0_Wizard
Hi! I am from Algeria, its a country in North Africa! It's such a hot continent to be on, where are you from?!
Algeria ( '; '; ), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a sovereign state in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast.
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Algeria
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Algeria
Algeria ( '; '; ), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a sovereign state in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast. The capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the far north of the country. With an area of , Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, and the largest in Africa since South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011. Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia, to the east by Libya, to the west by Morocco, to the southwest by the Western Saharan territory, Mauritania, and Mali, to the southeast by Niger, and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea.
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most-populous continent (the first being Asia in both categories). At about 30.3 million km (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of its total land area. With /1e9 round 1 billion people as of , it accounts for about 16% of the world's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos.
History of Africa
The history of Africa begins with the emergence of "Homo sapiens" in East Africa, and continues into the present as a patchwork of diverse and politically developing nation states. The recorded history of early civilization arose in the Kingdom of Kush, and later in Ancient Egypt, the Sahel, the Maghreb and the Horn of Africa. During the Middle Ages, Islam spread west from Arabia to Egypt, crossing the Maghreb and the Sahel. Some notable pre-colonial states and societies in Africa include the Ajuran Empire, D'mt, Adal Sultanate, Warsangali Sultanate, Kingdom of Nri, Nok culture, Mali Empire, Songhai Empire, Benin Empire, Ashanti Empire, Ghana Empire, Mossi Kingdoms, Mutapa Empire, Kingdom of Mapungubwe, Kingdom of Sine, Kingdom of Sennar, Kingdom of Saloum, Kingdom of Baol, Kingdom of Cayor, Kingdom of Zimbabwe, Kingdom of Kongo, Empire of Kaabu, Ancient Carthage, Numidia, Mauretania, and the Aksumite Empire.
North Africa
North Africa is a collective term for a group of Mediterranean countries situated in the northern-most region of the African continent. The term "North Africa" has no single accepted definition. It is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Morocco in the west, to the Suez Canal and the Red Sea in the east. Others have limited it to the countries of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, a region known by the French during colonial times as “Afrique du Nord” and by the Arabs as the Maghreb (“West”). The most commonly accepted definition includes Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, as well as Libya and Egypt.
Berbers
Berbers or Amazighs ( "Imaziɣen"; singular: ⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖ "Amaziɣ" / "Amazigh") are an ethnic group indigenous to North Africa, primarily inhabiting the Maghreb. They are distributed in an area stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Siwa Oasis in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Niger River in West Africa. Historically, they spoke Berber languages, which together form the Berber branch of the Afroasiatic family. Since the Muslim conquest of North Africa in the seventh century, a large number of Berbers inhabiting the Maghreb (Tamazgha) have in varying degrees used as lingua franca the other languages spoken in North Africa.
Climate of Africa
Owing to Africa's position across equatorial and subtropical latitudes in both the northern and southern hemisphere, several different climate types can be found within it. The continent mainly lies within the intertropical zone between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Hence, its solar radiation intensity is always high, and it is a hot continent. Warm and hot climates prevail all over Africa, but the northern part is that most marked by aridity and high temperatures. Only the northernmost and the southernmost fringes of the continent have a Mediterranean climate.The equator in the middle of Africa running through making it the most tropical continents of all continents.
White Africans of European ancestry
White Africans are people of European descent residing in, or hailing from, Africa who identify themselves as white. In 1989, there were an estimated 5.6 million Africans of European ancestry on the continent. Most are of Dutch, British, Portuguese, German, French, and to a lesser extent, Italian, Spanish, Greek or Irish descent. The majority once lived along the Mediterranean coast, in South Africa, or in Rhodesia. The earliest permanent European communities in Africa were formed at the Cape of Good Hope; Luanda, in Angola; São Tomé Island; and Santiago, Cape Verde through the introduction of Portuguese and Dutch traders or military personnel.
1_Apprentice
wow thats really neat I would love to visit africa.  I am from Louisiana.  It is very hot here too!
