Monday, January 31, 2011

Bird's eye chili

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This article contains Thai text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Thai script.
Bird′s Eye chili
Heat Very hot
Scoville rating50,000–100,000

Bird's eye chili (Thai: พริกขี้หนู, RTGS: phrik khi nu, IPA: [pʰrík kʰîː nǔː], literal: mouse dropping chili; Tagalog: siling labuyo) is a chili pepper of the species Capsicum frutescens L. in the family Solanaceae, commonly found in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore. It can also be found in India, mainly Kerala, where it is used in traditional dishes of the Kerala cuisine (pronounced in Malayalam as kanthari mulagu). This species (known as kochchi in sinhalese) is also found in rural areas of Sri Lanka, where it is used as a substitute for green chillies. It is also a main ingredient in kochchi sambal, a salad made using freshly scraped coconut ground with thai chillies and seasoned with salt and lime juice.
The term Bird's eye chili is also used for the North American Chiltepin pepper, both due to their small round shape and because they're widely spread by birds.

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[edit] Cultivars

[edit] Description

The bird's eye chili plant is a perennial with small, tapering fruits, often 2-3, at a node. The fruits of most varieties are red, some are yellow, purple or black. The fruits are very pungent. The flowers are greenish white or yellowish white.[1]
Taxonomically, it has long been thought that the bird's eye chili belongs to Capsicum frutescens L.,[2][3][3] but there are now some who list the bird's eye chili as belonging to Capsicum chinense.[4]
The bird's eye chili is small but packs quite a lot of heat. At one time it was even listed as the hottest chili in the Guinness Book of World Records but other hotter varieties of chili have since been identified. It measures around 50,000-100,000 Scoville units which is at the lower end of the range for the hotter Habanero chili.
Characteristics of the Birds Eye Chili plant[5]
Bird's eye chilies growing wild on Saipan.
  • Plant height - up to 2meters
  • Stem color - Green
  • Leaf color - Green
  • Leaf size - 3–8 cm by 2–4 cm
  • Fruit color at maturity - green, orange and red
  • Fruit shape - conical
  • Fruit length - 2–3 cm
  • Fruit width at shoulder - .5 cm
  • Fruit weight - 2-3 grams
  • Fruit surface - smooth
  • Seed color - Light tan
  • Seeds per chili - 10-20

[edit] Origins

Chilies found around the world today have their origins in Central America and South America. Chilies were spread by the Spanish and the Portuguese in their quest to build a global empire and are still grown in their former colonies in Africa and Asia. The chili varieties found in Southeast Asia today were first grown by Spanish and the Portuguese colonists and traders.

[edit] Common names



The chilies may also be referred to as cili padi (cili pronounced "chili") in parts of Malaysia because their small size reminds people of the small grained rice eaten as a staple in the region. in the northern parts of Malaysia, this chili is known as cabai burung or bird chili as birds like to eat this variety of chili.
As well as the Malay word, Thai chilies can also be referred to as cabe rawit (Indonesian), lombok rawit (Javanese), cengis (Banyumasan language), cengek (Sundanese), phrik khi nu (พริกขี้หนู, Thai), Thai hot, Thai dragon (due to its resemblance to claws), siling labuyo (Filipino), ladâ, and boonie pepper (the Anglicized name).

[edit] Uses

[edit] Cooking

Phrik nam pla - bird's eye chili with fish sauce and lime juice - is served with nearly every Thai meal
The fruit of the bird's eye chili is popularly used as a spice and as a chili condiment in Filipino, Indonesian, Laotian, Malaysian, Thai, and Vietnamese cuisine. It is what gives local dishes, such as the Filipino bicol express, their fiery zing.[6] The chilies can also be used to flavor vinegar. The leaves are also edible and can be eaten as a vegetable,[7] for instance in the Filipino dish tinola.

