釣魚台列島

在地理角度來看，釣魚台列島包括釣魚島、北小島和南小島。

釣魚島上有兩山峰，名高華峰及神農峰。

釣魚島之東北方有黃尾嶼，上有黃毛峰。

在釣魚島與北小島，南小島之間的水道叫釣魚水道，而北小島與南小島之間則叫橄欖門。


電視台每次播放有關釣魚台的新聞片段時很多時見到南北小島，間中也會見到釣魚主島。

Peppermint Chocolate

The red coloured packet of Andes peppermint chocolate attracts my attention for some time. At the first sight, the word “pepper” makes me think of the hot stuff I often dip and taste. After looking up Wikipedia, it is clear that peppermint is one kind of mint that flavours our food, chocolate, chewing gum, tea and candy.

Here it is an extract from Wikipedia:

Peppermint is a hybrid mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. It is a herbaceous rhizomatous perennial plant growing to 30–90 cm (12–35 in) tall, with smooth stems, square in cross section. The rhizomes are wide-spreading, fleshy, and bare fibrous roots. The leaves are from 4–9 cm long and 1.5–4 cm broad, dark green with reddish veins, and with an acute apex and coarsely toothed margins. The leaves and stems are usually slightly hairy. The flowers are purple, 6–8 mm (long, with a four-lobed corolla about 5 mm diameter; they are produced in whorls (verticillasters) around the stem, forming thick, blunt spikes. Flowering is from mid to late summer.

The leaves and flowering tops are used; they are collected as soon as the flowers begin to open and can be dried. The wild form of the plant is less suitable for this purpose, with cultivated plants having been selected for more and better oil content. They may be allowed to lie and wilt a little before distillation, or they may be taken directly to the still.
Peppermint has a long tradition of medicinal use as far back as ten thousand years ago. Peppermint has a high menthol content, and is often used in tea and for flavouring ice cream, confectionery, chewing gum, and toothpaste. The oil also contains menthone and menthyl esters, particularly menthyl acetate. Dried peppermint typically has 0.3-0.4% of volatile oil containing menthol (7-48%), menthone (20-46%), menthyl acetate (3-10%), menthofuran (1-17%) and 1,8-cineol (3-6%). Peppermint oil also contains small amounts of many additional compounds including limonene, pulegone, eucalyptol, caryophyllene and pinene. It is the oldest and most popular flavour of mint-flavoured confectionery. Peppermint can also be found in some shampoos, soaps and skin care products. Menthol activates cold-sensitive TRPM8 receptors in the skin and mucosal tissues, and is the primary source of the cooling sensation that follows the topical application of peppermint oil.
Peppermint is commonly used to soothe or treat symptoms. Examples would be nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, indigestion, irritable bowel, and bloating. It is also used in aroma therapy.

One animal study has suggested that Peppermint may have radio-protective effects in patients undergoing cancer treatment.

The aroma of peppermint has been found to enhance memory.

Peppermint flowers are large nectar producers and honey bees as well as other nectar harvesting organisms forage them heavily. A mild, pleasant varietal honey can be produced if there is a sufficient area of plants.

The peppermint chocolate shown here comprises two layers. The top layer is white chocolate inserted with small particles of dried peppermint. The lower contains fully red peppermint paste. To me, the taste and colour of this kind of chocolate are miraculously interesting and far different from traditional dark or milky brown ones. No wonder I like it.