0_Wizard
I've heard that Louisiana has swamps and the best gumbo in the south! I'd love to go to Louisiana especially for New Orleans for Mardi Gras! 
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Mardi Gras in the United States
Mardi Gras in the United States is not observed nationally across the country, however a number of cities and regions in the U.S. have notable Carnival celebrations. Most trace their Mardi Gras celebrations to French, Spanish, and other colonial influences on the settlements over their history. The earliest Carnival celebration in North America occurred at a place on the west bank of the Mississippi river about 60 miles (96.6 kilometers) downriver from where New Orleans is today; this Mardi Gras on the 3rd of March 1699 and in honor of this holiday, Iberville named the spot Point du Mardi Gras (French: "Mardi Gras Point").
Courir de Mardi Gras
The Courir de Mardi Gras ( ) is a traditional Mardi Gras event held in many Cajun communities of south Louisiana on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Courir de Mardi Gras is Cajun French for "Fat Tuesday Run". The rural Mardi Gras celebration is based on early begging rituals, similar to those still celebrated by mummers, wassailers and celebrants of Halloween. As Mardi Gras is the celebration of the final day before Lent, celebrants drink and eat heavily, and also dress in specialized costumes, ostensibly to protect their identities. Popular practices include wearing masks, capuchons, and costumes, overturning social conventions, dancing, drinking alcohol, begging, feasting, whipping, etc.
Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama
Mardi Gras is the annual Carnival celebration in Mobile, Alabama. It is the oldest annual Carnival celebration in the United States, started by Frenchman Nicholas Langlois in 1703 when Mobile was the capital of Louisiana. This was fifteen years before New Orleans was founded, although today their celebrations are much more widely known for all the current traditions such as masked balls, parades, floats and throws were first created there. From Mobile being the first capital of French Louisiana (1702), the festival began as a French Catholic tradition. Mardi Gras in Mobile has now evolved into a mainstream multi-week celebration across the spectrum of cultures in Mobile, becoming school holidays for the final Monday and Tuesday (some include Wednesday), regardless of religious affiliation.
Mardi Gras in New Orleans
The holiday of Mardi Gras is celebrated in Southern Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans. Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and through Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday (the start of lent in the Catholic tradition). Usually there is one major parade each day (weather permitting); many days have several large parades. The largest and most elaborate parades take place the last five days of the Mardi Gras season. In the final week, many events occur throughout New Orleans and surrounding communities, including parades and balls (some of them masquerade balls).
Louisiana Creole people
Louisiana Creole people (, ), are persons descended from the inhabitants of colonial Louisiana during the period of both French and Spanish rule. The term "creole" was originally used by French settlers to distinguish persons born in Louisiana from those born in the mother country or elsewhere. As in many other colonial societies around the world, "creole" was a term used to mean those who were "native-born". It also came to be applied to African-descended slaves and Native Americans who were born in Louisiana. Louisiana Creoles share cultural ties such as the traditional use of the French and Louisiana Creole languages and predominant practice of Catholicism.
New Orleans
New Orleans (, or ; ) is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. The New Orleans metropolitan area (New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area) had a population of 1,167,764 in 2010 and was the 46th largest in the United States. The New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area, a larger trading area, had a 2010 population of 1,452,502. Before Hurricane Katrina, Orleans Parish was the most populous parish in Louisiana. As of 2015, it ranked third, trailing neighboring Jefferson Parish and East Baton Rouge Parish.
Gumbo
Gumbo is a stew popular in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and that state's official state cuisine. It may have originated in southern Louisiana during the 18th century, possibly as a stew of the Choctaws served over corn grits. Gumbo consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and what Louisianians call the "Holy Trinity" of vegetables, namely celery, bell peppers, and onions. Gumbo is often categorized by the type of thickener used, the okra, the filé powder (dried and ground sassafras leaves), or roux, the French base made of flour and fat. The dish likely derived its name from either a word from a Bantu language for okra ("ki ngombo") or the Choctaw word for filé ("kombo").