[edit] Ornamentals

The more decorative, but slightly less pungent variety, sometimes known as Thai Ornamental, has peppers that point upward on the plant, and go from green to yellow, orange, and then red. It is the basis for the hybrid Numex twilight, essentially the same but less pungent and starting with purple fruit, creating a rainbow effect, and among the group of Capsicum annuum. These peppers can grow wild in places like Saipan and Guam. The Chinese in Southeast Asia call this pepper 'the chili that points to the sky'.

[edit] Medicine

In medicine, the bird's eye chili was traditionally used to ease arthritis and rheumatism, and also as a cure for dyspepsia, flatulence, and toothache.[7]
It can also be used as a natural insect repellent or pesticide when mixed with water.[8][9]

Birds Eye

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Birds Eye Limited
Typesubsidiary
IndustryFood processing
Founded1922
Founder(s)Clarence Birdseye
HeadquartersBrighton, Monroe County, New York, USA
ParentPinnacle Foods
Websitehttp://www.birdseyefoods.com/

Birds Eye is an international brand of frozen foods such as seafood, meat and vegetables owned by Pinnacle Foods.
Birds Eye is considered to be one of the founders of the modern frozen food industry and is credited with inventing a fast freezing process that preserves the quality of food. Founded by General Foods, which in 1929 bought the rights to use a fast-freezing process patented by Clarence Birdseye.

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[edit] History and production

The brand and its underlying business is held by different owners in various territories:
  • Europe - Formerly owned by Unilever, which announced in August 2006 that the business was sold to UK-based private equity group Permira. The company's staple product, the Fish Finger, was developed in its old factory in Great Yarmouth, by a Mr H A J Scott. Frozen vegetables were produced from 1946 using the new fast freezing process, which are now produced with beefburgers and potato waffles in Lowestoft employing 700 people. The location of the factory was essential to the "one-hour to frozen" promise formerly made on Birds Eye peas, although commercial decisions have led to this claim being quietly dropped as the time has risen to two and a half hours. There is also a fish products factory in Hull employing 600 people. Birds Eye closed a factory in Grimsby in 2005, with the loss of 650 jobs, which had been making fish fingers since 1929. The Grimsby factory on Ladysmith Road has been hit by fire, suspected to be set by 6 local youths on Wednesday 12 September 2007. The fire was so severe that local residents had to be evacuated.
  • United States - As part of General Foods it merged with Kraft Foods and Philip Morris USA in what became the Altria Group. Birds Eye was sold to Dean Foods in 1993 and was independently owned by Birds Eye Foods of Rochester, New York until purchased by Pinnacle Foods in 2009.[1]
  • Australia & New Zealand - owned by Simplot Australia Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the J.R. Simplot Company. Simplot purchased Birds Eye and many of Australia's leading food brands from Pacific Dunlop's Pacific Brands in the mid-1990s. Today, Birds Eye is the Australia's leading frozen brand with a line of innovative frozen vegetables, potatoes, and seafood. Birds Eye products are produced at the company's processing facilities in Devonport, Tasmania, Ulverstone, Tasmania, and Bathurst, New South Wales, as well as from imported ingredients.

[edit] Fish sticks / fish fingers

Known in the United States as a "fish stick" (although not the same size size or consistency), where it has been suggested that in the 1920s they were invented in Massachusetts to help fishermen find larger markets for their increasingly large catches of cod. In Britain, the same but differently named product the "fish finger", was developed in its old factory in Great Yarmouth.
Although fish sticks have a modern advertising campaign aimed at children, two thirds of fish sticks are eaten by adults. The advent of the microwave method of cooking increased demand for frozen food.[citation needed]

[edit] Other Brands

Birds eye has acquired many well-established brands, some of which are distributed regionally and not nationally. The following brands are owned and distributed by Bird Eye:[2]
  • Bernstein's
  • Brooks
  • Comstock Wilderness
  • C&W
  • Freshlike
  • Greenwood
  • Husman's
  • McKenzie's
  • Nalley
  • Riveara
  • Steamfresh
  • Snyder of Berlin
  • Tim's Cascade Snacks
  • Voila

[edit] Captain Birdseye advertising (United Kingdom)

