Tag: Blue

Blue Java, one of the sweetest bananas in the world – Italian Cuisine

All about Blue Java, the tropical banana with blue skin and vanilla-flavored pulp, which is a candidate for future food trends

Although the banana varieties in the world are hundreds, in Europe the most common one is the yellow Cavendish that we all know and which represents about 40% of world production. Yet for some time there has been a new one rare and exotic variety which is gaining media attention and global interest, and it is the Blue Java banana. This fruit, also known as "banana ice cream"Because of its pleasant vanilla flavor, it is present only in some countries, yet there are already those who bet not only on its spread, but also on a possible food trend on a par with that of avocado.

A very sweet and unusual fruit to be discovered

Blue Java bananas are a hybrid of two banana species native to Southeast Asia, namely Musa balbisiana and Musa acuminata, and are grown in several Asian countries, in various parts of Central America, Hawaii and Australia. Their size is slightly larger than Cavendish, as is the nutritional profile and content of fiber, manganese and vitamins B6 and C.
However, the coloring of the peel, which in the maturing phase takes aunusual blue-greenish hue to then turn pale yellow when mature and pulp white with black seeds which is soft, dense and creamy like an ice cream and dal singular taste reminiscent of vanilla or custard. Another interesting feature of the "frozen banana" concerns its plant, between 4 and 6 meters high, particularly resistant to both cold climates and wind, which makes it easy to grow at home and potentially cultivable in Europe as well. The blue banana in Italy, at least for now, is almost completely unavailable, however it is possible to buy the seeds or the plant on some online stores.

Blue java banana in the kitchen: not just ice cream

In the countries where it is grown, blue banana comes eaten both raw and cooked, which makes it a truly versatile fruit in the kitchen. Due to the taste and consistency, it represents first of all one valid and low-calorie alternative to the classic ice cream; in addition to crushing it to obtain a simple, but tasty, spoon dessert, it can be frozen and blended together with other ingredients, such as berries or various natural flavors. Crushed, Blue Java can also be used as a basic ingredient for smoothies and milkshakes, perhaps combined with chia and avocado seeds, or for baked desserts such as muffins, cakes and plumcakes. Fresh and sliced, it is an excellent one topping for puddings, yogurt and pancakes. In general, this variety of banana can be combined, both for sweet and savory dishes, with other ingredients such as berries, citrus fruits, pineapple, coconut milk, almonds, agave syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg, cinnamon and pineapple.

In Italy, in 2019, Blue Java was used by Rubicone, a leading company in semi-finished products, which made it the main ingredient of a version revisited by the famous blue smurf ice cream from the 80s. Now that the color of the year is Pantone Classic Blue, one wonders if this tropical blue banana cannot make its way in Italy and become one of the next food trends of 2020.

Blue Box Cafe: to really make "Breakfast at Tiffany's" – Italian Cuisine

The temporary café designed by Tiffany & Co. will open on February 14 in the Harrods warehouses in London: you can have breakfast, drink tea, dinner and maybe organize a wedding proposal!

"A coffee, a croissant and a diamond, thank you." Who has never dreamed of really doing Breakfast at Tiffany's? To the delight of the most incurable romantics, the title of the famous film he immortalizes Audrey Hepburn with croissant and coffee in hand in front of the windows of the New York jewelry Tiffany & Co. becomes reality.

Tiffany's cafe in London

The February 14, the day that celebrates lovers, but also a date in the middle of the London fashion week, inside the department stores London Harrods will open on Tiffany Blue Box Cafe: It will be a temporary store where you can enjoy breakfast and tea at five, but also a small dinner, surrounded by the jewels and the iconic blue of the brand.

From breakfast to dinner

On the menu croissants with butter with different fillings, fruit bowl, bagels, Waffle, Florentine eggs, Cornish crab muffins, avocado toast, but also finger sandwich (like the one with Faroe salmon) and cakes and scones to accompany tea, all served in classic cups and saucers. There will also be an opportunity to dine with two or three courses accompanied by wines and cocktails. You can also taste the Blue Box Celebration Cake made with white chocolate, vanilla and salted caramel, but only if you order it first.

breakfast-by-tiffany tea

It is not the only Blue Box Cafe in the world. The first was inaugurated in New York inside the Tiffany flagship store on Fifth Avenue, but at the moment it is closed for work and will be reopened in 2021.

