Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low 32F. S winds shifting to WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..
Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low 32F. S winds shifting to WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
Mary Beth Bennett WVU Extension Agent
National Noodle Month is celebrated in March with the food having a long history that dates back to at least the Eastern Han period.
Mary Beth Bennett WVU Extension Agent
National Noodle Month is celebrated in March with the food having a long history that dates back to at least the Eastern Han period.
A noodle by definition is a narrow strip of unleavened egg dough that has been rolled thin and dried, boiled and served alone or in soups, casseroled, etc.; a ribbon-shaped pasta, according to Dictionaly.com.
Why celebrate March as National Noodle Month? The consumption of noodles increases by about 20% during the first quarter of the year. Lent is another big selling season due to most people giving up meat and a lot of tuna casseroles being made in their place.
Noodle comes from the word “nudel,” which has origins in German. Noodles are referred to as pasta. Not all pasta are noodles. More on that later.
There is some debate about the origins of the noodle, but China seems to hold the claim with the earliest written record of noodles that was found in a book dated to the Eastern Han period (25 -220). Noodles, often made from wheat dough, became a staple food for people of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE).
Wheat noodles in Japan (udon) were adapted from a Chinese recipe by a Buddhist monk as early at the ninth century. Various types of noodles were developed over the years including buckwheat, Ramen and others.
The first concrete information on pasta products in Italy dates to the 13th or 14th centuries. Spatzle in Germany was found in documents dating from 1725, although medieval illustrations are believed to place this noodle at an even earlier date.
Macaroni with various sauces was a popular food in late 18th-century Paris. Thomas Jefferson encountered the pasta in both Paris and northern Italy. Jefferson drew a sketch of the pasta and wrote detailed notes on the extrusion process. In 1793, he commissioned American Ambassador to Paris William Short to purchase a machine for making it. Evidently, the machine was not suitable because Jefferson later imported both macaroni and parmesan cheese for use at Monticello. He was said to have served a “macaroni pie” at a state dinner in 1802.
Noodles are very versatile and can be baked, boiled, chilled, fried and added to broths and sauces to make many dishes because they are soft and absorb flavors.
Cellophane noodles are made out of mung beans but can also be made from potato starch, canna starch or various starches of the same genre. Acorn noodles are made of acorn meal, wheat flour, wheat germ and salt. Korean noodles are made of starch from kudzu root, known as kuzuko in Japanese, and they are chewy and semitransparent. Kelp noodles are made from seaweed. Then there are rice noodles called Banh pho in Vietnam, Idiyappam in India and Khanom chin in Thai cuisine to name a few. You can also find noodles made from vegetables like spinach and zucchini. There are also gluten free noodles. Noodles can also be found in desserts like kugel, which is a baked pudding, or payasam, a milk-based pudding in India.
Whatever noodle dish you prefer, know that whatever its origin, noodles have developed around the world with each culture developing its own unique version of the beloved food.
Thank our farmers who provide the products that are made into your noodles and the many other foods we eat.
Since a major component of most noodles and pasta is wheat and people have heard about the current situation in the Ukraine, I thought you might like some information on wheat production in the U.S.
According to the USDA Economic Research Service, wheat ranks third among U.S. field crops in planted acreage, production and gross farm receipts, behind corn and soybeans. In 2021-22, U.S. farmers are estimated to have produced a total of 1.64 billion bushels of winter, spring and durum wheat from a harvested area of 37.2 million acres.
Wheat is the principal food grain produced in the United States. The three primary varieties of the grain domestically sown are winter wheat, spring wheat and durum wheat.
Winter wheat varieties are sown in the fall and usually become established before going into dormancy when cold weather arrives. In the spring, plants resume growth and grow rapidly until the summertime harvest. Winter wheat production represents approximately 70% of total U.S. production, on average.
The three categories of wheat can be disaggregated into five major classes: hard red winter, hard red spring, soft red winter, white and durum. Each class has a somewhat different end use and production tends to be region-specific.
• Hard red winter (HRW) wheat accounts for about 40% of total production and is grown primarily in the Great Plains (northern Texas through Montana). HRW is principally used to make bread flour.
• Hard red spring (HRS) wheat accounts for about 25% of production and is grown primarily in the Northern Plains (North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, and South Dakota). HRS wheat is valued for its high protein levels, which makes it suitable for specialty breads and blending with lower protein wheat.
