National Rum Day

Five Food Finds about Rum

Rum was manufactured, distilled, and made long before any other spirit. It’s history is a vast one filled with stories, and fables. It was the first branded spirit made.

Rations of rum were given to sailors in the British Army to be mixed with lime juice because it fought off the scurvy.

When wealthy titles were given to parsons, they were thanked with a glass of rum.

In Australia, the rum hospital can recognize rum as it as its chief contributor of revenues that were generated via the rum exports they were known for.

Triangular trade was introduced as slaves were traded for rum, sugars, and other items that were all carrying missionaries- this was known as ‘rum and bible.’

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1888 John Styth Pemberton died. Pemberton was the pharmacist who invented Coca-Cola in 1885.

1966 ‘Summer In The City’ by the Lovin’ Spoonful is #1 on the charts

Categories: August Food Holidays, Food Holidays

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

July 19 is National Daiquiri Day

National Daquiri Day

Five Food Finds about Daquiris

The Daiquiri cocktail, made of rum, lime juice and sugar, takes its name from the village and iron mines of Daiquiri near Santiago, Cuba, where the cocktail originated around 1900.

It was named either by American engineers working there, or by the U.S. troops who arrived there in 1898.

At least one source claims it did not appear until after World War I.

Thirsty partygoers and responsible parents lookin’ for a frosty, fruity thrill can find drive-thru strawberry daiquiri stands just about anywhere in New Orleans.

Drive-thrus now limit customers to only one straw per visit, and they can no longer pack adult-strength strawberry daiquiris with kids’ meals.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1104 Flitch Day. A married couple who can prove to a mock court with a jury of bachelors and maidens, that they have ‘not wished themselves unwed,’ are awarded a ‘flitch’ of bacon (half a pig). The origins of this custom are in Dunmow, Essex, England, details are not certain, but references to it go back to 1104. It has been a regular civic event in Dunmow since 1855. Now held every 4 years, and frequently televised.

1863 Curtis Fletcher Marbut was born. An American geologist and one of the founders of modern soil science. He was with the U.S. Bureau of Soils for 25 years.

1947 Bernie Leadon of the music group ‘Flying Burrito Brothers’ was born

1996 Mervyn Hugh Cowie R.I.P. Cowie was a British wildlife conservationist, founder and director of Kenya’s Royal National Parks.

Categories: July food holidays

Tagged: daiquiri day, july food holidays, national daiquiri day

June 30 is National Mai Tai Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

National Mai Tai Day

Five Food Finds about the Mai Tai

The Mai Tai is an alcoholic cocktail based on rum, Curaçao liqueur, and lime juice

Victor J. Bergeron claimed to have invented the Mai Tai in 1944 at his eponymous restaurant, Trader Vic’s, in Oakland, California

“Maita’i” is the Tahitian word for “good”

There are many recipes for Mai Tais. Eleven of them, including three different versions of Trader Vic’s, as well as the recipe of Don the Beachcomber, can be found at Wikibooks Mai Tai.

The Mai Tai is synonymous with ‘Tiki culture‘ both past and present.

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: Am Tai Trivia, june food holidays, Mai Tai Day, Mai Tai History, national mai tai day

July 10 is National Pina Colada Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

National Pina Colada Day

Five Food Finds about Pina Coladas

The piña colada, a drink created in Puerto Rico (Spanish: piña, pineapple + colada, strained) is a sweet, rum-based cocktail made with rum, coconut cream, and pineapple juice, usually served either blended or shaken with ice.

The piña colada was created on August 16, 1954 at the Caribe Hilton’s Beachcomber Bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico by its alleged creator, Ramón “Monchito” Marrero.

Apparently, the hotel management had expressly requested Monchito to mix a new signature drink that would delight the demanding palates of its star-studded clientele.

Monchito accepted the challenge, and after three intense months of blending, shaking and experimenting, the first piña colada was born.

This story is more credible because the piña colada contains coconut cream as one of the primary ingredients, and the coconut cream of “Coco López” (which is the pioneer) was invented in 1954 in the University of Puerto Rico by Ramón López Irizarry.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1720 Mrs. Clements invented a method of preparing mustard flour or powder, which was known for a long time as Durham Mustard. Until then, mustard was made into balls with honey and or vinegar, and then mixed with more vinegar when needed. (Some sources give the date as June 10).

