MYSTERY OBJECTS

[chinatyke]

I have an idea... Is it part of the carpenter's square that you are sending to Col?

[Stanley]

Good answers but China got it in the end. When Wendy picked the square up yesterday she recognised it as the mystery object but didn't take advantage.....
Next one?

[Wendyf]

Col was delighted to receive the mystery object!

[Stanley]

Splendid!

[Tizer]

That was a good one, Stanley. Something shown out of context. I should have realised it was something of that sort but it just didn't click for me. Well done China!

[Stanley]

Thanks Tiz. Funny how they come to you.... Anyone inspired enough to post the next?

[chinatyke]

I've just finished one of the centre objects in the picture. Widely available here. But what is it?

[Stanley]

Chinese equivalent of liquorice all sorts?

[chinatyke]

No, sorry. I should have said what fruit is it made from?

[Tizer]

That's funny - I saw the photo and immediately thought "Chinese equivalent of liquorice all sorts?" and I hadn't read Stanley's post at that point! Is the fruit figs?

[Marilyn]

My Indonesian friend used to make a cake ( that looked like that but both layers were paler). She cooked it under a grill and kept adding more layers. I can't remember what she called it, but said it meant "happiness cake".
Yours looks like it may have Ginger or Treacle to darken it.
It was very nice cake as I recall.

[Stanley]

Cherry?

[chinatyke]

Good guesses so far. Actually the fruit looks very much like red cherry but isn't. Sorry Maz, no treacle or ginger, the two layers are the same fruit processed differently. You have these in England, plenty around Barlick at this time of year. Not eaten by people in the UK as far as I know but they are delicious. Also used in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) & good for lowering blood pressure.

[David Whipp]

Hawthorn?

[chinatyke]

Hawthorn?

Exactly right, David. I thought of your wonderful pictures of hawthorn berries that you posted some time ago and wondered if you would solve it.

Chinese edible hawthorn berries grow about the size of a plum and are available as a sweet confection shown in the mystery object. The raw fruit is also eaten and has a nutty flavour.

http://www.burntridgenursery.com/CHINES ... o/NSHWCHI/

Also used in Chinese medicine to lower the blood pressure and claimed to have many other useful properties such as lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol and an antioxidant to mop up free radicals.

http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-hawthorn-berry.html

I eat them because I enjoy the taste but it's nice to know it is doing me good at the same time.

Makes me wonder why they are not eaten or used in jam in the UK? The birds seem to love them.

[PanBiker]

Sloe?

[Tizer]

Well done David! I think the Chinese hawthorn species are probably more palatable than the British, although this web site says the British varieties are OK for eating: LINK
I remember trying to eat our hawthorn berries as a child but thought they tasted unpleasant (but I thought beer was unpleasant the first time I tasted it!). Also I remember being told not to eat them, they would be bad for me. That might have simply been adults being cautious.

China, do you see much sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) being sold as a health supplement in China? It has yellow berries and I've heard it's popular in Russia and China.

[PanBiker]

I have just found a recipe for Hawthorn jelly, although another report I have read says to avoid wild Hawthorn as the berries have a cyanide content.

[Tizer]

Regarding cyanide in hawthorn berries, I think it's a case of asking the Yorkshire question: "Ow much?" I've read a few pages and it seems they contain amygdalin which breaks down in the gut to yield hydrogen cyanide; but apple pips are similar in that respect. There are also reports that hawthorn berries are found to be bad-tasting by most people. Some make hawthorn jelly but squeeze out the seeds first.

Birder forums are often a good source of information and I had a look at one. I didn't get much help but they started discussing Ray Mears and I found this exchange of posts amusing...

First poster: "I know one thing though if i was ever lost in the wilderness the one person i would want with me is mr mears."

Second poster: "If you had room for one person in your liferaft to get you to a desert island and your choice was Ray Mears or Claudia Schiffer. Who would it be? What a dilemma, unless Claudia can light fires and skin animals that is."

[chinatyke]

China, do you see much sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) being sold as a health supplement in China? It has yellow berries and I've heard it's popular in Russia and China.

I'm sure it will be sold in the TCM shops but I'm not a fan of TCM and stick to western medicines when I need any. We live a long way from the sea and I don't recognise the plant and fruit. My wife is away at the moment so I can't ask her if it is sold here and how it is used. She brings many things into the kitchen and uses them as ingredients in soups and I've no idea what they are.

Used in Spinello, the Tuscan drink, is that your interest?

[Tizer]

No, I hadn't heard of Spinello. I've read about sea buckthorn oil being sold as a health supplement and there seemed to be most interest in Russia and Far East. But I don't know what benefits it is supposed to have. A lot of these things are simply sold as being `healthy' without much explanation!

[Stanley]

Call me old fashioned but this is my version of health food..... Johnny Simpson's shorthorn stirk in 2003.

[Marilyn]

He looks far too cute to eat...

[Stanley]

I love shorthorn crosses. That one is a cherry roan, Shorthorn and Ayrshire, two good old breeds. They tell me that the Ayrshire breed is making a come back.....
That's given me an idea.... What breed is this bull? I knew him from a calf when I delivered him to Hughie Anderson at Clinchyard near Strathaven in Scotland....

[Wendyf]

Is he black or brown Stanley? I'm guessing Aberdeen Angus.