Food

Ants in Assam

Past few days, a great proliferation in the numbers and variety of ants could be seen here. Small ants, black and brown ants. They have made holes in the walls, throwing away their residue of black hue out of the walls. Thousands of them can be seen moving to and fro. They are everywhere: on the walls, clothes, bedsheets. Once an ant went inside my eye. If the lid of any container is even slightly loose, the ants waste no time for going inside. They seem to be on some suicide mission. They drown in the milk, they move gas… Read More »Ants in Assam

Reed Salt

Can we imagine any food without salt? In addition to the taste it adds, salt is an essential nutrient for the human body. It is an electrolyte which helps the transmission of the messages from different parts of the body to the brain and vice versa. It is present in the cells. Any imbalance in its concentration whether in the form of deficiency or excess can play havoc with our body. When dehydration occurs, the salt has to be replenished by the intake of oral rehydration solution. It is lost from our bodies during perspiration and blood becomes thicker and… Read More »Reed Salt

Technology behind Junk Foods

According to Bob Drane, former vice president for new business strategy and development at Oscar Mayer, human brain craves for Sugar, Fat and Salt. So food products which make use these ingredients help in gluing the customer and “Our limbic brains love sugar, fat, salt.… So formulate products to deliver these. Perhaps add low cost ingredients to boost profit margins. Then “super size” to sell more.… And advertise/promote to lock in “heavy users.” —Bob Drane, former vice president for new business strategy and development at Oscar Mayer. From this statement, it is clear that foods containing Sugar, Fat and Salt… Read More »Technology behind Junk Foods

Energy required for creating different types of foods

Energy is required to make food. Whether we feed cows to produce milk or apples from the trees, energy is required in different forms from the beginning to end. The apple might be an emblem of simplicity, but accounting for all the energy needed to produce one is another matter. You have to factor in pesticide production, fertilizer manufacturing, irrigation, harvesting, sorting, and transportation. Electricity and diesel fuel are needed to drive all these steps, and coal mining and oil extraction come with their own energy costs. And that’s just the apple. Here is a list of some items of… Read More »Energy required for creating different types of foods

Observing the Nature

How often do we leisurely watch the nature around us? General answer will be not often. Do we sit out in the evening and watch the sun going down, its glow becoming golden, and shadows lengthening and blinking through the chinks in the trees? Do we watch the groups of birds flying towards their homes after spending their day in a far off place where the food is available to forage? Why, in the first place, they don’t make their resting places near the food. May be the supply is not available at one place throughout the year and their… Read More »Observing the Nature

Slow Food Movement and Navdanya

The world, especially in the cities, is becoming a busy place. The system of joint families exist only now largely in the villages. As more and more people are becoming educated, they migrate towards the cities where their qualification can earn them a good living. As the cities are becoming overcrowded, the cost of living increases and ultimately migrants are not in much better condition than they were at the native places. The life has become so much hectic in the cities that the food for which we all are toiling day and night has taken a back seat in… Read More »Slow Food Movement and Navdanya

Calories or calories??

There are millions of people for whom it is almost impossible to arrange two square meals for the families. So they don’t have any choice of what they eat. On the other hand, there are affluent people for whom what to eat or what not to eat is a big problem. They are grappling with obesity problems which are the precursor of so many lethal ailments like heart attack, blood pressure, backache and diabetes. They are always conscious of the calorific value of the foods they consume. Any student of science or health conscious person is aware that calorie is… Read More »Calories or calories??

Punjab Villages during winters

Punjab is called the bread basket of India. A state in Northern Indian plains formed and irrigated by five perennial rivers originating from Himalayas. The land surface is deposited by the alluvial brought up by the rivers. The land is flat, devoid of any geographical features. Standing out in the open in a field you can feel the unending flatness meeting the horizon. The farmers of the area are known for their hard working nature. Earlier the farming was largely non-mechanized. Bullocks and manual labor was used. Slowly to keep with the times machines like tractors, tubewells and other implements… Read More »Punjab Villages during winters

Plants are very Smart Indeed

Plants are very smart, efficient and unforgiving in the energy management. Unlike the animals, who cannot regrow their limbs, plants see to it that inefficient leaves are cast off and replaced by new efficient one’s so that the food making machine continue to run smoothly. The leaves make the food by combining carbon dioxide and water in the presence of chlorophyll which shepherds the energy from sun and store it in the plant. Animals make use of this energy by eating the plant parts. This pigment imparts green color to the leaves and masks the faint colors of other chemicals… Read More »Plants are very Smart Indeed

Personalities : Character No.1

You come across many different characters in your life. Their personalities are shaped by the experiences of life and their capacities to survive through life struggles. Here is the personality description of one of my colleagues. Booming & sibilant voice; neck tilted to left side; runty bodied and very aggressive. You can hear him from a far off distance because of the volume of his voice. Thinks himself to be very intelligent and clever; voracious eater despite his small physique and very vindictive. While eating, spills the victuals all around; attaches the diminutive bones  of fish to the rim of… Read More »Personalities : Character No.1