There are many products in the world that we often confuse. Chickpeas and beans, zucchini and zucchini, parsley and cilantro. At first glance, such mistakes seem insignificant, but when the moment of cooking comes and in the process it turns out that you brought the wrong ingredient from the store, it’s no longer a joke. Novate.ru offers to figure out which is which, and no longer make serious mistakes.
1. Feta and "Fetaxa"
These two cheeses have very similar names and appearance, so many housewives, without hesitation, take the first thing that comes to hand for their dish. However, it is still worth distinguishing between products. The first thing to know about feta is Greek cheese, which is made from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk, and stored in brine, which makes the product quite salty. As for Fetaxa, it is a cheese product produced by the Hochland trademark. It is prepared using a completely different technology and its consistency is more reminiscent of hard processed cheese, and not compressed cottage cheese, like feta. Plus, Fetax tastes less salty.
2. Salmon and trout
Given the fact that both of these fish come from the salmon family, it is not at all surprising that when buying a ready-made steak, it is very difficult to determine what is in front of you: salmon or trout. Their meat is almost identical, the only difference is that the salmon has a warm orange hue. It will be much easier if your goal is to buy a whole fish and butcher it yourself. Trout has a very dark and variegated color, unlike other fish that belong to the salmon family. Other distinctive features include pink stripes on the sides and spots closer to the back. As for the salmon, it has a silvery color.
3. Asparagus and green beans
In fact, these two plants are dense green shoots and at first glance are no different. However, if you look closely, you can see that asparagus is the top of the shoots of a large plant, while beans are classic pods, but thin and dense. There is one common feature in plants - they are very healthy and tasty if you follow the rules for their preparation. In particular, products cannot be cooked for a long time - five to seven minutes in salted water will be quite enough so that they do not lose their beautiful appearance, retain their useful properties, but at the same time acquire an amazing taste.
4. Parsley and cilantro
In appearance, these two plants are incredibly similar, and if you do not sniff, you can easily grab the wrong thing from the store counter. The aroma of cilantro is pronounced, reminiscent of a mixture of lemon and pepper, while parsley smells less intense. As for other differences, cilantro has more elongated stems up to 120 cm long, at the ends of which pale rounded leaves with slightly dissected edges grow. Parsley is distinguished by a short stem and large dense leaves with sharp edges of a rich green hue.
5. Zira and cumin
Let's move on from greens to spices. Despite the fact that cumin and caraway are almost identical in appearance, they taste completely different. Therefore, if you add to the dish the wrong spice, which was indicated in the recipe, the result will be very sad. The easiest way to distinguish between seeds is to look closely at their color. Zira is larger and lighter in color, the shade can vary from chocolate to light green, and caraway is dark brown. The aroma of cumin is intense, with noticeable bitterness and light nutty notes, but the caraway smells weaker, but more spicy.
6. Parsnips and parsley root
These two plants belong to the celery family, which makes them very similar in appearance. However, they are rarely used in the same dishes due to the difference in tastes. The long and creamy root of parsley has a pungent and spicy aroma, as do the leaves. As for the parsnip, it is softer and larger, and its taste is more like carrot. Another point to pay attention to when choosing a product is the place from which the stem grows. In parsnips, it is concave, with a dark border.
7. Blueberries and blueberries
Yes, yes, and we have always sincerely believed that these are two names for the same plant. But let's compare them in more detail: blueberries are large, fleshy, with a white coating on the surface, and the flesh is light and dense. She does not have a pronounced reserve, but the taste is sweet and intense. But blueberries are much smaller. The berry is dark and firm, the juice is almost black, and the flesh is a rich dark purple hue. And you can hardly confuse it with anything to taste - it is the same blueberry one.
8. Zucchini and zucchini
Everything is very interesting with these products. From a biological point of view, zucchini and zucchini are one and the same. Here are just the name "zucchini" comes from the Ukrainian or Turkic word "tavern", and "zucchini" owes its appearance to the Italian term "zucca", which means pumpkin. Thus, zucchini is simply a type of zucchini that was developed by Italian breeders. However, he also has distinctive features, thanks to which he won the love of chefs. The flesh of zucchini has a pleasant, unobtrusive taste, the skin stays soft longer, so it is rarely cut off before cooking. As for the color, it is deep green, sometimes with a pattern, in contrast to the light green zucchini. There are differences in size. The fruits of an Italian vegetable rarely exceed 20-25 cm, while zucchini can grow much more in length.
Both vegetables are usually eaten both cooked and raw, for example, when it comes to salads. By the way, not only fruits can be useful in the kitchen, but also other parts of the "body". Stuffed squash flowers can often be seen on restaurant menus.
9. Chickpeas and soybeans
Representatives of the legume family also did not escape a sad fate - they are often confused. To prevent this from happening again, remember: chickpea seeds are characterized by a wrinkled, round shape of a light shade with a small tail at the end and have a slightly nutty taste. Chickpeas are used to make the famous Jewish dish hummus. But soybeans are perfectly round, smooth, small in size. Unlike its sibling, it has no flavor of its own, so beans are often used as a base for other soy products such as noodles, sauce, milk, tofu, and even meat.
By the way, legumes are included in the list from 10 foods that should be in the kitchen so as not to rack your brains over dinner