February 10

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1775 English author and poet Charles Lamb was born.
1835 Victor Hensen was born. An oceanographer, he coined the name ‘plankton’ for the tiny organisms in found water. Practically all animal life in the sea is ultimately dependent on plankton.
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.
1944 Author Frances Moore Lappe was born. She is the author of the best selling ‘Diet for a Small Planet’ (1971) which indirectly encouraged a vegetarian diet, by demonstrating that raising animals for food was an extremely wasteful use of resources. Also: ‘World Hunger: 12 Myths’, ‘Food First’, ‘Taking Population Seriously’. etc.
1945 The Andrews Sisters recording of ‘Rum and Coca Cola’ hit #1 on the popular music charts.
1957 The ‘Styrofoam’ cooler was invented.

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also: National Fruit Compote Day

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1736 Ann Lee, founder of the Shakers, was born on February 29, 1736. To commemorate her birthday, each year on March 1 the Shakers held an afternoon meeting, followed by a supper at which this cake was served. The original recipe advises:
“Cut a handful of peach twigs which are filled with sap at this season of the year. Clip the ends and bruise them and beat the cake batter with them. This will impart a delicate peach flavor to the cake.” American Heritage Cookbook (1964)
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.