Margarine, aptly means pearl in Greek because of its lustrous pearly drop form. It is a flavoured emulsified food product that is derived from plant fats. The recipe for this wonderfully versatile spread made from palm oil is shown in this video.

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Palm-based non-dairy ice cream is a luscious frozen dessert made from palm-based fats. They are gaining popularity as a healthy non-dairy alternative among ice-cream lovers globally. The art of whipping up this palm-based creamy treat is shown in this video.

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Palm-based chocolate products are a delectable treat made from cocoa butter equivalent or cocoa butter substitute. These specialty fats are derived from palm oil and palm kernel oil as they possess excellent physio-chemical properties. The making ofchocolates, an all-time favourite food, using palm-based specialty fats is shown in this video.

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Free radicals have been defined as atoms with an unpaired electron, which causes them to be unstable. They take part easily in chemical reactions or free radical activity. They are considered harmful, and blamed as one of the causes of cancer. They damage other materials as well such as your iron pipe, which has the unwanted rust.

Sources of Free Radicals

Air pollution, water pollution, cigarette smoke, pesticides, UV radiation, burnt and fried foods, alcohol, and even medicine, contain these free radicals. And unfortunately, human beings are exposed to it every day.

Free radicals affect the human body

These highly reactive atoms attack healthy cells of our body, making them a potential health hazard. To protect ourselves, antioxidants are vital for our defence system. They can be found mainly in fruits and vegetables, which contain plenty of vitamins and minerals. But as we need to have the optimum serving of these food groups in our diet, our daily intake may not be sufficient. Most people turn to vitamin supplements to compensate.

Vitamin E Tocotrienols in Fighting Free Radicals 

Vitamin C or E are examples of antioxidants (as the name suggests, preventing oxidation) that remove free radicals from the body.  When buying these vitamins, read the the dose of each tablet or capsule. Sometimes a cheaper vitamin brand may be simply because of the lesser content.

Additionally, vitamin E supplements can either be in tocopherol or tocotrienol forms. The difference is huge. Tocotrienols posses a higher antioxidant activity, making it more potent to protect damages that are in progress.

Images: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Santan sawit or palm milk is coconut milk’s (santan kelapa) new rival! Palm milk, which naturally is derived from palm oil is said to be better than coconut milk. It has a refreshingly sweet smell but with similar texture as coconut milk. The only downside may be that you have to refrigerate the palm milk, unless of course a new type of palm milk that does not require cold storage has been invented, that i am not aware of.

When palm milk is added to food such as rendang or curry, these dishes are able to last longer before turning bad or basi. It is notably delicious in cendol as well. Both coconut milk and palm milk are alternatives to evaporated milk, yoghurt, sour cream, among others.

Goodness of Palm Milk

Palm milk is free from cholesterol and contains lesser fats, while providing vitamin A and E. It is available in grocery stores and hypermarkets.

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There are so many types of honey blends and pure honey today. Apple cider vinegar honey and black seed oil honey (bees feed on the nectar of black seed plants) and manuka honey are just a few examples. But whatever types of honey that one fancies, for whatever reasons, caution should be taken as there are too many adulterated honey in the market today.

Phony Honey

Some honey has been found to be diluted with inexpensive high fructose corn syrup or various types of sweeteners. Some honey has been highly filtered to remove all traces of pollen. The reason is so that the geographical sources of this honey cannot be traced. This may be the case for honey that comes from certain countries, which is sold cheaply to buyers that would then package it into premium honey. Consumers who believe in the medicinal properties of honey and hope for general health improvements are thus paying more for super cheap ingredients.

Authentic honey should not have its pollen removed. And adulterated honey lacks just that. In some cases of course, pollen may inadvertently been taken out during the removal of foreign matter. Such filtration is common to create a more shelf-stable honey, but even so, 95 percent of all the pollen should be retained.

Getting Real Honey

Differentiating high quality pure honey and adulterated ones to avoid being duped, is not easy. There is no telling by sight whether the “pure honey” label is true or simply a concoction of water, corn syrup, and a little bit of honey. Prices too,  are unreliable indications of quality honey.

Some say that a way to tell is observing the clarity of honey. Crystallized honey means that adulteration has taken place. But then honey is sweet enough to granulate without the addition of other unwanted ingredients, especially in temperate climates. Others observed that pure honey does not dissolve easily when dropped into water. But then bear in mind that honey have different varieties, some are thicker than others, so even if other ingredients have been added, it remains stubbornly sticky before dissolving . So safest bet is to buy from a reputable brand, and see if you get the results that you want.