Yes! May 2nd is National Chocolate Truffle Day!

Here are today’s five food finds about Chocolate Truffles:

According to the legend, the chocolate truffle was created by Louis Dufour in Chambery, France in 1895.

Historians believe that chocolate truffles burst in popularity because across the street from Louis Dufour’s chocolate truffle shop was the Prestat Chocolate Shop.

Roald Dahl was a big fan of Prestat truffles!

There are three types of truffles: American, European and Swiss.

The first recipe for a chocolate truffle appears in a cookbook from the 1920s.

Today’s Food History

1878 At 7 a.m., the Washburn A flour mill in Minneapolis exploded, sending the roof 500 feet in the air. 18 workers were killed and seven other flour mills were also destroyed.
1885 Good Housekeeping magazine begins publication. Founded by Clark W. Bryan, the magazine was purchased by Hearst publishing in 1911.
1934 Sergey Vasilyevich Lebedev died. A Russian chemist who developed a method for large scale production of synthetic rubber. Production of polybutadiene was begun in 1932 using potatoes and limestone as raw materials.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Chocolate Truffles, Food Holiday, national chocolate truffle day, National Food Holiday

May 1st National Chocolate Parfait Day!

Happy National Chocolate Parfait Day!

Here are today’s five things to know about Chocolate:

Dark chocolate has more antioxidants than green tea and just as many as blueberries.
White chocolate really isn’t chocolate. It’s made from cocoa butter, the substance you get by pressing cocoa beans. Cocoa butter is absent of the cocoa solids used to make chocolate.

Chocolate was consumed by the ancient Aztecs as a frothy beverage, somewhat like hot chocolate we drink today.
Chocolate comes from a plant, called Theobroma cacao, which translates “Food of the Gods”.
Eating chocolate can also reduce the symptoms of stress.

Today’s Food History

1683 Supposedly, a patent for a system of extracting salt from sea water was granted in England.
1841 The first wagon train left Independence, Missouri for California.
1851 London’s Great Exhibition opened in Hyde Park. It was the first international exhibition ever to be held. The Exhibition was housed in the Crystal Palace.
1889 Bayer introduced aspirin powder in Germany.
1927 Imperial Airways became the first British airline to serve hot meals.
1931 Empire State Building opens. It was built on the site of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
1971 ‘Brown Sugar’ by the Rolling Stones is released.
1991 Charles Elton died. Elton was an English biologist who first developed the idea of a ‘food chain.’
2001 Hindus in Seattle filled suit against McDonald’s restaurant chain for not disclosing the use of beef flavoring in its French Fries.
2005 A 9 foot, 640 pound freshwater catfish was caught by fishermen in northern Thailand on the Mekong River. According to many, this is the largest freshwater fish ever caught.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Chocolate Parfait Day, National Food Holiday, parfait day

April 30th is National Raisin Day!

Happy National Raisin Day!

Here are today’s five food finds about Raisins:

In 1873, a freak hot spell withered the grapes on the vine. One enterprising San Francisco grocer advertised these shriveled grapes as “Peruvian Delicacies” and the rest is history.

It takes more than 4 tons of grapes to produce 1 ton of raisins.

The finest raisins come from Malaga in Spain.

Raisin – comes from the Latin racemus and means “a cluster of grapes or berries”.
Fresno, California is the Raisin Capital of the World.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1792 John Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich died. Captain Cook named the Sandwich Islands after him (now known as Hawaii). He is supposed to have invented the sandwich as a quick meal so as not to interrupt his gambling sessions.

1904 The Louisiana Purchase Exposition opened in St. Louis (St. Louis World’s Fair). It was at the Fair that the ice cream cone was supposed to have been invented. The hot dog and iced tea were also popularized at the Fair.

1952 Mr. Potato Head is introduced to the world. Mr. Potato Head is the also the first toy to be advertised on television.

1955 ‘Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White’ by Perez Prado hits number one on the charts.

1981 Dunkin Donuts opened its first store in the Philippines.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Food Holiday, National Raisin Day, raisins

April 29th is National Shrimp Scampi Day!

Happy National Shrimp Scampi Day!

Here are today’s five food finds about Shrimp Scampi:

The word “scampi” means “shrimp”. Therefore, “shrimp scampi” is “shrimp shrimp” (or “scampi scampi”).

The pistol shrimp can deliver an explosive attack hotter than the surface of the sun and loud enough to rupture a human ear drum.

Every shrimp is actually born male, and some develop into females.

Some shrimp are actually capable of glowing in the dark.

Shrimp can vary in size from 1/2 inch to 12 inches.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1768 Georg Brandt died. A Swedish chemist, he discovered the element cobalt in 1730. Cobalt is used in steel making, and is an essential part of vitamin B12
1856 A shipment of 33 camels arrived at the Texas port of Indianola. They had been purchased on the North African Coast, for the U.S. army to use in the deserts of the Southwest.
1913 The zipper was patented by Gideon Sundback. Most checked chefs pants still have buttons.
1988 McDonald’s announced it will be opening 20 Moscow restaurants. They will serve Bolshoi Mak instead of Big Macs.
1989 Donald Deskey died. An industrial designer, he designed the packaging for Tide laundry detergent and Crest toothpaste among others.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Food Holiday, National Shrimp Scampi Day, Shrimp Scampi Day

April 28th is National Blueberry Pie Day !

