National Potato Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

National Potato Day

Wild Foods Day

American Beer Day

Five Food Finds about Potatoes

Despite being delicious fried, baked, or boiled, the root vegetable rarely gets the praise it deserves. The environmentally friendly food crop has played a huge role in our development, but rarely do we give our starchy friend a second thought.

They’re cheap and ridiculously easy to grow, and don’t require massive amounts of fertilizer and chemical additives to thrive (although some growers still use them anyway). They’re also super cheap and good for you, providing you’re not eating them in fried form all the time.

In 1995, potato plants were taken into space with the space shuttle Columbia. This marked the first time any food was ever grown in space.

The world’s largest potato weighed in at 18 pounds, 4 ounces according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

While potatoes may be synonymous with the Irish these days, they were grown in the Andes mountains centuries before Europeans ever set foot in the new world.

Today’s Food History

1728 Captain James Cook was born. British explorer who charted and named many Pacific Islands, including the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii).

1806 Alphonse Pyrame de Candolle was born. A Swiss botanist, author of ‘Origin of Cultivated Plants.’

1872 Emily Post was born. (or on October 3, 1873). Etiquette expert, newspaper columnist, author of ‘Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home’ (1922); ‘The Emily Post Cook Book’ (1949); ‘Motor Manners’ (1950).

1873 Joseph F. Glidden applied for a patent for barbed wire.

1904 The first subway (underground) rail system in New York City began operating. The Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) line was 21 miles long.

1930 ‘Gorgonzola’ was recorded by Jack Hylton & His Orchestra with Leslie Sarony

1975 Rex Stout, American crime writer died. More than 70 of his novels and stories feature the fictional gourmand/gourmet detective, Nero Wolfe. Archie Goodwin, the detective’s assistant, described him as weighing “one seventh of a ton” (about 286 pounds). Shad Roe and Duck were two of Wolfe’s favorites, and he also consumed copious amounts of beer. Stout also published ‘The Nero Wolfe Cookbook’ in 1973.

Categories: Food Holidays, October Food Holidays

Tagged: Alphonse Pyrame de Candolle, Emily Post, environmentally friendly food, facts, five food finds, food, foodimentary, fun, guinness book of world records, Interborough Rapid Transit, life, national potato day, space shuttle Columbia, today's food history, todays food history

National Taco Day

John-Bryan Hopkins

Five Star Recipe

National Taco Day

Five Food Finds about Tacos

A taco is a traditional Mexican dish composed of a corn or wheat tortilla folded or rolled around a filling.

A taco can be made with a variety of fillings, including beef, chicken, seafood, vegetables and cheese, allowing for great versatility and variety.

A taco is generally eaten without utensils and is often accompanied by garnishes such as salsa, avocado or guacamole, cilantro, tomatoes, minced meat, onions and lettuce.

According to the Real Academia Española, publisher of Diccionario de la Lengua Española, the word taco describes a typical Mexican dish of a maize tortilla folded around food (“Tortilla de maíz enrollada con algún alimento dentro, típica de México”).

The original sense of the word is of a “plug” or “wad” used to fill a hole (“Pedazo de madera, metal u otra materia, corto y grueso, que se encaja en algún hueco”).

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1863 Abraham Lincoln declared that Thanksgiving Day would be an annual event celebrated on the last Thursday in November.
1872 Emily Post was born. (or on October 27, 1872). Etiquette expert, newspaper columnist, author of ‘Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home’ (1922); ‘The Emily Post Cook Book’ (1949); ‘Motor Manners’ (1950).
1883 The ‘Orient Express’ made its first run from Paris to Constantinople.
1899 The first motorized vacuum cleaner was patented by John S. Thurman.
1941 The first aerosol can was patented.
1964 Buffalo Wings were created. Created by Teressa Bellissimo at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, for her son and some friends for a midnight snack.