• Soft red winter (SRW) wheat accounts for about 15% of total production and is grown primarily in states along the Mississippi River and in eastern states. Flour produced from milling-grade SRW is used for cakes, cookies, and crackers.
• White wheat (both winter and spring) accounts for approximately 15% of total production and is grown in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Michigan and New York. Its flour is used for noodle products, crackers, cereals and crusted white breads.
• Durum wheat accounts for 2-5% of total production and is grown primarily in North Dakota and Montana. Durum wheat is used in pasta production.
Wheat milling byproducts—such as bran (the outer seed coat of a wheat kernel), shorts (more inward layers of the seed coat that contain some starchy or floury components) and middlings (an intermediate fraction that consists of a combination of bran and shorts)—are used to produce animal feeds.
According to the USDA Economic Research Service, since 2000, the United States, the European Union, Canada, Australia, Argentina and the former Soviet Union (including the three major wheat exporters in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan) accounted for an average of 90% of world wheat exports. Prior to 2000, these exporters combined to represent 95% or more of world wheat exports.
Although a handful of nations dominate wheat exports, there are numerous wheat-importing countries. Most wheat is imported by developing countries with limited production potential. Wheat is a staple food in many low- and middle-income countries. (Source https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/wheat/wheat-sector-at-a-glance/)
The latest statistics show that North Dakota, Kansas and Montana were the leading wheat producing states in the U.S. 2020-21, followed by Washington, Idaho and Oklahoma. Our neighbors to the north, Maryland and Pennsylvania, rank Nos. 22 and 21, respectively, while Ohio ranks 13th and Virginia 25th.
In West Virginia, we grow winter wheat with Jefferson County, producing the most, followed by Berkeley County, Mason County, Monroe County, Morgan County and Wood County, according to the 2021 West Virginia Annual Bulletin. (https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/West_Virginia/Publications/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/2021/Bulletin2021.pdf)
For those of you who like facts here are some wheat facts for you: (Teachers could use this information to make up math lessons.)
• Wheat is a member of the grass family that produces a dry, one-seeded fruit commonly called a kernel.
• More than 17,000 years ago, humans gathered the seeds of plants and ate them. After rubbing off the husks, early people simply chewed the kernels raw, parched or simmered.
• Wheat originated in the “cradle of civilization” in the Tigris and Euphrates river valley, near what is now Iraq.
• The Roman goddess, Ceres, who was deemed protector of the grain, gave grains their common name today – “cereal.”
• Wheat, used for white bread, pastries, pasta and pizza, has been the principal cereal crop since the 18th century.
• Wheat was introduced by the first English colonists and quickly became the main cash crop of farmers who sold it to urban populations and exporters. In colonial times, its culture became concentrated in the middle colonies, which became known as the “bread colonies.”
• Wheat is the primary grain used in U.S. grain products — approximately three-quarters of all U.S. grain products are made from wheat flour.
• Wheat is grown in 42 states in the United States.
• In 2008-2009, U.S. farmers grew nearly 2.4 billion bushels of wheat on 63 million acres of land.
• In the United States, one acre of wheat yields an average of around 40 bushels of wheat.
• About half of the wheat grown in the United States is used domestically.
• In 2008, the state of Kansas was the largest wheat producer in the United States with North Dakota a close second.
• Kansas is No. 1 in flour milling in the United States.
• Kansas produces enough wheat each year to bake 36 billion loaves of bread and enough to feed everyone in the world, more than six billion people, for about 2 weeks. An acre of Kansas wheat produces enough bread to feed nearly 9,000 people for one day.
• One bushel of wheat contains approximately one million individual kernels.
• One bushel of wheat weighs approximately 60 pounds.
• One bushel of wheat yields approximately 42 pounds of white flour or 60 pounds of whole-wheat flour.
• A bushel of wheat yields 42 one-and-a-half pound commercial loaves of white bread or about 90 one-pound loaves of whole wheat bread.
• There is approximately 16 ounces of flour in a one-and-a-half pound loaf of bread.
• The first bagel rolled into the world in 1683 when a baker from Vienna, Austria, was thankful to the King of Poland for saving Austria from Turkish invaders. The baker reshaped the local bread so that it resembled the King’s stirrup. The new bread was called “beugel,” derived from the German word stirrup, “bugel.”
