• I try to follow the Mediterranean diet on a tight budget. Here are 7 things I buy at Trader Joe's.
    www.businessinsider.com
    Olive oil is a staple in Mediterranean cooking for a good reason it's simple and delicious.My favorite Trader Joe's olive oil comes in a 16.9-fluid-ounce bottle. Alison Van Glad I pick up Italian extra-virgin olive oil at Trader Joe's. The best quality olive oil is extra virgin, meaning the oil is extracted the first time the olives are pressed for their liquid.My favorite part about olive oil is its versatility. I use it as a nonstick agent on my pans, a base for sauteing veggies, and a topper for added garnish and flavor. Trader Joe's often has a large variety of fresh herbs.I usually pay just under $2 for an ounce of herbs at Trader Joe's. Alison Van Glad When creating my shopping list, I prioritize what I can purchase fresh especially when it comes to herbs.After all, any dish can be elevated with fresh herbs.If I know I need to use my herbs over an extended period, I put them in a resealable bag with a damp paper towel in the fridge to help extend their freshness. A freshly sliced tomato adds the perfect crunch to a sandwich.The cost varies, but I usually buy my favorite tomatoes on the vine for $2.50. Alison Van Glad Trader Joe's has several tomato varieties, from cherry tomatoes for easy snacking to Roma tomatoes for making sauces.I prefer to purchase tomatoes on the vine because I find they have a longer shelf life. Longevity is a priority because I'm only meal-prepping for one. I know I can find fresh, in-season produce at my local Trader Joe's. Sometimes I can find eggplant for under $2. Alison Van Glad An essential part of the Mediterranean diet is eating whatever fruits and vegetables are in season.So, I stock up on seasonal vegetables at Trader Joe's, where I find produce in season is often centerstage and reasonably priced.I also like to check Trader Joe's website for recipe inspiration for my seasonal veggies. Most of my dishes use onions and garlic. I try to buy heads of garlic and shallots at Trader Joe's when they're under $1. Alison Van Glad There's a reason garlic and onion are classics in Mediterranean cooking: Both are delicious and high in natural antioxidants.My Trader Joe's carries a wide selection of onions, so I always know it will almost always have the variety I want. However, I also love swapping basic white onions for the more delicately flavored shallot.I like to dice onion and garlic, saut them in olive oil, and store them in an airtight container in my fridge to use throughout the week for omelets, veggies, and pasta. I make sure I'm always stocked up on canned beans.I use white beans to add protein to some dishes. Alison Van Glad I've found that beans are a popular source of protein for the Mediterranean diet.I use canned beans to whip up quick dips and salads that pair perfectly with fresh sliced bread. Sometimes, I blend them with fresh herbs, pasta water, and lemon juice to make a creamy protein-packed sauce. Pasta is my favorite comfort food, and Trader Joe's has plenty of varieties of it.Trader Joe's has a ton of different pasta shapes. Alison Van Glad Although not necessarily a crucial part of the Mediterranean diet, pasta is a great base if you want to consume more legumes and veggies. Sometimes, I also top my pasta with a white-bean sauce to create a high-protein dish.I like to stock up on several different pasta shapes so I never get bored mixing and matching them with new sauces. Click to keep reading Trader Joe's diaries like this one.This story was originally published on January 2, 2024, and most recently updated on January 3, 2025.
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  • JetBlue slapped with unprecedented $2 million fine over flight delays. You could get a cut.
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    The US Department of Transportation has hit JetBlue with a $2 million fine for delayed flights.The DOT called the unrealistic flight schedules deceptive and anticompetitive.Half of the $2 million fine will be to compensate JetBlue customers.JetBlue Airways was fined $2 million by the Department of Transportation, the agency said Friday, for operating chronically delayed flights.The first-of-its-kind penalty follows a DOT investigation that found JetBlue promised its customers unrealistic schedules that did not reflect actual flight departure and arrival times on four routes between its New York and Florida bases, and destinations in North Carolina and Connecticut. The agency called this practice a "deceptive and anticompetitive" way to unfairly generate business by misleading customers.The DOT also said it is looking into similar practices by other carriers but did not go into specifics.In recent years, many airlines have resorted to padding their flight schedules with additional time buffers to give their crews extra leeway absorb weather, mechanical, ATC, or airport congestion issues and still arrive on time.Half the $2 million will be paid in cash to the US Treasury, and the other half will be set aside as compensation for JetBlue passengers harmed by future delayed flights. Compensation and vouchers for each affected passenger must be valued at at least $75.Just 74.5% of JetBlue flights managed to stay on schedule last year, according to the latest data from Cirium. That puts it behind all major US competitors. Only Frontier had a lower on-time percentage.JetBlue said the government should upgrade the nation's air traffic control system to increase reliability for all flights."We appreciate how important it is to our customers to arrive to their destinations on-time and work very hard to operate our flights as schedule," the airline said. "While we've reached a settlement to resolve this matter regarding four flights in 2022 and 2023, we believe accountability for reliable air travel equally lies with the U.S. government, which operates our nation's air traffic control system."The US is experiencing a shortage of air traffic controllers, which has limited its ability to handle high traffic flows. This has resulted in heavy delays during the holiday travel and summer vacation seasons. United Airlines recently claimed that 343,000 of its customers were negatively affected in November by delays caused by air traffic controller shortages at its Newark Liberty International Airport Hub.Shares of JetBlue fell about 2% in trading Friday morning.