The London cafe will be open from 8 to 22.30 from Monday to Friday and on Saturday from 10 to 18.30. Table reservations are already open and who knows if someone is not already thinking about a special gift for Valentine's Day or even how to organize a marriage proposal …

Blue Zone in Sardinia: the diet of centenarians – Italian Cuisine

In Sardinia, the number of centenarians is surprising and the concept of active aging is based precisely on this phenomenon. What are the secrets to getting over a hundred years healthy?

They are called Blue Zone, Identify parts of the world where it is possible to live happily and for a long time, there are very few: the Greek islet Icaria and the Japanese Okinawa, the peninsula of Nicoya in Costa Rica and the community in Loma Linda in California, but above all our Sardinia. On the beautiful island, there are magical corners where the inhabitants arrive and often easily exceed the 100-year goal, as in the area Ogliastra in the province of Nuoro, for example. Indeed, in the village of Seulo, in the Barbagia, they were counted well 20 centenarians between 1996 and 2016 confirming the longest living country in the world! It will be the sea and mountain air, the favorable combination of climate, the traditional social structure or simply the food based on Mediterranean diet? Let's find out together.

The invasion of the ultra centenarians

Antonio Todde, called Tziu Antoni, was officially recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records 2001 as the oldest man in the world who died at the age of 112 and 346 days. Guess where he was born? Exactly, in the province of Nuoro, in Tiana to be precise. At the BBC the Sardinian shepherd had revealed his secret: to live one day at a time without stress, to love others and drink a glass of red wine every day. Another example is Giovanni Frau, born in 1890 in Orroli in the province of Cagliari, who came to extinguish the 112th candle on the cake.

At their last birthday parties there was also the doctor Luca Deiana, For years professor of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Sassari, and one of the greatest scholars of the mystery of Sardinian centenarians. Its the project Akea, acronym of the Sardinian wish A kent’annos (up a hundred years old), which since the 2000s has been collecting data and testimonies on the territory up to census over 4 thousand ultra Sardinian centenarians. "On our island we have certain evidence that centenarians have always existed. And they are a constant. Thanks to the research we have carried out over the years, even with the Akea project, we can confidently say that there is a personality of the Sardinian centenary, The scholar, who also registered the brand, released the newspaper La Nuova Sassari THEonly of the centenarians.

The secrets of Sardinian grandparents

The discovery of the field elixir of long life could start right from the Sardinia, where certainly the original DNA is indispensable but not sufficient. It should be accompanied by other important factors (food, environmental, behavioral) that can certainly be an example to help everyone live longer and healthier.

In fact, at an anthropological level, typical essential elements such as the value of the social role (the family in the foreground), the sense of community (winning especially in the small inhabited centers of the hinterland, which live in the shadow of the bell tower), the awareness of the meaning of life. Let's not forget thephysical activity daily, which operates the locomotor system by spending the calories acquired – even in a playful version such as traditional dances, for example the Passu Torrau comparable to interval sports training.

Then we come to the secret of Pulcinella: the fundamental role of nutrition. Roberto Pili, president of the World Longevity Community, carries forward the concept of active aging right from Sardinia, emphasizing the Sardinian Mediterranean diet as a strength. "Healthy eating that respects nutritional and metabolic needs is in fact one of the pillars on which the privilege of overcoming the century of life is built."Says Pili, who recognizes the way to go in food sobriety and in conscious nutrition. The Sardinian environmental cradle with its wide biodiversity is winning starting from the local diet that allows the metabolism to dialogue with foods born in the same land.

The diet of centenarians

Eating habits in Sardinia are rooted in tradition and are based on a consumption of food mainly of vegetable origin (such as fruit, vegetables and legumes, not forgetting nuts) and a small percentage of animal origin (necessary for essential amino acids), seasoned with olive oil, rich in antioxidants, without forgetting the wine, strongly healthy when consumed in a way measured at meals, especially the red one as the typical one Cannonau.

From the point of view quantity, let's not forget that tradition is the single dish to compose the meal and is plant based with a minimal animal component for a balanced supply of macro and micro nutrients, without exaggeration or excess. A smart way to keep caloric intake under control, unlike what is happening in the world today.

We close with an example of the Sardinian centenary breakfast: from the high hill, it is based on the strong pastoral component with cow's milk or goat's milk (this last omega 3 and 6 virtuoso), the Sardinian yogurt called Gioddu and the wholemeal bread made with flour from the mills. And if you need to sweeten honey, but certainly not refined sugar. A first life lesson to learn for longevity – since morning.