1839 or 1842 Adolphus Busch was born in either 1839 or 1842 near Mainz, Germany. He founded Annheuser Busch in 1866 with his father-in-law, Eberhard Anheuser. Annheuser Busch is the world’s largest brewer.

1866 The indelible pencil was patented by Edson P. Clark of Northhampton, Massachusetts. This was the equivalent of the ball point pen of the time. It was non-erasable, and you didn’t need an ink well. Used for bills, prices, etc., you could also place a damp sheet of tissue paper over the writing to get a mirror image. It must have been time consuming to get a receipt from a restaurant.

1871 Marcel Proust was born. Marcel Proust was a French writer. On January 1, 1909, he ate a piece of tea-soaked toast whose taste caused on a series of childhood memories. In his 7 volume allegorical novel ‘Remembrance of Things Past,’ the character Swann has a similar experience when he bites into a lemon cookie (a madelaine) which evokes a similar torrent of memories. This is one of the most ubiquitous (i.e., widely-quoted) allusions in literature.

1892 The first concrete paved street is built in Bellefountaine, Ohio. This makes food shopping much easier. They paved Paradise and put up a parking lot for the supermarket. We have lots of paved parking lots (no more oyster shell parking lots), but paved sidewalks are still not very common here in Key West, nor are Street name signs at corners. For a small island, we are not very pedestrian friendly.

1913 The highest temperature every recorded in the U.S., 134 F. in Death Valley, California.

1920 Edward H. Lowe born. He invented Kitty Litter in 1947.

1941 Musician ‘Jelly Roll’ Morton died.

1947 Arlo Guthrie was born. Woody Guthrie’s son, he is most known for his ballad/story ‘Alice’s Restaurant.’

1958 The first parking meters are installed in England.

1985 Coca-Cola announced it was bringing back the old formula ‘Coke’ as Coca-Cola Classic, but would continue to sell the ‘New Coke.’

1989 Mel Blanc (Melvin Jerome Blanc) died. Blanc was a voice actor for Warner Bros. (and other) cartoon characters. Some of the characters he ‘voiced’ include Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and Sylvester the Cat.

1999 Aaron ‘Bunny’ Lapin died. Lapin was the inventor of whipped cream in an aerosol can (‘Reddi-Wip’) in 1948.

Categories: July food holidays

Tagged: july food holidays, national pina colada day, pina colada day, pina colada trivia, pinacolada facts

March 1 is National Peanut Butter Lover’s day

http://www.sonyafoods.com

Here are today’s five thing to know about Peanut Butter:

Peanuts account for 2/3rds of the total snack “nuts” consumption in the USA
The USA produce about 6% of the world’s crop of peanuts: by comparison India and China, together, produce about 70%
An 18oz jar of peanut butter needs 850 peanuts
West Coast people prefer chunky peanut butter, whereas those in the East Coast people like creamy.
96% of people, when making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, put the peanut butter on before the jelly. Two presidents of the USA, Jimmy Carter and Thomas Jefferson, were peanut farmers.

Food related Events of March 1

also: National Fruit Compote Day

Today’s Pinterest Board : Foodimentary

Today’s Food History

1784 E. Kidner opened the first cooking school in Great Britain.

1927 Harry Belafonte, singer, actor, was born. His biggest hit was “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song” in 1956.

1970 U.S. commercial whale hunting ended.

1989 Jack Dietz holds the world’s record for watermelon seed spitting, 66 feet 11 inches.

1989 A 75 year-long ban on beer was lifted this day in Iceland.

1990 The British Royal Navy began issuing rum rations to sailors as early as 1655. The Royal New Zealand Navy was the last navy in the world to end daily rum rations for sailors in 1990.

2002 McDonald’s announced in a press release that it has agreed to pay 10 million dollars to Hindu and vegetarian groups to settle lawsuits over its use of beef flavoring in its French Fries.

Categories: Food Holidays, March Food Holidays

Tagged: creamy peanut butter, foodimentary, national peanut butter lover's day, peanut butter

January 17 – National Hot Buttered Rum Day

5 Star Recipe from MyRecipes.com

National Hot Buttered Rum Day

Five Food Finds about Hot Buttered Rum

Hot Buttered Rum is a mixed drink containing rum, butter, hot cider, sugar, & spice(usually cinnamon).

It’s considered one of the oldest “mixed drinks” in American History.

Mention of this drink date as far back as the 1600’s.