1_Apprentice
We have amazing food.  Very spicy!  I love Jambalaya the best!  Mardi Gras can get a little crazy but some people like it
0_Wizard
Not much of a wild person, but I enjoy the occasional wild day. I love gumbo though! It was invented in the 18th century from the Choctaws to be served over corn grits. I think that's how we got corn bread!
It may have originated in southern Louisiana during the 18th century, possibly as a stew of the Choctaws served over corn grits.
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Gumbo
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Gumbo
Gumbo is a stew popular in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and that state's official state cuisine. It may have originated in southern Louisiana during the 18th century, possibly as a stew of the Choctaws served over corn grits. Gumbo consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and what Louisianians call the "Holy Trinity" of vegetables, namely celery, bell peppers, and onions. Gumbo is often categorized by the type of thickener used, the okra, the filé powder (dried and ground sassafras leaves), or roux, the French base made of flour and fat. The dish likely derived its name from either a word from a Bantu language for okra ("ki ngombo") or the Choctaw word for filé ("kombo").
Cuisine of the United States
The cuisine of the United States reflects its history. The European colonization of the Americas yielded the introduction of a number of ingredients and cooking styles to the latter. The various styles continued expanding well into the 19th and 20th centuries, proportional to the influx of immigrants from many different nations; such influx developed a rich diversity in food preparation throughout the country. Early Native Americans utilized a number of cooking methods in early American Cuisine that have been blended with early European cooking methods to form the basis of American Cuisine. When the colonists came to the colonies, they farmed animals for clothing and meat in a similar fashion to what they had done in Europe.
Choctaw
The Choctaw (In the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally occupying what is now the Southeastern United States (modern-day Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana). Their Choctaw language belongs to the Muskogean language family group. The Choctaw are descendants of the peoples of the Hopewell and Mississippian cultures, who lived throughout the east of the Mississippi River valley and its tributaries. About 1,700 years ago, the Hopewell people built Nanih Waiya, a great earthwork mound located in what is central present-day Mississippi. It is still considered sacred by the Choctaw.
Filé powder
Filé powder, also called gumbo filé, is a spicy herb made from the dried and ground leaves of the North American sassafras tree "(Sassafras albidum)". Filé powder is used in Louisiana Creole cuisine in the making of some types of gumbo, a thick Creole soup or stew often served over rice. Several different varieties exist. In New Orleans, what is known as Creole gumbo generally varies from house to house though still retaining its African and Native American origins. The Creoles of Cane River make a gumbo focused much more on filé. Filé can provide thickening when okra is not in season, in types of gumbo that use okra or a roux as a thickener for gumbo instead of filé.
Maize
Maize ( ; "Zea mays" subsp. "mays", from after Taíno "mahiz"), also known as corn, is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The leafy stalk of the plant produces separate pollen and ovuliferous inflorescences or ears, which are fruits, yielding kernels or seeds. Maize has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with total production surpassing that of wheat or rice. However, not all of this maize is consumed directly by humans. Some of the maize production is used for corn ethanol, animal feed and other , such as corn starch and corn syrup.
California Trail
The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail followed the same corridor of networked river valley trails as the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail, namely the valleys of the Platte, North Platte and Sweetwater rivers to Wyoming. In the present states of Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah, the California and Oregon trails split into several different trails or cutoffs. By 1847, two former fur trading frontier forts marked trailheads for major alternative routes through Utah and Wyoming to Northern California.
Grits
Grits are a food made from corn (maize) that is ground into a coarse meal and then boiled. Hominy grits are a type of grits made from hominy (corn that has been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization) with the germ removed. Grits are often served with other flavorings as a breakfast dish, usually savory. Grits originated in the Southern United States but now are available nationwide. Grits are popular as a dinner entrée, shrimp and grits, served primarily in the Southern United States. Grits should not be confused with boiled ground corn, which makes "hasty pudding" or "mush" or when using coarse ground corn, which may be made into polenta, or the "mush" made from more finely ground corn meal.
1_Apprentice
oh corn bread!!  I love corn bread.  It is great with Red Beans and Rice with sausage.  Yum!  What is some good food from Algeria?
