Nuts et al
Botanically, a nut is a dry fruit consisting of a seed inside a hard shell. The acorn is a nut. So are chestnuts and hazelnuts. Beyond that, it gets complicated.
Peanuts are, in fact, legumes, members of the pea family. Cashews, almonds, peaches, and mangoes are drupes — fruits in which a fleshy part surrounds the shell protecting the seed.
In the case of cashews and almonds, we toss the fleshy part and eat the seed. With peaches and mangoes, we eat the fleshy part and toss the seed.
Walnuts and pecans, experts say, exhibit characteristics of both drupes and nuts and thus are hybrids. Now you know.
Trade School
A few years ago, my county's main high school moved to a larger and snazzier home, and the old campus became the Career Center, which provides vocational training and college prep. Honestly, the place could hold a dozen career centers. It consists of the main buildings, the stadium, the gym, and half a dozen ballfields. Most of that is useless to a career center and sits idle. Oh, well.
On a positive note, the Career Center is a great place to take Jake for our morning walks, especially on weekends, when he can go off-leash. The campus is well-maintained and nowhere near people or traffic.
Also interesting is a fenced area where some of the handiwork of the vocational students is stored. Classes are taught in carpentry, metal-working, etc., and at various times, I'll see newly-built doghouses, sawhorses, or work benches. Or evidence of welding practice on wheelbarrows, tables, or grills.
Very cool to see, actually.
Melitta
I would eat dirt before using a Keurig coffee pod, and I stopped using paper coffee filters years ago. I prefer a permanent filter that I simply rinse and reuse. That's how I roll.
That said, the paper filter was a big deal when it was invented in 1908 by German housewife Melitta Bentz (1873-1950).
In Melitta's time, most coffee was brewed by dumping ground-up coffee beans into hot water, allowing it to steep, and waiting until the grounds settled to the bottom… more or less.
Melitta punched holes in a brass cup and lined it with a piece of extra-porous blotting paper her son used in school. She tossed in the ground coffee, poured hot water over it, and bingo.
Her invention blossomed into a popular and successful product. Melitta's family still runs the business and produces 50 million (landfill-bound) coffee filters per day.
No comments:
Post a Comment