1.
Norwegian language
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Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is the official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants. These Scandinavian languages, together with Faroese and Icelandic as well as extinct languages. Faroese and Icelandic are hardly mutually intelligible with Norwegian in their spoken form because continental Scandinavian has diverged from them, as established by law and governmental policy, the two official forms of written Norwegian are Bokmål and Nynorsk. The official Norwegian Language Council is responsible for regulating the two forms, and recommends the terms Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk in English. Two other written forms without official status also exist, one and it is regulated by the unofficial Norwegian Academy, which translates the name as Standard Norwegian. Nynorsk and Bokmål provide standards for how to write Norwegian, no standard of spoken Norwegian is officially sanctioned, and most Norwegians speak their own dialects in all circumstances. Thus, unlike in other countries, the use of any Norwegian dialect. Outside Eastern Norway, this variation is not used. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Danish was the written language of Norway. As a result, the development of modern written Norwegian has been subject to strong controversy related to nationalism, rural versus urban discourse, historically, Bokmål is a Norwegianised variety of Danish, while Nynorsk is a language form based on Norwegian dialects and puristic opposition to Danish. The unofficial form known as Riksmål is considered more conservative than Bokmål, Norwegians are educated in both Bokmål and Nynorsk. A2005 poll indicates that 86. 3% use primarily Bokmål as their written language,5. 5% use both Bokmål and Nynorsk, and 7. 5% use primarily Nynorsk. Thus, 13% are frequently writing Nynorsk, though the majority speak dialects that resemble Nynorsk more closely than Bokmål. Broadly speaking, Nynorsk writing is widespread in western Norway, though not in major urban areas, examples are Setesdal, the western part of Telemark county and several municipalities in Hallingdal, Valdres, and Gudbrandsdalen. It is little used elsewhere, but 30–40 years ago, it also had strongholds in rural parts of Trøndelag. Today, not only is Nynorsk the official language of four of the 19 Norwegian counties, NRK, the Norwegian broadcasting corporation, broadcasts in both Bokmål and Nynorsk, and all governmental agencies are required to support both written languages. Bokmål is used in 92% of all publications, and Nynorsk in 8%
2.
Distilled beverage
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This process purifies it and removes diluting components like water, for the purpose of increasing its proportion of alcohol content. As distilled beverages contain more alcohol, they are considered harder – in North America, as examples, this term does not include beverages such as beer, wine, sake, and cider, as they are fermented but not distilled. These all have relatively low alcohol content, typically less than 15%, brandy is a spirit produced by the distillation of wine, and has an ABV of over 35%. Other examples of distilled beverages include bourbon, vodka, gin, rum, tequila, mezcal, whisky, scotch, the term spirit refers to a distilled beverage that contains no added sugar and has at least 20% alcohol by volume. Distilled beverages bottled with added sugar and added flavorings, such as Grand Marnier, Frangelico, Distilled beverages generally have an alcohol concentration higher than 30%. The origin of liquor and its close relative liquid was the Latin verb liquere, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, an early use of the word in the English language, meaning simply a liquid, can be dated to 1225. The first use the OED mentions of its meaning a liquid for drinking occurred in the 14th century and its use as a term for an intoxicating alcoholic drink appeared in the 16th century. The term spirit in reference to alcohol stems from Middle Eastern alchemy and these alchemists were more concerned with medical elixirs than with transmuting lead into gold. The vapor given off and collected during a process was called a spirit of the original material. Distilled water was described in the 2nd century AD by Alexander of Aphrodisias, the Alexandrians were using a distillation alembic or still device in the 3rd century AD. The medieval Arabs learned the process from the Alexandrians and used it extensively. Freeze distillation involves freezing the alcoholic beverage and then removing the ice, the freezing technique had limitations in geography and implementation limiting how widely this method was put to use. The earliest evidence of distillation of alcohol comes from the School of Salerno in southern Italy during the 12th century. Again, the Chinese may not have been far behind, with evidence indicating the practice of distillation began during the 12th century Jin or Southern Song dynasties. A still has been found at a site in Qinglong, Hebei. Fractional distillation was developed by Taddeo Alderotti in the 13th century, the production method was written in code, suggesting that it was being kept secret. In 1437, burned water was mentioned in the records of the County of Katzenelnbogen in Germany and it was served in a tall, narrow glass called a Goderulffe. Claims upon the origin of specific beverages are controversial, often invoking national pride, but they are plausible after the 12th century AD and these spirits would have had a much lower alcohol content than the alchemists pure distillations, and they were likely first thought of as medicinal elixirs
3.
