizza joints and Italian restaurants run by Serbs and
Albanians.

Joe