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Did you know…

  1. Shortcake is a sweet biscuit (in the American sense: that is, a crumbly, baking soda- or baking powder-leavened bread).
  2. Shortcake is typically made with flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, salt, butter, milk or cream, and sometimes eggs.
  3. The most famous dessert made with shortcake is strawberry shortcake.
  4. Though today’s shortcakes are usually of the biscuit or sponge-cake variety, earlier American recipes called for pie crust in rounds or broken-up pieces, which was a variety still being enjoyed in the 20th century, particularly in the South.
  5. Though strawberry is the most widely known shortcake dessert, peach shortcake, blueberry shortcake, chocolate shortcake and other similar desserts are made along similar lines. It is also common to see recipes where the shortcake itself is flavored; coconut is a common addition. The term “shortcake” often refers to shortbread in the UK.

Today’s Food History

  • 1800 Chicken Marengo was supposedly created by Napoleon’s Swiss chef to commemorate the occasion of Napoleon’s victory over the Austrians in the Battle of Marengo on this day.
  • 1834 Cyrus Hall McCormick patented his reaping machine.
  • 1972 The EPA banned DDT in the USA. DDT residue is still found in some foods grown in the U.S. in 2002.
  • 1988 Unusual uses for peanut butter sandwiches: In New Jersey, students in a school were kept in an extra 45 minutes by a six-foot black bear that had wandered into the playground. They kept it at bay by tossing out peanut butter sandwiches until the game warden arrived to take him away.
  • 1994 R.I.P. Henry Mancini. Oscar winning music composer, he wrote many songs and film scores, including the score for ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s