• The traditional bagel is the only bread product that is boiled before it is baked.
• Never refrigerate bagels or any bread product. Bread products go stale up to 6 times faster in the refrigerator. Leave these products at room temperature or freeze them.
• A bushel of wheat makes about 45 24-ounce boxes of wheat flake cereal.
• Per capita consumption of pasta in the United States was 22 pounds in 1996, and in 2005, was at 19.52 pounds.
• A bushel of wheat makes about 42 pounds of pasta or 210 servings of spaghetti.
• If you eat pasta three times a week, it would take 70 weeks to eat all the pasta made from one bushel of durum.
• Semolina is coarsely ground durum with a texture somewhat like sugar. It is the best product for pasta.
• There are more than 600 pasta shapes produced worldwide.
• Approximately 3 billion pizzas are sold in the United States each year.
• The early crackers, or “biscuits” as the English called them, were handmade, hard-baked products made from flour and a little moisture.
• Crackers main ingredient is unbleached flour from soft red or soft white wheat.
• Ancient traditional tortillas were made from ground corn by Mexican natives as long as 2000 years ago. Flour tortillas only started to become popular in the 19th century.
• In the U.S. in 2000, there were 85 billion tortillas consumed, not including tortilla chips.
Wheat Facts provided by the Wheats Foods Council via the National Association of Wheat Growers Website. At https://wheatworld.org/wheat-101/wheat-facts/
With next Thursday being St. Patrick’s Day, I thought a little information on the shamrock was due.
The “shamrock” that St. Patrick actually plucked was most likely white clover (Trifolium repens) and is difficult to grow indoors. Because of this, the shamrock plants that are seen in grocery stores and floral shops this time of year are species of oxalis or wood sorrel.
Oxalis leaves are clover shaped and can be shades of green, red, purple or a combination of all these colors in one striking plant. The oxalis blossoms are white, yellow, pink or red, depending on the species. There are hundreds of species of oxalis, but two that are commonly grown for indoor enjoyment are the Irish shamrock (Oxalis acetosella) and the good-luck plant (Oxalis deppei). Both have green leaves and small white or red blossoms, but the good-luck plant has white streaks running along the leaf vein. Both of these species exhibit nyctinstic movements, meaning the leaflets fold up at night or during overcast days and open during daylight hours. When selecting an oxalis, look for a plant with flowers and lush, healthy foliage.
How to Care For Shamrock Plants
Shamrock plants require direct sun for best growth and flowering. Oxalis plants usually bloom all winter if placed in a bright sunny window. These plants prefer soil that is kept barely moist and will do fine if the soil dries slightly between watering. Oxalis plants should be fertilized only when the plant is actively growing. Shamrock plants like cooler temperatures, especially when in bloom. These temperatures should be between 50-65 degrees Fahrenheit at night, and no greater than 75 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. Temperatures above 75 degrees Fahrenheit may induce dormancy.
In the summer months, wood sorrels should be allowed to rest or go dormant. The first sign that a plant is entering dormancy is leaf dieback. If this begins to occur, stop watering and fertilizing the plant. The leaves can be cut back or allowed to die back on their own and the plant should be moved to a cool, dark place for two to three months. At the end of the dormant period, new foliage will begin emerging from the soil. This is a signal to move the plant to a sunny window and to begin watering and fertilization.
If the oxalis plant is tall and lanky, it needs more light or may also occur if the conditions in the home are too warm. If your plant is not blooming, it probably needs a good rest. Cut back on watering and fertilizing and let it go dormant. In two or three months, the plant will begin to grow again and should flower if it receives good care. A yellowing plant may be a sign you are watering it too much. Too little water and your plant will wilt. Shamrock plants are usually not bothered by insect pest but are susceptible to root rot if kept too wet.
Good luck with growing your shamrock plant! Happy St. Patrick’s Day March 17th are you having potatoes or corn beef and cabbage with potatoes?
Until next time … Happy Gardening, St. Patrick’s Day and Farming!
Mary Beth Bennett, Ph.D. is a WVU Extension agent and associate professor. She can be reached at 264-1936, MBBennett@mail.wvu.edu or on the web at http://extension.wvu.edu/berkeley
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