Happy National Blueberry Pie Day!

Here are today’s five food finds about Blueberries:

Blueberries are one of the only natural foods that are truly blue in color.

The pale, powder-like protective coating on the skin of blueberries is called “bloom.”
A blueberry extract diet improves balance, coordination, and short-term memory in aging rats.

Blueberries are the official berries of Nova Scotia, Canada.

best_blueberry_pie_with_foolproof_pie_dough

The anthocyanin present in blueberries is good for eyesight.

Blueberry pie by Petee’s Pies in New York, NY.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1789 The most famous mutiny in history took place on the English ship, ‘Bounty’, against Captain William Bligh. The ship was sailing to Tahiti to bring back breadfruit trees.

1796 ‘American Cookery’ by Amelia Simmons is published in Hartford. It is the first cookbook written by an American. This is one of the classic cookbooks that can be found on the Food Reference Website.

1899 The comedy short ‘Stealing a Dinner’ was filmed by cameraman G.W. ‘Billy’ Bitzer for the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. (Mutoscope were ‘peephole’ motion pictures on cards mounted on a rotating drum turned by hand.)

1940 Italian operatic soprano, Louisia Tetrazzini, died. Chicken Tetrazzini, created by an American chef (San Francisco?), was named in her honor.

1944 Alice Waters was born. Executive Chef and Owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant, opened in 1971 in Berkeley, California

1953 Howard C. Rossin was issued a patent for an overcoat built for two (or Siamese Twins).

2005 Loaded Burrito Scare: Clovis, New Mexicao police were called to a middle school when someone saw what appeared to be a weapon being carried in by a student. Police did not find any weapon, but finally an 8th grader realized that what someone had seen was his extra credit commercial advertising project – a 30 inch long steak burrito wrapped in tin foil and a T-Shirt.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, blueberry pie, Food Holiday, National Blueberry Pie Day, National Food Holiday

April 27th is National Prime Rib Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Happy National Prime Rib Day!

Here are today’s five food finds about Prime Rib:

A standing rib roast is a prime rib consisting of SEVEN ribs.

A scooped & tied standing rib roast will have the bones taken off and then tied back on.

A rib eye roast is a boneless prime rib.

The beef is cut from the rib section, the largest central area of the steer, located in between the chuck and the short loin, just above the plate.

If choosing a prime rib at the butcher, look for a cut that has a bright color and milky white fat.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1773 The British Parliament passed the ‘Tea Act,’ one of the events that led to the American Revolution.
1865 Cornell University was chartered. Cornell is an agricultural land grant university endowed by Ezra Cornell, one of the founders of Western Union Telegraph Co. Today, Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, offers many programs, including Agricultural and Life Sciences, Hotel Administration, and Nutritional Sciences.
1871 The American Museum of Natural History in New York City was opened to the public.
1902 Julius Sterling Morton died. He was the founder of Arbor Day, first observed in Nebraska on April 10, 1872. Over one million trees were planted.
1947 Pete Ham of the rock group Badfinger was born.
1965 R. C. Duncan was granted a patent for ‘Pampers’ disposable diapers.
1995 On ‘Seinfeld’ Kramer began sculpting with pasta.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Food Holiday, National Prime Rib Day, prime rib

April 26th is National Pretzel Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

Happy National Pretzel Day!

Here is today’s five food finds about Pretzels:

The first pretzel was created in 610 A.D. by a monk in southern France or northern Italy. It was originally called a ‘pretiola’ and was renamed ‘pretzel’ later when the idea migrated to Germany and Austria.

In 1861, pretzel twisting was the second highest-paying job in the Philadelphia region. Today, machines do the twisting, although at some artisan shops, tourists can still see it done the old-fashioned way.

The birthplace of the hard pretzel was Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The pretzel, or bretzel as it was called then, first came to America in 1710 with Palatine German immigrants (from the Rhineland) who settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and became known, incorrectly, as the “Pennsylvania Dutch.”

In the 18th century, German children would wear pretzel necklaces at the beginning of a new year for prosperity, health and good fortune.

In the 17th century, pretzels were known as a marriage knot. During a wedding ceremony, a couple would wish upon a pretzel, break it (like a wishbone), and eat it to signify their oneness. It is speculated that the term, “tying the knot,” originated in Switzerland in 1614 during a wedding between two prominent families.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1785 John James Audubon was born. Ornithologist, naturalist and artist, known mainly for his paintings and sketches of North American birds.

1877 Minnesota held a state day of prayer to plead for an end to a 4 year plague of Rocky Mountain locusts. In southwestern Minnesota, locusts had been eating crops, trees, tobacco, fence posts, leather, dead animals, sheep’s wool – everything but the mortgage. Two days later a snowstorm moved through and the locusts were never seen again. No one knows what caused the locust plague, nor why the Rocky Mountain locust became extinct after the plague.

1947 Pete Ham of the music group ‘Badfinger’ was born

1962‘Mashed Potato Time’ by Dee Dee Sharp is #1 on the charts.

