how many countries in Europe?

Europe is a continent which contains 44 countries. A continent is described as any of the World’s continuous expansions of land mass. Europe is a continent with a vast history and it has had many empires and civilizations throughout history. Europe is a continent that is very rich in history and ethnic diversity. It is the sixth largest continent and has a population of around 741.4 million people , which was last recorded in the year 2016.

Some popular countries located in Europe

When we think of Europe a few popular countries like The United Kingdom, Spain and France come to mind. The British empire has been one of the largest empires throughout history . The French are known for their infrastructure and cuisine and Spain is most commonly known for their explorers who have discovered many countries throughout history. Europe has contributed to World history in many different ways and continues to be a powerhouse for trade and commerce. Other countries like Netherlands and Germany also have a rich plethora of history and culture. Europe remains a rich treasure-trove of history and culture due to its diverse nations. So now you know that Europe is not a country but it is a continent.

Notable countries within Europe

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a sovereign country in north-western Europe, off the north-­western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-­eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland. Otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea separates Great Britain and Ireland. The total area of the United Kingdom is 93,628 square miles (242,500 km²).

The United Kingdom is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. The monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 1952. The capital is London, a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million. The United Kingdom consists of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. Other than England, the constituent countries have their own devolved governments, each with varying powers.

The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707 formed the Kingdom of Great Britain. Its union in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Most of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which formally adopted that name in 1927

The nearby Isle of Man, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Jersey are not part of the UK, being Crown Dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation.^[ There are also 14 British Overseas Territories, the last remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed almost a quarter of the world’s landmass and a third of the world’s population, and was the largest empire in history. British influence can be observed in the language, culture and the legal and political systems of many of its former colonies.

The United Kingdom has the world’s fifth-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and the tenth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It has a high-income economy and a very high human development index rating, ranking 13th in the world. The UK became the world’s first industrialised country and was the world’s foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today the UK remains one of the world’s great powers, with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific, technological and political influence internationally. It is a recognised nuclear state and is ranked sixth globally in military expenditure. It has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946.

The United Kingdom is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of Europe, the G7, the Group of Ten, the G20, the United Nations, NATO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Interpol, and the World Trade Organization (WTO). It was a member state of the European Economic Community (EEC) and its successor, the European Union (EU), from 1973 to its withdrawal in 2020.

France  officially the French Republic (French: République française), is a transcontinental country spanning Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

France borders Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland, Monaco and Italy to the east, Andorra and Spain to the south, as well as the Netherlands, Suriname, and Brazil in the Americas. Its eighteen integral regions (five of which are overseas) span a combined area of 643,801 km² (248,573 sq mi) and over 67 million people (as of May 2021). France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country’s largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille, and Nice. Including its overseas territories, France has twelve time zones, the most of any country.

Inhabited since the Palaeolithic era, France was settled by Celtic tribes known as Gauls during the Iron Age. Rome annexed the area in 51 BC, leading to a distinct Gallo-Roman culture that laid the foundation of the French language. The Germanic Franks arrived in 476 and formed the Kingdom of Francia, which became the heartland of the Carolingian Empire. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned the empire, with West Francia becoming the Kingdom of France in 987. In the High Middle Ages, France was a highly decentralized feudal kingdom, but among the most powerful states in Europe. A distinct French identity began to emerge in the 14th and 15th centuries during the Hundred Years’ War.

The French Renaissance saw a flowering of art and culture, disputes with rivals Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, and the establishment of global colonial empire, which by the 20th century would become the second largest in the world. Severely weakened by the Thirty Years’ War and religious civil wars of the 17th century, under Louis XIV France reemerged as the dominant cultural, political, and military power by the early 18th century. The costly Seven Years’ War and involvement in the American Revolution precipitated the French Revolution of 1789, which overthrew the absolute monarchy, replaced the Ancien Régime with one of the first modern republics, and saw the drafting of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which expresses the nation’s ideals to this day.

