https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eciEgSgHX-apN2TLlcDE31uUvWebz73z/view?usp=sharing

Gum has become such a popular candy treat throughout the world. It comes in many different flavors like spearmint, Peppermint, original bubble gum, Cinnamon, Dragonfruit, Melon, Watermelon, and so much more. Ever wonder how they are made though? Recently I stumbled upon a video called  “How Gum is Made” By Design Insider that takes you along the very satisfying process and crazy ingredients of Gum. 

About 9,000 years ago, evidence shows that Europeans chewed birch Bark tar for enjoyment and medicinal purposes like toothaches. On the other side of the world, In America the Mayans chewed something called Chicle that was made from Sapodilla trees to quench thirst and fight hunger. In 1860, the modern gum we chew today was invented in Mexico and given to Thomas Adams from General Antonio Lopez, Mexico’s former President, and brought to New York as a substitute for rubber. 

Originally, Gum was made out of tree resin as the base that makes gum chewy. However, today, Gum is completely synthetic, made by chemical synthesis, especially to imitate a natural product. The Gum that we chew or are possibly chewing now is made out of solely plastics and rubbers. First, this synthetic gum base is poured into a mixer and added with food coloring and flavor. When everything thus far starts being mixed, they pour in Glucose Syrup, a liquid sweetener that helps keep the Gum base soft. Then, they add Dextrose, a powdered artificial sweetener. Together, all the ingredients are blended for 20 minutes where the stirring action builds up heat and melts everything together perfectly. 

Once the mixture reaches a bread dough consistency it is ready and poured out into a machine called the pre-extruder that turns the big bulky mixture into thin, long, and manageable strips that could go into extruders. The extruders are the machines that turn the big strips into long strips of the actual size of the piece of bubble gum in each wrapper that will be cut into bite sized pieces later on. Thus, this extrusion process heats up the gum to a point where if they were to wrap it up it would get stuck to the wrapper, so the next stop is the cooling chamber. The gum goe sis for approximately 15 minutes in a 37-45 degree fahrenheit. 

Finally, when the cooling chamber is finished it is cool enough to begin getting wrapped. One machine is used to both cut the long gum strips into bite size and wrap it off right away very quickly. Thus, The gum making process is absolutely mind blowing and something exciting to learn. The fact that the gum we chew today is plastic is why people should refrain from swallowing it, especially little kids! 

https://www.mindfood.com/article/baking-for-therapy-and-self-empowerment/#:~:text=By%20using%20baking%20as%20a,a%20subconscious%20form%20of%20therapy.

For my second Food Review I decided to review an article called “Baking for Therapy and Self Improvement” by Stephanie Panecasio. This article is an eye opening article that  encourages women to embrace baking as a hobby rather than dismiss it because it’s such an empowering and expressive process. For many years, Baking has been seen as a Traditional Feminine pursuit commonly tied with early memories of either Grandma and Mother baking cookies, cupcakes, Flan, and brownies. Many exclaim that these images fall far from the feminist point of view today. However, the baking process itself has been proven to benefit both mental health and Self-Empowerment in many women. 

For example, Baking is a beautiful hobby that is considered to be a deep individual personal experience for everyone. Women understand that the deserts themselves may never turn out the same for everyone  – just like everyone is different, deserts are very different as well depending on the hand making it. Thus each dessert is delicious in their very own unique way. By being so dedicated to this calming process with your full attention, the reward at the end is equal parts personal achievement, affirmation and deliciousness. The reposition from responsibility to hobby has allowed women to take back baking as a form of empowerment by using this process to grow their idea of themselves and the lovely skills they should be proud of. 

Moreover, Baking has shown to both benefit and improve mental health. For example, baking helps increase mindfulness, sensory, and satisfaction. Ultimately, Baking becomes a form of therapy for those who struggle with depression or mood disorders. Baking is a behavioral activation and focused activity that helps occupy the entire mind and body together. As stated in “The art of Mindful Baking” by Julia Posonby “The physical act of baking, the way that you knead bread for example, takes your mind out of the intellectual and connects you to your body”. Subconsciously, this  form of therapy helps redirect our thoughts to more positive ones. Many people are using baking as a stress and even anxiety reliever to focus on something other than anything that’s troubling them. 