In the United Kingdom, Captain Birdseye is the advertising mascot of the brand. Appearing in numerous television and billboard commercials since 1967, he was played by actor John Hewer between then and 1998. He is depicted as a clean living, older sailor with a white beard, dressed in naval uniform and with a seafaring accent. This character was so successful that when the company's brand was relaunched with a younger man with designer stubble (played by Thomas Pescod) the project floundered and the older description of the character was brought back into the promotions. In 1993 Captain Birds Eye was voted as the most recognised captain after Captain Cook in a poll.
The Captain Birdseye mascot is a reference to the brand's extensive and well-known range of frozen seafood products including Fish Fingers. Because the Birds Eye brand is marketed to families, many of the advertising campaigns feature Captain Birdseye as having a "crew" composed mostly of children in the preteen to teenage age groups, encouraging brand loyalty from children and emphasising the convenience of serving the company's products to their parents. A 2005 advertising campaign in the UK features Captain Birdseye informing consumers that Birds Eye readymade meals contain no artificial flavourings or preservatives, with an emphasis that they are healthy to children.

[edit] Other Birds Eye advertising (United Kingdom)

Birds Eye are also noted for other fondly remembered advertisements, such as one in the 1970s for Frozen Peas that featured the child actress Patsy Kensit, who would put her forefinger in her mouth to produce a popping sound. This would be followed by a jingle including the slogan "Sweet as the moment when the pod went 'pop'". A 1980s campaign for Birds Eye Potato Waffles had a jingle that included the words Waffley versatile.
Monty Python made a public information film for Birds Eye frozen peas.[3][4]
In the late 1970s and early 1980s June Whitfield appeared in a series of television advertisements for Birds Eye products, featuring the concluding voice-over line: ".. it can make a dishonest woman of you!".[5] One example, for Chicken Pie, may be found at YouTube.[6] The series was the brainchild of legendary advertising art director Vernon Howe and was worthy of mention in several of his obituaries.,[7][8]
Since 2007, Suggs, the lead singer of English ska band Madness has been the face of all Birds Eye products. The slogan "Good Mood Food" and the Madness song "Our House" is used in all advertisements.

[edit] Other Birds Eye advertising (United States)

Birds Eye Foods launched a Spanish language microsite in April 2009. The site features many of the same categories as its English counterpart, such as Recipes and Coupons. The site, http://www.birdseyeenespanol.com also launched a "Flash Freeze" widget, which allows the users to use their camera or upload a picture directly and "Freeze" it.

[edit] Unilever review, sale to Permira

After a tough trading period and a review of its business to focus on high growth/high margin markets, it was announced on 9 February 2006 that Unilever was looking to sell the Birds Eye brand, as well as the European version - Iglo (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands and Portugal). These brands were worth £836M in sales, with profits of £115M a year, and employ 3,500 staff across Europe with 1,800 located in the UK. Heinz and Findus have also cut down on their frozen food production.
Unilever will retain the Iglo brand in Italy, where frozen food is still popular. In the UK, Unilever has said that frozen food is less popular than chilled food products, and has concerns over health and E numbers (European Union codes for additives) after it sternly told TV viewers we don't play with your food
On 28 August 2006, it was confirmed that Unilever had agreed sale of the business, held since the late 1930s, to a private equity house Permira for £1.2bn.[9]

Bird's Head Peninsula

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"Bird's Head" redirects here.
Bird's Head Peninsula seen from space (false color)
The Bird's Head Peninsula highlighted.
The Bird's Head (Indonesian: Kepala Burung, Dutch: Vogelkop) Peninsula or Doberai Peninsula is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the Province of West Papua, Indonesia.