1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant in the Ukraine explodes. The worst nuclear disaster in history. In addition to the human toll, agriculture and livestock was contaminated by radiation in large areas of Europe for years to come.

1989 Lucille Ball died. Two of the funniest food related comedy routines ever done were the chocolate factory and the grape stomping episodes from her TV show, ‘I Love Lucy.’

2005 A herd of buffalo escaped from a farm and wandered around a Baltimore, Maryland suburb disrupting traffic, and shutting down several major highways. Police eventually herded them onto a nearby tennis court.

2006 Chicago banned the sale of foie gras.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Food Holiday, National Pretzel Day, Pretzels

April 25th is National Zucchini Bread Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Happy National Zucchini Bread Day!

Here are today’s five food finds about Zucchini:

A zucchini has more potassium than a banana.

The word zucchini comes from ‘zucca’ the Italian word for squash.

Biggest is NOT best. The most flavorful zucchinis are small- to medium-sized.

According to World’s Healthiest Foods Nutrition info, nutrients and vitamins found in zucchini can help prevent cancer and heart disease.

costata_romanesco_zucchini_and_zucchini_bread

The flower of the zucchini plant is also edible.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1856 Charles Luttwedge Dodgson met a little girl named Alice Liddell. Alice had a penchant for consuming unknown (and apparently psychoactive) food, pills and liquids that she found while exploring a very large rabbit hole.*
1932 Meadowlark Lemon, basketball star, was born.
1945 Stu Cook of the music group ‘Creedence Clearwater Revival’ was born.
1959 The St. Lawrence Seaway opened. It connects the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. Its completion opened the heart of Americas industrial and agricultural areas to ocean going vessels for shipping. (The official opening ceremony is June 26)

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Food Holiday, zucchini bread, Zucchini Bread Day

April 24th is National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Happy Pigs in a Blanket Day!

Here are today’s facts to about Pigs-in-a-Blanket:

The first written record of pigs in a blanket occurs in Betty Crocker’s Cooking for Kids in 1957.
Pigs in a blanket are also known as devils on horsebacks, kilted sausages, and wiener winks.

In the United Kingdom, pigs in blankets are small sausages, or chipolatas wrapped up in bacon.

In America, pigs in a blanket often refers to hot dogs, Vienna sausages, or breakfast sausages wrapped in biscuit dough, croissant dough or a pancake and then baked.
You can combine these dishes by wrapping your sausage in bacon, then cooking them into a biscuit or croissant.

Today’s Food History

1766 Robert Bailey Thomas was born. He was the founder and long time editor of the ‘Farmer’s Almanac’ now known as the ‘Old Farmer’s Almanac.’
1833 Jacob Ebert and George Dulty patented the first soda fountain.
1914 Justin Wilson, Cajun chef and humorist was born. He wrote five cookbooks, hosted several cooking shows, including ‘Louisiana Cookin’ and ‘Cookin’ Cajun.’
1949 Chocolate rationing ended in Britain.
1994 The world’s largest lollipop, 3,011 pounds, is made in Denmark.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Food Holiday, PigsinaBlanket, PigsInABlanketDay

April 17th is National Malbec Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Here are today’s five interesting things to know about Malbec:

Malbec is a purple grape variety used in making red wine.
Malbec is one of the Argentine favorites.

On April 17, 1853, the President of Argentina put legislature in place for the foundation of an agricultural school in Argentina, with the goal of transforming the country’s wine industry. Several vines were brought over from France, including Malbec, which flourished in Argentina.

Terrazas de los Andes is an Argentine winemaker that embodies the best of Malbec by combining Argentinian terroir with French know-how to ensure quality grapes.

Argentina’s most highly rated Malbec wines originate from Mendoza’s high altitude wine regions of Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley.

Today’s Food History

1629 The first horses were imported to the American colonies by the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1790 R.I.P. Benjamin Franklin. American diplomat, publisher, inventor, etc. Among his inventions were the Franklin stove and bifocal eyeglasses. He also published ‘Poor Richard’s Almanac.’
1810 Lewis M. Norton of Troy, Pennsylvania was issued the first U.S. patent for pineapple cheese.
1917 The first Del Monte brand national advertisement appeared in the Saturday Evening Post.
1937 Daffy Duck makes his debut appearance in ‘Porky,s Duck Hunt’
1996 R.I.P. Arnold Neustadter. He was the inventor of the Rolodex rotating card file.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, food holidays, malbec, National Food Holiday, world malbec day

April 16th is National Eggs Benedict Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Happy National Eggs Benedict Day!

Here are today’s five food facts to know about Egg Benedict:

Eggs Blackstone substitutes streaky bacon for the ham and adds a tomato slice.
Huevos Benedict substitutes avocado for the ham, and is topped with both salsa and hollandaise sauce.

Eggs Sardou substitutes artichoke bottoms and crossed anchovy fillets for the English muffin and ham, then tops the hollandaise sauce with chopped ham and a truffle slice. The dish was created at Antoine’s Restaurant in New Orleans in honor of the French playwright Victorien Sardou. A more widespread version of the dish starts with a base of creamed spinach, substitutes artichoke bottoms for the English muffin, and eliminates the ham.