Scandinavia
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Scandinavia /ˌskændᵻˈneɪviə/ is a historical and cultural region in Northern Europe characterized by a common ethnocultural North Germanic heritage and mutually intelligible North Germanic languages. The term Scandinavia always includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the remote Norwegian islands of Svalbard and Jan Mayen are usually not seen as a part of Scandinavia, nor is Greenland, an overseas territory of Denmark. This looser definition almost equates to that of the Nordic countries, in Nordic languages, only Denmark, Norway and Sweden are commonly included in the definition of Scandinavia. In English usage, Scandinavia sometimes refers to the geographical area, the name Scandinavia originally referred vaguely to the formerly Danish, now Swedish, region Scania. Icelanders and the Faroese are to a significant extent descended from the Norse, Finland is mainly populated by Finns, with a minority of approximately 5% of Swedish speakers. A small minority of Sami people live in the north of Scandinavia. The Danish, Norwegian and Swedish languages form a continuum and are known as the Scandinavian languages—all of which are considered mutually intelligible with one another. Faroese and Icelandic, sometimes referred to as insular Scandinavian languages, are intelligible in continental Scandinavian languages only to a limited extent, Finnish and Meänkieli are closely related to each other and more distantly to the Sami languages, but are entirely unrelated to the Scandinavian languages. Apart from these, German, Yiddish and Romani are recognized minority languages in Scandinavia, the southern and by far most populous regions of Scandinavia have a temperate climate. Scandinavia extends north of the Arctic Circle, but has mild weather for its latitude due to the Gulf Stream. Much of the Scandinavian mountains have a tundra climate. There are many lakes and moraines, legacies of the last glacial period, Scandinavia usually refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Some sources argue for the inclusion of the Faroe Islands, Finland and Iceland, though that broader region is known by the countries concerned as Norden. Before this time, the term Scandinavia was familiar mainly to classical scholars through Pliny the Elders writings, and was used vaguely for Scania, as a political term, Scandinavia was first used by students agitating for Pan-Scandinavianism in the 1830s. After a visit to Sweden, Andersen became a supporter of early political Scandinavism, the term is often defined according to the conventions of the cultures that lay claim to the term in their own use. More precisely, and subject to no dispute, is that Finland is included in the broader term Nordic countries, various promotional agencies of the Nordic countries in the United States serve to promote market and tourism interests in the region. The official tourist boards of Scandinavia sometimes cooperate under one umbrella, Norways government entered one year later. All five Nordic governments participate in the joint promotional efforts in the United States through the Scandinavian Tourist Board of North America, Scandinavia can thus be considered a subset of the Nordic countries
4.
Spice
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A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring, coloring or preserving food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, sometimes, spices may be ground into a powder for convenience. Spices are sometimes used in medicine, religious rituals, cosmetics or perfume production, the spice trade developed throughout South Asia and Middle East by at least 2000 BCE with cinnamon and black pepper, and in East Asia with herbs and pepper. The Egyptians used herbs for mummification and their demand for exotic spices and herbs helped stimulate world trade. The word spice comes from the Old French word espice, which became epice, and which came from the Latin root spec, by 1000 BCE, medical systems based upon herbs could be found in China, Korea, and India. Early uses were connected with magic, medicine, religion, tradition, archaeological excavations have uncovered clove burnt onto the floor of a kitchen, dated to 1700 BCE, at the Mesopotamian site of Terqa, in modern-day Syria. The ancient Indian epic Ramayana mentions cloves, the Romans had cloves in the 1st century CE, as Pliny the Elder wrote about them. In the story of Genesis, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers to spice merchants, in the biblical poem Song of Solomon, the male speaker compares his beloved to many forms of spices. The earliest written records of spices come from ancient Egyptian, Chinese, the Ebers Papyrus from Early Egyptians that dates from 1550 B. C. E. Describes some eight hundred different medicinal remedies and numerous medicinal procedures, historians believe that nutmeg, which originates from the Banda Islands in Southeast Asia, was introduced to Europe in the 6th century BCE. Indonesian merchants traveled around China, India, the Middle East, Arab merchants facilitated the routes through the Middle East and India. This resulted in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria being the trading center for spices. The most important discovery prior to the European spice trade were the monsoon winds, sailing from Eastern spice cultivators to Western European consumers gradually replaced the land-locked spice routes once facilitated by the Middle East Arab caravans. Spices were among the most demanded and expensive available in Europe in the Middle Ages. Given medieval medicines main theory of humorism, spices and herbs were indispensable to balance humors in food, in addition to being desired by those using medieval medicine, the European elite also craved spices in the Middle Ages. An example of the European aristocracys demand for spice comes from the King of Aragon and he was specifically looking for spices to put in wine, and was not alone among European monarchs at the time to have such a desire for spice. Spices were all imported from plantations in Asia and Africa, which made them expensive, from the 8th until the 15th century, the Republic of Venice had the monopoly on spice trade with the Middle East, and along with it the neighboring Italian city-states. The trade made the region rich and it has been estimated that around 1,000 tons of pepper and 1,000 tons of the other common spices were imported into Western Europe each year during the Late Middle Ages
5.
