German and german class paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

German and german class - Term Paper Example German health care system is considered one of the finest not only in Europe but also around the world. Hospitals in Germany continue to lead the industry where patients from Eastern Europe, Gulf and Arab nations seek medical care from this country. Germany’s hospitals became the primary choice in health travel because of high level of medical care and technical advances (www.health-tourism.com, Medical Tourism to Germany). Hospitals in Germany by law need to undergo surveillance programs under government supervision. Certifications and accreditations such from DIN or Deutsches Institut fr Normung, TEMOS or Telemedicine for the Mobile Society, and KTQ-GmBH or Cooperation for Quality and Transparency in Health Care must be complied (www.health-tourism.com, Medical Tourism to Germany). Aside from acquiring accreditations and certificates from German Institute for Standardization, physicians undergo strict and thorough training before they can practice. Even when they were still medical students, they underwent basic preliminary scientific study and hands-on clinical study. It will take 5 to 7 years for them to finish their desired specialization which is followed by another examination before they can practice. However, even with this intensive study, Germany still has higher average number of physician than USA and Canada with an average of 368 physicians per 100,000 residents (www.health-tourism.com, Medical Tourism to Germany). Saudi Arabia is also noted for having excellent medical facilities. One of the largest hospitals in Middle East is King Fahd Medical City. This hospital is known to have fine obstetric gynaecological and paediatric departments. When it comes to eye hospitals, one of the best in the world is the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital (www.expatfocus.com, Saudi Arabia-Health Care and Medical Treatment). Saudi Arabia committed to improving medical health treatment for

Role of Pectic Enzymes in Fruit Ripening Process

Role of Pectic Enzymes in Fruit Ripening Process ABSTRACT Fruits are important natural sources of human nutrition for regulation of several metabolic functions and maintenance of good health. They are one of the significant commercial food commodities and their economic value depends on several limiting factors. They easily undergo ripening in a shorter period of time and have a limited post-harvest existence. Fruit ripening is a common phenomenon occurring in fruits based on which they are harvested, consumed directly or processed for various purposes. It is an intricate phenomenon involving extremely synchronized, genetically encoded and an irreversible process that results in a sequence of biochemical, physical and organoleptic alterations in a fruit. This finally develops into soft, palatable and a ripe fruit which possess necessary quality characteristics. On the other hand, excessive ripening results in spoilage of fruits. Ripening is related to the modifications of cell wall polysaccharides like starch, cellulose, hemicellulose and p ectins. Despite of several changes occurring in fruits such as loss of turgor, starch degradation and loss of contents during ripening, enzyme-catalysed variations to cell wall composition and structure are considered as main reason for softening of fruits. Pectic enzymes are a group of enzymes responsible for pectin degradation in fruits. They are termed as pectinase that includes pectic lyase, polygalacturonase, pectic methyl esterase and rhamnogalacturonase. Pectic enzymes degrade pectin resulting in softening and senescence in fruits. Pectins are the important polysaccharides occurring in middle lamella and primary cell wall. It contributes to the texture, consistency and quality of fruits. Degradation of pectin during ripening process was known to cause fruit tissue softening. Recent developments in molecular biology have helped in better understanding of fruit ripening mechanism due to enzymic activity. A review about the role of pectic enzymes on the plant cell walls to bring about softening during ripening process is discussed. Keywords: Fruits, cell wall polysaccharides, pectin, pectic enzymes, ripening INTRODUCTION Fruits are important sources of human nutrition and it is a commercially essential food commodity. Fruits are greatly specialized structures developed from a matured and pollinated ovary which have aesthetic characteristics with delicate aroma, striking colours, flavour, taste and juiciness from the edible seed vessels or receptacles (Prasanna et al., 2007). Prasanna et al., (2007) have indicated that fruits possess a wide variety of nutritional substances like vitamins (B-complex, C and K), phenolics and carotene providing higher energy value. They are classified as temperate, tropical and sub-tropical fruits based on their distribution in nature (Prasanna et al., 2007). When completely matured, harvesting of fruits is done. Maturity and ripening of fruits depends on their catalytic mechanism and based on the respiration pattern and biosynthesis of ethylene during ripening, harvested fruits are grouped as climacteric (capable of ripening after detachment from parent plant) and non-c limacteric (unable to continue ripening when detached from parent plant) type (Prasanna et al., 2007). Fruit ripening is an intricate irreversible phenomenon which is highly synchronized and genetically encoded causing biochemical, physiological and organoleptic alterations resulting in a ripened edible