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  • I follow the Mediterranean diet. Here are 16 groceries I love to buy at Aldi and how I use them.
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    Lemons are prominent in Mediterranean cuisines, and I use every part of the fruit.A squeeze of lemon can add a burst of acidity to a dish. Kristina Lopez Lemons are a grocery staple for me, as they're often the star ingredient in Mediterranean-inspired meals and drinks.In addition to using it in recipes,I squeeze lemon juice in my water or tea every morning and put the zest in my nondairy yogurt as a midday snack. Grapes are naturally sweet and make an excellent addition to charcuterie boards.My favorite grapes are red and black, but I like to buy different colors. Kristina Lopez I love that grapes satisfy my sweet tooth without also giving me a sugar high.Sometimes, I'll putSpecially Selected grapes on charcuterie boards alongside manchego cheese, goat cheese, roasted almonds, toasted baguette slices, pine nuts, cucumber slices, bell peppers, and roasted-garlic hummus.I also like to slice grapes in half, freeze them, and drop them in my drinks like ice cubes to sweeten them without using sugar. Tomatoes are almost always on my grocery list.Roma tomatoes add a rich taste to many iconic Mediterranean dishes. Kristina Lopez Tomatoes are a hit in marinara sauces and Greek salads, but I think the fruits' true magic is their ability to maintain their flavor and texture in pretty much any dish.Roma tomatoes are always on my grocery list, whether I use them for minestrone soup or bake them into a puff pastry topped with feta cheese.They also give me a dose of vitamin C, potassium, and lycopene, a plant nutrient in tomatoes that researchers have linked to several health benefits. South Mill Champs' stuffed mushrooms stuffed are delicious and light.I try to buy the South Mill Champs stuffed mushrooms when I find them. Kristina Lopez I didn't always enjoy eating mushrooms, but incorporating more Mediterranean-inspired ingredients into my diet has inspired me to try more foods I thought I'd never like.Now, I love making mushrooms at home. One of my favorite buys is the South Mill Champs mushrooms stuffed with spinach-and-artichokefilling. Since they're premade, I don't have to worry about following a recipe.The mushrooms are small enough to serve as a side dish or to eat as a light snack. A little bit of goat cheese goes a long way.I liked the flavored goat cheeses at Aldi. Kristina Lopez Even if I only add a small dollop of goat cheese to my salads and charcuterie boards, I still get a punch of tangy flavor.Aldi carries a range of goat cheeses, though I particularly love the Emporium Selection garlic-and-herb variety. It'sgreat to spread on toasted crostini, and I recommend topping it with chopped tomatoes and avocado. Park Street Deli's chickpea salad is packed with fiber and flavor.This Park Street Deli salad has chickpeas, edamame, cranberries, carrots, and bell peppers. Kristina Lopez There are so many things you can do with chickpeas, from putting them in salads and stews to making them into hummus and falafel.One of my favorite ways to enjoy them is in the Park Street Deli chickpea salad, which hasedamame, cranberries, carrots, and bell peppers. The cranberries' sweetness cuts through the vinegar dressing's acidity, and the crisp bell peppers complement the edamame. The Specially Selected oven-baked flatbread takes very little time to prepare and tastes excellent.I can experiment with different toppings when I have a flatbread base. Kristina Lopez I like picking up Specially Selected flatbreads at Aldi, which tend to be large and full of flavor. They're also easy to customize.I love topping them with different Mediterranean flavors, like grilled chicken with feta, artichoke, spinach, roasted chickpeas, mushrooms, shallots, and goat cheese with pesto. I usually drizzle balsamic vinegar on top to finish it off. Pestos pair well with flatbreads, pasta, hummus, and so much more.I switch between pesto types depending on what I'm cooking. Kristina Lopez Pesto makes a great base in so many recipes, and Priano often has different varieties of the sauce.Its alla Genovese pesto is green, nutty, and garlicky. Its red rosso pesto is more tomato-forward and equally delicious.I toss warm linguine in the green, basil-based pesto and spread the red, tomato-based pesto on flatbread. Sometimes I mix either into hummus to add some flavor or use them to season chicken, beef, veal, and seafood. I keep Tuscan Garden