Spieces from Thailand:  Sardinops Sagax, Sardinella Gibbosa, Sardinella Aurita

According to the Codex Alimentarius �canned sardines or sardine type products� are prepared from fresh or frozen fish, scales and/or tail may be removed,  of the following species:

- Sardina pilchardus

- Sardinops melanostictus, S. neopilchardus, S. ocellatus, S. sagax S. caeruleus,

- Sardinella aurita, S. brasiliensis, S. maderensis, S. longiceps, S. gibbosa

- Clupea harengus

- Sprattus sprattus

- Hyperlophus vittatus

- Nematalosa vlaminghi

- Etrumeus teres

- Ethmidium maculatum

- Engraulis anchoita, E. mordax, E. ringens

- Opisthonema oglinum

VEGETABLES

a) bamboo shoots

Baby corn is a cereal grain taken from specialized sweet corn (maize) plants harvested early, while the ears are very small and immature. Baby corn ears are hand-picked as soon as corn silks emerge from the ear tips or a few days after. Baby corn ears are generally about 4.5 cm to 10 cm in length and 7 mm to 17 mm in diameter. Depending on the specifications, 13 up, 15 up till 50 up "spears" are packed in one can with a drained weight of 225 g. The product is also available as 'cut" or 'pieces".

The product can be used as vegetable in many dishes, in stirr-fry meals, in salads as a kind of decoration, in soups.  The corn may have peppers or pimentos or other foods added for flavor or appearance.

At present, Thai farmers mostly use 5 varieties in their cultivation and all belong to hybrid baby corn. These are Suwan1, Suwan 2, Suwan 3, Rang sit 1 and Chiangmai 90,which have been developed to resist downy mildew, grow rapidly. Baby corn is ready for harvests after seeds germinate and grow for 45-60 days, during which the plant is in full production. It is a short-lived plant so it can bear produce only once, yielding 3-4 ears per tree. However, farmers can grow baby corn 4-5 times a year.

Main production is from Oct till June, but available all year around.

EXOTIC FRUITS

Commercially available exotic fruits in syrup, in 15 or 20 oz cans ( 425 � 565 ml) or jars

a)      baby banana whole

b)      coconut meat

c)      guava pieces

d)      jackfruit

e)      longan wholes

f)       lychee wholes

g)      mango slices

h)      mangosteen

i)        melon dices

j)        papaya dices

k)      rambutan wholes / stuffed with pineapple

l)        toddy palm

Lychee (Litchi chinensis Som.) belongs to the family Sapindaceae (soapberry) which also includes rambutan (the 'hairy" Nephelium lappaceum L.) and longan ( brown skin, Dimocarpus longan Lour). The crop originated from the southern provinces of China and thrives well under its subtropical climate. There is some evidence to suggest that wild lychees may have also originated in northern mountain regions of Vietnam.

From its place of origin, the crop spread to Myanmar, Laos, Taiwan, India, Australia, South Africa, California, and Florida, USA where it is largely cultivated in subtropical climate.

The lychee is widely known as litchi and regionally as lichi, lichee, laichi, leechee or lychee. The fruit has an outer, thin-shelled skin (red changing to brown as the fruit ripens) which, when peeled away, reveals white, succulent flesh of a grape-like texture. A hard seed is at the core of the fruit. Like citrus fruits and black currants, lychees are high in vitamin "C" (at levels of 40�90 mg/100 g, five grape-sized fruit are enough for your daily needs) and also natural sugars.

Only a limited range of areas, where commercial cultivation is large enough to supply to canneries for world-wide exports: Northern Thailand, Northern Vietnam, and China:

In China, canned products are processed in Guangxi and Fujian, while fresh lychees are from the another 2 provinces Hainan and Guangdong for domestic markets (also some  export) at the beginning of the season each year, starting end of June and depands on the weather each year. The crop time in Fujian is usualy 7-10 days later than Guangxi's.        In Guangxi area the HeiYe is mostly used, in Fujian the WuYe. The flesh of this variety might turn a little pink after some time.

In Thailand lychee was initially cultivated in northern parts of Thailand particularly in the provinces of Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Phayao, and Nam that have subtropical climate. These places have an elevation of over 1,000 meters above sea level (MASL). Then cultivars were developed for tropical lowland of the southern parts of Thailand like Samot Sakhun and Chanthaburi whose climatic condition was similar to that of the Philippines.

The Thai crop is shorter and earlier: April for .. 3-4 weeks. The Thai variety is seen as the nicest tasting, only the variety Hong Huay ( or Tai Soi ) is used. Depending on the quantity of berries to get a drained weight of 225 g, the size is called Large (16-20 berries per can) , Medium ( 21-24) or Small (25-28). Also available as "broken"

�         Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is believed to have first originated from the Indo-Myanmar region where it was known to have been cultivated for over 4,000 years ago. Later, mangoes spread throughout the tropics of Africa, Asia and America.

�         Mangoes are excellent source of vitamin A and C which normally vary with variety and maturity of the fruits.

Canned mangos are produced in accordance to the Codex Alimentarius standard o the WHO nr STAN 159-1987

During the process mango slices are immersed in 0.1% calcium chloride solution for 1 hour and addition of syrup at 20�Brix to give the product with the highest score of texture acceptance . Without the canned fruit will soon fall apart in the can. To keep a good appearance, citric acic E 330( 0,01%) as a process aid for good appearance (not gray)  and ascorbic acid as anti-oxidant are added before sterilisation to adjust the pH value .In

COCONUT MILK

Coconut milk and cream are made from the expressed juice of shredded mature coconut meat. It is an emulsion of fat-protein-water, milk-like white in color and has a creamy viscosity.

Coconut milk is available in several fat contents. This starts with 5-7 % ( "low fat"), via 8-10% (economy), 12-14% ("medium"), 16-18% (�gastronomy�) till 20-22 %: ("super premium"). The highest fat level ( 22-25 %) is called "coconut cream".

As coconut milk is made from natural raw material, which properties vary among crops, harvest places, varieties and time of the season, a spread of fat content of + / - 1% is caused despite a strict recipe and production process.
There are no official standards ( like e-grade, "economy"), but purely depending on factory. Fat content is by laboratory, so a fixed grade.

Only a food additive, sodium meta bisulfite E223 or its potassion alternative E 224, is added during the production process to remain its white colour. The same like a bite in a fresh apple: this will colour brown in a short time. As preservative only 0.01 % or 100 ppm Sodium metabisuphite (Na2S2O5) is added in the production process to prevent browning of the product. After the canning phase about 10-40 ppm will remain as residue. However in some countries, like Australia and New Zealand, even this is prohibited

In cold weather the coconut milk may de-homogenize, as creamy foam from the coconut milk might separate from the coconut water as a natural process and is not hampered by added emulsifiers, stabilizers etc. Also some protein skins or chips may develop. If the SO2-residue as preservative goes low, those protein skin might turn into a darket chip at the surface during the heat treatment of the sterilisation process.

Coconut milk can be used in nearly any dish to give it a coconut taste: boiling vegetables, frying meat, as a base for soups, stews, curries and sauces, drinks, ice-crean, in bakery and deserts. The low fat levels are especially used by those consumers who like to give their foods a coconut taste, with keeping the fat intake lowest.