fruit (Prasanna et al., 2007). Several factors involved in ripening of fruits are shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Factors involved in fruit ripening (Koning, 1994) Plant cell walls are complex structures which contain polysaccharides, proteins and enzymes. Pectin which contributes about one-third of the plant cell wall in dicots plays a crucial role in tissue development, adherence of cells, apoplastic porosity and so on (Almeida and Huber, 2007). Pectin is in control of maintenance of integrity of cell wall. It forms a cross-link between cellulose microfibrils and xyloglucans as shown in Figure 2. During ripening, pectin is greatly modified by the enzyme actions resulting in relaxing of cellular interconnections. This leads to loosening and hydrolysis of cell wall polymers which is the main reason for softening of fruit tissues (Gwanpua et al., 2014). Figure 1: Plant cell wall structure (Sticklen, 2008) Texture, an important quality attribute in fruits is altered leading to softening of fruits during ripening (Barret and Gonzalez, 1994). The mechanisms involved in fruit ripening were not understood clearly. It may be due to several factors like turgor loss, starch deprivation, loss of nutritional contents and so on (Ali et al., 2004). The major changes in texture causing softness where due to enzyme-catalysed changes in the cell wall assembly and composition, cell wall polysaccharides (pectin and cellulose) solubilization partially or completely (Waldron and Faulds, 2007). It has been studied by Rodriguez and Restrepo (2011) that, Pectic constituents is an important determinant of the firmness and consistency of the fruits (Van Buren, 1991). Pectinesterase (PE), polygalacturonase (PG) and Pectateliase (PL) are major pectic enzymes responsible for softening of fruit tissues during ripening (Rodriguez and Restrepo, 2011). Rodriguez and Restrepo (2011) have also indicated that, combine d action of these enzymes add to the final texture of fruit and when these enzymes undergo excessive reactions with pectin, it results in notorious softening and provides perfect conditions for microbial attack. Gwanpua et al., (2014) studied that softening is one of the significant changes occurring in climacteric fruit ripening. They were more prone to microbial infections and physical damages and may adverse during prolonged storage. Fruit firmness determines its economic value and considerable effects were taken to control softness of fruits due to enzymic action, metabolic changes and changes in storage conditions (Gwanpua et al., 2014). Softening associated with the ripening mediated by the pectic enzyme action on plant cell walls of different fruits is discussed in this study. 2. Pectic enzymes Pectinases are commonly referred to as pectic enzymes. They act upon pectin constituents of cell wall matrix resulting in softening of fruits. Polygalacturonase (PG), Pectin methyl esterase (PME), Pectin lyase (PL) are some of the major pectic enzymes classified based on their type of action involved in degradation of pectins. The modes of action of these enzymes are as shown in figure 2. Figure 3: Mode of action of pectolytic enzymes (Van Rensburg and Pretorius, 2000). PME causes de-esterification by catalysing the pectin methyl group hydrolysis (Prasanna et al., 2007). They were known to usually attack on the methyl ester linkages of a galacturonate entity which lies next to non-esterified galacturonate component. This process acts as a precondition for polygalacturonase activity (Prasanna et al., 2007). Rodriguez and Restrepo (2011) implicated that pectin methyl esterases (PME) were found to alter pectin in case of low methoxy pectin and in polygalacturonic acid by hydrolysis of methyl ester bonds in esterified carboxyls. It was observed that the softening process could be controlled by the control of this enzyme action in fruits like pear, grape, citrus, tomato, strawberry, arracacha, potato, papaya, kiwi and guava (Rodriguez and Restrepo, 2011; Prasanna et al., 2007). PG, referred as Pectolytic glycanase is an essential hydrolytic enzyme playing an important role in pectin termination (Prasanna et al., 2007). They act on pectic acids and ÃŽ ±-1, 4- glycosidic bonds are hydrolysed between the residues of galacturonic acid in galacturonans. They are categorized as endo-PG and exo-PG (Prasanna et al., 2007). Prasanna et al., (2007) studied that Endo-PG act randomly in pectin de-polymerization and exo-PG releases galacturonic acid by catalysing the glycosidic bonds hydrolysis from the non-reducing end of the pectic substances. It is recognized that middle lamella dissolution in the course of fruit ripening were done by PG. PL undergoes mechanism of ÃŽ ²-elimination of the glycosidic bonds (Prasanna et al., 2007). They also indicated that PL acts an endo-enzyme which acts randomly during cleavage of esterified galacturonate units. PL was known to act at methyl-ester bonds leading to beta-elimination of glycosidic bonds by formation of double bonds in galacturonic acids (Rodriguez and Restrepo, 2011). Rodriguez and Restrepo (2011) specified that pectin lyase (PL) enzyme were responsible for cell wall degradation resulting in softening of banana and strawberries. The changes in pectin due to these enzymes action were as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4: Action of Pectolytic enzymes on pectin (Prasanna et al., 2007) 2.1. Role of pectic enzymes in softening during ripening in different fruit varieties Pectic enzymes play an important role in ripening of fruit by degradation of pectic substances