Category: Food

Italian apple cider vinegar

Knowing the Basics of Apple Cider Vinegar

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If you want to purchase Italian apple cider vinegar then the best place to visit is an Italian food online store. However, when you scroll the product page of the store, the number of options may leave you bewildered. So, to choose the right one, you need to learn at least the basics and be good at reading ingredients. You don’t want to waste your precious time and money on an inferior quality apple cider vinegar. Here is what you need to know to buy the best quality apple cider vinegar. 

Unfiltered 

An unfiltered apple cider vinegar is not over-processed. You can easily identify unfiltered apple cider vinegar. It has a cloudy appearance. It may also contain a small amount of sediment. 

Following are some good reasons for buying unfiltered apple cider vinegar: 

  • It is a general wellness tonic that is good for your digestive system and overall health. 
  • It is an excellent source of nutrients and living bacteria.

Keep in Mind 

  • The vinegar continues to ferment as bacteria are not strained out.  
  • You have to dilute it to adjust its taste for drinking. However, you will get its health benefits.    
  • When it comes to cooking, its flavor changes. So, use its filtered alternatives. 

Filtered 

Let’s answer the question you are most likely to ask. Why buy filtered apple cider vinegar when we have a healthier unfiltered version. Following are some good reasons for buying the filtered version:

  • You can use it for household cleaning and disinfecting. 
  • You can use it like skin toners and hair rinses. 
  • It is inexpensive. 

Unpasteurized 

Buy unpasteurized vinegar if you are buying for health reasons. This vinegar does not go through any heating process. Heating is done to kill bad bacteria. However, this process kills good bacteria as well.  

The Mother 

Unpasteurized apple cider vinegar contains ‘the mother’. It has wispy, white cobweb-like strands. You can find these strands around the bottom of the bottle. Also known as’ the mother’, the vinegar gets most of its health benefits from these strands. Following are the uses of ‘the mother’:

  • It contains enzymes and living bacteria. 
  • It has live probiotic colonies and therefore, considered as “living food”. 

Organic 

Try to learn about the type of apples used. You can find brands mentioning ‘whole’, ‘heirloom’ or ‘old world’ apples. Make sure that you are buying non-GMO products.

Raw 

Raw vinegar does not go through either pasteurization or filtration. This is why it offers powerful benefits. It is useful for beauty uses and health tonics. 

Double Strength 

This higher acidity vinegar is alkalizing on the body. Double strength apple cider vinegar is pretty expensive. 

Before You Gulp it Down 

Apple cider has certain health benefits to offer. It improves digestion, balances insulin levels and alkalizes the body. However, don’t drink it neat as it can cause irritation in your gums and throat. Don’t try to be brave. Dilute it in a cup of warm water. 

In the end, find an Italian food online store that sells authentic Italian apple cider vinegar.

Parmesan Cheese

Making Use of Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese in Authentic Ricotta Gnocchi

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Italy is known for its cuisine assaulted with numerous cheese flavours ranging from mozzarella to parmesan. Adding different types of cheese in traditional Italian dishes makes them distinctive from the rest of the world. Not just for pizza but cheese is an integral part of various other Italian dishes that we can try at home. Every Italian pasta lover must have tried gnocchi at least for once in the restaurant. This pasta is hard to find in the local supermarket. We will tell you how to prepare it at home in some easy steps. Just order mozzarella and parmesan cheese online to enhance the flavours in your pasta dish. 

Ricotta Gnocchi

This is an authentic and easy recipe which requires very common ingredients. Before starting the preparation, we recommend draining the excess water from ricotta by keeping it in the refrigerator. Properly drying the ingredients before using is a secret to cooking the best ricotta gnocchi at home. Let’s start with the process of cooking. 

Ingredients for Gnocchi

  • Ricotta cheese (8 ounces)
  • All-purpose flour (one cup)
  • Freshly grated parmesan cheese (½ cup)
  • Eggs (2)
  • Salt (one teaspoon)
  • Pepper (one teaspoon)
  • Garlic powder (1 teaspoon)

Ingredients for Sauce

  • Fresh mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)
  • Can diced tomatoes (15.5 ounces)
  • Means garlic (one tablespoon)
  • Olive oil (3 tablespoons)
  • Finely shredded basil leaves (6)
  • Chilli flakes, Salt and pepper for taste

Directions to prepare

Total time:-1 hour

Total servings:- 5

Approximate calories:- 440

  1. Take a large bowl, add ricotta cheese, Parmesan Cheese, eggs, salt, pepper, and garlic powder and mix them evenly. 
  2. Add 1 cup of flour and prepare a dough which must be soft. Use a rolling pin and make ½ inch thick base. Cut the base into 1-inch pieces and place in a lightly floured baking sheet. 
  3. Keep these pieces in the refrigerator and start with the process of making its sauce.
  4. Take a saucepan and heat olive oil in it to stir garlic until it turns golden brown. Pour diced tomatoes, pepper flakes and cook them on medium flame for the next 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper and basil leaves in the end and stir well. 
  5. Your gnocchi must be ready to cook in this time period. bring a large pot of salted water and boil it. Add gnocchi pieces in the boiling water for maximum of 2 minutes and then drain it. 
  6. add mozzarella cheese cubes in the sauce we recently made and heat it to soften. make sure that you are just softening the mozzarella cheese not melting it completely. Pour this sauce over your gnocchi and enjoy. Order mozzarella cheese online from the nearest seller because it must be fresh enough to soften and easily. 

Within less than one hour, your authentic Italian ricotta gnocchi will be ready to serve. You can also spread some extra mozzarella cheese over the sauce by shredding it.