Spain (Spanish: España), formally the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a country in Southwestern Europe with some pockets of territory in the Mediterranean Sea, offshore in the Atlantic Ocean and across the Strait of Gibraltar. Its continental European territory is situated on the Iberian Peninsula, and its insular territory includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, several small islands in the Alboran Sea and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The Spanish territory also includes the African semi-exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñon de Vélez across the Strait of Gibraltar. The country’s mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea; to the north by France, Andorra and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean.

With an area of 505,990 km² (195,360 sq mi), Spain is the largest country in Southern Europe, the second-largest country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the fourth-largest country by area on the European continent. With a population exceeding 47.3 million, Spain is the sixth-most populous country in Europe, and the fourth-most populous country in the European Union. Spain’s capital and largest city is Madrid; other major urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Málaga, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Bilbao.

Gluten and Rice: Types of Rice Dishes to Eat and Avoid

Gluten is a protein that is found in most wheats and grains including rye and barley. No one knows for sure why some people have allergic reactions to Gluten . So does it have Gluten? The simple answer is no but there are many types of it and some types may contain a little Gluten . The name glutinous rice is very misleading as this type of rice contains no Gluten. The name is due to the fact that glutinous rice gets glue like and sticky when cooked.

Glutinous rice

IS IT NATURALLY GLUTEN FREE?

Rice is generally considered to be gluten free. Depending on the procedures it goes through when being processed, it may become contaminated with Gluten from other products or machinery. If you buy none processed rice you shouldn’t have to worry about it being contaminated by Gluten. Rice is one of the most Gluten free grains for people with Celiac disease. Alot of Gluten free packaged goods are made from rice instead of wheat. Always double check the ingredients label as the names of some types of rice can misleading. Rice Pilaf is an example of this as it contains Orzo which is not free of the protein.

rice Pilaf

Is Rice Healthy?

Rice is a very healthy starch that is apart of the diets of people all around the World. It can be prepared in a variety of ways , by a variety of means. Continue to eat healthy because your health is your responsibility!

Rice is a very nutritious grain and a staple food in more than 100 countries around the world. It’s high in starch, a type of carbohydrate that is a main source of the body’s energy, and low in cost, which makes it a good base for many meals. Natural forms of rice are all gluten-free.

Does Rice Have Gluten?

All natural forms of rice white, brown, or wild are gluten-free. Natural rice is a great option for people who are sensitive to or allergic to gluten, a protein usually found in wheat, barley, and rye, and for people who have celiac disease, an autoimmune disease triggered by gluten.

Some rice dishes may not be gluten-free, though, usually because they’re made with other ingredients that have gluten. Rice dishes that have gluten may include:

• Rice pilaf (often made with orzo, which has gluten)
• Rice Krispies cereal (made with malt, which comes from barley and contains gluten)
• Preseasoned packaged rice
• Rice cooked with sauces
• Rice made with added seasoning or ingredients such as soy sauce

Sometimes, rice can be cross-contaminated with gluten, meaning that it’s been grown, harvested, or processed near or in the same facilities as wheat, barley, or rye. Rice sold in bulk bins, such as at a grocery store, may also be cross-contaminated. This may happen when customers mix the scoops between bins. For example, a shopper might use the flour scoop in the rice bin, which could contaminate all the rice with gluten.

Many sauces have “hidden” gluten. Sauces are often made with flour, which acts as a thickener. Seasonings may be processed around other grains and be cross-contaminated with gluten.

Types of Rice

There are thousands of types of rice, with a wide variety of sizes, colors, stickiness, flavors, and aromas.

Rice is mainly separated into five categories:

•  Short grain. Its grain is twice as long as it is wide, and it becomes sticky when cooked.
•  Medium grain. It has a shorter and wider grain, which becomes tender and semi-sticky when cooked.
•  Long grain. It is four times longer than it is wide. Its grains separate and become fluffy when cooked.
•  Whole grain. It’s rice that hasn’t been milled and polished. The grain is intact and contains bran, germ, and endosperm. Whole-grain rice is usually called brown rice.
•  Refined. This is rice that has been milled and polished. The bran layers have been removed so that only the white, starchy endosperm is left. Refined rice is usually called white rice.