found in fruits. Several researches were conducted in different fruit varieties and in their respective juices to understand the role of pectic enzymes in softening of fruit tissues and their intended use in preparation of fruit juices to enhance mashing of fruits, for clarification of fruit juices and also to increase the release of flavours from fruits (Whitaker, 1984). Invitro-studies of some selected fruits and their pectic enzymic activity is discussed. Besford and Hobson (1972) studied the pectic enzyme activity in tomato fruit and concluded that action of PG/ PME or transelimination by pectic transeliminase were not responsible for tomato ripening. Almedia and Huber (2008) have indicated that softening of tomato fruit during ripening were not associated with the PG activity eventhough they remained active in ripened fruit. Enzymic activities of other fruits are studied comparing with tomato as model fruit (Ali et al., 2004). Pires and Finardi-Filho (2005) have extracted PE and PG from Peruvian carrots to understand the pectic enzyme activities in carrot and found that pectinases along with amylases would act together to bring about spoilage in tubers. Owino et al., (2004) have studied about the alterations in fig fruits during ripening due to changes in cell-wall polysaccharides. They have concluded that qualitative differences in both receptacle and drupelets were observed in pectic polymers compared to the hemi-cellulosic substances. This indicates that ripening of fig is associated with modifications in pectin. Several studies were done to understand ripening of strawberries genetically as it softens rapidly (Pombo et al., 2009; Bustamante et al., 2006). It was observed that cell wall degradation were due to pectin dissoloution by pectic enzyme activities in strawberries which enters ripening phase quicker overlapping with the senescence. Manrique and Lajolo (2004) discussed about the cell-wall modifications in papaya fruit during postharvest ripening. They found that several enzymic actions are involved in papaya fruit during the entire period. There were notable changes in pectic polymers during papaya ripening which were mainly due to PG activity and probably due to PME as there were charge density modifications in polymers (Manrique and Lajolo, 2004). Avocado fruit undergoes pectin depolymerisation in contrast to other fruits and it was observed that it was the only fruit in which huge amounts of pectin were readily solubilizing under milder conditions (Pesis et al., 1978; Huber at al., 2001). In case of apples, exo-PG, PME and PL activity were observed to cause changes in cell wall polysaccharides (Goulao et al., 2007; Oritz et al., 2011). Studies related to cell wall modification during ripening of apples reveals that exo-PG, PME and PL activity influences softening of apples (Goulao et al., 2007). Studies by Gw anpua et al., (2014) in jonagold apples have shown that increment of PG activity occurred late during ripening and PME activity did not influence the ripening process. Cheng et al., (2011) observed that banana fruit which enters softening during ripening were associated with pectic hydrolytic activity and it was mainly due to the combined effects of PG and PME activity. Abu-Goukh and Bashir (2003) have observed that softening of guava fruit and mango were mainly due to PG and cellulose activity during ripening which resulted in drop in firmness of the fruits. Similarly in case of peaches, softening is due to depolymerisation of pectin by endo-PG activity resulting in solubilization of cell-wall polymers (Yoshioka et al., 2011). 3. CONCLUSION Pectin polymers form a gel-like matrix which provides cell-wall integrity contributing to the firmness of fruits. It stabilizes the texture and colour of the fruit based on which freshness of fruits is determined. Commercial value of fruits is based on these quality attributes. Several researches conducted on different types of fruits indicate that pectic enzymes have an important role in softening of fruit tissues during ripening. They were known to cause pectin solubilization in cell-wall matrices by different modes of action like lysis, de-esterification and glycanase activity. Research studies conducted on selected types of fruits under in-vitro conditions indicated that Polygalacturonase activity is predominant in almost all-types of fruits compare to pectin methyl-esterase and Pectic-lyase activities. Pectic enzymes were not the only factor for softening of fruits during ripening as it is influenced by several other factors like changes in pH, temperature, harvesting period, st orage conditions, physical damage, microbial attack, presence of sugars, other hydrolytic, kinetic and amylase enzymes and so on. Better understanding of mechanism of pectic enzymes on primary cell-walls of fruits would enhance the control of softening and ripening process. This in turn, will improve the quality of fruits extending its shelf-life. Recent advancements favoured the isolation of pectic enzymes commercially which is used intentionally for accelerating the maturation of fruits, added in production of fruit juices to easily crush the fruits, to solubilize the complex cell-wall matrices, to release all nutrients, to control haze formation in juices, to enhance flavour and colour characteristics of fruit juices, and so on. Recent developments in molecular biology have paved a way for genetically understanding the pectic enzyme action on primary cell-walls in fruits. Henceforth, pectic enzymes play a determining role in softening associated with ripening of fruits.

