Egg

An egg is the organic vessel containing the zygote in which an animal embryo develops until it can survive on its own, at which point the animal hatches. An egg results from fertilization of an ovum. Most arthropods, vertebrates, and mollusks lay eggs, although some do not, such as scorpions and most mammals.

Reptile eggs, bird eggs, and monotreme eggs are laid out of water, and are surrounded by a protective shell, either flexible or inflexible. Eggs laid on land or in nests are usually kept within a favorable temperature range (warm) while the embryo grows. When the embryo is adequately developed it hatches, i.e. breaks out of the egg's shell. Some embryos have a temporary egg tooth with which to crack, pip, or break the eggshell or covering.

The largest recorded egg is from a whaleshark, and was 30 cm × 14 cm × 9 cm (11.8 in × 5.5 in × 3.5 in) in size; whale shark eggs normally hatch within the mother. At 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) and up to 17.8 cm × 14 cm (7.0 in × 5.5 in), the ostrich egg is the largest egg of any living bird, though the extinct elephant bird and some dinosaurs laid larger eggs. The bee hummingbird produces the smallest known bird egg, which weighs half of a gram (around 0.02 oz). The eggs laid by some reptiles and most fish can be even smaller, and those of insects and other invertebrates can be much smaller still.

Absolut Vodka

Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is owned by French group Pernod Ricard; they bought Absolut for €5.63 billion in 2008 from the Swedish state.

Absolut is the third largest brand of alcoholic spirits in the world after Bacardi and Smirnoff, and is sold in 126 countries.

History

Absolut was established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith and is produced in Åhus, Sweden. Smith introduced fractional distillation which produces liquor without fusel alcohol in Sweden in 1877, under the name "Tiodubbelt Renadt Brännvin" (Tenfold Purified Vodka). Brännvin literally means "burnt wine" and is analogous to the German "Branntwein". The term is also used in Norwegian, Danish, Faroese and Icelandic. ("Vodka" was not used for Swedish liquor until 1958, with the potato-based Explorer Vodka.) The name was changed to "Absolut Rent Brännvin" (Absolutely Pure Vodka) by Smith to market his improved product.

Smith challenged the city of Stockholm's liquor marketing monopoly with his vodka. It was sold at a lower price than the monopoly's product, just outside the city border. Smith even offered free boat rides to the distillery and "Rent Brännvin" made Smith a fortune.

Jamie Oliver

James Trevor "Jamie" Oliver, MBE (born 27 May 1975) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur, and media personality known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his global campaign for better food education.

Early life

Oliver was born and raised in the village of Clavering. His parents ran a pub/restaurant, The Cricketers, where he practiced cooking in the kitchen with his parents. He was educated at Newport Free Grammar School.

Oliver left school at age sixteen with two GCSE qualifications in Art and Geology and went on to attend Westminster Technical College now Westminster Kingsway College. He then earned a City & Guilds National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in home economics.

Career

His first job was a pastry chef at Antonio Carluccio's Neal Street restaurant, where he first gained experience with preparing Italian cuisine, and developed a relationship with his mentor Gennaro Contaldo. (Later in his career, Oliver employed Contaldo to help run his successful collection of high street restaurants, Jamie's Italian), Oliver moved to The River Café, Fulham, as a sous chef. It was there that he was noticed by the BBC in 1997, after making an unscripted appearance in a documentary about the restaurant, Christmas at the River Cafe.

Scrambled eggs

Scrambled eggs is a dish made from whites and yolks of eggs (usually chicken eggs) stirred, beaten, and cooked together typically with milk and butter and variable other ingredients.

Preparation

Only eggs are necessary to make scrambled eggs, but very often other ingredients such as water, milk, butter, cream or in some cases creme fraiche may be added. The French Scrambled Eggs include grated cheese all the time, it is not necessary for scrambled eggs, The eggs are cracked into a bowl; with some salt, and the mixture is stirred or whisked. More consistent and far quicker results are obtained if a small amount of thickener such as cornstarch, potato starch or flour is added; this enables much quicker cooking with reduced risk of overcooking, even when less butter is used.

For the frying method, the mixture is poured into a hot pan containing melted butter or oil, where it starts coagulating. The heat is turned down and the eggs are stirred as they cook. This creates small, soft curds of egg.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles (ⁱ/lɒs ˈændʒəlᵻs/ loss AN-jə-ləs or loss AN-jə-liss) (Spanish for "The Angels"), officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States after New York City, the most populous city in the state of California, and the county seat of Los Angeles County.

Situated in Southern California, Los Angeles is known for its mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, sprawling metropolis, and as a major center of the American entertainment industry. Los Angeles lies in a large coastal basin surrounded on three sides by mountains reaching up to and over 10,000 feet (3,000 m).

Historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was officially founded on September 4, 1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850, five months before California achieved statehood. The city experienced rapid growth with the discovery of oil.