Delicious Desserts

Desserts - Photo: Pixabay

A "Dessert" is a meal course that usually comes after dinner. Most often Dessert foods are of sweet food but can also be of a strongly flavored food, such as cheese, like cheesecake. The word dessert comes from the Old French word "desservir", which means 'to clear the table'. Often times in the English language dessert is confused with the word desert(note only one "s"), which is a barren piece of land normally with sand as soil. 

It wasn't until after the 19th-century where the rise of the middle class, and the mechanization of the sugar industry, brought the privilege of sweets into the general public and unreserved it exclusively for the aristocracy, or a rare holiday treat. This was because sugar became cheaper and more readily available to the general public. As sugar was widely spread, so was the development and popularity of desserts.

In today's culture dessert recipes have become a popular item for discussion, as they are a winning way to win people over at the end of any meal. This is partly because if you serve a mediocre meal, with an excellent dessert, people will remember you for the dessert and forget about the meal.

Most cultures have a separate final distinction between the main course, and the sweet course. This is not true however in some cultures such as Chinese, who will mix in sweet and savory dishes throughout the entire meal. Dessert is, often times seen as a separate meal or snack, rather than a course, and can be eaten sometime after the meal by many individuals. Because of its widespread popularity, there are even some restaurants that specialize in desserts.

Some of the most common desserts are:

- Biscuits or cookies

- Ice creams

- Meringues

- Fruit

- Cakes

- Crumbles

- Custards

- Gelatin desserts

- Puddings

- Pastries

- Pies or tarts

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Homemade ICE CREAM

Chocolate Ice Cream - Photo: Pixabay

Have you ever wondered if there was a healthful alternative to the sugar and preservative filled ice cream you buy in the supermarkets?  If you have or if you would truly like to try homemade ice cream then this is for you.  I have a recipe for vanilla ice cream, that will knock your socks off when you taste it.

The first thing you need to know is how to make your own 100% healthy and natural vanilla extract.  You might buy this from a good quality store if you can find an unadulterated brand.  To make your own you’ll need about a quart of milk, a  vanilla bean (available at most health food stores), and a teaspoon of honey.  You put the milk in a saucepan and heat on high while you slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and in half.

Then put the halves of the vanilla bean into the milk.  Boil for around 15 to  20 minutes, then cook on medium heat for a half hour or until the milk has a thin sheet of film on top.  

Stir the mixture constantly as it cooks to prevent burning.  Cool the extract and freeze in a plastic bottle or container.  This extract will last you for quite a while since recipes call for only a few teaspoons each.  You should-if you plan to make the ice cream anytime soon- save a cup of the extract in a container in your refrigerator.  Whenever you want to make more ice cream just get the extract out of the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator until a few tablespoons or so are thawed, then refreeze the rest before it thaws out.

Now I’ll give you my vanilla ice cream recipe, follow the instructions carefully and you’ll get wonderful results.

Vanilla Ice Cream

You’ll need: 3 eggs, with the egg whites and yolks, separated, 1/2 cup honey, 

4 cups light cream, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

1. In a medium size, bowl beat the yolks until smooth.  Gradually add honey, beating until well-blended and thick.  In a different small bowl beat the egg whites until stiff, stir beaten whites in with the yolk and honey.

2. Then add the cream and egg mixture together in a saucepan, cook on medium heat, stirring constantly for 15 minutes.

3. Stir in vanilla extract, and either process in an ice cream maker or just freeze in a bucket container overnight.  Serve with an ice cream scoop.

This ice cream is rich, creamy, natural, and very healthy I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Author: Beth Scott

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Delicious DESSERTS

A "Dessert" is a meal course that usually comes after dinner. Most often Dessert foods are of sweet food but can also be of a strongly flavored food, such as cheese, like cheese cake. The world dessert comes from the Old French word "desservir", which means 'to clear the table'. Often times in the English language dessert is confused with the word desert(note only one "s"), which is a baren peice of land normally with sand as soil. 

It wasn't until after the 19th-century where the rise of the middle class, and the mechanization of the sugar industry, brought the privilege of sweets into the general public and unreserved it exclusively for the aristocracy, or as rare holiday treat. This was because sugar became cheaper and more readily available to the general public. As sugar was widely spread, so was the development and popularity of desserts.

In today's culture dessert recipes have become a popular item for discussion, as they are a winning way to win people over at the end of any meal. This is partly because if you serve a mediocre meal, with an excellent dessert, people will remember you for the dessert and forget about the meal.

Most cultures, have a seperate final distinction between the main course, and the sweet course. This is not true however in some cultures such as Chinese, who will mix in sweet and savoury dishes throughout the entire meal. Dessert is, often times seen as a separate meal or snack, rather than a course, and can be eaten some time after the meal by many individuals. Because of it's wide spread popularity there are even some restaurants that specialize in desserts.

Some of the most common desserts are:

- Biscuits or cookies

- Ice creams

- Meringues

- Fruit

- Cakes

- Crumbles

- Custards

- Gelatin desserts

- Puddings

- Pastries

- Pies or tarts

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