How Does The ?surround-sound? :: essays research papers

How does the â€Å"surround-sound† technique work?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Surround Sound which was introduced by Dolby Laboratories Inc to position sound around the audience so that the effects within movies would make them feel as though they were really there. The use of directional sound from different points in the room according to their depth, sharpness and clarity was the main goal. Starting off from a standard called Dolby Stereo, two separate channels were introduced, both left and right, so that other speakers could in turn double-up to provide a multitude of left and right channels all around the audience. The input of a effects channel (later called Surround channel) was implemented so that a sense of ambience and spatiality could be experienced from the audience. This surround channel was positioned behind and to the left and right of the audience provided the sound depth that the audio engineers were looking for.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This then gave way to a standard, which was known as Dolby Surround, soon followed by Dolby Surround – Pro Logic. This standard incorporated the original two channels for sound, but had an in-built decoder so that the surround channel, and also a center channel (positioned to the direct front of the audience) could be played back to enhance this surround feeling. A many number of speakers could be connected up to enhance the feeling associated with the different types of audio sources, and in turn provide more depth and realism to the audio source.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dolby Digital was incorporated into the home cinema as well as movie theatres to provide the ultimate audio reproductive source. The use of individual speaker components positioned around the audience comprising of a front left, front right, surround left, surround right, center, and subwoofer speaker were given their own audio input. This was called Dolby Digital 5.

Accounting: Final Exam Essay

For each of the following course objectives, explain in 200-400 words what you learned in this course and how you could apply your learning of this course objective to your personal life or career. Refer to the syllabus to assist you in understanding what material was covered under each objective. 4pts each 1) CHANGING DYNAMICS OF ACCOUNTING The steps of accounting cycles are revenues, expenditures, conversion/ production, financing, fixed assets, and financial reporting. Revenues most often occur as the result of the selling of a service or product. These transactions are recorded in the form of cash receipts and sales orders. Expenditures are a result of the materials and labor need to generate revenues. For example a dry cleaning business would need certain chemicals, bags and hangers for cleaned clothes, and employees to operate the business. Conversion represents the production or the good or service sold by the company. In other terms the time/ cost to produce and market the good or service. Financing is also known as and outstanding debt, such as stocks or any outstanding bonds. The fixed asset details the purchase, disposition, and depreciation of company assets. See more:  Masters of Satire: John Dryden and Jonathan Swift Essay Once all journal entries have been posted and all accounts closed a trial balance is prepared and is used to identify errors and eventually prepare the financial reporting for the company. Accounting systems have become more automated and the need for human intervention is becoming more limited. Automation of these systems does allow for increased efficiency and accuracy and has allowed manual accounting task to be performed more quickly. Human intervention is necessary though to ensure the data being entered is correct. Human intervention can also help to identify errors that may have been made in the initial inputting of information. As technology evolves it is near  impossible to not have some interaction with the internet. Companies often have multiple locations as the internet opens the company to customers they could not otherwise reach. While the internet opens companies for increased commerce, there is also increased risk to the company’s data. We have recently heard in the news how the State of South Carolina’s Department of Revenue’s systems were hacked and thousands of tax payer’s personal information such as social security numbers were stolen. (http://www.postandcourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=pc160442). To ensure company security, many it department limit users ability to access certain websites and download programs, games, and even pictures. 2) INFORMATION SYSTEMS INFRASTRUCTURE (to earn full credit meet word count of at least 200 words) Accounting Information Systems (AIS) is what business use to collect, manage, and report financial information. AIS is a mix of people, procedures, raw data, software, and control. Internal controls are specifically vital as they work to maintain the integrity of data being entered and reported as well as protocol to protect sensitive data. A company’s internal controls must also meet or exceed SOX in order to be in compliance. Companies employee a mix of general and application controls to meet these requirements. Application controls include financial application controls to detect errors such as incorrect keying of raw data. This could also include pre-coding bank transactions so that deposits are accidently recorded as withdrawals and vise versa. General controls include items such as segregation or duties, documenting and processing data, reconciliation of accounts, and even restricting access to certain systems to the employee who needs the system to perform their job. AIS can include not only the internal controls one thinks of (such as segregation of duties) but also systems restrictions and requiring key card access for entry to various sites and departments. These items protect stored data and also allow for tracking of individuals needing this type of access. As accounting systems become increasingly automated, firms are seeking individuals who have not only the understanding of GAAP and SOX, but also solid understanding of IT controls and process. 