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National King Cake Day – January 6th

Photo credit: BYWATER BAKERY KING CAKE

January 6th is National King Cake Day (North America)

10 Fun Facts about King Cake: (thanks to New Orleans & Company)

The name “King Cake” comes from the biblical story of the three kings who brought gifts to baby JesusMost king cake is colored with Purple, Green and Gold frosting or sugar. These colors each represent a special meaning: purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. These three colors were chosen by the first Krewe of Rex to be the heraldry for the King of Carnival. King cakes typically have a hidden plastic baby inside. Whoever finds it must either bring the next cake or throw a party, thus sparking an unending round of food and fun (most of the babies now come OUTSIDE of the cake and are placed in the cake by the person who buys the cake)Some bakeries have signature trinkets in lieu of a plastic baby. For example, restaurant Cochon has a small plastic pig for their king cakes.The King Cake Baby has become so synonymous with New Orleans culture that the NBA team Pelicans has a King Cake Baby mascot and the former triple-a baseball team located in New Orleans was called the Baby Cakes  Though King Cake is available in some forms year-round, New Orleanians are mostly steadfast on only eating it during Carnival Season which starts on January 6th (Twelfth Night) and runs through Mardi Gras Day (aka Fat Tuesday) King cakes have continued to evolve through the years and while “traditional king cake” is somewhere between a cinnamon role and coffee cake, many bakeries are now making fruit-stuffed king cakes and even savory king cakes A king cake alternative known as a Queen’s Cake or Galette de Rois is a traditional French pastry which is baked to celebrate Epiphany (Twelfth Night) and is typically puff pastry with almond frangipani (on a personal note, I like queen cake better than king cake!)It is believed that French-Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville brought the traditions of Mardi Gras to southern Louisiana, but the king cake tradition itself is thought to have arrived around 1870 from FranceThough it is widely associated with Epiphany/Twelfth Night, which is of significance in Christianity, the King Cake is believed to have Pagan originsToday’s Food History1884 Gregor Johann Mendel died. Mendel was an Austrian botanist whose work was the foundation of the science of genetics. Working mainly with garden peas (some 28,000 plants over 7 years), he discovered what was to become known as the laws of heredity.1901 Philip Danforth Armour, died. American industrialist who pioneered the use of refrigeration and meat canning. Armour & Co. became the largest meatpacker in the world and this helped Chicago become the meatpacking capital of the world. (The fact that Chicago is the ‘Windy City’ may have helped also).1910 ‘Kid Chocolate’ (Elgio Saldana) was born. He became Cuba’s first world boxing champion in 1931 after defeating Benny Bass for the Jr. Lightweight Championship.1929 Sheffeld Farms of New York began using wax paper cartons instead of glass bottles for milk delivery.1936 Warner Bros. Loony Tunes character ‘Porky Pig’ makes his debut.1988 The famous Paris restaurant ‘La Coupole’ was sold and eventually replaced by an office building. It was famous for its Welsh rarebit, and had been frequented by James Joyce, Henry Miller and many other notable Americans.

September 30th is National Soufflé Potato Day! #SoufflePotatoDay

Credit: Denny Culbert

Five Food Finds about Soufflé Potatoes

Souffle potatoes, also known as pommes souffles or potato puffs, are a type of fried potato.The item was created by French chef Jean-Louis-Francois Collinet completely by accident, sometime in the 1830s.The potatoes are fried once to seal the outside, then fried again at a higher temperature, causing the steam inside to puff them like balloons. The hand-cut souffle potatoes are often accompanied by bearnaise sauce.Burbank Russet potatoes puff the best, due to their intrinsic moisture and high starch content.

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Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1861 William Wrigley, Jr. was born. William Wrigley Jr. started out as a traveling salesman at the age of 13, selling soap for his father’s company. He had a series of sales jobs, one which gave chewing gum as a premium. Customers liked the gum better than the product, so he was soon marketing his own gum, Juicy Fruit in 1893, and later that year Wrigley’s Spearmint. He was an advertising genius, and his company became one of the largest advertisers in the U.S., and the largest chewing gum manufacturer in the world.

1958 The Frisbee was patented. The pie tins of the Frisbee Pie Company of Connecticut were the inspiration for the creation of the Frisbee. A Wham-O employee supposedly saw drivers for the pie company showing Yale students how to throw the pie tins.

1960 The last episode of ‘The Howdy Doody Show’ airs on NBC.

1962 The United Farm Workers union is founded by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.

1982 The TV show ‘Cheers’ debuted.

2004 California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a bill that bans the production and sale of foie gras beginning in 2012.

September 25th is officially National Quesadilla Day!

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National Quesadilla Day

 

 

 

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1777 Johann Heinrich Lambert died. He proved that Apple pie was irrational.  Oops – never mind – that was ‘pi’ that he proved was an irrational number.

