Tag Archives: tips

5 Useful Tips For Smoking BBQ

It is critical to select the best wood for smoking. Avoid chemically treated wood in favor of cured hardwoods; picking the best smoking woods for your next BBQ will significantly impact the color of your meat. If you’re unsure what wood to use, experiment with different types. Here are some tips you need to consider when buying smoking wood:

Avoiding Chemically-Treated Wood

Chemically treated wood can impart a bad flavor to meat, so you should avoid it if you plan on smoking food. Chemically treated wood can also contain toxins that can make your food unsafe to consume. Fortunately, you can use tree branches instead, as long as they do not have mold or pest infestation.

Smoke from wood is composed of trace amounts of syringol and guaiacol. These compounds are emitted into the air after the wood has been exposed to heat. The composition of the smoke is affected by the type of wood, humidity, and amount of oxygen available.

Generally, wood should be seasoned for at least a year before smoking. Fresh green wood is not suitable for smoking. Some hardware stores carry woods such as hickory and mesquite, while others offer expanded barbecue supplies. You can also buy wood from an online supplier.

Cured Hardwoods

The flavor of barbecue can vary greatly depending on the wood used. While there is some overlap between hardwood and softwood, there is also a difference in the amount of flavor each imparts. Hardwood has a higher percentage of guaiacol, a compound that gives a smoky flavor. Softwood lignin contains only guaiacol, while hardwood lignin contains both guaiacol and syringol.

Hardwoods have more compact cell structures than softwood. This means there is less room for air or organic matter to escape from the wood during combustion. In addition, hardwoods release more carbonyl compounds, which give food a natural caramelized flavor. Most hardwood used for cooking has been dried and cured either in a shed or outdoors. Some wood is even stored in heated kilns, though pitmasters prefer air-dried wood with less than 25 percent moisture.

Hickory

When smoking meats, hickory adds a distinctive dark color and strong flavor. Its smoke is often associated with the richness of bacon. Hickory is one of the most popular woods used for barbecue in the Midwest and South. It comes in several forms and the best wood to use depends on the smoker and the type of meat you’re smoking.

When smoking meat, you should choose seasoned wood. If the wood is not seasoned, it will require a lot of fire and generate undesirable flavor compounds. In addition, seasoned wood will add a deep, earthy flavor without overwhelming the meat’s natural flavor.

Orange Wood

Using orange wood is a great way to add a slightly sweet, smoky flavor to your barbecue. It can be used alone or mixed with other types of wood. Its sweet flavor can help balance out other woods that are more pungent. However, you should always dry the wood before using it to smoke your meat.

Orangewood is available in a variety of shapes and sizes. The most common shapes are chunks and chips, ideal for electric and propane smokers. You can also purchase orange wood pellets for pellet smokers. However, if you’re looking to smoke delicate foods, consider using planks of orange wood instead.

Adding Wood Chunks

Adding wood chunks to your barbecue is an excellent way to enhance the smoky flavor of your food. First, however, it is important to choose the right type of wood. While wood chips or pellets work well for short cooks, chunks the size of a golf ball or slightly larger will produce a consistent smoke over longer cooking times. Also, never use wood that smells bad, as it will not burn away and impart a bad flavor to your food. Also, avoid burning any moldy wood, as it is not safe to smoke.

Student Budget Tips

The reason why many students struggle financially is that they are out on their own for the first time, without their parents to pick up the tab. Even if student accommodation is paid for, spending money has to be well managed and monitored. Some students have jobs and some rely on loans, but no matter how they are funded budgeting is an important necessity for any student.

However, there are many budget hacks which students can use to make their dollars go further. Let’s have a look at some great ways to do just that.

Textbooks

Textbooks are something which students cannot go without, but buying new isn’t the only option. Instead of putting large amounts of cash on new textbooks, students can look to rent them from the library, find a downloadable online version or buy the books second hand. However, if you buy second hand from last year’s students, be sure that it is the latest version of the textbook.

Coupons and Deals

If you are going to go drinking then happy hour is the perfect time to do it and it is critical that you take advantage of as many savings and promos as you can. The same thing goes for grocery shopping, there are loads of coupons which you will find online, that can help you to save some serious cash on the essentials.

Paying the Bills

If money is tight then it is important that you don’t lose money unnecessarily. One way that can happen is if you don’t pay bills on time. A late payment fee can be very expensive for someone who is trying to watch their money. The same goes for interest payments on credit card bills. Stay organized and pay those bills early.

Buy a Bike

A bike is going to be a very smart investment and although you may feel as though you are shelling out some money, the savings over the long term will make it worthwhile. Most universities are well placed and you’ll find that many places you go to are within cycling distance. This will save you huge amounts on public transport and cabs.

Buddy Up The Bills

Don’t take on all of the bills in the student accommodation you are sharing, work with your roommates to split services up. For example, if you are going to get music and TV streaming services then take one each, this way you can all enjoy it without one person footing the whole bill.

Student Discounts

Student discounts are there to help and support you, make sure that you take advantage of as many as possible. Most students fail to do this because they simply aren’t aware of them. There is plenty of information online which you can find that will point you in the direction of all student deals available to you.

Finally the key to saving money during your time in uni accommodation is to be aware of all the money that you have coming in and out. The moment you begin to ignore it, is the moment that you will overspend.

6 Tips for Choosing the Right College

Picking a college can feel like deciding the rest of your life, but with all of that pressure it can be difficult to fully consider all of your options. Breathe, relax and follow our tips on how to pick the right college for you.

studying for college

Image by Moyan Brenn used under the Creative Commons license.

