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There is no questioning our ongoing love affair with cheese. From pizza and pasta to that decadent slice of cheesecake, we can’t get enough. But the dairy industry that produces cheese has had a negative impact on our climate that is not exactly appetizing.

While plant-based alternatives to cheese are easier on the environment—not to mention ideal for those who are lactose intolerant (raises hand) or vegan—many of them are still not cheesy enough. Now, a team of scientists from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark has created nondairy cheese with a taste and texture that’s much closer to the real thing. Instead of developing some sort of futuristic technology, they harnessed the transformative power of a process that has been used to make traditional cheese for thousands of years— fermentation .

Just add bacteria

Why are plant-based cheeses so notoriously difficult to make? Not all proteins are created equal. Because plant proteins behave so differently from milk proteins, manufacturers rely on coconut oil, starch, or gums as hardening agents and then add colors and flavors that give the finished product some semblance of cheese.

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Volunteers and fiddle group help launch three-year project to create wildflower meadow across Cornwall

It was, all agreed, a heartwarming scene: dozens of smiling children and adults scattering wildflower seed on a Cornish country house estate in the autumn sunshine accompanied by the sound of fiddles.

But there was a serious point to it, too. The event at Lanhydrock, a grand house and estate above the River Fowey, was organised to mark the launch of a three-year project to create 324 hectares (800 acres) of wildflower meadow across Cornwall, part of a fightback against the UK-wide loss of this species-rich habitat.

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This is the ideal time to forage for seeds in the wild – to plant species that will attract pollinators next summer

In an effort to develop my newly aquired garden as inexpensively and sustainably as possible, I am raising as many plants as I can from seed. Among the perennials I sowed last year – echinaceas, salvias, sea holly, calamint – I include a few wildflowers whose seed I had collected from local hedgerows: field scabious, teasel, white campion, wild carrot. These plants produced blooms this summer that were attractive and magnets for pollinators, including species of bee, beetle and hoverfly. No single action in the garden has felt as deeply rewarding.

Amid an intensifying biodiversity crisis in which insect species are in significant decline , it is heartening to see a growing appreciation for weeds and wildflowers – plants that pollinators rely on for forage and habitat. Many gardeners are now loosening tidiness, abandoning destructive pesticides and welcoming interlopers.

This stylish plant is easy to look after and produces long-lasting, spectacular blooms

Why will I love it?
Gone are the days when Anthurium andraeanum was just another houseplant. Thanks to its star turn in fashion brand Loewe’s runway shows, both as part of the looks and the staging, it has a new cool status, captivating plant enthusiasts and fashion-forward decorators alike.

Light or shade?
Lighting is the key to vibrant, long-lasting blooms. Bright, indirect light provides the perfect environment for those spectacular blossoms.

I don’t think I have ever encountered a form of ginger I didn’t enjoy. Candied ginger, pickled ginger, fresh ginger — all ginger is good ginger. (I’m also a fan of gingers , but that’s not what this is about.) I lean hard on pickled ginger most of the time — particularly in dressings and drinks — but cold weather calls for a sweeter, warmer type of ginger root. Cold weather call for air-fried ginger.

Of course, it’s “not really fried,” but more “turbo-roasted.” (“The Turbo Roaster” would have been a more accurate name for the air fryer, I think, but what’s done is done.) Semantics aside, air-fried ginger is a delight for most, if not all of your senses. It has a caramelised, lightly candied quality, and is so soft you can tear it apart with your hands. It’s slightly less smoky than broiler-roasted ginger (which is how Bon App roasts theirs), but the real difference lies in your energy bill.

Instead of broiling a single chunk of ginger root in a large oven for 45 minutes to an hour, you can toss it, unpeeled, in a 400-degree air fryer basket for approximately 30 minutes. I say “approximately” because I let the ginger hang out in the basket while it preheats — which adds around three minutes to the overall time.

The ginger that comes out is soft, fragrant, and encased in a crinkly, blistered skin. The flavour is softer, quieter, and warmer, and the unpeeled, roasted root can be blended into sauces, dressings, smoothies, and cocktails. Last night I blended a two-inch piece of roasted ginger with some sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and a little sugar to make a dipping sauce for some poached chicken. It was great, but I’ll probably use a neutral-tasting oil next time, as the toastiness of the sesame oil obscured the ginger’s more nuanced qualities, which are too beautiful to cover up.

So, to recap: All you have to do to avail yourself of tender, deeply sweet ginger is place a washed, unpeeled piece of the root in the basket of your air fryer, set the temperature to 400℉ and the time to 30 minutes, then walk away and let the air fryer do its thing, returning once to flip it over somewhere in near the middle. Remove from the air fryer, blend it into things, and repeat as needed.

The post Toss a Hunk of Ginger in Your Air Fryer appeared first on Lifehacker Australia .

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