Herb
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In general use, herbs are any plants used for food, flavoring, medicine, or fragrances for their savory or aromatic properties. Culinary use typically distinguishes herbs from spices, Herbs refers to the leafy green or flowering parts of a plant, while spices are produced from other parts of the plant, including seeds, berries, bark, roots and fruits. In botanical English, the herb is also used as a synonym of herbaceous plant. Herbs have a variety of uses including culinary, medicinal, and in some cases, general usage of the term herb differs between culinary herbs and medicinal herbs. In medicinal or spiritual use any of the parts of the plant might be considered herbs, including leaves, roots, flowers, seeds, root bark, inner bark, resin and pericarp. The word herb is pronounced /ˈhɜːrb/ in the UK, but /ˈɜːrb/ is common among North American speakers, as far back as 5000 BCE, Sumerians used herbs in medicine. Ancient Egyptians used fennel, coriander and thyme around 1555 BCE, in ancient Greece, in 162 CE, a physician by the name of Galen was known for concocting complicated herbal remedies that contained up to 100 ingredients. Culinary herbs are distinguished from vegetables in that, like spices, they are used in small amounts, Herbs can be perennials such as thyme or lavender, biennials such as parsley, or annuals like basil. Perennial herbs can be such as rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis, or trees such as bay laurel, Laurus nobilis – this contrasts with botanical herbs. Some plants are used as herbs and spices, such as dill weed and dill seed or coriander leaves and seeds. Also, there are some such as those in the mint family that are used for both culinary and medicinal purposes. Some plants contain phytochemicals that have effects on the body, there may be some effects when consumed in the small levels that typify culinary spicing, and some herbs are toxic in larger quantities. For instance, some types of herbal extract, such as the extract of St. Johns-wort or of kava can be used for purposes to relieve depression. However, large amounts of these herbs may lead to toxic overload that may involve complications, some of a serious nature, Herbs have long been used as the basis of traditional Chinese herbal medicine, with usage dating as far back as the first century CE and far before. In India, the Ayurveda medicinal system is based on herbs, medicinal use of herbs in Western cultures has its roots in the Hippocratic elemental healing system, based on a quaternary elemental healing metaphor. Famous herbalist of the Western tradition include Avicenna, Galen, Paracelsus, Culpepper, the indigenous peoples of Australia developed herbal medicine based on plants that were readily available to them. The isolation of the people meant the remedies developed were for far less serious diseases. Herbs such as mint, wattle and eucalyptus were used for coughs, diarrhea, fever
6.
European Union
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The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2, the EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency. The EU operates through a system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the basis of the EU. The EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world, additionally,27 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7, because of its global influence, the European Union has been described as an emerging superpower. After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the nationalism which had devastated the continent. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. These men and others are credited as the Founding fathers of the European Union. In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome and they also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958, the EEC and Euratom were created separately from the ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland, Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum
7.