Tip 1 – Ranking

There are a number of factors that go into choosing the right school, but one of the first ones that many students look at is the college’s ranking, both nationally and internationally. If you want to go to one of the best schools or find a school that specializes in your study area, rankings can be an easy way to narrow your search. Just remember that the higher the school is ranked, the more competitive it is and plan accordingly.

Tip 2 – Program

If you already know what you want to do, choosing a school based on the program of study it offers in your field can be a huge draw. Most universities have online directories where potential students can look at specific classes on offer, as well as teaching staff, alumni in the field and any connections to businesses that a school may have. Taking your program into consideration is a great way to help you choose the right school, especially for those who are already thinking about their after-college careers.

Tip 3 – Social Scene

While no one is suggesting you choose a school solely based on the clubs and intramurals offered, the social aspect of college is an important one for many students. As you embark on a new journey, usually living away from your family and friends for the first time, it’s nice to know that there are societies or clubs that you can join where you can feel accepted.

Tip 4 – Diversity

For many students, the element of diversity is very important. Whether you’re coming from a small town and want to meet people from different places or you’re from a big city with lots of diversity already, checking the diversity of each college before applying can be a big help in avoiding disappointment.

Tip 5 – International

Some students will be looking to study abroad during their time at school, so being aware of what options there are for international travel could also be a deciding factor in choosing a college. Simply doing your full four years abroad in locations like the UAE, Europe, China, Australia, South America, etc. is also a possibility. You’ll want to set yourself up for success, so double-check any language requirements, international rankings and the program you’re interested in to make sure the school fits all of your needs, not just your wanderlust.

Tip 6 – Location

Location is a key element that many students don’t think about before choosing a school. Of course, there is the proximity to home to consider, but students should also think about their new location and the opportunities it affords. For instance, if you are doing an agricultural degree, studying in a big city doesn’t make much sense. Keep in mind that if you’d like to do internships or get work experience while in school, the location of your university has to be somewhere that facilitates those desires.

We hope this has helped, just remember to research the schools you are interested in, and you will be halfway to narrowing down that exhaustive list!

 

Save a Sh*t Ton of Cash With Groupon Coupons!

If you haven’t checked out Groupon Coupons yet, you’re missing out! For students it’s a godsend with over 70,000 coupons from 9,000 retailers. You can save big on everything from a new computer from ASOS  to new kicks from Foot Locker.

There are an astonishing 70,000+ coupons available and lots of different ways to save some extra beer money on something you might need/looking for from clothes to school supplies and everything in between!

you can also save a ton on travel from flights to hotels. Head to the Coupons tab on the Groupon website to start taking full advantage of all the money-saving benefits.

Groupon Coupons for College Blender

Turning the Tables: Interview Questions Job Applicants Should Ask

What interview questions should you ask an employer? ... photo by CC user nuggety247 on pixabay

We’ve all been there: you’ve found the perfect job for your skills, but the boss is too bossy, the co-workers are childish and malevolent, or the attitudes are just a bad match. It makes you miserable. While interviewers are usually the ones who ask questions, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask interview questions to the interviewer. Reverse the roles – here’s how.

What Principles Does Your Company Value?

This question can tell you about what it might be like to work with the employer. If they embrace customer service, for example, and put a lot of focus on that, it might be a great place to work if you’re being hired in that department. It can also clue you in to the long-term viability of the company.

If their values are fuzzy or you can’t quite tell what the company stands for, it indicates problems at the middle and upper management level, mostly upper management. Not good.

Does Your Organisation Embrace Ideas From Employees? How?

If you’re the creative type, you want to know that your prospective employer values ideas. Do they have an employee suggestion box? If so, how many employee ideas get implemented within the company in a year? If there is no formal process, it means that the employer either doesn’t value employee ideas or the management isn’t thinking about growth in this way. It could be bad if you like to engage management and affect the company’s growth.

Do You Help Employees Down On Their Luck?

It happens to the best of us. What happens when an employee is down on his luck? Does the company offer a community disaster fund or financial help for families in need within the organisation?

If not, does the company help connect you to financial firms? For example, Ferratum offers cash loans for people on Centrelink – an important way for low income people to dig themselves out of financial trouble. If employees are at or near the poverty line, this could mean that the employer isn’t paying them enough. If there’s no financial assistance for low income employees, run.

What Are Your Plans For Growth?

This is a great question to know the answer to, and it gives you an idea of the long-term potential of your job.

Who Previously Held This Position?

This seems like a pretty straightforward question, but the implications embedded in the answer will tell you a lot. Ask the person interviewing you, what happened to the previous employee.

If the person was promoted, for example, it could tell you about potential possibilities for advancement in the company. If they were fired, you might not be able to get details as to why, but it tells you that there are rules which are taken seriously, which you can then ask about. If a person quit, this can be (but isn’t always) a bad sign.

What’s The Next Step?

This question is almost never asked, but should be the last question you ask before walking out the door. Get specifics from the interviewer. If he or she seems wishy washy or unwilling to give you details about the hiring process, or if the interviewer doesn’t seem like he or she wants to answer your question, it might be best to move on. Either the employer isn’t serious, or there are serious hiring and HR problems developing within the organisation.

Jamie Holden is a personnel director. He likes to write about what works for him on the web. His posts appear on many finance and employment blog sites.