Posts from the “June Food Holidays” Category

Five Food Finds about Mai Tai

The Zombie was the Cosmopolitan of its day. The Zombie was the drink that put tiki on the map.

In 1959 the Mai Tai knocked the Zombie off its pedestal.

That’s the year Hawaii became a state.

Hawaii became a tourist mecca almost overnight.

All the tourists went to luaus and sere served a fruity drink called the Mai Tai.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1895 A U.S. patent was issued for an electric stove.

1906 The Pure Food & Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were passed by Congress.

1930 Judge Joseph F. Crater of the New York State Supreme Court, walked out of a 45th Street restaurant in New York City on his way to the theater. He was never heard from again.

1936 Congress approved the 40-hour work week.

1966 Mike Tyson was born. On June 28, 1997, Tyson bit off a big chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear in the 3rd round of a boxing match. Tyson was disqualified.

1985 James A. Dewar, died. The creator of the Twinkie (1930),

1996 Dr. Edward Anton Asselbergs died. (Exact date uncertain). He developed the process for making instant mashed potato flakes, the patent that is still used world-wide today

Categories: Food Holidays, June Food Holidays

Tagged: facts, five food finds, food, foodimentary, fun, life, national mai tai day, today's food history, todays food history

June 29th is National Almond Buttercrunch Day

Five Food Finds about Almonds:

There are 5,639 people in the U.S. listed on whitepages.com with the last name ‘Almond’.

Chocolate manufacturers use 40% of the worlds almonds (2008).

California produced 998 million pounds of almonds in 2004. The largest crop on record was in 2002, with 1.084 billion pounds.

It takes more than 1.2 million bee hives to pollinate California’s Almond crop (over 550,000 acres).

Chocolate manufacturers currently use 40 percent of the world’s almonds and 20 percent of the world’s peanuts.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1943 General Eisenhower requested that Coca-Cola provide 10 portable bottling plants for U.S. troops overseas.

1966 The Barclaycard was introduced by Barclays Bank, the first credit card in Britain.

1967 Jayne Mansfield R.I.P. American beauty contest winner, stage and screen actress. Supposedly the only title she ever turned down was ‘Miss Roquefort Cheese,’ because she believed it “just didn’t sound right.”

1997 ‘Say You’ll Be There’ by the Spice Girls is #1 on the charts

2005 The USDA confirmed today the first domestic case of mad cow disease. The 12 year old cow was born in Texas

Categories: Food Holidays, June Food Holidays

Tagged: facts, five food finds, food, foodimentary, fun, life, national almond buttercrunch day, today's food history, todays food history

June 28th is National Tapioca Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

Posted on June 28, 2017

Five Food Finds about Tapioca:

Tapioca is obtained from the fleshy root of the bitter cassava .

Tapioca is sold in flake or flour form and as the pellet pearl tapioca.

Tapioca flour is widely used in place of wheat flour in regions where it is grown, e.g., South and Central America, Africa, the West Indies, and parts of India.

When cooked it becomes transparent and increases in size.

It is used to thicken puddings and soups.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1491 Henry VIII of England born. He had a reputation for being self indulgent, and was frequently represented eating a large drumstick.

1887 Coca-Cola syrup and extract were patented.

1932 Noriyuki ‘Pat’ Morita was born. A Japanese American actor, one of his roles was Arnold, cook and owner of Arnold’s Drive In restaurant on the TV show ‘Happy Days’ (1974-1984).

1988 The poisoned olive oil trial. The longest trial in Spanish history ended after 15 months. 1,500 witnesses were questioned to help decide who was responsible for poisoning 25,000 Spaniards in the toxic olive oil case. More than 600 died from the cheap olive oil, and thousands more were left partially paralyzed or suffering from other ailments in one of the worst public health disasters in modern history.

1997 Boxer Mike Tyson bites a big chunk off Evander Holyfield’s ear in the 3rd round of a boxing match. He was disqualified.

Categories: Food Holidays, June Food Holidays

Tagged: facts, five food finds, food, foodimentary, fun, life, national tapioca day, today's food history, todays food history

June 27th is National Orange Blossom Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

Posted on June 27, 2017

Five Food Finds about Oranges:

Navel oranges are named that because of the belly-button formation opposite the stem end. The bigger the navel in an orange, the sweeter it will be.

