Much More than a Beverage

Although I have made it very clear that I love coffee and that I do not believe there is any harm in drinking coffee frequently (without going over board) I still want to make one last thing clear: Coffee is so much more than just a drink! Coffee can also be a great cooking ingredient! Even to those who may not love coffeee as much as I do, slipping it into a favorite recipe, such has waffles or cinnamon buns, can make a whole world of a difference!

I really like to cook and try new foods,which is why I am so excited about cooking with coffee in particular and want to pass on what I have learned to you. I really urge coffee drinkers to begin to find new ways to insert coffee into their daily lives, broading their horizon when it comes to foods and recipes, as well as better-enjoying something that they already love.

I came across a particularly interesting article entitled "Cooking with Coffee" in with coffee was used as a dry rub for a steak. I never would have thought to use coffee as a way to preapare meats. Combined with ground coffee beans and spices, it's a really smart idea. It can also be used as a marinade for meats as well when added with espresso, soy sauce, brown shugar and a few other spices.

My favorite coffee recipes are of course are the sweets! And my absolute favorite would have to be waffles. I have had a few different types of waffles that were made with coffee and have loved them all. I discovered an additonal recipe online in an article called "5 Delicious Reipes Containing Antioxidant-Rich Coffee," which I recommend for everyone to try called cocoa-espresso waffles! This recipe is amazing and is really something that even the most modest of coffee drinkers will thouroughly enjoy! Good Luck!

A couple more articles with great coffee recipes include:
"Cooking with Coffee: You Don't Always Have to Drink It"
"Cooking with Coffee: Our Favorite Recipes"

Coffee Preventing Diabetes?

I came across this article about coffee decreasing the risk of diabetes in those that drink it frequently. The article lists several different studies where it had been concluded that caffeine, which is the main ingredient in coffee, may have reduced/prevented symptoms of diabetes.

The one example included a case study of 28,000 women whom were all post-menopausal. The women were monitored for 11 years; some of the women drank no coffee while others drank up to six cups of coffee a day. The study concluded that the women who drank more than six cups a day were 22 percent less likely to develop diabetes compared to women who drank no coffee. At the end of the study, the article mentions that the insilin levels were changed regardless of whether or not the women drank decaffinated or caffeinated coffee, meaning that something other than caffeine could be causing these changes.


However, the article never gives a rather why the results are this way, only that the more coffee a person drank, the more positive results that were shown in the study. I would have liked to see a couple predictions as to what exactly it was about the coffee that could be so beneficial. Also, the study mentions that all of the women were post-menopausal but does not mention why this is relevant. I was especially struck by the section where the article mentions that there could be an ingredient in coffee other than caffeine that could be causing these results. I am really curious as to what this could be, especailly since the study involved such a great number of people.

This seems like a really interesting study, especially since coffee and caffeine gets such a bad repuatation, but the article did not provide enough information on this study for me.