A notable variation is the so-called “Jay’s Famous Hot Buttered Rum,” in which the hot drink is “creamed together with vanilla ice cream and chilled into a paste.”

After molasses began being imported to Colonial America from Jamaica, and distilleries opened in New England in the 1650’s, colonists began adding distilled rum to hot beverages such as toddies and nogs.

On This Day in Food History…

1501 Leonhard Fuchs was born. A German botanist who compiled the first modern glossary of botanical terms. From which the flowering plant & color fuchsia were named.

1706 Benjamin Franklin was born. American publisher,diplomat & inventor. Penned the name for male turkeys, Tom, as a dig to Thomas Jefferson, who helped appoint the Bald Eagle, NOT the turkey, as the National Bird.

1775 Nine women in Kalisk, Poland were burned as “witches” for causing a series of bad harvests.

1890 Scottish-American scientist Peter Henderson died, considered the “Father of America Horticulture.”

1893 Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalana, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, leaves the throne, bowing to pressure from sugar planters .

1904 Anton Checov’s The Cherry Orchard premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre.
1944 WWII’s first “Tin Can Day” was held. One of the largest recycling efforts in American history

2001 Norway lifted a ban on whale meat exports.

Categories: Food Holidays, January Food Holidays

Tagged: five food finds, foodimentary, hot buttered rum, national food holidays, national hot buttered rum day, today in food history

August 16 – National Rum Day

National Rum Day

Five Food Finds about Rum

Rum was manufactured, distilled, and made long before any other spirit. It’s history is a vast one filled with stories, and fables. It was the first branded spirit made.

Rations of rum were given to sailors in the British Army to be mixed with lime juice because it fought off the scurvy.

When wealthy titles were given to parsons, they were thanked with a glass of rum.

In Australia, the rum hospital can recognize rum as it as its chief contributor of revenues that were generated via the rum exports they were known for.

Triangular trade was introduced as slaves were traded for rum, sugars, and other items that were all carrying missionaries- this was known as ‘rum and bible.’

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1888 John Styth Pemberton died. Pemberton was the pharmacist who invented Coca-Cola in 1885.

1966 ‘Summer In The City’ by the Lovin’ Spoonful is #1 on the charts

Categories: August Food Holidays, Food Holidays

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

May 17 is National Cherry Cobbler Day

Picture Source: http://picsfood.com/

The delicious cherry cobbler packed with tart cherries ,

is a perfect dissert for sweet-lovers.

Celebrate the National Cherry Cobbler day on May 17th!

Did you know…

A cobbler is a deep dish (casserole or soufflé dish) fruit pie (peach is most common) with only a top biscuit dough crust.
Fruit cobblers can be made with almost any fruit, singly or in combination.
The cobbler takes its name from the biscuit dough crust on top – it is rough looking or ‘cobbled.’ It originated in the U.S. sometime in the early to mid 19th century.
A Cobbler is also a drink, which probably predates the fruit cobbler pie.
A cobbler usually consisted of whiskey or rum with fruit juice and/or sugar, garnished with mint and/or citrus.

Today’s Food History

1733 England passes the Molasses Act, putting high tariffs on rum and molasses imported to the colonies from anyplace other than Britain and its possessions.
1803 John Hawkins & Richard French patent a Reaping Machine.
1838 R.I.P. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord, known simply as Talleyrand, French statesman, diplomat and grand gourmet, called the ‘first fork of France.’ He served at the top levels of French governments for almost 50 years. During this time his chefs included Bouchee, Careme, and Avice. Many culinary preparations have been created or named for him.
1886 R.I.P. John Deere. Inventor and manufacturer, he developed the first steel plow in the 1830s, and founded John Deere & Company in 1868.
1967 Tennessee repealed its 1925 law making it illegal to teach evolution in public schools.
1985 The largest salmon, a Chinook salmon, caught with rod and reel weighed over 97 pounds and was caught in Alaska.
1986 ‘Chicken Song’ by Spitting Image hit #1 in UK.
1992 R.I.P. Lawrence Welk, champagne music-maker.

