Tag: hydration

The importance of water in nutrition: a precious resource – Italian Cuisine

L’waterfall it is an essential resource for life, not only for our bodies, but also for the entire planet. The complex relationship between water and food reveals how this fundamental element directly influences our health, agriculture, the environment and the economy.

Water as an essential component of our body and the planet

L’Water makes up over 50% of our body, playing a crucial role in all biological processes. Not only our organism, but also the entire Earth is influenced by water, which covers most of its surface. This vital element is omnipresent, but not infinite. Its responsible management is essential to ensure the well-being of present and future generations.

Water in agriculture: a precious and often wasted resource

Agriculture is the sector that absorbs the majority of freshwater resources, constituting 70% of overall consumption. However, this usage is often inefficient. Sprinkler irrigation, widely used in large agricultural areas, requires large quantities of water, with a significant portion evaporating before reaching the soil. Furthermore, water collection and reuse are not common practices, while the use of pesticides, fertilizers and antibiotics in agriculture can cause pollution and contamination of water resources.

Food waste and its impact on water

In addition to the inefficiency in water management in agriculturefood is often wasted. Every year, 30% of the food produced is thrown away, wasting water equivalent to the water needs of New York City for the next twenty years. This double waste, of food and water, is unsustainable and requires greater awareness.

Drought, floods and the climate crisis: additional challenges

There climate crisis further complicates the relationship between water and nutrition. The drought is considered a kind of imminent pandemic, with 1.5 billion people already under water stress, a figure set to rise to 47% by 2030. Furthermore, phenomena such as worsening droughts in Italy and rising sea levels in the Pacific Islands affect food production, threatening food security.

Economic and political aspects

Water is also the subject of economic and political dynamics. Large corporations, the mining industry and international trade often undermine sustainable water management for the benefit of private interests and profit. In many cases, local communities, often poor and poorly educated, suffer the consequences of these dynamics.

L’Water is a fundamental resource for human life, agriculture, the environment and the economy. Its responsible management is essential to ensure the survival of present and future generations. World Food Day on 16 October, dedicated to water, invited us to reflect on how we can preserve this precious resource and guarantee a sustainable future for all. Awareness of water-related challenges and the adoption of virtuous policies and behaviors are imperative to address these complex challenges.

High hydration focaccia – Italian Cuisine

Put the flour in a bowl and pour half of the water over it, with the yeast and sugar dissolved in it.
Start kneading, then add the remaining water several times, and finally salt and oil.

Continue to work until you have a completely amalgamated dough, even if still sticky.
Pour the mixture on the floured work surface and let it rest for 1 hour at room temperature.

At this point proceed with the folds (if you don't know what I'm talking about, take a look here).
Make the first 3 folds, let rest for 15 minutes, then repeat the folds 3 more times (4 times total), always with 15 minutes of rest between one time and another.
At the end (after the 4th folds) the dough should be much more homogeneous and compact.

At this point, insert the dough in a lightly oiled container, cover with cling film and leave to mature in the refrigerator for about 12-24 hours or until it has tripled in volume.

When it has tripled, pick up the dough, turn it over on a floured work surface and leave it at room temperature for 1 hour.
After resting at room temperature, begin to gently stretch and roll the dough with your fingers, slowly creating a rectangle roughly the same size as the pan you will use for cooking.
Lift the dough with lightly floured hands and arms and move it on the pan, lightly greased with oil.
Let it rest again for 1 more hour, then brush with water and oil

Bake in a preheated convection oven at 180 ° C and cook for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown: the high hydration focaccia is ready.

Objective hydration: 30 ideas that will save you from the heat – Italian Cuisine

Summer, the great heat and the consequent loss of body fluids through sweating change the rules: if during the whole year it is recommended to take two liters of water a day, in summer it goes up to three. In fact, hydration is the first step to counteract the great heat and preserve the substances our body needs to make us feel good. Fruits, vegetables, smoothies and centrifuges allow us to increase the dose of liquids taken every day, also providing us with the essential vitamins and mineral salts so as not to feel the typical summer fatigue. But what more can be done to achieve the daily hydration goal?

Let's start at the table! We reduce salt, spicy and fried foods and too elaborate, we favor raw dishes or delicate cooking able to preserve the liquids naturally present in food. We have thought of 30 recipes rich in liquids, vitamins and mineral salts, ideal for facing the heat and promoting hydration: peach in syrup with fast granita, squid sautéed with watermelon, watermelon and raspberries with yogurt ice cream, summer minestrone, apricot soup with strawberries and crunchy sesame, chard cream and citronnette with hard yolk, melon and ginger sorbet, mango jelly and fresh fruit, peach tartare mixed and mint yoghurt, raspberry and tomato sorbet, lobster skewer with Bloody Mary, spiced zucchini and melon salad, fruit centrifuged and celery with watermelon and melon, carpaccio with raspberry sauce, melon salad white and yellow with feta, tomato soup, blueberry pudding, cream of lettuce and bundle of fish, Peppers cream roast and endive, avocado cream with melon, fruit and vegetable smoothie with grated biscuits, centrifuged mixed vegetables with panzanella, Gazpacho, ginger melon with seafood, coconut ice cream and mango carpaccio, cucumber mint and yogurt tartar, tomato granita, calamari and zucchini, pineapple salad, turkey and blackberry, cold carrot and pea cream and watermelon gazpacho, tomatoes and almonds.

Chocolate granita, frozen cedar and crunchy leaves.

Our 30 moisturizing recipes to combat heat

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Chocolate granita, frozen cedar and crunchy leaves