SOY SAUCE AND UMAMI

Well, there are now wars on several fronts. Of course Ukraine, and the Republican civil war in our House of Representatives. Now, Hamas terrorists are creating havoc in Israel with their attack in Gaza. Look for a decisive response and watch how the price of oil changes.

A glance at the right column on petroleum prices shows that the $100/barrel price precipitously dropped to $84/barrel from a week ago. Interesting what this will be on Monday.

Interested in buying or selling your home? Notice that mortgage rates are now at around 7.5%, and seem headed for 8%. Read this to understand how mortgage rates differ from long-term interest rates.

Way back towards the end of 1981 it was up to 18.39%. This was during the Great Recession. Then, a gradual drop over two decades, and the 30-year mortgage rate was was down to 2.67% at the end of 2020. The past 34 months saw this sudden escalation.

We all place a bottle of mayonnaise or catsup in a refrigerator after opening. But don't for oil and vinegar. Here is a question for those who use soy sauce. Should you store in a refrigerator or not?

Kikkoman Corporation, the world's leading manufacturer of this condiment, says to refrigerate to maintain flavor for a longer period.

The FDA recommends that mayo be tossed away after two months in the fridge, three months for pickles, six months for ketchup, four months for horseradish and 12 months for mustard. I'm sure I've passed the deadline for all of them.
But those times are debatable, for the image to the right indicates the recommendations in the UK.

More about soy sauce.

Can't believe this, but there is a difference between soy sauce and shoyu. I thought shoyu was just the Japanese way of saying soy sauce. Read this.
The Chinese invented shoyu, and Buddhist monks brought them to Japan in the 7th century AD.
Shoyu will not spoil if left in the cabinet.

I tend to reduce my intake of shoyu because one tablespoon contains 40% the daily recommendation of sodium, which, as you know, can increase blood pressure and stroke potential, plus, cause heart problems.
However, as would be expected, Kikkoman recommends using the bottle WITHIN ONE MONTH. Why? Something to do with the umaminess. As if anyone really can tell the difference.

What is umami?

It is the fifth basic taste alongside sour, sweet, bitter and salty.

How many of you are familiar with your own tongue?
About umami, flavor enhancers make salty foods taste even saltier and sweet foods taste sweeter. Thus, the dish is brighter and deeper.
Translated from the Japanese, umami is savory. Comes from glutamate, inosinate and guanlylate.
For example, some food processes like curing, aging and fermentation break down proteins, creating free glutamate, which enhances tastes.
Tomato is high in glutamic acid, drawing out the flavors in pizza and pasta. Another reason why catsup is used.

Remember monosodium glutamate (MSG)?

People have been misguidedly avoiding the use of MSG as a hazard to your health.
Turns out racism and xenophobia had a lot to do with MSG making them feel sick.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has classified MSG as safe. The FDA, however, requires this chemical to be listed on the label for psychological purposes.
MSG is almost pure umami.
However, MSG is 12% sodium.

Typhoon Koinu strengthened to 120 MPH and appeared to make a slight shift towards Hong Kong. However, the eye weakened to 110 MPH and seems to be just avoiding Hong Kong, and will skirt the northern side of Hainan as a tropical storm, and will make landfall over Vietnam in the middle of next week.

A NEXT COVID SUBVARIANT?

By now most know that the Omicron BA.5 subvariant has become the dominant infectious agent, now accounting for more than 80% of all COVID-19 cases. Very few are aware that a new one, BA.4.6, is sneaking in and steadily rising, now accounting for 13% of sequenced samples . However, as BA.4.6 has emerged from BA.4, while there is uncertainty, the scientific sense is that the latest bivalent booster targeting BA.4 and BA.5 should also be effective for this next threat. One concern is that Evusheld--the only monoclonal antibody authorized for COVID prevention in immunocompromised individuals--is not effective against BA.4.6. Here is a reference as to what this means. A series of two injections is involved. Evusheld was developed by British-Swedish company AstraZeneca, and is a t ixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab . More recently, Los Angeles County reported on subvariant BA.2.75.2 . which Tony Fauci termed suspicious and troublesome. This strain has also been spreading in

Part 3: OUR NEXT AROUND THE WORLD ODYSSEY

Before I get into my third, and final, part of this cruise series, let me start with some more newsworthy topics. Thursday was my pandemic day for years. Thus, every so often I return to bring you up to date on the latest developments. All these subvariants derived from that Omicron variant, and each quickly became dominant, with slightly different symptoms. One of these will shock you. There has been a significant decline in the lost of taste and smell. From two-thirds of early patients to now only 10-20% show these symptoms. JN.1, now the dominant subvariant, results in mostly mild symptoms. However, once JN.1 infects some, there seem to be longer-lasting symptoms. Clearly, the latest booster helps prevent contracting Covid. A competing subvariant, BA.2.86, also known as Pirola , a month ago made a run, but JN.1 prevailed. No variant in particular, but research has shown that some of you will begin to lose hair for several months. This is caused by stress more than anythi

HONOLULU TO SEATTLE

The story of the day is Hurricane Milton, now a Category 4 at 145 MPH, with a track that has moved further south and the eye projected to make landfall just south of Sarasota. Good news for Tampa, which is 73 miles north. Milton will crash into Florida as a Category 4, and is huge, so a lot of problems can still be expected in Tampa Bay with storm surge. If the eye had crossed into the state just north of Tampa, the damage would have been catastrophic. Milton is a fast-moving storm, currently at 17 MPH, so as bad as the rainfall will be over Florida, again, a blessing. The eye will make landfall around 10PM EDT today, and will move into the Atlantic Ocean north of Palm Bay Thursday morning. My first trip to Seattle was in June of 1962 just after I graduated from Stanford University. Caught a bus. Was called the Century 21 Exposition . Also the Seattle World's Fair. 10 million joined me on a six-month run. My first. These are held every five years, and there have only been

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