3) DATA MANAGEMENT AND INTEGRATION (to earn full credit meet word count of  at least 200 words) I found week three to be the most challenging for me. While I regularly use excel, learning correct terminology and how to build a database was especially difficult. While some terms were easy to grasp (such as field, record, and queries) truly understanding how tables and data relate to each other was difficult to grasp. When I realized that a primary key is unique and is defined in one table and that primary key would be the foreign key on another table and is what is used to join the tables, building a database became clearer. Because the internet has changed the face of business, some companies find integrating reports from various divisions challenging. Software often has to be developed or modified so all reporting divisions have access to properly report expenditures and revenue. The data must also be organized and maintained in a logical way. Maintenance of the data is as important as the reporting. Without proper maintenance, future queries will not reflect the true numbers. Good maintenance and relation within a database also allows for companies to easily query the wealth of information within their own records to gain additional insight into buying trends, possible room for more efficient production, and quick review of possible errors. 4) BUSINESS MODELING PROCESSES AND SYSTEM DESIGN (to earn full credit meet word count of at least 200 words) SDLC is the process which should ensure a quality product. SDLC stands for Software Development Life Cycle. The SDLC includes planning, system analysis and design, development, testing, implementation, and maintenance. In planning the company would identify the need, set a timeline for completion and outline the recourses needed for completion. The planning phase would also include what the company hopes to accomplish with new software. After the need is identified, analysis of current procedures and software is performed. This would include documentation of current procedures and identifying gaps in the system and best practices. This is most often accomplished by reviewing requirements of each job, speaking with managers and employees. Once these needs and shortfalls are identified, then the development process begins. The software should then been tailored/ purchased with the identified need and the company’s current shortfalls in mind. Once this is completed companies will often test the new software either in theory or in a small division of the  company. For instance due to system and accounting needs my company recently developed a new ordering system. Rather than deploying the new system nationwide, one smaller district is being used to test and improve. After this is completed my company will move onto the implantation process. Implementation includes not only actually beginning to use new software but also transferring of old data to the new system, training employees on new procedures and how to use the new software. Once a system is implemented it should be maintained. Companies should continually review for issues and correct and adjust the system as needed. AIS should cover all levels of the co mpany’s financial reporting needs 5) INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND AUDITING (to earn full credit meet word count of at least 200 words) The auditing of a company’s information system is vital to ensuring the company’s records are accurate and well protected. Also, it is imperative that the information systems are compliant with GAAP and SOX. SOX was enacted to address possible weakness on company’s internal controls and as a result of the scandal at companies Enron and Worldcom. Upon examination of why these companies failed, it was determined that the internal controls that should have been in place to ensure proper and truthful reporting were lacking. The internal controls govern the integrity of the data collected, processed, and disclosed on financial reports. SOX requires external/ independent auditors to test whether a company’s internal controls and procedures are sufficient and report this on the company’s financial report. To prevent CFOs and CEOs from claiming no knowledge of misreporting, SOX now requires that these individuals identify their knowledge of the company’s finances, how it was reported, documentation of their own involvement and the internal controls used to govern this. SOX also provides providing criminal and financial penalties for individual non-compliance. . In order to complaint with GAAP a company’s policies should include organizational structure outline, descriptions of transaction types, summaries of revenue, as well as a list of unacceptable practices. While SOX was enacted to prevent fraudulent reporting some smaller companies do struggle with ensuring they are compliant with the internal controls outlined.

Indonesian Cuisine Conclusion