1843 Melville Reuben Bissell was born. Bissell invented the carpet sweeper in 1876.

1879 The Cream Separator was patented.

1974 It is first reported that freon from aerosol cans is destroying the ozone layer above the earth.

1976 The largest dolphin caught with rod and reel weighed 87 pounds. It was caught off the coast of Costa Rica.

1985 William Cumming Rose died. An American biochemist, he researched amino acids, and established the importance of the 8 essential amino acids in human nutrition.

September 25th is National Quesadilla Day*

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September 25th is National Quesadilla Day

Today’s 5 Facts about the Quesadilla:

The word, Quesadilla, in Spanish, literally means “little cheesy thing.”
It is said that one in three Americans make a quesadilla every week. * V&V Supremo®’s Chihuahua® Brand Quesadilla Cheese is the best choice for making your quesadillas authentic.
In the central and southern regions of Mexico, a quesadilla is a flat circle of cooked corn masa, called a tortilla, warmed to soften it enough to be folded in half, and then filled.
While 66% of people use two tortillas when they make quesadillas, the traditional Mexican method requires folding one tortilla in half.
In culinary terms, a quesadilla, is a tortilla that is filled with cheese, other toppings, then grilled or pan fried.

*Created in 2019 by Foodimentary & V&V Supremo®

For more information on National Quesadilla Day and to learn more about how V&V Supremo® is celebrating, visit www.nationalquesadilladay.com or follow along on social media @vvsupremo and #NationalQuesadillaDay.

Today’s Food History
 On this day in…


    1851 Jacob Fussell, a Baltimore dairyman, opens the first commercial ice-cream factory.
    1869 R.I.P. Joseph Dixon. An American inventor and manufacturer. Among his many accomplishments, he produced the first pencil made in the U.S.
    1969 ‘Ice Cube’ (O’Shea Jackson) singer and actor, was born.
    1992 At a spelling bee in a Trenton, New Jersey school, U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle, corrects a student’s spelling of ‘potato’ by telling him it should have an ‘e’ at the end.

September 1st is National Gyro Day!

 

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

A gyro is a dish of meat roasted on a vertical spit. It is usually served as a sandwich, also called a gyros, with tomato, onion, and tzatziki sauce, wrapped in pita bread.
To make gyros, pieces of meat are placed on a tall vertical spit, which turns in front of a source of heat, usually an electric broiler.
 If the meat is not fatty enough, strips of fat are added so that the roasting meat remains always moist and crisp.
The rate of roasting can be adjusted by varying the strength of the heat and the distance between the heat and the meat, allowing the cook to adjust to varying rates of consumption.
The outside of the meat is sliced vertically in thin, crisp shavings when done. It is generally served in an oiled, lightly grilled piece of pita, rolled up with various salads and sauces.

Today’s Food History

1819 J.J. Wood patented a plow with interchangeable parts.
1826 Alfred Ely Beach was born. American inventor and publisher of Scientific American magazine.
1906 Karl August Folkers was born. He was the first to isolate vitamin B12.
1914 Martha, the last surviving Passenger Pigeon died on September 1, 1914 at the Cincinnati Zoo, the species having been commercially hunted to extinction.
1940 Lillian D. Wald died. She was a scientist and nurse, and among her activities, she helped initiate the enactment of pure food laws in the U.S.
1951 The Premier, the first supermarket in Britain, opened it’s doors.

2019 March Food Holidays

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Celebrate March Food Holidays



National Fresh Celery Month

National Noodle Month
National Flour Month

National Frozen Food Month

National Nutrition Month
National Peanut Month

National Hot Cross Bun Day (Good Friday)

National Sauce Month
National Caffeine Awareness Month

Daily Holidays

 March 1 

National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day

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March 2

National Banana Cream Pie Day

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–March 3

National Cold Cuts Day

National Moscow Mule Day

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March 4

National Poundcake Day

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March 5

National Cheese Doodle Day

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March 6

National Oreo Day

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March 7

National Cereal Day

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March 8

National Peanut Cluster Day

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March 9

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NationalMeatball Day

National Crab Day

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March 10

National Ranch Dressing Day

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March 11

National “Eat Your Noodles” Day

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March 12

National Milky Way Day

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March 13

National Chicken Noodle Soup Day

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March 14

National Potato Chip Day

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March 15

National Peanut Lovers’ Day

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March 16

National Artichoke Heart Day

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March 17

National Irish Food Day

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March 18

National Sloppy Joe Day

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March 19

National Oatmeal Cookie Day

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March 20

National Ravioli Day

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March 21

National Crunchy Taco Day

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March 22

National Water Day

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March 23

National Chips and Dip Day

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March 24

National Cake Pop Day*

National Tortilla Chip Day

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March 25

National International Waffle Day

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March 26

National Nougat Day

National Spinach Day

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March 27

National World Whisky Day

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March 28

National Black Forest Cake Day

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March 29

National Chiffon Cake Day

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March 30

National Hot Chicken Day

National Turkey Neck Soup Day

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March 31

National Oysters on the Half Shell Day

National Clam Day

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March 12th is National Milky Way Day!