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[edit] Location and geography

The Bird's Head Peninsula forms the north-western end of the island of New Guinea. To the east is Cenderawasih Bay and to the south Bintuni Bay. To the west, across the Dampier Strait is Waigeo island of Raja Ampat, and Batanta island lies just off the northwest tip. The peninsula south is Bomberai Peninsula.
The peninsula is around 200 by 300 kilometres, and is bio-geographically diverse, containing coastal plains to the south and 3,000 metre high mountains in the north, including the Arfak Mountains.[1]

[edit] Flora and fauna

The King Bird-of-paradise is one of over 300 bird species on the peninsula.
The peninsula is covered by the Vogelkop Montane Rain Forests Ecoregion. It includes more than 22,000 km² of montane forests at elevations of 1,000 m and higher. Over 50% of these forests are located within protected areas. There are over 300 bird species on the peninsula, of which at least 20 are unique to the ecoregion, and some live only in very restricted areas. These include the Grey-banded Munia, Vogelkop Bowerbird, and the King Bird-of-paradise.[2]
Road construction, illegal logging, commercial agricultural expansion and ranching potentially threaten the integrity of the ecoregion.[2] The south-western coast of the peninsula forms part of the Teluk Cenderawasih National Park.[3]

[edit] Culture

Archaeological findings indicate that local settlement dates back at least 26,000 years BP.[1] Today, most people live in villages along the coast, with small concentrations inland. Villagers practise subsistence farming by shifting cultivation of copra, rice, corn and peanuts, as well as hunting.[2] The largest settlements are the city of Sorong in the west and Manokwari in the east.
There are a large number of traditional languages spoken on the peninsula, classified as South Bird's Head languages, East Bird's Head languages, or West Papuan languages.

Bird's-eye view

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A bird's-eye view is an elevated view of an object from above, with a perspective as though the observer were a bird, often used in the making of blueprints, floor plans and maps.
It can be an aerial photograph, but also a drawing. Before manned flight was common, the term "bird's eye" was used to distinguish views drawn from direct observation at high locations (for example a mountain or tower), from those constructed from an imagined (bird's) perspectives. Bird's eye views as a genre have existed since classical times. The last great flourishing of them was in the mid-to-late 19th century, when bird's eye view prints were popular in the United States and Europe.
The terms aerial view and aerial viewpoint are also sometimes used synonymously with bird's-eye view. The term aerial view can refer to any view from a great height, even at a wide angle, as for example when looking sideways from an airplane window or from a mountain top. Overhead view is fairly synonymous with bird's-eye view but tends to imply a less lofty vantage point than the latter term. For example, in computer and video games, an "overhead view" of a character or situation often places the vantage point only a few feet above human height. See top-down perspective.
Recent technological and networking developments have made satellite images more accessible. Microsoft Bing Maps offers direct overhead satellite photos of the entire planet but also offers a feature named Bird's eye view in some locations. The Bird's Eye photos are angled at 40 degrees rather than being straight down. Satellite imaging programs and photos have been described as offering a viewer the opportunity to "fly over" and observe the world from this specific angle.

[edit] Gallery



 

Birds of a Feather

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Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather title card.jpg
Opening credits (1990–98)
FormatSitcom
Created byLaurence Marks
Maurice Gran
Developed byAlomo Productions
StarringPauline Quirke
Linda Robson
Lesley Joseph
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of series9
No. of episodes102 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)Allan McKeown
Michael Pilsworth
Claire Hinson
Running time95x30 minutes
1x40 minutes
4x50 minutes
1x60 minutes
1x75 minutes
DistributorFremantleMedia
Broadcast
Original channelBBC One
Original run16 October 1989 (1989-10-16) – 24 December 1998 (1998-12-24)
StatusEnded

Birds of a Feather is a British sitcom that aired on BBC One from 1989 until 1998. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers.
The first episode sees sisters Tracey Stubbs (Robson) and Sharon Theodopolopodos (Quirke) brought together when their husbands are sent to prison for armed robbery. Sharon, who lived in an Edmonton council flat, moves into Tracey's expensive house in Chigwell, Essex. Their next-door neighbour, and later friend, Dorien Green (Joseph) is a middle-aged married woman who is constantly having affairs with younger men. In the later series the location is changed to Hainault.
On 3 March 2009, the The Mirror reported that the classic sitcom was set for a return reporting that Lesley Joseph, Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson have all been asked by the team behind the sitcom to make another series [1]. Quirke was reported as saying that they were up for the challenge if the writers came up with good ideas.
On 8 July 2010, Linda Robson confirmed on 'This Morning' that a script has been written for a stage show, which all three actresses are keen to be involved with, but this would depend on the availability of Pauline Quirke, who has just been contracted to 'Emmerdale' for 6 months.
As of January 2011 no word on a new television series or stage show has been announced.