Indonesian cuisine is diverse, in part because Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 populated islands of the total 18,000 in the world's largest archipelago. [1] Many regional cuisines exist, often based upon cultural and foreign influences. [1] Indonesian cuisine varies greatly by region and has many different influences. [1][2][3] Throughout its history, Indonesia has been involved in trade due to its location and natural resources. Additionally, Indonesia’s indigenous techniques and ingredients were influenced by India, the Middle East, China, and finally Europe.Spanish and Portuguese traders brought New World produce even before the Dutch came to colonize most of the archipelago. The Indonesian islands The Moluccas (Maluku), which are famed as â€Å"the Spice Islands†, also contributed to the introduction of native spices, such as cloves and nutmeg, to Indonesian and global cuisine. Some popular Indonesian dishes such as nasi goreng,[4] gado-gado,[5][6] sate ,[7] and soto[8] are ubiquitous in the country and considered as Indonesian national dishes.Sumatran cuisine, for example, often has Middle Eastern and Indian influences, featuring curried meat and vegetables such as gulai and kari, while Javanese cuisine is more indigenous. [1] The cuisines of Eastern Indonesia are similar to Polynesian and Melanesian cuisine. Elements of Chinese cuisine can be seen in Indonesian cuisine: foods such as bakmi (noodles), bakso (meat or fish balls), and lumpia (spring rolls) have been completely assimilated. Some popular dishes that originated in Indonesia are now common across much of Southeast Asia.Indonesian dishes such as satay, beef rendang, and sambal are also favoured in Malaysia and Singapore. Soy-based dishes, such as variations of tofu (tahu) and tempe, are also very popular. Tempe is regarded as a Javanese invention, a local adaptation of soy-based food fermentation and production. Another fermented food is oncom, similar in some ways to te mpe but using a variety of bases (not only soy), created by different fungi, and particularly popular in West Java.Indonesian meals are commonly eaten with the combination of a spoon in the right hand and fork in the left hand (to push the food onto the spoon), although in many parts of the country, such as West Java and West Sumatra, it is also common to eat with one's hands. In restaurants or households that commonly use bare hands to eat, like in seafood foodstalls, traditional Sundanese and Minangkabau restaurants, or East Javanese pecel lele (fried catfish with sambal) and ayam goreng (fried chicken) food stalls, they usually serve kobokan, a bowl of tap water with a slice of lime in it to give a fresh scent.This bowl of water should not to be consumed, however; it is used to wash one's hand before and after eating. Eating with chopsticks is generally only found in food stalls or restaurants serving Indonesian adaptations of Chinese cuisine, such as bakmie or mie ayam (chicken noodle) with pangsit (wonton), mie goreng (fried noodles), and kwetiau goreng (fried flat rice noodles). Contents [hide] 1 Rice 2 Other staples 3 Vegetables 4 Meat and fish 5 Spices and other flavorings 6 Peanut sauce 7 Coconut milk 8 Regional dishes Foreign influences 10 Influence Abroad 11 Meal Times 12 Feasts: Tumpeng and Rijsttafel 13 Non-alcoholic Beverages 14 Alcoholic beverages 15 Snacks and street food 16 Fruits 17 Health and hygiene 18 See also 19 References 20 External links [edit]Rice Main article: Rice production in Indonesia Using water buffalo to plough rice fields in Java; Rice is a staple for all classes in contemporary; Indonesia is the world's third largest paddy rice producer and its cultivation has transformed much of Indonesia’s landscape.Rice is a staple for all classes in contemporary Indonesia,[2][9] and it holds the central place in Indonesian culture: it shapes the landscape; is sold at markets; and is served in most meals both as a savoury and a swe et food. The importance of rice in Indonesian culture is demonstrated through the reverence of Dewi Sri, the rice goddess of ancient Java and Bali. Traditionally the agricultural cycles linked to rice cultivations were celebrated through rituals, such as Seren Taun rice harvest festival.Rice is most often eaten as plain rice with just a few protein and vegetable dishes as side dishes. It is also served, however, as nasi uduk (rice cooked in coconut milk), nasi kuning (rice cooked with coconut milk and turmeric), ketupat (rice steamed in woven packets of coconut fronds), lontong (rice steamed in banana leaves), intip or rengginang (rice crackers), desserts, vermicelli, noodles, arak beras (rice wine), and nasi goreng (fried rice). [10] Nasi goreng is omnipresent in Indonesia and considered as national dish. 4] Rice was only incorporated into diets, however, as either the technology to grow it or the ability to buy it from elsewhere was gained. Evidence of wild rice on the island of S ulawesi dates from 3000 BCE. Evidence for the earliest cultivation, however, comes from eighth century stone inscriptions from the central island of Java, which show kings levied taxes in rice. The images of rice cultivation, rice barn, and mouse pest investing a ricefield is evident in Karmawibhanga bas-reliefs of Borobudur.Divisions of labour between men, women, and animals that are still in place in Indonesian rice cultivation, were carved into relief friezes on the ninth century Prambanan temples in Central Java: a water buffalo attached to a plough; women planting seedlings and pounding grain; and a man carrying sheaves of rice on each end of a pole across his shoulders (pikulan). In the sixteenth century, Europeans visiting the Indonesian islands saw rice as a new prestige food served to the aristocracy during ceremonies and feasts. 