marinated artichoke hearts in my pantry to dress up salads and pizzas.I buy Tuscan Garden marinated artichokes, which come in glass jars. Kristina Lopez Artichoke hearts and leaves have so many vitamins and minerals.Some people eat the Tuscan Garden marinated artichoke hearts straight out of the jar, but I like to experiment with them, whether I'm adding zest to simple salads or using them as a pizza topping. Savoritz Parmesan crisps are a high-protein, low-carb alternative to potato chips.Savoritz Parmesan crisps don't make me feel sluggish after I eat them. Kristina Lopez I don't focus on limiting or cutting out carbs, but I care about finding delicious alternatives that are better for my health.Savoritz Parmesan crisps have 13 grams of protein and 1 gram of carbs per serving, which aligns with my nutrition goals.I like to crunch Savoritz Parmesan crisps over a Caesar salad or use them as crackers on a charcuterie board. Priano balsamic vinegar adds a nice acidity to salad, pizza, and meat.Balsamic vinegar can be a great meat marinade. Kristina Lopez I use Priano's balsamic vinegar to make a Mediterranean-inspired salad dressing, combining high-quality olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, garlic, and Italian herbs and spices.I pour this mixture over romaine lettuce, tomato wedges, thinly sliced red onions, cucumber slices, and a chunk of Greek feta. Sometimes, I add a roasted marinated lamb leg or chicken breast to the salad for extra flavor and protein. When I can't decide which hummus I want, I choose Park Street Deli's pack of four.Park Street Deli's hummus quartet allows me to try different flavors before committing to one. Kristina Lopez Hummus is such a large part of Mediterranean cuisine that it needs no introduction. However, it can be hard to choose which flavor I want to have in my refrigerator until my next grocery run.Park Street Deli's hummus quartet solves that problem by offering four flavors in one container: classic, roasted red pepper, roasted garlic, and cilantro jalapeo. I try to buy this variety pack whenever I can find it.Although I'm not a huge fan of jalapeo, I've spread this hummus on turkey wraps and avocado toast, and it isn't the worst combination I've ever tried. Aldi's Mediterranean-herb salmon is an easy-to-prepare, delicious entre.I love salmon, and this one from Aldi bakes beautifully. Kristina Lopez Aldi's delicious Atlantic salmon tends to be affordable and it's the star of many of my meals. I especially like the one seasoned with Mediterranean herbs they give the fish so much flavor.I like to pair it with a vegetable medley that includes broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and green beans.The Mediterranean-herb salmon also goes well with Greek lemon potatoes or pasta in a light sauce with lemon and garlic butter. The Bremer gyro-sandwich kit is a top-notch lunch option.It's nice to have easy-to-make meals on hand for when I get too busy. Kristina Lopez As a freelancer running my own business, it can be hard to pull myself away from work.Luckily, Bremer's gyro kit has everything I need for a quick lunch, including 16 ounces of fully cooked gyro meat, 8 ounces of tzatziki sauce, and five pieces of pita bread.The gyro meat can be warmedin the microwave or on a skillet for a quick, delicious lunch or dinner. When I can't make paella from scratch, I look for this Specially Selected frozen meal.Paella is a Spanish staple that's become a favorite in my house. Kristina Lopez Spanish paella is typically made using a saffron-and-seafood broth, which gets absorbed into the rice during the cooking process. Then, seafood like fish, shrimp, clams, squids, and mussels adds the flavors of the Mediterranean Sea.Whenever I can find it, I like to pick up Specially Selected's frozen Spanish seafood paella. It's agreat meal for busy nights with pollock, shrimp, and calamari. I use raw honey in many Mediterranean-inspired recipes.I like to add a touch of honey and lemon juice to my tea. Kristina Lopez When I visited Spain and Greece in 2022, I liked seeing locals use honey to sweeten their meals and desserts.It's a smart, obvious, and natural way to enhance the flavors of Mediterranean cuisine.I like to drizzle Specially Selected raw honey over rich Italian pizza to create a contrast between sweet and savory flavors or dip Greek doughnuts in a honey-and-cinnamon mixture.No matter how I use it, raw honey is a delicious way to add sweetness to a dish.This story was originally published on March 6, 2023, and most recently updated on January 3, 2025.