0_Wizard
Alergia has Fresh Sweet Dates and a lot of our food is mixed with fresh mint!
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Israeli cuisine
The Israeli cuisine ( "ha-mitbach ha-yisra’eli") comprises local dishes by people native to Israel and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli Jewish fusion cuisine has developed. Israeli cuisine has adopted, and continues to adapt, elements of various styles of Jewish cuisine, particularly the Mizrahi, Sephardic and Ashkenazi styles of cooking. It incorporates many foods traditionally eaten in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines, and foods such as falafel, hummus, msabbha, shakshouka, couscous, and za'atar are now widely popular in Israel.
Mint julep
The mint julep is a mixed alcoholic drink, or cocktail, consisting primarily of bourbon (or some other spirit), water, crushed or shaved ice, and fresh mint. As a bourbon-based cocktail, it is associated with the American South and the cuisine of the Southern United States in general, and the Kentucky Derby in particular. A mint julep is traditionally made with four ingredients: mint leaf, bourbon, simple syrup, and crushed ice. Traditionally, spearmint is the mint of choice used in Southern states, and in Kentucky in particular. Proper preparation of the cocktail is commonly debated, as methods may vary considerably from one bartender to another.
Egyptian cuisine
Egyptian cuisine is characterized by dishes such as "ful medames", mashed fava beans; "kushari", with lentils and pasta, a national dish; and "molokhiya", bush okra stew. Egyptian cuisine shares similarities with food of the Eastern Mediterranean region, such as rice-stuffed vegetables, grape leaves, "shawerma", "kebab" and "kofta". The cuisine makes heavy use of legumes, vegetables and fruits from Egypt's rich Nile valley and delta. Egyptian cuisine is notably conducive to vegetarian diets, as it relies heavily on legume and vegetable dishes. Though food in Alexandria and the coast of Egypt tends to use a great deal of fish and other seafood, for the most part Egyptian cuisine is based on foods that grow out of the ground.
Mentha
Mentha (also known as mint, from Greek "míntha", Linear B "mi-ta") is a genus of plants in the family Lamiaceae (mint family). It is estimated that 13 to 18 species exist, and the exact distinction between species is still unclear. Hybridization between some of the species occurs naturally. Many other hybrids, as well as numerous cultivars, are known. The genus has a subcosmopolitan distribution across Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and North America. Mints are aromatic, almost exclusively perennial, rarely annual herbs. They have wide-spreading underground and overground stolons and erect, square, branched stems.
Sweet potato
The sweet potato ("Ipomoea batatas") is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are a root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. The sweet potato is only distantly related to the potato ("Solanum tuberosum") and does not belong to the nightshade family, Solanaceae, but both families belong to the same taxonomic order, the Solanales. The plant is a herbaceous perennial vine, bearing alternate heart-shaped or palmately lobed leaves and medium-sized sympetalous flowers.
Bengali cuisine
Bengali cuisine is a culinary style originating in Bengal, a region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, which is now divided between Bangladesh and the West Bengal state of India. Other regions, such as Tripura, and the Barak Valley region of Assam (in India) also have large native Bengali populations and share this cuisine. With an emphasis on fish, vegetables and lentils are served with rice as a staple diet. Bengali cuisine is known for its subtle (yet sometimes fiery) flavours, and its spread of confectioneries and desserts. It also has the only traditionally developed multi-course tradition from the subcontinent that is analogous in structure to the modern "service à la russe" style of French cuisine, with food served course-wise rather than all at once.
Tea culture
Tea culture is defined by the way tea is made and consumed, by the way the people interact with tea, and by the aesthetics surrounding tea drinking. It includes aspects of tea production, tea brewing, tea arts and ceremony, society, history, health, ethics, education, and communication and media issues. Tea plays an important role in some countries. It is commonly consumed at social events, and many cultures have created intricate formal ceremonies for these events. Afternoon tea is a British custom with widespread appeal. Tea ceremonies, with their roots in the Chinese tea culture, differ among Asian countries, such as the Japanese or Korean versions.