Caraway
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Caraway, also known as meridian fennel, and Persian cumin, is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. The plant is similar in appearance to other members of the family, with finely divided, feathery leaves with thread-like divisions. The main flower stem is 40–60 cm tall, with white or pink flowers in umbels. Caraway fruits are crescent-shaped achenes, around 2 mm long, with five pale ridges, the etymology of caraway is complex and poorly understood. English use of the term dates back to at least 1440. The fruits, usually used whole, have a pungent, anise-like flavor and aroma that comes from essential oils, mostly carvone, limonene, caraway is used as a spice in breads, especially rye bread. Caraway is also used in desserts, liquors, casseroles, and it is also found in European cuisine. For example, it is used in caraway seed cake, the roots may be cooked as a vegetable like parsnips or carrots. Additionally, the leaves are consumed as herbs, either raw, dried, or cooked. In Serbia, caraway is commonly sprinkled over home-made salty scones and it is also used to add flavor to cheeses such as bondost, pultost, havarti and Tilsit cheese. Scandinavian Akvavit, including Icelandic Brennivin, and several liqueurs are made with caraway, in Middle Eastern cuisine, caraway pudding, called Meghli, is a popular dessert during Ramadan. It is typically made and served in the Levant area in winter, caraway is also added to flavor harissa, a Tunisian chili pepper paste. In Aleppian, Syrian cuisine it is used to make the sweet scones named keleacha, caraway fruit oil is also used as a fragrance component in soaps, lotions, and perfumes. Caraway is also used as a breath freshener, and it has a tradition of use in folk medicine. Caraway is distributed throughout all of Europe except the Mediterranean region. All other European species of Carum generally have smaller fruits, some grow on rocks in the mountains, chiefly in the Balkans, Italian Alps and Apennines. However the only one that is cultivated is Carum Carvi, its fruits being used in ways in cooking and its essential oils in the preparation of certain medicines. The plant prefers warm, sunny locations and well-drained soil rich in organic matter, in warmer regions, it is planted in the winter as an annual
8.
Dill
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Dill is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the species in the genus Anethum. Dill is widely grown in Eurasia where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food, dill grows up to 40–60 cm, with slender hollow stems and alternate, finely divided, softly delicate leaves 10–20 cm long. The ultimate leaf divisions are 1–2 mm broad, slightly broader than the leaves of fennel, which are threadlike, less than 1 mm broad. The flowers are white to yellow, in small umbels 2–9 cm diameter, the seeds are 4–5 mm long and 1 mm thick, and straight to slightly curved with a longitudinally ridged surface. Dill is a Germanic word whose origin is unknown, fresh and dried dill leaves are widely used as herbs in Europe and central Asia. Like caraway, the leaves of dill are aromatic and are used to flavor many foods such as gravlax and other fish dishes, borscht and other soups. Dill is best when used fresh as it loses its flavor rapidly if dried, however, dill seed, having a flavor similar to caraway but also resembling that of fresh or dried dill weed, is used as a spice. Dill oil is extracted from the leaves, stems and seeds of the plant, the oil from the seeds is distilled and used in the manufacturing of soaps. Dill is the ingredient in dill pickles, cucumbers preserved in salty brine and/or vinegar. In central and eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Baltic states, Russia and Finland and it is also popular in summer to drink fermented milk mixed with dill. In the same way, prepared dill is used as a topping for boiled potatoes covered with fresh butter – especially in summer there are so-called new, or young. The dill leaves can be mixed with butter, making a dill butter, dill leaves mixed with tvorog form one of the traditional cheese spreads used for sandwiches. Fresh dill leaves are used all round as an ingredient in salads, e. g. one made of lettuce, fresh cucumbers and tomatoes. In Poland, fresh dill leaves mixed with sour cream are the basis for dressings and it is especially popular to use this kind of sauce with freshly cut cucumbers, which practically are wholly immersed in the sauce, making a salad called mizeria. The dill leaves serve as a basis for cooking dill sauce, used hot for baked freshwater fish and for chicken or turkey breast, in Poland it is popular to cook a dill-based soup, served with potatoes and hard-boiled eggs. Whole stems including roots and flower buds are used to prepare Polish-style pickled cucumbers. Whole stems of dill are also cooked with potatoes, especially the potatoes of autumn and winter, some kinds of fish, especially trout and salmon, are traditionally baked with the stems and leaves of dill
9.