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  • One of 2024s Best Movies Is Coming to Streaming This Month
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    The Wild Robot, io9's best movie of 2024, will begin streaming on Peacock from January 24.
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  • Alcohol Should Come With Cancer Warning Label Like Cigarettes, U.S. Surgeon General Says
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    By Ed Cara Published January 3, 2025 | Comments (0) | Alcohol helps cause 100,000 new cancer cases every year in the U.S., a new advisory from the surgeon general warns. Dirk Hoffmann via Getty It seems that far too many Americans are in the dark about alcohols cancer risk. This week, the U.S. surgeon general highlighted the connection between alcohol and cancer, while also advocating for labeling reforms to increase peoples awareness of the issue.On Friday, the current surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, issued an advisory on alcohols link to cancer, along with a report detailing the evidence for it. Among other things, Murthy has called for the adoption of warning labels on alcoholic beverages that spell out the danger. Less than half of all Americans even know that alcohol can cause cancer, the surgeon general notes. Research studies throughout the years have consistently shown that alcohol can be a major risk factor for cancer. A 2021 study estimated that alcohol helps cause around 700,000 cancer cases worldwide annually, for instance. And its responsible for a fair share of cancer in the U.S. as well.Alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United Statesgreater than the 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic crash fatalities per year in the U.S.yet the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk, said Murthy in a statement.This Advisory lays out steps we can all take to increase awareness of alcohols cancer risk and minimize harm. Alcohol is thought to raise the risk of at least seven types of cancer, according to the surgeon general. These include cancers of the breast, colorectum, esophagus, liver, mouth (oral cavity), throat (pharynx), and voice box (larynx). Remarkably, alcohol may contribute to one of every six breast cancer cases. While the greatest health risks of alcohol are tied to binge or chronically heavy drinking, some research has suggested that even modest consumption (one or fewer drinks a day) can raise the risk of breast, throat, and mouth cancer.Much of the general public remains unaware of the connection between alcohol and cancer, however. Nationally representative survey data has found that only 45% of Americans over 18 know about alcohols role in causing cancer. So in addition to the advisory, Murthy is recommending widespread warning labels for alcoholic products clearly detailing the link to cancer, similar to labeling already found on tobacco products. Ultimately, any new warning labels will require approval from Congress. President-elect Donald Trump famously doesnt drink, so his incoming administration may be more receptive to the idea than many would assume. But its still unclear whether Trump or the GOP-led House and Senate would back any such change.Murthy has also called for other actions to increase the publics awareness of alcohol and its association with cancer. These include the reassessment of guideline limits for alcohol consumption created by government health agencies to account for cancer risk, and pushing for public health groups and doctors to emphasize the link more prominently.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Ed Cara Published January 2, 2025 By Ed Cara Published December 30, 2024 Sharon Lerner and Al Shaw, ProPublica Published December 8, 2024 By Margherita Bassi Published December 5, 2024 By Ed Cara Published December 1, 2024 By Ed Cara Published November 10, 2024
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  • Metas AI Profiles Are Already Polluting Instagram and Facebook With Slop
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    By Matthew Gault Published January 3, 2025 | Comments (4) | Liv stares at you, ready for interaction. Instagram screengrab. As I stared into the dead-eyed visage of Carter, one of Metas new AI posters, I remembered a line from Dawn of the Dead. When theres no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth.Something about George Romeros 1978 film about doomed survivors riding out the zombie apocalypse in a shopping mall feels resonant today as I look across Metas suite of AI-created profiles. The movies blue-skinned corpses dont know theyre dead. They just wander through the shopping center on autopilot, looking for something new to consume. Thats how many of our social media spaces feel now. Digital town squares populated by undead posters, zombies spouting lines they learned from an LLM, the digested material from decades of the internet spewed back at the audience. Thats what Meta is selling now.Metas various sites have over 3 billion users, an incredible percentage of the worlds population. But businesses demand constant growth and, not content with almost half of the living people on the planet, Meta has decided to cut out the middle-man. It is flooding Facebook and Instagram with AI-generated posters of its own creation. A December 27, 2024 article in Financial Times laid out the vision. We expect