When is an orange green? When it’s a Valencia! Sometimes warm weather causes the skin to regreen, or reabsorb chlorophyll, giving it a greenish color. But it will still taste great.

Oranges are high in antioxidants, which neutralize the effects of free radicals, unstable oxygen molecules in your body, believed to cause aging and some diseases.

Moro oranges are also called blood oranges! But don’t worry. That’s just because the pulp is bright red. They’re really a sweet treat.

After chocolate and vanilla, orange is the world’s favorite flavor.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1615 The first tea is imported to the west

1850 Lafcadio Hearn was born. (Patricio Lafcadio Tessima Hearn). A writer, translator and teacher, her wrote ‘La Cuisine Creole,’ the first Creole cookbook.

1893 ‘Happy Birthday to You’ was first published.

1907 Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz died. An American naturalist, co-founder with her husband (Louis Agassiz), of the Anderson School of Natural History. She was also the first president of Radcliffe College.

1970 ‘Vitamin C’ was born. ‘Vitamin C’ is the stage name of singer, actress, Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick.

2001 Actor Jack Lemmon died. A couple of his film titles: ‘The Fortune Cookie,’ and ‘Days of Wine and Roses.’

Categories: Food Holidays, June Food Holidays

Tagged: facts, five food finds, food, foodimentary, fun, life, national orange blossom day, Orange Blossom, todays food history

June 26th is National Chocolate Pudding Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

Posted on June 26, 2017

Five Food Finds about Pudding:

Originally a British dish, this pudding could be made on very short notice.

Ingredients vary, but it was basically a sweetened porridge made from flour, tapioca or oatmeal and milk. The term originated in the late 16th century.

In Colonial America cornmeal was cheaper and more readily available, so here, Hasty Pudding was a cornmeal mush (cornmeal added to boiling water and cooked) with molasses, honey, brown sugar or maple syrup and milk.

There are both savory and dessert versions of this dish.

An example of a savory version would be a meat pudding.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1797 Charles Newbold patented the first cast-iron plow. Farmers had doubts about the effect of the iron on the soil.

1848 The first pure food laws were enacted in the U.S.

1870 The original wooden boardwalk in Atlantic City was built. It was taken up during the winter months, and was replaced with a larger boardwalk in 1880, which was destroyed in a hurricane in 1889. It was rebuilt again, and in 1898 rebuilt with steel.

1910 Roy J. Plunkett was born. He was the inventor of Teflon (Polytetrafluoroethylene) in 1938. The first nonstick cookware using Teflon was sold in 1960.

1949 Larry Taylor of the rock group ‘Canned Heat’ was born.

1959 In Montreal, Queen Elizabeth and President Dwight D. Eisenhower officially open the St. Lawrence Seaway which connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.

1963 President John F. Kennedy said ‘I am a jelly donut’ (Ich bin ein Berliner) in a speech to the citizens of Berlin. He meant to say ‘I am a Berliner’ (Ich bin Berliner). ‘Ein Berliner’ means jelly donut.

1974 A package of Wrigley’s chewing gum with a bar code printed on it was the 1st product logged on the new Universal Product Code system (UPC).

1981 In Mountain Home, Idaho, Virginia Campbell took her coupons and rebates and bought $244.60 worth of groceries. She only paid 67 cents after all the discounts

Categories: Food Holidays, June Food Holidays

Tagged: facts, five food finds, food, foodimentary, fun, life, national chocolate pudding day, today's food history, todays food history

June 25th is National Strawberry Parfait Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

Posted on June 25, 2017

Today’s facts about Strawberries :

Strawberries are one of the only fruits with seeds on the outside.
The average strawberry has 200 seeds.
The ancient Romans believed that strawberries alleviated symptoms of melancholy, fainting, all inflammations, fevers, throat infections, kidney stones, bad breath, attacks of gout, and diseases of the blood, liver and spleen.
To symbolize perfection and righteousness, medieval stone masons carved strawberry designs on altars and around the tops of pillars in churches and cathedrals.
In parts of Bavaria, country folk still practice the annual rite each spring of tying small baskets of wild strawberries to the horns of their cattle as an offering to elves. They believe that the elves, are passionately fond of strawberries, will help to produce healthy calves and an abundance of milk in return.