Categories: Food Holidays, May Food Holidays

Tagged: cherry cobbler, facts, five food finds, food, foodimentary, fun, life, national cherry cobbler day, national food holidays, todays food history

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September 20 is National Rum Punch Day

http://www.roadtripsrus.com

Here are today’s five thing to know about Rum:

Rum was manufactured, distilled, and made long before any other spirit. It’s history is a vast one filled with stories, and fables. It was the first branded spirit made.
Rations of rum were given to sailors in the British Army to be mixed with lime juice because it fought off the scurvy.
When wealthy titles were given to parsons, they were thanked with a glass of rum.
In Australia, the rum hospital can recognize rum as it as its chief contributor of revenues that were generated via the rum exports they were known for.
Triangular trade was introduced as slaves were traded for rum, sugars, and other items that were all carrying missionaries- this was known as ‘rum and bible.’

Today’s Pinterest Board : Rum

Today’s Food History

1842 Sir James Dewar was born. He invented the ‘Dewar Flask,’ the original ‘thermos bottle’.
1859 George B. Simpson patented the electric range.
1878 Upton Sinclair was born. His novel, ‘The Jungle,’ was a detailed horror story about the conditions in the meat packing industry of the time. It led to extensive reforms.
1890 Blues musician ‘Jelly Roll’ Morton was born.
1969 ‘Sugar, Sugar’ by the Archies hits Number 1 on the charts.

Categories: Food Holidays, September Food Holidays

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

March 1 is National Peanut Butter Lover’s day

John-Bryan Hopkins

Five Food Finds about Peanut Butter

An 18oz jar of peanut butter needs 850 peanuts

The USA produce about 6% of the world’s crop of peanuts: by comparison India and China, together, produce about 70%

West Coast people prefer chunky peanut butter, whereas those in the East Coast people like creamy

Peanuts account for 2/3rds of the total snack “nuts” consumption in the USA

96% of people, when making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, put the peanut butter on before the jelly

Two presidents of the USA, Jimmy Carter and Thomas Jefferson, were peanut farmers

Food related Events of March 1

also: National Fruit Compote Day

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1784 E. Kidner opened the first cooking school in Great Britain.

1927 Harry Belafonte, singer, actor, was born. His biggest hit was “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song” in 1956.

1970 U.S. commercial whale hunting ended.

1989 Jack Dietz holds the world’s record for watermelon seed spitting, 66 feet 11 inches.

1989 A 75 year-long ban on beer was lifted this day in Iceland.

1990 The British Royal Navy began issuing rum rations to sailors as early as 1655. The Royal New Zealand Navy was the last navy in the world to end daily rum rations for sailors in 1990.

2002 McDonald’s announced in a press release that it has agreed to pay 10 million dollars to Hindu and vegetarian groups to settle lawsuits over its use of beef flavoring in its French Fries.

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Categories: Food Holidays, March Food Holidays

Tagged: creamy peanut butter, events of March 1, five food finds, foodimentary, national peanut butter lover's day, original social media foodie, peanut butter, peanut butter history, social media foodie, social media foodie. original social media foodie

January 11 is National Hot Toddy Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

5 Star Recipe from MyRecipes.com

National Hot Toddy Day

Five Food Finds about Cocktails

The first cocktail party was held for 50 house guests in St. Louis in 1917. The house still stands today….as the residence of the Archbishop.

While Prohibition resulted in a decline in alcohol it also resulted in a dramatic increase in crime as money flowed to the bad guys. Crime rose as high as 500% in some countries. Consequently, government costs soared while tax revenue declined.

Calling an illegal bar a ‘speakeasy’ came from a lady barkeep who would warn her customers to “speak easy, boy, speak easy” whenever they became loud enough to attract police.

A greater crime was what it did to the cocktail. Prior to Prohibition, America was enjoying its first golden age of mixology. Once liquor became illegal, ‘rum runners” brought it in by boat but watered down their blends so they could ship less and make more.

At the same time, gin and vodka replaced rum and whiskey as cocktail ingredients because they didn’t require as much aging and were easier to make illegally.

On This Day in Food History…

1874 Gail Borden died. Borden was the Inventor of the process for making condensed milk, and founder of New York Condensed Milk Co., later to become the Borden Co. (

1917 The French government regulated the price of Gruyere cheese as a war rationing method.

1949 The first recorded snowfall in Los Angeles, California.

1963 The ‘Whisky A Go-Go’ opens in Los Angeles – the first disco in the U.S.

some content is courtesy of FoodReference.com, used with permission

Categories: Food Holidays, January Food Holidays

Tagged: cocktail, cocktail party, five food finds, gail borden, hot toddy, national food holidays, national hot toddy day, today in food history

January 8 is National English Toffee Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

5 Star Recipe from MyRecipes.com

National English Toffee Day

Five Food Finds about Toffee

Toffee and Caramel are sometimes interchangeable.