While baking things like sourdough, you’re subconsciously allowing things to develop at their own pace and observing them. Thus, bakers began to realize that we sometimes can’t control every single thing that happens, but allows us to accept that things will happen when they are ready. A Lot of the time people are afraid of missing out and not having certain things. However, learning to slow down helps us become more aware and focused on ourselves. This can push us toward success and empowered independence. In other words, Taking back baking as a hobby is taking a “right direction toward Feminism” according to Posonby. Baking has been known as a worldwide housewife’s obligation to an empowering and mentally beneficial feminist pursuit. Here’s to taking our power back and owning it. 

• For my Creative Remix I am planning on doing a video on making a gold desert.
• My research is on why edible gold is a luxury food and a food trend as well.
• I would need to buy edible gold online, find a famous edible gold recipe, and find a day to film and bake a desert.
• One possible obstacle that I could have is having trouble getting gold in time to film the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYBHsHhJzyY

One Dream, delicious food, and France is what the film Ratatouille portrays. Remy is a rat with a strong passion and love for food. Many rats usually have a great sense of smell and taste, but Remy has more of a stronger sense of smell and taste. He is a cook at heart, but his father insists on solely using his talents to test for poisoning in the community’s horrible food supply. Remy wants to bring quality food to their community, but his father is completely against it. Moreover, the love, passion, and drive for food with his talents grow. This is definitely a classic tale of a dreamer with talent and drive to pursue what they love. He continues to grow, learn, take interest in the human world, and read books about the chefs who inspire him. 

Eventually, Remy drifts away in the sewers from his family in a terrible accident  While he is alone and lost, he is accompanied by the ghost of his chef role model that seemingly seems to be his own support system. Remy becomes very hungry in the sewers, so his support system pushes him to find food for his empty Stomach. Remy finds himself in the most famous chefs restaurants in Paris. He arrives just in time to help the son of the famous chef fix a soup that he messed up on his first day as a garbage boy. Ultimately, they realize that they both need to work together to combine their skills. Neither of them could do any of their journeys alone because the chef’s son can’t cook at all. However, Remy is in fact a rat with a passion for a food community that absolutely hates rats. 

During this process, the film perfectly portrays an aspiring artist working on his dream in a beautiful city like Paris. As Remy and Garbage boy find ways to successfully collaborate together, the consequences of a rat and human working together takes the story to a hilarious and suspenseful turn that will have you on your toes. When both Remy and Garbage boy find a clever way to carry out their plans the new owner of the restaurant feels threatened by the potential duo that could potentially take his place as rightful owner, so he does everything in his power to try and bring them down. The owner begins watching closely over the garbage boy because he seems suspicious of being a very good chef that can genuinely cook. The story then moves to a more serious turn as the owner finds ways of driving him out and the most famous food critic tries their critically acclaimed delicious famous food. 

In conclusion, the very famous hard-to-please critic is touched by the very delicious Ratatouille that the Remy decides to serve.  because it is both delicious, new, and nostalgic at the same time. Moreover, the restaurant is signed over to its rightful owner, garbage boy, because it’s his father’s. This movie is a lovely message to those with dreams and goals both big and small. It is a message of perseverance because anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great. 

1. Italian food
2. Effect of Location on Famous traditional foods
3. Food trends of different time periods

I recommend eating Curly fries! Its mouth watering shape, crunch, and rather rich seasoning is the most mind blowing appetizer or side dish anyone could ever ask for. When I was just about 8 years old,  I was introduced to curly Fries for the first time ever on one of my weekly visits to my local AMC movie theater with my parents and sister. I’ve had the rather basic and almost boring shape of French Fries my entire life, but when I was introduced to Curly fries it was just absolutely magical. The burst of its rich flavor completely blew my mind.

My family and I spent time in the movie theaters together on the weekend. We would always grab appetizers and candy from their savory and fresh menu. My mom would always order my sister and I our favorite Chicken tenders and simple French fries. However, on one of our weekly visits to the Movie theater my mom did not order for herself because she kept going off of having room for the restaurant after the movie, so she ordered two orders of Curly fries and Chicken Tenders for all of us to share because she loved curly fries. My sister and I were mad at my mom for doing such a thing to us. We knew our mom liked things that we hated as kids like pickles, sushi, shrimp, and mustard, so we were scared of what we were left to eat in the movie theater as we waited for the restaurant. 

