Winter squash not just for Thanksgiving
31.12.69
Autumn is really here when piles of squash are heaped in supermarket aisles and roadside market bins. Momentarily stealing our attention away from their October country cousins (pumpkins), they beckon from the kitchen.
It's hard to say the words "winter squash" when you're still holding out for Indian summer, and it doesn't help that these squash appear with the season's first falling leaves.
So, seldom do we appreciate their real beauty. These tough guys of the vegetable patch -- stocky, rugged and occasionally with craggy hides -- have hidden talents suitable for many different dishes. Their inedible skins protect an interior that turns soft and mellow when cooked.
It's the cooking that's a challenge. Most cookbooks and recipes tell you to bake squash, a process that's both lengthy and somewhat unpredictable. Fortunately, the microwave oven provides a streamlined approach.
The process today is simple: Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds, place face down in a baking dish, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on high for six to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the squash and wattage of your oven.
Source: GoErie.com
Robotic strawberry pickers could be on the way
31.12.69
Now that we're moving towards automated orange-sorting and autonomous tractors , what might be the next step in replacing human agricultural workers with machines? Well, how about robotic strawberry pickers? That's what scientists from the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) say could be on the way, thanks to a system that is able to identify ripe strawberries in the field.
Work first began on the system in 2009, at which time is was being developed for use with cauliflowers. Although it was reportedly successful, a drop-off in demand for the vegetables caused the project to stall. It has since been revived, for use with other crops. Strawberries are particularly well-suited to the technology, as their high water content and dry leaves make them easier for the system to image, and the time-consuming process of picking them by hand could be greatly reduced through automation.
The system is able to non-invasively "see" beneath the surface of strawberries using four parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, namely radio frequencies, microwaves, terahertz radiation and far-infrared light. Both the hardware and software involved are reportedly able to detect which berries are ripe enough for picking, and are able to do so for a relatively low cost.
Source: Gizmag