9] Rice production in Indonesian history is linked to the development of iron tools and the domestication of Wild Asian Water Buffalo as water buf falo for cultivation of fields and manure for fertilizer. Rice production requires exposure to the sun. Once covered in dense forest, much of the Indonesian landscape has been gradually cleared for permanent fields and settlements as rice cultivation developed over the last fifteen hundred years. [9] [edit]Other staples Papeda, staple food of eastern Indonesia, served with yellow soup and grilled mackerel.Other staple foods in Indonesia include a number of starchy tubers such as; yam, sweet potato, potato, taro and cassava; also starchy fruit such as breadfruit and jackfruit and grains such as maize and wheat. A sago congee called Papeda is a staple food especially in Maluku and Papua. Sago is also often mixed with water and cooked as a simple pancake. Next to sago, people of eastern Indonesia also consume various kind of wild tubers as staple food. Many types of tubers such as talas (a type of taro but larger and more bland) and breadfruit are native to Indonesia, while others are introduced from elsewhere.Wheat, the base ingredient for bread and noodles were probably introduced from India or China; yam was introduced from Africa; while maize, potato, sweet potato, cassava and maize were introduced from Americas through Spanish influence and finally reached Java in 17th century. Cassava is usually boiled, steamed, fried or processed as popular snack kripik singkong (cassava crackers). Dried cassava, locally known as tiwul, is an alternate staple food in arid areas of Java such as Gunung Kidul and Wonogiri, while other roots and tubers are eaten especially in hard times.Maize is eaten in drier regions such as Madura and islands east of the Wallace Line, such as the Lesser Sunda Islands. [edit]Vegetables Indonesian food includes many vegetables as ingredients like this Sayur oyong made with Luffa acutangula A number of leaf vegetables are widely used in Indonesian cuisine, such as kangkung, spinach, genjer, melinjo, papaya and cassava leaves. These are often sa uteed with garlic. Spinach and corn are used in simple clear watery vegetable soup sayur bayam bening flavoured with temu kunci, garlic and shallot.Other vegetables like labu air (calabash), labu siam (chayote), kelor, kacang panjang (yardlong bean), terung (eggplant), gambas and belustru, are cut and used in stir fries, curries and soups like sayur asem, sayur lodeh or laksa. Sayur sop is cabbage, cauliflower, potato, carrot, with macaroni spiced with black pepper, garlic and shallot in chicken or beef broth. The similar mixed vegetables are also stir fried as cap cai, a popular dish of the Chinese Indonesian cuisine. Vegetables like kecipir (winged bean), tomato, mentimun (cucumber) and the small variety of peria (bitter melon) are commonly eaten raw, like in lalab.The large bitter melon variety is usually boiled. kecombrang and papaya flower buds are a common Indonesian vegetable. Urap is seasoned and spiced shredded coconut meat mixed together with vegetables, asinan betawi are preserved vegetables. Gado-gado and pecel are a salad of boiled vegetables dressed in a peanut-based spicy sauce, while karedok is its raw version. [edit]Meat and fish Rendang daging, a beef, mutton or goat meat dish cooked with coconut milk The main meat source diet mostly are poultry and fish, however meats such as beef, water buffalo, goat and mutton are commonly found in Indonesian marketplaces.The most common poultry consumed is chicken and duck, however to a lesser amount, pigeon and wild migrating sea bird are also consumed. As a country with an Islamic majority, Indonesian Muslims follows the Islamic halal dietary law which forbids the consumption of pork. However in other parts of Indonesia where there are significant numbers of non-Muslims, boar and pork are commonly consumed. Dishes made of non-halal meats can be found in provinces such as Bali, North Sumatra, North Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, West Papua, Papua, and also in Chinatowns in major Indonesian cities. Today to cater for the larger Muslim market, most of the restaurants and eating establishments in Indonesia put halal signs that signify they neither serve pork nor use lard in their cooking. The meat can be cooked in rich spices and coconut milk such as beef, goat or lamb rendang, skewered, seasoned and grilled chicken or mutton as satay, barbecued meats, or sliced and cooked in rich broth soup as soto. Muttons and various offals can be use as ingredients for soto soup or gulai curry.In Bali, with its Hindu majority, the babi guling (pig roast) is popular among locals as well as non-Muslim visitors, while the Batak people of North Sumatra have babi panggang that is a similar dish. The meat also can be processed to be thinly-sliced and dried as dendeng (jerky), or made into abon (meat floss). Dendeng celeng is Indonesian â€Å"dried, jerked† boar meat. [11] As an archipelagic nation, seafood is abundant and commonly consumed especially by Indonesian resides in coastal areas. Popular seafood in Indonesian cuisine among others; mackerel, tuna, wahoo, milkfish, red snapper, anchovy, cuttlefish, shrimp, crab and mussel.Seafood is commonly consumed across Indonesia, but it is especially popular in Maluku islands and Minahasa (North Sulawesi) cuisine. Seafood are usually being bakar (grilled), rebus (boiled) or goreng (fried). However another method of cooking like stir fried in spices or in soup is also possible. Ikan asin (salted fish) is preserved seafood through cured in salt, it is also can be found in Indonesian market. Fresh water fisheries can be found in inland region or area with large rivers or lakes. Popular fresh water fish among others; carp, gourami, snakehead, tilapia, catfish and pangasius. edit]Spices and other flavorings Sambal ulek, a common Indonesian spicy condiment. â€Å"Rempah† is Indonesian word for spice, while â€Å"bumbu† is the Indonesian word for spices mixture or seasoning, and it commonly appears in the names of certain spice mixtures, sauces and seasoning pastes. [12] Known throughout the world as the â€Å"Spice Islands†, the Indonesian islands of Maluku contributed to the introduction of its native spices to world cuisine. Spices such as pala (nutmeg/mace), cengkeh (clove), and laos (galangal) are