Portobello Benedict substitutes Portobello mushrooms for the ham, and is a popular alternative for Catholics observing the Friday Fast.
Eggs Provençal replaces the Hollandaise sauce with Béarnaise Sauce.

Today’s Food History:

1521 Martin Luther arrived at the Diet of Worms. This was NOT the first fad diet.
1906 William James Farrer died. An Australian agriculturist, he developed new varieties of wheat.
1924 Henry Mancini was born. Oscar winning music composer, he wrote many songs and film scores, including the score for ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’
1928 Ellsworth Milson Statler died. American hotel owner, founder of Statler Hotels. His Statler Hotel in Buffalo, New York was the first hotel in the U.S. to have running water and private baths in each room.
1941 The original Elsie the Cow died. Elsie the cow was originally a cartoon character appearing in ads for Borden Milk. At the 1939 New York World’s Fair, when people began asking where Elsie was, Borden’s picked a cow originally named ‘You’ll do Lobelia’ from their herd to be Elsie. Elsie stared in commercials, made personal appearances, and even starred in an RKO movie, ‘Little Men.’ Elsie was injured in a truck accident in 1941 and had to be put to sleep. She is buried in Plainsboro, New Jersey.
1956 On the ‘I Love Lucy’ show, Lucy stomped grapes in Rome, and wrestled with another female grape stomper. An inspiration for future ‘food wrestling’ entrepreneurs. Actually, this is one of the funniest sitcom episodes ever made.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, eggs benedict, Food Holiday, National Eggs Benedict Day, National Food Holiday

April 14th is National Pecan Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Happy National Pecan Day!

Here are today’s five things to know about Pecans:

Pecans come in a variety of sizes – mammoth, extra large, large, medium, small and midget.

Before a shelled pecan is ready to be sold, it must first be cleaned, sized, sterilized, cracked and finally, shelled.

There are over 1,000 varieties of pecans. Many are named for Native American Indian tribes, including Cheyenne, Mohawk, Sioux, Choctaw and Shawnee.

Texas adopted the pecan tree as its state tree in 1919.

2 Pecans provide nearly 10 percent of the recommended Daily Value for zinc.

Today’s Food History

1828 The first edition of Noah Webster’s dictionary is copyrighted.
1912 The British luxury liner Titanic struck an iceberg shortly before midnight. It sank at 2:20 a.m. on April 15.
1927 Clarence Birdseye of Massachusetts received a U.K. patent for frozen fish fingers.
1939 ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ by John Steinbeck was published.
1964 Rachel Louise Carson died. An American biologist and author of ‘Silent Spring,’ about environmental pollution, especially the dangers of DDT.
1989 ‘She Drives Me Crazy’ by Fine Young Cannibals is #1 on the charts

Check out my book!

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Food Holiday, National Pecan Day, pecan

May 2nd is National Chocolate Truffle Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Here are today’s five food finds about Chocolate Truffles:

According to the legend, the chocolate truffle was created by Louis Dufour in Chambery, France in 1895.

Historians believe that chocolate truffles burst in popularity because across the street from Louis Dufour’s chocolate truffle shop was the Prestat Chocolate Shop.

Roald Dahl was a big fan of Prestat truffles!

There are three types of truffles: American, European and Swiss.

The first recipe for a chocolate truffle appears in a cookbook from the 1920s.

Today’s Food History

1878 At 7 a.m., the Washburn A flour mill in Minneapolis exploded, sending the roof 500 feet in the air. 18 workers were killed and seven other flour mills were also destroyed.
1885 Good Housekeeping magazine begins publication. Founded by Clark W. Bryan, the magazine was purchased by Hearst publishing in 1911.
1934 Sergey Vasilyevich Lebedev died. A Russian chemist who developed a method for large scale production of synthetic rubber. Production of polybutadiene was begun in 1932 using potatoes and limestone as raw materials.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Chocolate Truffles, Food Holiday, national chocolate truffle day, National Food Holiday

May 1st National Chocolate Parfait Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Here are today’s five things to know about Chocolate:

Dark chocolate has more antioxidants than green tea and just as many as blueberries.
White chocolate really isn’t chocolate. It’s made from cocoa butter, the substance you get by pressing cocoa beans. Cocoa butter is absent of the cocoa solids used to make chocolate.

Chocolate was consumed by the ancient Aztecs as a frothy beverage, somewhat like hot chocolate we drink today.
Chocolate comes from a plant, called Theobroma cacao, which translates “Food of the Gods”.
Eating chocolate can also reduce the symptoms of stress.