Alcohol by volume
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Alcohol by volume is a standard measure of how much alcohol is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the number of millilitres of pure ethanol present in 100 millilitres of solution at 20 °C, the number of millilitres of pure ethanol is the mass of the ethanol divided by its density at 20 °C, which is 0.78924 g/ml. The ABV standard is used worldwide, the International Organization of Legal Metrology has tables of density of water–ethanol mixtures at different concentrations and temperatures. In some countries, such as the U. K and France, alcohol by volume is referred to as degrees Gay-Lussac and this results in the slight difference in marked % noted later in this article. Mixing two solutions of alcohol of different strengths usually causes a change in volume, mixing pure water with a solution less than 24% by mass causes a slight increase in total volume, whereas the mixing of two solutions above 24% causes a decrease in volume. The phenomenon of volume due to mixing dissimilar solutions is called partial molar volume. Details about typical amounts of alcohol contained in various beverages can be found in the articles about them. Another way of specifying the amount of alcohol is alcohol proof, for example, 40% abv is 80 proof in the US and 70 proof in the UK. However, since 1980, alcohol proof in the UK has been replaced by abv as a measure of alcohol content, in the United States, a few states regulate and tax alcoholic beverages according to alcohol by weight, expressed as a percentage of total mass. Some brewers print the ABW on beer containers, particularly on low-point versions of domestic beer brands. However, because of the miscibility of alcohol and water, the factor is not constant. 100% ABW, of course, is equivalent to 100% ABV, during the production of wine and beer, yeast is added to a sugary solution. During fermentation, the yeasts consume the sugars and produce alcohol, the density of sugar in water is greater than the density of alcohol in water. A hydrometer is used to measure the change in gravity of the solution before. The volume of alcohol in the solution can then be estimated, there are a number of empirical formulae which brewers and winemakers use to estimate the alcohol content of the liquor made. The simplest method for wine has been described by English author C. J. J, the number 0.7936 is the specific gravity of a 100% ethanol solution. The difference between the starting SG and the final SG measures the specific gravity lost to CO2 release
10.
Alcohol proof
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Alcohol proof is a measure of the content of ethanol in an alcoholic beverage. The term was used in the United Kingdom and was equal to about 1.75 times the alcohol by volume. The UK now uses the ABV standard instead of alcohol proof, in the United States, alcohol proof is defined as twice the percentage of ABV. The measurement of alcohol content and the statement of content on bottles of alcoholic beverages is regulated by law in many countries, the term proof dates back to 16th century England, when spirits were taxed at different rates depending on their alcohol content. Spirits were tested by soaking a pellet of gunpowder in them, if the gunpowder could still burn, the spirits were rated above proof and taxed at a higher rate. As gunpowder would not burn if soaked in rum that contained less than 57. 15% ABV, the gunpowder test was officially replaced by a specific-gravity test in 1816. From the 18th century until 1 January 1980, the UK measured alcohol content by proof spirit, defined as spirit with a gravity of 12⁄13 that of water, or 923 kg/m3, the value 57. 15% is very close to the fraction 4⁄7 =0.5714. Thus, the amounts to declaring that 100° proof spirit has an ABV of 4⁄7. From this, it follows that to convert the ABV to degrees proof, thus pure, 100% alcohol will have 100× = 175° proof, and a spirit containing 40% ABV will have 40× = 70° proof. The proof system in the United States was established around 1848 and was based on percent alcohol rather than specific gravity, 50% alcohol was defined as 100 proof. The use of proof as a measure of alcohol content is now mostly historical, today, liquor is sold in most locations with labels that state its alcohol content as its percentage of alcohol by volume. The European Union follows recommendations of the International Organization of Legal Metrology, oIMLs International Recommendation No.22 provides standards for measuring alcohol strength by volume and by mass. The document does not address alcohol proof or the labeling of bottles, since 1 January 1980, the United Kingdom has used the ABV standard to measure alcohol content, as prescribed by the European Union. The OIML system measures alcohol strength as a percentage of alcohol by volume at a temperature of 20 °C and it replaced the Sikes system of measuring the proof strength of spirits, which had been used in Britain for over 160 years. Britain, which used to use the Sikes scale to display proof and this scale, for all intents and purposes the same as the Gay-Lussac scale previously used by much of mainland Europe, was adopted by all the countries in the European Community in 1980. Using the OIML scale or the Gay-Lussac scale is essentially the same as measuring alcohol by volume except that the figures are expressed in degrees, in the United States, alcohol content is measured in terms of the percentage of alcohol by volume. The Code of Federal Regulations requires that liquor labels must state the percentage of ABV, the regulation permits, but does not require, a statement of the proof provided that it is printed close to the ABV number. For bottled spirits over 100 mL containing no solids, actual alcohol content is allowed to vary within 0. 15% of ABV stated on the label, alcohol proof in the United States is defined as twice the percentage of alcohol by volume
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