native to Indonesia.It is likely that lada hitam (black pepper), kunyit (turmeric), sereh (lemongrass), bawang merah (shallot), kayu manis (cinnamon), kemiri (candlenut), ketumbar (coriander), and asam jawa (tamarind) were introduced from India, while jahe (ginger), daun bawang (scallions) and bawang putih (garlic) were introduced from China. Those spices from mainland Asia were introduced early, in ancient times, thus they became integral ingredients in Indonesian cuisine. In ancient times, the kingdom of Sunda and the later sultanate of Banten were well known as the world's major producers of black pepper.The maritime empires of Srivijaya and Majapahit also benefited from the lucrative spice trade between the spice islands with China and India. Later the Dutch East India Company controlled the spice trade between Indonesia and the world. The Indonesian fondness for hot and spicy food was enriched when the Spanish introduced cabai chili pepper from the New World to the region in 16th century. After that hot and spicy sambals have become an important part of Indonesian cuisine. [13] Sambal evolved into many variants across Indonesia, ones of the most popular is sambal terasi (sambal belacan) and sambal mangga muda (young mango sambal).Dabu-dabu is North Sulawesi style of sambal with chopped fresh tomato, chili, and lime juice. Traditionally prepared laboriously ground upon stone mortar, today sambals is also available as industrial processed products in bottles or jars. Soy sauce is also an important flavorings in Indonesian cuisine. Kecap asin (salty or common soy sauce) was adopted from Chinese cuisine, however Indonesian developed their own kecap manis (sweet so y sauce) with generous addition of palm sugar into soy sauce. Sweet soy sauce is an important marinade for barbecued meat and fish, such as satay and grilled fishes.Sweet soy sauce is also an important ingredient for semur, Indonesian stew. [edit]Peanut sauce Peanut sauce is important part of gado-gado. One of the main characteristics of Indonesian cuisine is the wide application of peanuts in many Indonesian signature dishes, such as satay, gado-gado, karedok, ketoprak, and pecel. Gado-gado and Sate for example have been considered as Indonesian national dishes. [6][7] Introduced from Mexico by Portuguese and Spanish merchants in 16th century, peanuts assumed a place within Indonesian cuisine as a key ingredient.Peanuts thrived in the tropical environment of Southeast Asia, and today they can be found, roasted and chopped finely, in many recipes. Whole, halved, or crushed peanuts are used to garnish a variety of dishes, and used in marinades and dipping sauces such as sambal kacang (a mixture of ground chilies and fried peanuts) for otak-otak or ketan. Peanut oil, extracted from peanuts, is one of the most commonly used cooking oils in Indonesia. Bumbu kacang or peanut sauce represents a sophisticated, earthy seasoning rather than a sweet, gloppy sauce. 14] It should have a delicate balance of savoury, sweet, sour, and spicy flavours, acquired from various ingredients, such as fried peanuts, gula jawa (coconut sugar), garlic, shallots, ginger, tamarind, lemon juice, lemongrass, salt, chilli, peppercorns, sweet soy sauce, ground together and mixed with water to form the right consistency. The secret to good peanut sauce is â€Å"not too thick and not too watery. † Indonesian peanut sauce tends to be less sweet than the Thai version, which is a hybrid adaptation. Gado-gado is a popular dish particularly associated with bumbu kacang, and is eaten across Indonesia. edit]Coconut milk Shredding coconut flesh to make coconut milk. Coconuts are abundant in tro pical Indonesia, and since ancient times Indonesians developed many and various uses for this plant. The broad use of coconut milk in dishes throughout the archipelago is another common characteristic of Indonesian cuisine. It is used in recipes ranging from savoury dishes – such as rendang, soto, sayur lodeh, gudeg, and opor ayam – to desserts – such as es cendol and es doger. Soto is ubiquitous in Indonesia and considered as one of Indonesia's national dishes. 8] The use of coconut milk is not exclusive to Indonesian cuisine. It can also be found in Indian, Samoan, Thai, Malaysian, Filipino, and Brazilian cuisines. Nonetheless, the use of coconut milk is quite extensive in Indonesia, especially in Minangkabau cuisine, although in Minahasan (North Sulawesi) cuisine, coconut milk is generally absent, except in Minahasan cakes and desserts such as klappertart. In Indonesian cuisine, two types of coconut milk are found, thin coconut milk and thick coconut milk. Th e difference depends on the water and oil content.Thin coconut milk is usually used for soups such as sayur lodeh and soto, while the thicker variety is used for rendang and desserts. It can be made from freshly shredded coconut meat in traditional markets, or can be found processed in cartons at the supermarket. After the milk has been extracted from the shredded coconut flesh to make coconut milk, the ampas kelapa (leftover coconut flesh) can still be used in urap, seasoned and spiced shredded coconut meat mixed together with vegetables. Leftover shredded coconut can also be cooked, sauteed and seasoned to make serundeng, almost powdery sweet and spicy finely shredded coconut.Kerisik paste, added to thicken rendang, is another use of coconut flesh. To acquire a rich taste, some households insist on using freshly shredded coconut, instead of leftover, for urap and serundeng. Serundeng can be mixed with meat in dishes such as serundeng daging (beef serundeng) or sprinkled on top of other dishes such as soto or ketan (sticky rice). An example of the heavy use of coconut is Buras from Makassar, rice wrapped in banana leaf cooked with coconut milk and sprinkled with powdered coconut similar to serundeng.