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Five Food Facts about Gumbo:

  1. Gumbo is the official cuisine of the state of Louisiana.
  2. There are several different varieties of gumbo based on the type of thickener used to create the dish.
  3. Creole gumbo contains shellfish and tomatoes whereas Cajun gumbo is generally spicier with shellfish or chicken.
  4. Gumbo may have flavors rooted in Native American, African, Caribbean, Spanish, and French cuisines.
  5. No one is certain behind the dish’s origin; the oldest mention is by French explorer C.C. Robin on the Acadian coast in 1803.

Other events:

–Florida: Farmer’s Day
–St. Edwin, patron of tramps and parents of large families.

Today’s Food History

  • 1492 Christopher Columbus arrived at the Bahamas
  • 1810 The first Oktoberfest is celebrated in Munich. Oktoberfest originated as a horse race to celebrate the marriage of the crown prince of Bavaria (later King Louis I) to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. Today it is a 2 week festival ending on the 1st Sunday in October, during which more than 1 million gallons of beer are consumed at the Munich festival.
  • 1849 In Great Britian, Charles Rowley patented a safety pin. (However, safety pins existed prior to his patent)
  • 1914 Margaret E. Knight died. American inventor, she invented an improved paper bag machine to make bags with flat bottoms.
  • 1923 Jean Nidetch was born. founder of ‘Weight Watchers’, offering dieting products and services. It began as a discussion group for weight loss.
  • 1950 Takeshi Kaga was born. A Japanese actor, he is best known as the host of the very successful TV show,‘Iron Chef.’ It has been shown around the world dubbed or subtitled. There is an American version of the show on the Food Network, hosted by Kaga’s nephew, Mark Dacascos.
  • 1963 ‘Sugar Shack’ by Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs, hits number 1 on the charts.
  • 1965 Paul Hermann Muller died. A Swiss chemist who discovered that DDT was a potent insecticide. It was the most widely used insecticide for more than 20 years, and helped to increase food production around the world. Due mainly to its accumulation in animals that eat insects, and its toxic effects on them and those further up the food chain, it has been banned in the U.S. since 1972. However its residue is still found in some foods grown in the U.S. in 2002!
  • 1983 The last wringer washer machine was made by Maytag.

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