Today’s Food History

1683 Supposedly, a patent for a system of extracting salt from sea water was granted in England.
1841 The first wagon train left Independence, Missouri for California.
1851 London’s Great Exhibition opened in Hyde Park. It was the first international exhibition ever to be held. The Exhibition was housed in the Crystal Palace.
1889 Bayer introduced aspirin powder in Germany.
1927 Imperial Airways became the first British airline to serve hot meals.
1931 Empire State Building opens. It was built on the site of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
1971 ‘Brown Sugar’ by the Rolling Stones is released.
1991 Charles Elton died. Elton was an English biologist who first developed the idea of a ‘food chain.’
2001 Hindus in Seattle filled suit against McDonald’s restaurant chain for not disclosing the use of beef flavoring in its French Fries.
2005 A 9 foot, 640 pound freshwater catfish was caught by fishermen in northern Thailand on the Mekong River. According to many, this is the largest freshwater fish ever caught.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Chocolate Parfait Day, National Food Holiday, parfait day

April 30th is National Raisin Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Here are today’s five food finds about Raisins:

In 1873, a freak hot spell withered the grapes on the vine. One enterprising San Francisco grocer advertised these shriveled grapes as “Peruvian Delicacies” and the rest is history.

It takes more than 4 tons of grapes to produce 1 ton of raisins.

The finest raisins come from Malaga in Spain.

Raisin – comes from the Latin racemus and means “a cluster of grapes or berries”.
Fresno, California is the Raisin Capital of the World.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1792 John Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich died. Captain Cook named the Sandwich Islands after him (now known as Hawaii). He is supposed to have invented the sandwich as a quick meal so as not to interrupt his gambling sessions.

1904 The Louisiana Purchase Exposition opened in St. Louis (St. Louis World’s Fair). It was at the Fair that the ice cream cone was supposed to have been invented. The hot dog and iced tea were also popularized at the Fair.

1952 Mr. Potato Head is introduced to the world. Mr. Potato Head is the also the first toy to be advertised on television.

1955 ‘Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White’ by Perez Prado hits number one on the charts.

1981 Dunkin Donuts opened its first store in the Philippines.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Food Holiday, National Raisin Day, raisins

April 29th is National Shrimp Scampi Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Here are today’s five food finds about Shrimp Scampi:

The word “scampi” means “shrimp”. Therefore, “shrimp scampi” is “shrimp shrimp” (or “scampi scampi”).

The pistol shrimp can deliver an explosive attack hotter than the surface of the sun and loud enough to rupture a human ear drum.

Every shrimp is actually born male, and some develop into females.

Some shrimp are actually capable of glowing in the dark.

Shrimp can vary in size from 1/2 inch to 12 inches.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1768 Georg Brandt died. A Swedish chemist, he discovered the element cobalt in 1730. Cobalt is used in steel making, and is an essential part of vitamin B12
1856 A shipment of 33 camels arrived at the Texas port of Indianola. They had been purchased on the North African Coast, for the U.S. army to use in the deserts of the Southwest.
1913 The zipper was patented by Gideon Sundback. Most checked chefs pants still have buttons.
1988 McDonald’s announced it will be opening 20 Moscow restaurants. They will serve Bolshoi Mak instead of Big Macs.
1989 Donald Deskey died. An industrial designer, he designed the packaging for Tide laundry detergent and Crest toothpaste among others.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Food Holiday, National Shrimp Scampi Day, Shrimp Scampi Day

April 28th is National Blueberry Pie Day !

John-Bryan Hopkins

Here are today’s five food finds about Blueberries:

Blueberries are one of the only natural foods that are truly blue in color.

The pale, powder-like protective coating on the skin of blueberries is called “bloom.”
A blueberry extract diet improves balance, coordination, and short-term memory in aging rats.

Blueberries are the official berries of Nova Scotia, Canada.

The anthocyanin present in blueberries is good for eyesight.

Blueberry pie by Petee’s Pies in New York, NY.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1789 The most famous mutiny in history took place on the English ship, ‘Bounty’, against Captain William Bligh. The ship was sailing to Tahiti to bring back breadfruit trees.

1940 Italian operatic soprano, Louisia Tetrazzini, died. Chicken Tetrazzini, created by an American chef (San Francisco?), was named in her honor.

1944 Alice Waters was born. Executive Chef and Owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant, opened in 1971 in Berkeley, California

1953 Howard C. Rossin was issued a patent for an overcoat built for two (or Siamese Twins).

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, blueberry pie, Food Holiday, National Blueberry Pie Day, National Food Holiday

April 27th is National Prime Rib Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Here are today’s five food finds about Prime Rib:

A standing rib roast is a prime rib consisting of SEVEN ribs.

A scooped & tied standing rib roast will have the bones taken off and then tied back on.

A rib eye roast is a boneless prime rib.

The beef is cut from the rib section, the largest central area of the steer, located in between the chuck and the short loin, just above the plate.

If choosing a prime rib at the butcher, look for a cut that has a bright color and milky white fat.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1773 The British Parliament passed the ‘Tea Act,’ one of the events that led to the American Revolution.
1865 Cornell University was chartered. Cornell is an agricultural land grant university endowed by Ezra Cornell, one of the founders of Western Union Telegraph Co. Today, Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, offers many programs, including Agricultural and Life Sciences, Hotel Administration, and Nutritional Sciences.
1871 The American Museum of Natural History in New York City was opened to the public.
1902 Julius Sterling Morton died. He was the founder of Arbor Day, first observed in Nebraska on April 10, 1872. Over one million trees were planted.
1947 Pete Ham of the rock group Badfinger was born.
1965 R. C. Duncan was granted a patent for ‘Pampers’ disposable diapers.
1995 On ‘Seinfeld’ Kramer began sculpting with pasta.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Food Holiday, National Prime Rib Day, prime rib

April 26th is National Pretzel Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

Here is today’s five food finds about Pretzels:

The first pretzel was created in 610 A.D. by a monk in southern France or northern Italy. It was originally called a ‘pretiola’ and was renamed ‘pretzel’ later when the idea migrated to Germany and Austria.