Toffees consist of mainly sugar and water, while caramels use dairy products in their production, making them softer

Almondy butter treats are toffee from England. This kind of candy is known globally and has many varieties.

Michigan toffee comes in varies styles, some hard and some chewy, some chocolate covered with nut sprinkles.

Tafia, a West Indian rum of molasses or sugarcane juice, is theorized to be the source of the word.

On This Day in Food History…

1676 Charles II of England revoked his previous proclamation suppressing Coffee Houses due to public response.

1800 The first soup kitchens in London were opened to serve the poor.

1823 Alfred Russel Wallace was born. Wallace was a British naturalist who developed a theory of natural selection independently of Charles Darwin. He sent his conclusions to Darwin, and their findings were both presented to the Linnaean Society in 1858.

1825 Eli Whitney died. Inventor of the cotton gin, but more important he developed the concept of mass producing interchangeable parts.

1872 African American inventor Thomas Elkins received his second patent. It was for a ‘Chamber Commode’ – a combination “bureau, mirror, book-rack, washstand, table, easy chair, and earth-closet or chamber-stool.”

1894 Pierre Joseph van Beneden died. A Belgian parasitologist, he discovered the life cycle of tapeworms.

1926 Comedian ‘Soupy Sales’ was born. Most of his routines ended with Soupy receiving a pie in the face.

1992 President George H.W. Bush becomes ill on a trip to Japan and vomits on Japanese Prime Minister Miyazawa Kiichi.

1998 Walter E. Diemer died. While working for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company, he experimented with recipes for chewing gum as a hobby. (He really liked his gum!). He invented bubble gum in 1928.

2002 Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s Hamburger chain, died.

some content is courtesy of FoodReference.com, used with permission

Categories: Food Holidays, January Food Holidays

Tagged: five food finds, january food holidays, national english toffee day, national food holidays, today in food history

National Mincemeat Pie Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

5 Star Recipe from MyRecipes.com

National Mincemeat Pie Day

Mincemeat was originally a medieval (England) sweet, spicy mixture of chopped (minced) lean meat (usually beef, or beef tongue), suet and fruit.

It was generally served as an entree.

Gradually the meat content was reduced, and today the mixture contains nuts, dried fruit (raisins, apples, pears, citrus peel, etc.), beef suet, spices and brandy or rum, but no beef.

Mincemeat is used primarily in pies and tarts.

Mince pies date back to medieval times and possibly long before. They are descended from a huge pie baked on Christmas Eve containing chopped beef, suet, nuts, spices and fruit of which whole dried plums were an important constituent.

Today’s Food History

1825 The 363 mile long Erie Canal was finished. Connecting the Great Lakes to the Hudson River at Albany, It provided a water route from the Great Lakes to New York City and the Atlantic Ocean, and began the great canal building era in the U.S. (1825-1840).

1854 C. W. Post (Charles William) was born. He founded the Postum Cereal Co. in 1895 (renamed General Foods Corp. in 1922) to manufacture Postum cereal beverage; 1897 Grape Nuts, 1904 Post Toasties (originally called Elijah’s Mana).

1918 Cesar Ritz died in Kussnacht, Switzerland. World renowned hotelier who managed various resort hotels, including the Grand Hotel in Monte Carlo where he met chef Auguste Escoffier. Ritz then managed the Savoy Hotel in London, with Escoffier as his chef. Eventually he opened The Ritz Hotel in Paris in 1898, and was part owner in many other hotels and restaurants, including the Carlton in London. His name became a synonym for luxury.

1979 The largest bluefin tuna weighed 1,496 pounds. It was caught in Nova Scotia.

2007 ‘Chef Tell’ (Friedman Paul Erhardt) died of heart failure. A European trained chef, he was one of the earliest celebrity TV chefs. He made appearances on Saturday Night Live, numerous talk shows, the PBS show ‘In the Kitchen With Chef Tell’ and was the inspiration for the Muppet’s ‘Swedish Chef.’ He was also a restaurant owner, cookbook author and culinary educator.

