The faster a food freezes, the better, as this minimizes those undesirable six-sided, snowflake-looking, large ice crystals from forming.
• During thawing, those big ice crystals that form in foods that are frozen slowly damage food cells and dissolve emulsions. This can cause meat to “drip” and lose juiciness, and products such as cream or mayonnaise to separate and appear curdled.
• Ideally, a food that is 2 inches (5 cm) thick should freeze completely in about two hours.
• Never stack packages to be frozen. Instead, spread them out in one layer on various shelves, stacking them only after they’re frozen solid.
Frilled-Necked Lizards
• Native to Australia and New Guinea, frilled-necked lizards (Chlamydosaurus kingii) are extraordinary creatures.
• Frilled-necked lizards have the coolest way of running. They start on all four limbs and then as they accelerate, they switch to running on their hind legs!
• Also known as frilled lizards and frilled dragons, the frilled-neck lizard’s stunning ruffle encircles its neck in a series of perfect pleats, which when startled, angry, frightened, or in courtship, opens in glorious fashion! Their frilled ruffle is also believed to aid in body temperature regulation.
• For optimal camouflage, the color and vividness of the frilled-neck lizard’s skin depends upon where they’re living! Yellow with black and white markings means they’re from Queensland; orange with red, black, and white speckles means they’re from the Northern Territory.
• The frilled-necked lizard has a specialized, progressive, five-step defense plan:
• Identifying possible danger: Relying on its natural body colors for camouflage, it will slowly cringe down, which makes it look a lot like a stick.
• Confirming the threat: He bluffs by opening his mouth wide, which engages the ruffle to open like an umbrella in a blaze of “threatening” color!
• When the predator seems unfazed, hissing and jumping toward the predator ensues.
• When this still has no effect, the lizard will up the ante, commencing with repeated lashing of its tail upon on the ground.
• If the aforementioned overtures fail, the frill-necked lizard will opt to run away—preferably up a tree—but will bite predators with his rather large canines, if that’s his last option.
Frogs
• Contrary to popular belief, toads aren’t reptiles: they’re amphibians, just like frogs.
• The icky-sticky secretion on the skin of the Australian green-eyed frog and the growling grass frog is able to successfully neutralize and kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including staph infections such as MRSA.
• Frogs don’t drink water; they soak it into their body through their skin.
• Frogs have the remarkable ability to see what’s straight ahead, to the side, and above them all at the same time.
• To help swallow their food, frogs use their eyes! The blinking motion “pushes” their eyeballs downward, thereby creating a bulge in the roof of their mouths, which helps propel the food that’s already in their mouths to the back of their throats.
Fungi, Pathogenic
• From the Greek words pathos—meaning “suffering, passion”—and gen?s—meaning “producer of”—a pathogen is defined as any infectious disease-producing agent.
• The study of pathogenic fungi is called medical mycology.
• Phytopathology, which is the study of plant diseases, was an offshoot of medical mycology!
• There are over 100,000 recognized species of parasitic fungi—100 of which are known to be infectious to humans.
• Parasitic fungi are classified into four categories: superficial, subcutaneous, systemic, and opportunistic. Each category reflects a different degree of tissue involvement and mode of entry into the host to create infection:
• Superficial parasitic fungi cause localized damage to the skin, the hair, and the nails (e.g. Ringworm).
• Subcutaneous parasitic fungi cause infections confined to the dermis, subcutaneous tissue, or adjacent structures (e.g. Sporotrichosis).
• Systemic parasitic fungi cause infections deep within internal organs (e.g. Histoplasmosis).
• Opportunistic parasitic fungi usually cause infections only in the immuno-compromised (e.g. Cryptococcosis). [See Pathogens, to learn about viral, bacterial, parasitic, and prion pathogens.]
Fungi, Poisonous
(Mushrooms)
• Contrary to popular belief, there are no (as in zero) hard and fast, reliable rules for distinguishing between safe, edible fungi, and those that are poisonous, toxic, and deadly.
• It is NOT true that toxic fungi change color during the cooking process.
• It is NOT true that peeling a toxic fungus makes it safe to eat. Peeled or unpeeled, cooked or uncooked, a poisonous fungus is still poisonous and can often be deadly.
• The deadliest of all fungi is the Amanita phalloides, otherwise known as the death cap. Seemingly harmless in appearance, it’s about 5 inches (13 cm) across, has a soft, greenish-olive colored cap, and lovely white gills and flesh. They’re found in the woodlands, often near oak and beech trees.
• Bearing a disturbingly similar resemblance to the delicious and very edible chanterelle mushroom, the Cortinarius speciosissimus is a deadly fungus with a lovely radishlike fragrance. Ranging in color from reddish to tawny brown, its flattish cap ranges in size from ¾ to 3¼ inches (2 to 8 cm), and its gills are rust colored. They’re most likely to be seen in the fall … but not always.
• Not to be confused with other edible yellowish fungi such as the chanterelle, the Paxilus involutus is deadly. Extremely common in woodland areas—particularly in close proximity to birch trees—this incredibly deadly fungus is about 5 inches (13 cm) wide, has a yellow-brown cap with a rolled rim, and yellow-brownish gills.
• Easily mistaken for the common button mushroom found in grocery stores, the Amanita virosa—otherwise known as the “destroying angel”—can be found on lawns, grassy meadows, near trees and shrubs, and in and along the edges of woodlands. The cap of the destroying angel is white, although it can be tan, yellow, or pinkish in the center. At full maturity the cap can be 5 inches (13 cm) wide.
• There is no known antidote