In 1861, pretzel twisting was the second highest-paying job in the Philadelphia region. Today, machines do the twisting, although at some artisan shops, tourists can still see it done the old-fashioned way.

The birthplace of the hard pretzel was Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The pretzel, or bretzel as it was called then, first came to America in 1710 with Palatine German immigrants (from the Rhineland) who settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and became known, incorrectly, as the “Pennsylvania Dutch.”

In the 18th century, German children would wear pretzel necklaces at the beginning of a new year for prosperity, health and good fortune.

In the 17th century, pretzels were known as a marriage knot. During a wedding ceremony, a couple would wish upon a pretzel, break it (like a wishbone), and eat it to signify their oneness. It is speculated that the term, “tying the knot,” originated in Switzerland in 1614 during a wedding between two prominent families.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1785 John James Audubon was born. Ornithologist, naturalist and artist, known mainly for his paintings and sketches of North American birds.

1947 Pete Ham of the music group ‘Badfinger’ was born

1962‘Mashed Potato Time’ by Dee Dee Sharp is #1 on the charts.

1989 Lucille Ball died. Two of the funniest food related comedy routines ever done were the chocolate factory and the grape stomping episodes from her TV show, ‘I Love Lucy.’

2006 Chicago banned the sale of foie gras.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Food Holiday, National Pretzel Day, Pretzels

April 25th is National Zucchini Bread Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Here are today’s five food finds about Zucchini:

A zucchini has more potassium than a banana.

The word zucchini comes from ‘zucca’ the Italian word for squash.

Biggest is NOT best. The most flavorful zucchinis are small- to medium-sized.

According to World’s Healthiest Foods Nutrition info, nutrients and vitamins found in zucchini can help prevent cancer and heart disease.

The flower of the zucchini plant is also edible.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1856 Charles Luttwedge Dodgson met a little girl named Alice Liddell. Alice had a penchant for consuming unknown (and apparently psychoactive) food, pills and liquids that she found while exploring a very large rabbit hole.*
1932 Meadowlark Lemon, basketball star, was born.
1945 Stu Cook of the music group ‘Creedence Clearwater Revival’ was born.
1959 The St. Lawrence Seaway opened. It connects the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. Its completion opened the heart of Americas industrial and agricultural areas to ocean going vessels for shipping. (The official opening ceremony is June 26)

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Food Holiday, zucchini bread, Zucchini Bread Day

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April 24th is National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Here are today’s five food facts to know about Pigs-in-a-Blanket:

The first written record of pigs in a blanket occurs in Betty Crocker’s Cooking for Kids in 1957.
Pigs in a blanket are also known as devils on horsebacks, kilted sausages, and wiener winks.

In the United Kingdom, pigs in blankets are small sausages, or chipolatas wrapped up in bacon.

In America, pigs in a blanket often refers to hot dogs, Vienna sausages, or breakfast sausages wrapped in biscuit dough, croissant dough or a pancake and then baked.
You can combine these dishes by wrapping your sausage in bacon, then cooking them into a biscuit or croissant.

Today’s Food History

1766 Robert Bailey Thomas was born. He was the founder and long time editor of the ‘Farmer’s Almanac’ now known as the ‘Old Farmer’s Almanac.’
1833 Jacob Ebert and George Dulty patented the first soda fountain.
1914 Justin Wilson, Cajun chef and humorist was born. He wrote five cookbooks, hosted several cooking shows, including ‘Louisiana Cookin’ and ‘Cookin’ Cajun.’
1949 Chocolate rationing ended in Britain.
1994 The world’s largest lollipop, 3,011 pounds, is made in Denmark.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Food Holiday, PigsinaBlanket, PigsInABlanketDay

April 17th is National Malbec Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Here are today’s five interesting things to know about Malbec:

Malbec is a purple grape variety used in making red wine.
Malbec is one of the Argentine favorites.

On April 17, 1853, the President of Argentina put legislature in place for the foundation of an agricultural school in Argentina, with the goal of transforming the country’s wine industry. Several vines were brought over from France, including Malbec, which flourished in Argentina.

Terrazas de los Andes is an Argentine winemaker that embodies the best of Malbec by combining Argentinian terroir with French know-how to ensure quality grapes.

Argentina’s most highly rated Malbec wines originate from Mendoza’s high altitude wine regions of Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley.