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[edit] Cast

[edit] Plot

For sisters, Sharon Theodopolopodos and Tracey Stubbs, life is never the same again when their husbands are convicted of armed robbery and sent to prison. Sharon, a common, large and loud-mouthed character from Edmonton, moves into her wealthy sister's luxury home in Chigwell, so the two can give each other support.
Sharon has always felt inadequate next to her prettier, elder sister Tracey and felt she had the tougher childhood. Her marriage to Chris, a waster of Greek Cypriot descent, was miserable and childless, due to her "inability" to have children. She is condemned by Chris's family for this but Sharon discovers, during series one, that Chris is the infertile one. Sharon happily cheats on Chris and gives him grief when visiting.
Tracey, however, loves her husband, Darryl, whose legitimate business was building conservatories,(he was a bank robber on the side). He and Tracey have a son, Garth, who becomes a chef after going to boarding school, and ends up marrying Kimberly.
The sisters’ neighbour, is the wealthy, snobbish, man-eating Dorien Green. Dorien is married to the rarely seen Marcus, but is always getting involved with other men. Her marriage was also childless, due to both her own vanity and the lack of affection between her and Marcus. She is a regular, if uninvited, guest at Tracey’s house, and mocks Sharon about her weight, whilst Sharon teases Dorien about her lifestyle and age. This mutual teasing is done in a friendly and playful way rather than a serious or hurtful one, and it is often shown Sharon and Tracey care for Dorien and vice versa. If any of them get into trouble or have a problem, the others are often the first ones to help, regardless of the consequences.
Marcus eventually tires of Dorien's selfishness and infidelity, and leaves her to begin a new life with his secret mistress and love child. Dorien later starts a loving relationship with Richard, which is initially strained due to Richard's children taking an instant dislike to Dorien, which she gladly reciprocates.
There is some uncertainty about what Dorien's maiden name actually is. She states her father's name was Arthur Friedman, but a wedding invitation to Sharon and Tracey reveals her mother's name to be Estelle Kapper. Although Dorien's mother appears on screen only once, she is often mentioned by her daughter, as an icy, domineering woman, and the two clearly have a stormy relationship.
In the series seven episode, "Porridge" Darryl and Chris are released early from prison, and are determined to start afresh. Chris feels remorse for his crimes and for not treating Sharon better during their marriage. He impresses Sharon by vowing to start anew and gets an honest job as a pizza delivery man. Darryl however decides the only way to treat Tracey is to once again turn to unscrupulous tactics. He attempts to launder several thousand pounds of counterfeit money into Sharon and Tracey's swimming pool business, but is caught and once again imprisoned - along with an innocent Chris, much to Sharon's dismay. Darryl and Tracey's marriage is severely strained after this, and Tracey contemplates leaving Darryl, but decides against it. However she does warn him that she will not stay faithful.
Sharon and Tracey's maternal aunt, "Auntie Sylvie" (Vivian Pickles), is frequently mentioned and appears twice.[2][3]

[edit] Episodes

Birds of a Feather aired for 102 episodes from 16 October 1989 to 24 December 1998. 95 episodes are thirty minutes in length, while one is forty minutes, four are 50 minutes, one is 60 minutes and one is 75 minutes. Most episodes were written by Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran, Gary Lawson & John Phelps, Geoff Rowley, Sue Teddem, Peter Tilbury, Geoff Deane, Tony Millan & Mike Walling, Damon Rochefort and Sam Lawrence. Keith Lindsay & Martin Tomms, Steve Coombes & Dave Robinson, George Costigan & Julia North, John Ross, Frankie Bailey, Miles Tredinnick, Jenny Lecoat, Alun Lewis, Richard Preddy & Gary Howe and Ian Davidson & Peter Vincent & Tony Jordan all wrote one episode each.