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Oranges are widely grown in warm climates worldwide, and the flavours of orange vary from sweet to sour. The fruit is commonly peeled and eaten fresh, or squeezed for its juice. It has a thick bitter rind that is usually discarded, but can be processed into animal feed by removing water using pressure and heat. It is also used in certain recipes as flavouring or a garnish. The outer-most layer of the rind is grated or thinly veneered with a tool called a zester, to produce orange zest, popular in cooking because it has a flavour similar to the fleshy inner part of the orange. The white part of the rind, called the pericarp or albedo and includes the pith, is a source of pectin and has nearly the same amount of vitamin C as the flesh.



Oranges and orange juice.Products made from oranges include:



Orange juice, one of the commodities traded on the New York Board of Trade. Brazil is the largest producer of orange juice in the world, followed by the USA.

Sweet orange oil, a by-product of the juice industry produced by pressing the peel. It is used as a flavouring of food and drink and for its fragrance in perfume and aromatherapy. Sweet orange oil consists of about 90% d-Limonene, a solvent used in various household chemicals, such as to condition wooden furniture, and along with other citrus oils in grease removal and as a hand-cleansing agent. It is an efficient cleaning agent which is environmentally friendly, and much less toxic than petroleum distillates. It also smells more pleasant than other cleaning agents.

The orange blossom, which is the state flower of Florida, is traditionally associated with good fortune, and was popular in bridal bouquets and head wreaths for weddings for some time. The petals of orange blossom can also be made into a delicately citrus-scented version of rosewater. Orange blossom water is a common part of Middle Eastern cuisine.

In Spain they dry the falled blossom then use it to make tea



Orange blossom honey, or actually citrus honey, is produced by putting beehives in the citrus groves during bloom, which also pollinates seeded citrus varieties. Orange blossom honey is highly prized, and tastes much like orange.

Marmalade, a conserve made usually with Seville oranges. All parts of the orange are used to make marmalade: The pith and pips are separated, and typically placed in a muslin bag where they are boiled in the juice (and sliced peel) to extract their pectin, aiding the setting process.

Since oranges are susceptible to frost damage, growers commonly use sprinklers to coat them with ice when temperatures go below freezing. This practice protects the crops by regulating temperature.



Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_(fruit)

This ancient spice is a popular flavoring in many cuisines, and is especially noted for its delectable aroma. There are many species of cinnamon, but Chinese cinnamomum trees, evergreens native to China and Vietnam and now cultivated in many parts of Asia, are the source for medicinal cinnamon bark remedies used in Chinese, Indian, and Western traditional medicine. A close relative, cassia, is often used interchangeably with cinnamon. Its name comes from the Greek word kassia, meaning "strip off the bark."



Medicinal use of cinnamon bark was first recorded in Chinese formularies as early as 2700 B.C. The herb has been used as a healing aid for stomach upset and gas, diarrhea, rheumatism, kidney ailments, and abdominal pain. Cinnamon "drops" containing the essential oils of cinnamon and cassia are also used for many of the same purposes. Possibly because Chinese cinnamon has antiseptic properties, the bark and the essential oils it contains are also used in topical products such as liniments, soaps, and lotions, and in oral preparations such as toothpaste and mouthwash.

Cinnamon comes in ‘quills’, strips of bark rolled one in another. The pale brown to tan bar strips are generally thin, the spongy outer bark having been scraped off. The best varieties are pale and parchment-like in appearance. Cinnamon is very similar to cassia, and in North America little distinction is given, though cassia tends to dominate the market. Cinnamon is also available ground, and can be distinguished from cassia by its lighter colour and much finer powder.

Gymnema sylvestre is a herb native to the tropical forests of southern and central India where it has been used as a natural treatment for diabetes for nearly two millennia.[1]



Contents [hide]

1 Description

2 Chemical composition

3 Use as herbal medicine

4 Alternative names

5 See also

6 References

7 Further reading

8 External links



[edit] DescriptionGudmar or Gymnema Sylvestre is Large climbers, rooting at nodes, leaves elliptic, acuminate, base acute to acuminate, glabrous above sparsely or densely tomentose beneath; Flowers small, in axillary and lateral umbel like cymes, pedicels long; Calyx-lobes long, ovate, obtuse, pubescent; Corolla pale yellow campanulate, valvate, corona single, with 5 fleshy scales. Scales adnate to throat of corolla tube between lobes; Anther connective produced into a membranous tip, pollinia 2, erect, carpels 2,unilocular; locules many ovuled; Follicle long, fusiform1.[





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnema_sylvestre

"The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional."

The new labeling law effective in 2006, The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA), requires manufacturers to declare if one or more of the 8 major food allergens are contained in a natural flavoring. The top 8 major food allergens are defined as: milk, egg, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts and soybeans.

If you are managing food allergies other than the top 8 major food allergens, however, the new law will not be of assistance to you in identifying the sources in any natural flavoring stated on a label.

The FDA does not require companies to disclose ingredients of color or flavor additives so long as all the chemicals in them are considered by the agency to be GRAS ("generally recognized as safe") enabling companies to maintain secrecy of formulas. It also hides the fact that flavors often contain more ingredients than the foods to which they give taste.

A typical artificial strawberry flavor contains over 30 chemicals. According to manufacturer safety data sheets those chemicals cause eye irritation, corneal damage, eye burns, skin irritation, severe / permanent damage to digestive tract, gastrointestinal irritation, gastrointestinal tract burns, CNS depression, neurological effects, liver abnormalities, cardiac abnormalities, or other harm.

Natural flavor, according to the FDA, must be derived entirely from natural sources (herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables, beef, chicken, yeast, bark, roots, etc). Consumers prefer to see natural flavors on a label out of a belief they are more healthful.

Natural flavor is not necessarily more healthful or purer than an artificial flavor. Almond flavor when derived from natural sources may contain traces of hydrogen cyanide, a deadly poison. When derived by mixing oil of clove & amyl acetate, it does not. Natural flavors and artificial flavors are often manufactured at same chemical plants.

Flavor manufacturing may also involve biotechnology, using enzyme reactions, fermentation, & fungal and tissue cultures. Flavors created by these methods are considered natural flavors by the FDA.

In addition to flavor chemicals also think about genetic engineering of food, DNA or gene alteration, and medicines and hormones given to cows, cattle, hogs, and chickens. What affect does it have upon us? Some are suspected causes of cancer or other problems.

When a natural flavor or artificial flavor is added to a food or drink the resultant processed food is no longer natural & is potentially harmful.

Source: http://web.archive.org/web/20030608101921/www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/opa-bckg.html