Today’s Food History

1629 The first horses were imported to the American colonies by the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1790 R.I.P. Benjamin Franklin. American diplomat, publisher, inventor, etc. Among his inventions were the Franklin stove and bifocal eyeglasses. He also published ‘Poor Richard’s Almanac.’
1810 Lewis M. Norton of Troy, Pennsylvania was issued the first U.S. patent for pineapple cheese.
1917 The first Del Monte brand national advertisement appeared in the Saturday Evening Post.
1937 Daffy Duck makes his debut appearance in ‘Porky,s Duck Hunt’
1996 R.I.P. Arnold Neustadter. He was the inventor of the Rolodex rotating card file.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, food holidays, malbec, National Food Holiday, world malbec day

April 17th is National Cheeseball Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Here are today’s five interesting food facts about CheeseBalls:

Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms. There are over 2000 varieties.
Cheddar cheese is dyed orange to give it an appealing color. White cheddar is closer to its natural color.
Cheese is one of the oldest foods in history, dating back 4000 years to the ancient Egyptians.
Cheese takes up about 1/10 the volume of the milk it was made from.
The terms “Big Wheel” and “Big Cheese” originally referred to those who were wealthy enough to purchase a whole wheel of cheese.

Today’s Food History

1629 The first horses were imported to the American colonies by the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1790 R.I.P. Benjamin Franklin. American diplomat, publisher, inventor, etc. Among his inventions were the Franklin stove and bifocal eyeglasses. He also published ‘Poor Richard’s Almanac.’
1810 Lewis M. Norton of Troy, Pennsylvania was issued the first U.S. patent for pineapple cheese.
1917 The first Del Monte brand national advertisement appeared in the Saturday Evening Post.
1937 Daffy Duck makes his debut appearance in ‘Porky,s Duck Hunt’
1996 R.I.P. Arnold Neustadter. He was the inventor of the Rolodex rotating card file.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, CheeseBall, Food Holiday, National Cheeseball Day, National Food Holiday

April 16th is National Eggs Benedict Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Here are today’s five food facts to know about Egg Benedict:

Eggs Blackstone substitutes streaky bacon for the ham and adds a tomato slice.
Huevos Benedict substitutes avocado for the ham, and is topped with both salsa and hollandaise sauce.

Eggs Sardou substitutes artichoke bottoms and crossed anchovy fillets for the English muffin and ham, then tops the hollandaise sauce with chopped ham and a truffle slice. The dish was created at Antoine’s Restaurant in New Orleans in honor of the French playwright Victorien Sardou. A more widespread version of the dish starts with a base of creamed spinach, substitutes artichoke bottoms for the English muffin, and eliminates the ham.

Portobello Benedict substitutes Portobello mushrooms for the ham, and is a popular alternative for Catholics observing the Friday Fast.
Eggs Provençal replaces the Hollandaise sauce with Béarnaise Sauce.

Today’s Food History:

1521 Martin Luther arrived at the Diet of Worms. This was NOT the first fad diet.
1906 William James Farrer died. An Australian agriculturist, he developed new varieties of wheat.
1924 Henry Mancini was born. Oscar winning music composer, he wrote many songs and film scores, including the score for ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’
1928 Ellsworth Milson Statler died. American hotel owner, founder of Statler Hotels. His Statler Hotel in Buffalo, New York was the first hotel in the U.S. to have running water and private baths in each room.
1941 The original Elsie the Cow died. Elsie the cow was originally a cartoon character appearing in ads for Borden Milk. At the 1939 New York World’s Fair, when people began asking where Elsie was, Borden’s picked a cow originally named ‘You’ll do Lobelia’ from their herd to be Elsie. Elsie stared in commercials, made personal appearances, and even starred in an RKO movie, ‘Little Men.’ Elsie was injured in a truck accident in 1941 and had to be put to sleep. She is buried in Plainsboro, New Jersey.
1956 On the ‘I Love Lucy’ show, Lucy stomped grapes in Rome, and wrestled with another female grape stomper. An inspiration for future ‘food wrestling’ entrepreneurs. Actually, this is one of the funniest sitcom episodes ever made.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, eggs benedict, Food Holiday, National Eggs Benedict Day, National Food Holiday

April 15th is National Glazed Ham Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Here are today’s five things to know about Glazed Ham:

The Hormel Company of Austin, Minnesota sold the first canned ham in 1926.
Hams are produced by almost every country in the world.

Mainz ham is a German ham that is brined, soaked in brandy or wine lees (or a mixture of both) and then smoked for a long period.
A country ham is much drier than injected-cured hams and has a sharper flavored due to its high salt content.

A pig scratches himself with his right leg, which uses the muscles more often, so the meat will be tougher. Aim for the left leg if you can.

Today’s Food History

1710 Marie-Anne de Cupis de Camargo was born. Born in Belgium, this ballerina danced with the Paris Opera. Escoffier named many gourmet dishes in her honor.
1854 New York became the first state to fund a study of insects harmful to plants.
1874 George Harrison Shull was born. An American botanist, frequently called the ‘father of hybrid corn.’
1878 Harley Proctor created Ivory Soap.
1912 John Jacob Astor IV died. Great grandson of John Jacob Astor, who founded the family fortune. John Jacob IV built the Astoria section of what would become the Waldorf Astoria Hotel (1897) in New York city (this was on the site that were the Empire State building would be built in 1929). He also built the Knickerbocker and the St. Regis hotels. He died on the Titanic.
1951 Household hints columnist, Heloise, was born in Waco, Texas.
1955 The first franchised McDonald’s was opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, by Ray Kroc, who bought the hamburger restaurant owned by the McDonald brothers. On opening day a 2 patty hamburger was 15 cents and French Fries were 10 cents.