Categories: Food Holidays, October Food Holidays

Tagged: Auguste Escoffier, beef suet, Charles William, dried fruit, facts, five food finds, food, foodimentary, Friedman Paul Erhardt, fun, life, Mincemeat Pie, national mincemeat pie day, today's food history, todays food history

January 17 – National Hot Buttered Rum Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

National Hot Buttered Rum Day

Daily Trivia: Hot Buttered Rum, a mixed drink containing rum, butter, hot cider, sugar, & spice(usually cinnamon), is considered one of the oldest “mixed drinks” in American History. Mention of this drink date as far back as the 1600’s.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1501 Leonhard Fuchs was born. A German botanist who compiled the first modern glossary of botanical terms. From which the flowering plant & color fuchsia were named.
1706 Benjamin Franklin was born. American publisher,diplomat & inventor. Penned the name for male turkeys, Tom, as a dig to Thomas Jefferson, who helped appoint the Bald Eagle, NOT the turkey, as the National Bird.
1775 Nine women in Kalisk, Poland were burned as “witches” for causing a series of bad harvests.
1890 Scottish-American scientist Peter Henderson died, considered the “Father of America Horticulture.”
1893 Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalana, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, leaves the throne, bowing to pressure from sugar planters .
1904 Anton Checov’s The Cherry Orchard premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre.
1944 WWII’s first “Tin Can Day” was held. One of the largest recycling efforts in American history
2001 Norway lifted a ban on whale meat exports.

resources

Categories: Food Holidays, January Food Holidays

Tagged: benjamin franklin, buttered rum, Cherry, Hawaii, Norway, turkeys, Whale, WWII

National Cherry Cobbler Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

National Cherry Cobbler Day

Five Food Finds about Cobbler

A cobbler is a deep dish (casserole or soufflé dish) fruit pie (peach is most common) with only a top biscuit dough crust.

Fruit cobblers can be made with almost any fruit, singly or in combination.

The cobbler takes its name from the biscuit dough crust on top – it is rough looking or ‘cobbled.’ It originated in the U.S. sometime in the early to mid 19th century.

A Cobbler is also a drink, which probably predates the fruit cobbler pie.

A cobbler usually consisted of whiskey or rum with fruit juice and/or sugar, garnished with mint and/or citrus.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1733 England passes the Molasses Act, putting high tariffs on rum and molasses imported to the colonies from anyplace other than Britain and its possessions.

1803 John Hawkins & Richard French patent a Reaping Machine.

1838 R.I.P. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord, known simply as Talleyrand, French statesman, diplomat and grand gourmet, called the ‘first fork of France.’ He served at the top levels of French governments for almost 50 years. During this time his chefs included Bouchee, Careme, and Avice. Many culinary preparations have been created or named for him.

1886 R.I.P. John Deere. Inventor and manufacturer, he developed the first steel plow in the 1830s, and founded John Deere & Company in 1868.

1967 Tennessee repealed its 1925 law making it illegal to teach evolution in public schools.

1985 The largest salmon, a Chinook salmon, caught with rod and reel weighed over 97 pounds and was caught in Alaska.

1986 ‘Chicken Song’ by Spitting Image hit #1 in UK.

1992 R.I.P. Lawrence Welk, champagne music-maker.

Some Material Used from FoodReference.com with Permission.

Categories: Food Holidays, May Food Holidays

Tagged: charles maurice de talleyrand, cherry cobbler, facts, first steel plow, five food finds, food, foodimentary, fruit cobbler, fruit cobblers, fun, life, molasses act, national cherry cobbler day, national food holidays, restaurants, todays food history

National Peanut Butter Lover’s day

CookingLight.com

March 1

is

National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day

**Five things you should know about about**

Peanut Butter

An 18oz jar of peanut butter needs 850 peanuts
The USA produce about 6% of the world’s crop of peanuts: by comparison India and China, together, produce about 70%
West Coast people prefer chunky peanut butter, whereas those in the East Coast people like creamy
Peanuts account for 2/3rds of the total snack “nuts” consumption in the USA
96% of people, when making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, put the peanut butter on before the jelly

On This Day in Food History…

1784 E. Kidner opened the first cooking school in Great Britain.
1927 Harry Belafonte, singer, actor, was born. His biggest hit was “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song” in 1956.
1970 U.S. commercial whale hunting ended.
1989 Jack Dietz holds the world’s record for watermelon seed spitting, 66 feet 11 inches. There are contests in many locations throughout the U.S. in the spring and summer.
1989 A 75 year-long ban on beer was lifted this day in Iceland.
1990 The British Royal Navy began issuing rum rations to sailors as early as 1655. The Royal New Zealand Navy was the last navy in the world to end daily rum rations for sailors in 1990.
2002 McDonald’s announced in a press release that it has agreed to pay 10 million dollars to Hindu and vegetarian groups to settle lawsuits over its use of beef flavoring in its French Fries.