these AIs to actually, over time, exist on our platforms, kind of in the same way that accounts do, Connor Hayes, vice president of generative AI at Meta, told the outlet. Theyll have bios and profile pictures and be able to generate and share content powered by AI on the platform...thats where we see all of this going.Soon people discovered that Metas ghoulish posters had been among us for months, even years. Theres Liv, a Proud black queer momma of 2 & truth-teller, according to its Instagram profile. Add to that Brian, everybodys grandpa; Jade, your girl for all things hip-hop; and Carter, a relationship coach. Im sure there are more yet to be discovered. All four of these posters have pages on both Facebook and Instagram with mirrored content and all four have post histories that go back to September 26, 2023. The accounts have the blue verified check marks and a label indicating that theyre an AI managed by Meta. Users can block them on Facebook, but not on Instagram. Users can also message them across all of Metas platforms, including WhatsApp.Road tripping with friends is the ultimate relationship test drive. Nothing says friendship goals like being confined to a car with your favorite people, navigating unfamiliar roads, and sharing questionable gas station snacks. But the real prize? Watching the miles fly by, creating memories to last a lifetime, and witnessing the beauty of the country together. #imaginedWithAi, Carter said in a June 25, 2024 post.The AIs dont seem to be faring well on Instagram. They have low engagement numbers and people are calling them out as AI slop. Its different on Facebook, where the norm has been AI-powered slop for a year now. The post has 13 likes and 2 comments on Instagram and 192 likes, 112 comments, and 33 shares on Facebook. Many of the comments are spam, links to other profiles, or phishing bait of one kind or another. But its all interaction and, on a spreadsheet, thats all that matters.A new horror imagined by Metas AI. Instagram screengrab. Livs account posts photos of children that do not exist, Brian rambles about how much seniors love to learn about textiles above an AI-generated photo of a nursing home where the faces of the elderly melt together like Barbie dolls cooked in the microwave, and Jade posts photos of her non-existent vinyl collection, the labels impossible to read. The AI apocalypse is here and its far stupider and more depressing than we were promised. Instead of being hunted down by a gleaming metal skeleton in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, we are surrounded by zombies endlessly repeating our own posts back to us.And the worst is yet to come. Remember that to power these nightmares Big Tech is going to revive the nuclear power industry. Thats our future. A barren mall kept alight with nuclear power, filled with the dead and the never-born.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Thomas Maxwell Published January 2, 2025 By Florence Ion Published January 1, 2025 By Kyle Barr Published December 27, 2024 By Kyle Barr Published December 26, 2024 By Todd Feathers Published December 25, 2024 Gizmodo Staff Published December 25, 2024
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  • Art House / Kallos Turin
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    Art House / Kallos TurinSave this picture! Ricardo Labougle, Giorgos SfakianakisHousesAthens, GreeceArchitects: Kallos TurinAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:950 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2022 PhotographsPhotographs:Ricardo Labougle, Giorgos Sfakianakis Lead Architects: Stephania Kallos, Abigail Turin, Jose Luis Ravenna, Edward Osborn, Joseph Feito More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. Art House is built within the green oasis of Filothei, a leafy neighbourhood nestled within the bustling metropolis of Athens. Filothei was developed in the 1920s as a garden oasis and preserved by strict codes constraining what could be built. These codes were at once the limitation and inspiration for the concept that Kallos Turin developed. The client needed enough square footage to house their world-class art collection in a gallery format as well as space for their extended families to converge.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!A dense cube was the shape that emerged from this combination of code and spatial requirements. But Kallos Turin saw these limitations as an opportunity and decided not only to embrace the cube form but to emphasize it by building in poured concrete. The concrete accentuates the sense of density and monolithic mass. Kallos Turin understood that this cubic volume needed a foil that pushed back against the rigidity of the form and used two key concepts to provide resistance: the sinuous lines of circulation through the house, and the garden surrounding it.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The circulation from the street up through the site to the top levels was developed as a winding path and codified in the form of a subtle series of curves in concrete. Embracing the original notion of Filothei as a garden city, Kallos Turin saw the garden as a way to counter the rigidity of the form and worked with Thomas Doxiades to create a densely planted native landscape as an extension of the preserved hillside from which the cube of the house emerges.Save this picture!Save this picture!The fence at the back offers an open connection to the nature preserve behind the house, highlighting the fluid relationship between the property and its natural surroundings. The landscape hints at the idea that the plants will ultimately engulf the architecture entirely. Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officeKallos TurinOfficeMaterialConcreteMaterials and TagsPublished on January 03, 2025Cite: "Art House / Kallos Turin" 03 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1025277/art-house-kallos-turin&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream