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, food holidays, Glazed Ham, National Food Holiday, National Glazed Ham Day

April 14th is National Pecan Day!

John-Bryan Hopkins

Here are today’s five things to know about Pecans:

Pecans come in a variety of sizes – mammoth, extra large, large, medium, small and midget.

Before a shelled pecan is ready to be sold, it must first be cleaned, sized, sterilized, cracked and finally, shelled.

There are over 1,000 varieties of pecans. Many are named for Native American Indian tribes, including Cheyenne, Mohawk, Sioux, Choctaw and Shawnee.

Texas adopted the pecan tree as its state tree in 1919.

2 Pecans provide nearly 10 percent of the recommended Daily Value for zinc.

Today’s Food History

1828 The first edition of Noah Webster’s dictionary is copyrighted.
1912 The British luxury liner Titanic struck an iceberg shortly before midnight. It sank at 2:20 a.m. on April 15.
1927 Clarence Birdseye of Massachusetts received a U.K. patent for frozen fish fingers.
1939 ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ by John Steinbeck was published.
1964 Rachel Louise Carson died. An American biologist and author of ‘Silent Spring,’ about environmental pollution, especially the dangers of DDT.
1989 ‘She Drives Me Crazy’ by Fine Young Cannibals is #1 on the charts

Categories: April Food Holidays, Daily Food History, Food Facts, Food Holidays, Today's Food History

Tagged: april food holidays, Food Holiday, National Food Holiday, National Pecan Day, pecan

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March 29 is National Chiffon Cake Day

mmmmsugar.com

Many believe Chiffon cake is the ‘original’ wedding cake filling. A chiffon cake is a very light cake made with vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and flavorings. It is a combination of both batter and foam type cakes. The lack of butter means that chiffon cakes lack much of the rich flavor of butter cakes, and hence they are typically served accompanied with flavorful sauces or other accompaniments, such as chocolate or fruit fillings.

Here are today’s five thing to know about Chiffon Cake:

Cooking Tip: To get the most lemon flavor in a recipe, use the rind instead of the juice. It contains the lemon oils.

Lemons are hybrids; first cultivated in the middle ages, it is a mix of wild limes and citrons.

Generally, Lemons grown in more arid areas have more acid in them while those grown in wetter climates are sweeter,less acidic.

Lemonade was a favorite of Chinese emperors long before its modern popularity in Western culture.

Due to its high acidity, lemon juice is often used as a cleaning agent.

Today’s Pinterest Board : Foodimentary

Today’s Food History

1886 Coca-Cola was created by Dr. John Pemberton.

1900 Charles Elton was born. Elton was an English biologist who first developed the idea of a ‘food chain.’

1848 A huge upstream ice jam stopped almost all water flow over Niagara Falls (both American Falls and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls) for several hours. You could actually walk out into the riverbed below the falls.

1903 R.I.P. Gustavus Franklin Swift. Founder of the meat-packing business Swift & Co., the inventor of the refrigerated railway car, and the first to ship ‘dressed’ beef to eastern markets instead of live animals.

1980 R.I.P. Walter H. Deubener. He owned the S.S. Kresge grocery store in St. Paul, Minnesota and invented the handled grocery bag.

Categories: Food Holidays, March Food Holidays

Tagged: april food holidays, five food finds, food, food holidays, foodimentary, lemon chiffon cake, news, notional chiffon cake, original wedding cake

March 29 is National Chiffon Cake Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

National Chiffon Cake Day

Five Food Finds about Lemons

Cooking Tip: To get the most lemon flavor in a recipe, use the rind instead of the juice. It contains the lemon oils.

Lemons are hybrids; first cultivated in the middle ages, it is a mix of wild limes and citrons.

Generally, Lemons grown in more arid areas have more acid in them while those grown in wetter climates are sweeter,less acidic.

Lemonade was a favorite of Chinese emperors long before its modern popularity in Western culture.

Due to its high acidity, lemon juice is often used as a cleaning agent.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1886 Coca-Cola was created by Dr. John Pemberton.

1900 Charles Elton was born. Elton was an English biologist who first developed the idea of a ‘food chain.’

1980 R.I.P. Walter H. Deubener. He owned the S.S. Kresge grocery store in St. Paul, Minnesota and invented the handled grocery bag.

Categories: Food Holidays, March Food Holidays

Tagged: april food holidays, five food finds, food, food holidays, foodimentary, lemon chiffon cake, news, notional chiffon cake, original wedding cake

Posts tagged “april food holidays”

Happy National Chocolate Truffle Day!

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Happy National Chocolate Parfait Day!

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Happy National Raisin Day!

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Happy National Shrimp Scampi Day!

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Happy National Blueberry Pie Day!

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Happy National Prime Rib Day!

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Happy National Pretzel Day!

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Happy National Zucchini Bread Day!

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Happy Pigs in a Blanket Day!

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Happy National Pecan Day!

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