Categories: Food Holidays, March Food Holidays

Tagged: cookinglight, five food finds, foodimentary, national peanut butter lover's day, peanut butter, today in food history

National ‘Have a Brownie’ Day

MyRecipes

February 10th

is

National ‘Have a Brownie’ Day

**Five things you should know about**

Brownies

It is said that the brownie was created at the Palmer House Hotel during the 1893 Columbian Exposition( The largest World’s Fair of it’s time) when the owner Bertha Palmer asked the chef to make a ‘ladies dessert’.

The word ‘brownie’ became so popular that soon after the Expedition even Kodak named one of it’s first hand held cameras after them, the little ‘brownie.’

Brownies were one of the very first prepackaged food ‘mixes’ ever sold. First appearing in the Sears, Roebuck catalogue in 1897.

Fannie Farmer, the First Lady of American Cookery, published the first written recipe for brownies in 1896.

A popular turn of the century alternative was considered of equal importance, the ‘blondie‘, which used many of the same ingredients except chocolate. Many believed chocolate to be a ‘vice’ on the same level as alcohol and even coffee.

On This Day in Food History…

1846 Ira Remsen was born. He was an American chemist, co-discoverer of saccharin, the artificial sweetener.

1933 The Postal Telegraph Co. of New York City delivers the first singing telegram with a box of chocolates.

1944 Author Frances Moore Lappe was born. Author of the best selling ‘Diet for a Small Planet’ (1971) The first best seller to encourage a vegetarian diet. Her premise was that the raising of animals was wasteful & potentially harmful to the environment.

1945 The Andrews Sisters recording of ‘Rum and Coca Cola’ hit #1 on the popular music charts.

1957 The ‘Styrofoam’ cooler was invented.

Categories: February Food Holidays, Food Holidays

Tagged: brownie, brownies, five food finds, foodimentary, national food holidays, National have a brownie day, on this day in food history

January 11 – National Hot Toddy Day

5 Star Recipe from MyRecipes.com

National Hot Toddy Day

Five Food Finds about Cocktails

The first cocktail party was held for 50 house guests in St. Louis in 1917. The house still stands today….as the residence of the Archbishop.

While Prohibition resulted in a decline in alcohol it also resulted in a dramatic increase in crime as money flowed to the bad guys. Crime rose as high as 500% in some countries. Consequently, government costs soared while tax revenue declined.

Calling an illegal bar a ‘speakeasy’ came from a lady barkeep who would warn her customers to “speak easy, boy, speak easy” whenever they became loud enough to attract police.

A greater crime was what it did to the cocktail. Prior to Prohibition, America was enjoying its first golden age of mixology. Once liquor became illegal, ‘rum runners” brought it in by boat but watered down their blends so they could ship less and make more.

At the same time, gin and vodka replaced rum and whiskey as cocktail ingredients because they didn’t require as much aging and were easier to make illegally.

On This Day in Food History…

1874 Gail Borden died. Borden was the Inventor of the process for making condensed milk, and founder of New York Condensed Milk Co., later to become the Borden Co. (

1917 The French government regulated the price of Gruyere cheese as a war rationing method.

1949 The first recorded snowfall in Los Angeles, California.

1963 The ‘Whisky A Go-Go’ opens in Los Angeles – the first disco in the U.S.

some content is courtesy of FoodReference.com, used with permission

Categories: Food Holidays, January Food Holidays

Tagged: five food finds, hot toddy, national food holidays, national hot toddy day, today in food history

January 8 – National English Toffee Day

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National English Toffee Day

Five Food Finds about Toffee

Toffee and Caramel are sometimes interchangeable.

Toffees consist of mainly sugar and water, while caramels use dairy products in their production, making them softer

Almondy butter treats are toffee from England. This kind of candy is known globally and has many varieties.

Michigan toffee comes in varies styles, some hard and some chewy, some chocolate covered with nut sprinkles.

Tafia, a West Indian rum of molasses or sugarcane juice, is theorized to be the source of the word.