My sister and I refused to eat the curly fries, but my stomach was growling and yelling at me to give it more and more food, so I dared to try the golden curls sitting in front of me. As Harry Potter was on the screen before me waving away on his wand at the Darkness, I took half a bite from the curl in my hand. Eventually, I took the entire curl and it was probably one of the best things I have tasted in my life. The one reaction that poured out of me from tasting such a mouth watering snack was “MMMMMM”. I ended up eating most of the fries and Chicken tenders because I fell in love more and more with each bite. I couldn’t care less if I’d finish it on my own because if you snooze you lose. 

When weekends came around not only was I excited for watching the new and upcoming movies, but I was looking forward to my date with my curly delight. There was a point in my childhood where I was very much gaining weight fast and I’m almost sure that this was one other reason why. Cult Fries have never seemed to disappoint me ever. Today, not only do they still make my mouth water, but its familiarity warms my heart. Moreover, the accompanying of Chicken tenders have changed to Mild Buffalo wings that match the unique character and taste of Curly fries. If you haven’t had the pleasure in indulging in this amazing snack, make sure you get to it sooner than later. 

– Frazzled- showing the effects of exhaustion or strain.

-“What used to be just my fingertips turned into my whole wrist, and now, although it seems as if it’s been only five seconds, my whole forearm is disappearing into the bag”

– if I were assigned an essay like this I would right about curly fries because they’re very addictive and crispy, so I can never really get enough.

• One word from Hamilton’s essay that I had to look up was Chastising. Chastising means to rebuke or reprimand severely.
• “I’m not sure you should sit across from each other and eat the roasted bird in resentful silence, either, but we did that, too, and the meat was disagreeably tough.” The author shares a food memory in which she learned something very important about life. In this particular passage I like how the author uses her word choice to describe the Hard Truth that she learns throughout the article. After volunteering to kill a Chicken, the author struggles to kill the bird quickly and less painfully, so her Dad begins yelling at her aggressively without helping her out. When they ate in a very upset and tense manner, The author ends the passage with descriptions of having a very tough meal that night. Thus, the author learns that people are not always gonna be there for her or save her, so she must learn how to be tough on her own. One question that I have is if she applied what she learned quickly in life or did it take some time. 
• Why was the author very melancholy in the beginning? 

It’s the Summer before Summer break before our last year of Highschool. My Best friend and I are cooling off on probably one of the hottest days in July in her pool as we talk about wanting to have the most memorable and crazy Senior Year ever as we wait for our other friends to get here. We talk about summer parties, Homecoming games, parties that we want to throw, trips that were definitely going on because we rarely do anything without each other. We live about 1 hour away from the City in a suburban area of Staten Island, so we talk about planning city days with our friend group as well. Not only do we plan for the best Senior year, but we laugh about the greatest moments we have had at the most talked about party our Junior year and how everything would have been different if we hadn’t met our sophomore year in our Italian class. These are one of those moments where everything is just as it should be. When our two other friends make it we all jump into the pool again and play everything you can play in a pool. My friend’s Mom and Dad greet us and tell us they are preparing food. Her dad asks in a very thick Italian accent if we want “ Swiss and Mozz” on our burger. I never really have anything else than yellow cheese on my burger let alone 2 types because coming from a Mexican family that mostly eats Mexican food I never really knew the savor of having two very different cheeses together, but they insist on tasting it together, so I go for it being a natural cheese lover. When the food is ready her mom tells us to grab our side dish with our burger. My friend starts taking the side dish, I go in to grab some, but me and my other only Mexican friend ask what it is. They looked like small fried cylinders and I swear I’ve never had them before. “You’ve never had Tater Tots” our two Italian friends asked in complete shock. “No Never” me and my Mexican friend told them as we looked at each other laughing. My friend is now in a college very far way and I don’t really see her anymore, but I eat Tater Tots and put any cheese that I want on my burger because of her.