1_Apprentice
I'm not sure I have ever had dates.  what do they taste like?
0_Wizard
They are like grapes but less sweet!
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White wine
White wine is a wine whose colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured pulp of grapes, which may have a skin of any colour. White wine has existed for at least 2500 years. The wide variety of white wines comes from the large number of varieties, methods of winemaking, and ratios of residual sugar. White wine is mainly from "white" grapes, which are green or yellow in colour, such as the Chardonnay, Sauvignon, and Riesling. Some white wine is also made from grapes with coloured skin, provided that the obtained wort is not stained.
Ice wine
Ice wine (or icewine; ) is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, allowing for a more concentrated grape juice to develop. The grapes must be pressed from the frozen grapes, resulting in a smaller amount of more concentrated, very sweet wine. With ice wines, the freezing happens before the fermentation, not afterwards. Unlike the grapes from which other dessert wines are made, such as Sauternes, Tokaji, or Trockenbeerenauslese, ice wine grapes should not be affected by "Botrytis cinerea" or noble rot, at least not to any great degree.
Sugars in wine
Sugars in wine are at the heart of what makes winemaking possible. During the process of fermentation, sugars from wine grapes are broken down and converted by yeast into alcohol (ethanol) and carbon dioxide. Grapes accumulate sugars as they grow on the grapevine through the translocation of sucrose molecules that are produced by photosynthesis from the leaves. During ripening the sucrose molecules are hydrolyzed (separated) by the enzyme invertase into glucose and fructose. By the time of harvest, between 15 and 25% of the grape will be composed of simple sugars. Both glucose and fructose are six-carbon sugars but three-, four-, five- and seven-carbon sugars are also present in the grape.
Santorini (wine)
Santorini is a Greek wine region located on the archipelago of Santorini in the southern Cyclades islands of Greece. Wine has been produced there since ancient times, but it was during the Middle Ages that the wine of Santorini became famous worldwide under the influence of the Republic of Venice. The Italian influence is still present in modern Santorini winemaking: the most famous Tuscan sweet wine is called Vin Santo. Santorini's Vin Santo (labeled "Vinsanto" to differentiate it from the Tuscan wine) is made in a "passito" style from grapes dried in the sun after harvest. Santorini also produces blended and rosé wine made from white grapes such as Athiri, Aidini and Assyrtiko, and red grapes such as Mandelaria.
Straw wine
Straw wine, or raisin wine, is a wine made from grapes that have been dried to concentrate their juice. The result is similar to that of the ice wine process, but suitable for warmer climates. The classic method dries clusters of grapes on mats of straw in the sun, but some regions dry them under cover, on roofs, or on modern racks, while some hang up the grapes or leave them to dry on the vine. The technique dates back to pre-Roman times, and most production of these wines has been in Northern Italy, Greece, and the French Alps. However producers in other areas are now starting to experiment with the method.
Winemaking
Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and winemaking is known as oenology. A winemaker may also be called a vintner. The growing of grapes is viticulture and there are many varieties of grapes  Winemaking can be divided into two general categories: still wine production (without carbonation) and sparkling wine production (with carbonation — natural or injected). Red wine, white wine, and rose are the other main categories.
Sparkling wine
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. The best known example of a sparkling wine is champagne, which is exclusively produced in the Champagne region of France. Usually sparkling wine is white or rosé, but there are examples of red sparkling wines such as the Italian Brachetto, Bonarda, and Lambrusco, Australian sparkling Shiraz, and Azerbaijani "Pearl of Azerbaijan" made from Madrasa grapes. The sweetness of sparkling wine can range from very dry "brut" styles to sweeter "doux" varieties (French for 'raw' and 'sweet', respectively). The sparkling quality of these wines comes from its carbon dioxide content and may be the result of natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the traditional method, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved (as in the Charmat process), or as a result of simple carbon dioxide injection in some cheaper sparkling wines.
1_Apprentice
wow that is interesting.  I would like to taste them now.  You have piqued my interest!