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  • Create Jujutsu Kaisen Energy Effect in 5 Minutes | Unreal Engine Material Tutorial
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    FAB - https://www.fab.com/sellers/CGHOW Whatsapp - https://bit.ly/3LYvxjK Patreon- https://www.patreon.com/Ashif NFT - https://opensea.io/CGHOW Twitter - https://twitter.com/cghow_ If you Liked it - http://bit.ly/2UZmiZ4 Channel Ashif - http://bit.ly/3aYaniw Support me on - paypal.me/9953280644Create Jujutsu Kaisen Energy Effect in 5 Minutes | Unreal Engine Material Tutorial #cghow #UE5 #UE4Niagara #gamefx #ue5niagara #ue4vfx #niagara #unrealengineniagara #realtimevfxVisit - https://cghow.com/ Unreal Engine Marketplace - https://bit.ly/3aojvAa Artstation Store - https://www.artstation.com/ashif/store Gumroad - https://cghow.gumroad.com/
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  • Researchers make brandy in replica of disgraced emperors 2,000-year-old tomb distillery
    www.popsci.com
    ShareAlcohol distilled in a replica of a disgraced emperors 2,000-year-old bronze vat may help rewrite Chinas drinking history. Although famous medical texts like the 16th century Ming Dynastys Bencao Gangmu originally cited the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 CE) as the earliest evidence of Chinese alcoholic distillation, recent experiments conducted by a team affiliated with Zhengzhou University support a theory that pushes back that estimate by as much as 1,000 years.As Arkeonews explained on January 1st, the 1:2 scale replica is based on a metal vessel recovered from the tomb of Emperor Liu He, one of the most well-preserved gravesites from the Western Han dynasty (202 BCE-9CE). Liu Hes tenure on the throne as the dynastys ninth emperor was short-lived, howeveropponents (including his wife, the Empress Dowager Shanggua) conspired to overthrow and exile him just 27 days into his reign due to impropriety and incompetence in 74 BCE.According to his articles of impeachment, Emperor He wracked up 1,127 misconduct charges, including failing to abstain from meat and sex during a period of mourning, failing to keep the imperial safe secure, and nepotism. Court historians ultimately omitted Liu He from the kingdoms official list of emperors, and his overthrowers exiled him to become the Marquis of Haihun in what is now the Jiangxi province. The deposed Western Han politician ultimately died in 59 BCE.Despite his infamy, Hes tomb remained remarkably well-preserved until its rediscovery by archeologists in 2011. The trove of grave relics included the oldest known Chinese painting of Confucius, as well as around 6,000 composite armor scales made from lacquered leather, iron, and copper. But it was a unique, bronze distillation array found in the tomb that caught the attention of Zhengzhou University researchers and the countrys State Administration of Cultural Heritage.Distillation is the process of concentrating alcoholic liquid into more potent, often flavor-rich liquors like brandy, whisky, and bourbon. This is usually achieved through boiling a fermented liquid such as wine or corn mash. The resultant steam travels through an apparatus that separates the alcoholic liquid from its fermented ingredients, after which the former byproduct is collected for further development and eventual consumption. The three-part contraption found in Hes tomb included a main vat known as the heavenly pot, a cylindrical unit, and a brewing cauldron. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.Although some experts believed Hes distiller was used to purify and concentrate cinnabar and flower dews, others theorized the setup could also have been for distilling alcoholic drinks like wine into brandy-like beverages. To test out the hypothesis, a team led by tomb excavation project manager and archeologist Zhang Zhongli built a half-sized replica of the artifacts and followed ancient distillation recipes that included ingredients like taro from around the same time period. Zhonglis team then used yellow wine and beer to achieve a 70 percent distillation efficiency while maintaining each source liquids flavor and alcohol concentration.This discovery is remarkable. It has recreated this product from the Western Han dynastyfrom the selection of raw materials, to the production process, and the instrument, Zhongli told the South China Morning Post last month.According to collaborator Yao Zhihui, the previous flower dew purification theory can also be ruled out due to the original distillers design, as well as residue analysis conducted at the excavation site. If nothing else, Liu Hes laundry list of transgressionsincluding feasting and gamingarguably support the theory that the exiled emperor also enjoyed his alcohol.
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