Interesting Food Facts about Milky Way





The Milky Way bar was created in 1923 by Frank Mars.
In the 1920’s it came in two flavors chocolate and vanilla.
It was the first mass produced chocolate bar with a filling.
 The name ‘Milky Way’ was taken from a popular malted milkshake NOT the galaxy.
Outside of North America the Milky Way is a completely different kind of candy bar.





Fun Fact:

The European version the Milky Way has no caramel topping and low density that it floats in milk.

There was vanilla flavored Milky Way called “Forever Yours” until 1979.

The first slogan of Milky Way was “The sweet you can eat between meals.”

The most recent slogan is “Life’s Better in the Milky Way.”

Today’s Food History

1841 Orlando Jones of Middlesex, England received a U.S. patent for a process to make starch from rice or corn.
1894 Coca Cola was first bottled by Joseph A. Biedenham of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Before that it was only mixed to order at the soda fountain.
1912 Juliette ‘Daisy’ Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts of the USA in Savannah, Georgia.
1929 RIP Asa Griggs Candler, In 1887, Asa Candler, a wholesale druggist, purchased the formula for Coca-Cola from John S. Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist, for $2,300. He sold the company in 1919 for $25 million.
1930 Mahatma Gandhi began his march to the coastal village of Dandi, to protest the British salt monopoly.
1993 RIP Christian Kent Nelson, He was the inventor of the Eskimo Pie in 1919 in Iowa.


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March 11th is National “Eat Your Noodles” Day

Here are today’s five thing to know about Noodles:Dry noodles are considered a form of unleavened breadIn China archaeologists discovered the world’s oldest bowl of noodles, thought to be over 4000 years old. They were made of millet flour.“Instant” noodles were invented in 1958. They are flash fried then quickly dried. This made for a long shelf life.(If they are kept dry, some say they will remain edible for decades)Over 40% of the flour in Asia is used to make noodles.  Feeding over half of the world’s population.Thomas Jefferson brought the first “macaroni” noodles to America in 1789 after returning from a trip to France.

Today’s Pinterest Board :  Foodimentary Today’s Food History1791 Samuel Mulliken of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania received a patent for a machine to thresh corn and grain.1853 Self rising flour was supposedly invented by Henry Jones of Bristol.1903 Lawrence Welk, champagne music-maker, was born.Check out my book!

 

March 10th is National Ranch Dressing Day / #RanchDressingDay

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Here are today’s five thing to know about Ranch Dressing:

In 1954 ranch dressing was invented at Hidden Valley Ranch, a dude ranch near Santa Barbara, California.


Ranch dressing has been the best-selling salad dressing in the United States since 1992, overtaking Italian dressing.
Hidden Valley brand owns the right to ‘the Original Ranch®‘ After decades of trademark lawsuits similar products can be labeled ‘ranch style’ or simply ‘ranch’
While popular in the United States and Canada, ranch dressing is virtually unknown in most of the world
 Since 1972 Hidden Valley Ranch has been owned by Clorox.

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Today’s Pinterest Board :  Foodimentary
Today’s Food History

1845 RIP John Chapman, ‘Johnny Appleseed’ ,an American pioneer and legend, he planted apple seeds in the Ohio River valley area (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois)


1867 Lillian D. Wald was born. She was a scientist and nurse, and among her activities, she helped initiate the enactment of pure food laws in the U.S.


1873 RIP John Torrey, he was the first professional botanist in the New World.


1914 At the National Gallery in London, a suffragette slashed Diego Velázquez’s ‘Rokeby Venus’ with a meat cleaver.


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March 9th is National Crab Day! 🦀

5 food facts about crab cakes

A crab cake is an American dish composed of crab meat and various other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, milk, mayonnaise, eggs, yellow onions, and seasonings.

The two most common styles of Maryland crab cakes are known as Boardwalk and Restaurant.

Boardwalk crabcakes are typically breaded and deep-fried, and are often filled with stuffing of various sorts and served on a hamburger bun.

Restaurant crab cakes, which are sometimes called gourmet crab cakes, are often prepared with no filler, and are composed of all-lump crab meat served on a platter or open-faced sandwich.

Many restaurants that offer Maryland crab cakes will offer to have the cakes fried or broiled.

On This Day in Food History…

1822 Charles Graham of New York received a patent for artificial teeth.

1839 Famous Food Fights

The Great Pastry War ended this day. A brief conflict began on November 30, 1838, between Mexico and France caused by a French pastry cook who claimed that some Mexican Army soldiers had damaged his restaurant. The Mexican government refused to pay for damages. Several other countries had asked the Mexican government for similar claims in the past due to civil unrest in Mexico, without any resolution. France decided to do something about it, and sent a fleet to Veracruz and fired on the fortress outside the harbor. They occupied the city on April 16, 1838, and through the mediation of Great Britain were promised payment of 600,000 pesos for the damages. They withdrew on March 9, 1839.

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