John-Bryan Hopkins's Blog, page 64

September 25th is National Lobster Day

Today’s Lobster facts:

In Colonial times, servants and slaves were the only people allowed to eat lobsters regularly .
Lobsters aren’t all red. They can be many different colors, including bright blue, white and brilliant gold tones.
Lobsters can be right-handed, left-handed, or ambidextrous.
Many lobster species can live to be over 100 years old.
Most lobsters travel over 100 miles a year and have migratory patterns


Today’s Food History

1752 Benjamin Franklin flew a kite.
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 SPELLING LESSONS – 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.
1999 Nicholas Vitalich is arrested for assaulting his girlfriend with a large tuna, outside a San Diego supermarket. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon.




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Filed under: Food Holidays, September Food Holidays Tagged: #FoodHolidayBook, #foodimentarybook, lobster day, national lobster day

September 24th is National Cherries Jubilee Day!

[image error] Today’s Food Fact:

Cherrie ‘Jubalee’ was credited by Chef Auguste Escoffier, who created the dish for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897

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

The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit.
The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium.
The name ‘cherry’, often as the compound term ‘cherry tree’, may also be applied to many other members of the genus Prunus, or to all embers of the genus as a collective term.
The fruits of many of these are not cherries, and have other common names, including plum, apricot, peach, and others.
The name ‘cherry’ is also frequently used in reference to cherry blossom.


Today’s Food History

1870 Georges Claude was born. A French engineer, he invented the neon light, commonly used for signs.
1936 Jim Henson, puppeteer was born. Creator of the ‘Muppets’ – including Miss Piggy and the Cookie Monster.
1944 Rosa Lee Hawkins of the vocal group ‘The Dixie Cups’ was born.
1991 Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) died. Writer and cartoonist. A few of his childrens books were ‘Green Eggs and Ham,’ ‘One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish,’ ‘Scrambled Eggs Super!’ and ‘The Butter Battle Book’

Filed under: Food Holidays, September Food Holidays, Uncategorized Tagged: food, food holidays, national cherries jubilee day, National Food Holiday, September food holidays

September 23rd is National White Chocolate Day!

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

White chocolate originates from the cocoa (cacao) plant, but it is not ‘chocolate.’
According to the FDA, to be called ‘chocolate’ a product must contain chocolate liquor, which is what gives it the biter intense chocolate flavor (and color) to dark and milk chocolates.
White chocolate contains cocoa butter, milk solids, sugar, lecithin and flavorings (usually including vanilla). Cocoa butter is the fat from cocoa beans, extracted from the cocoa beans during the process of making chocolate and cocoa powder. Cocoa butter has very little ‘chocolate’ flavor.
Cocoa butter is one of the ingredients used to make real chocolate, it is gives chocolate the ability to remain solid at room temperature, yet melt easily in the mouth.
Cocoa butter is one of the most stable fats known, containing natural antioxidants that prevent rancidity and give it a storage life of 2 to 5 years.  It is used for its smooth texture in foods (including chocolate) and in cosmetics and soaps.


 Today’s Food History

1777 John Bartram died. An American botanist, and considered the ‘father of American botany,’ he established a botanical garden in Philadelphia in 1728.
1877 Victor Shelford was born. An American zoologist and ecologist, he was one of the first to treat ecology as a separate science. He was active and influential in several ecological organizations, including the Nature Conservancy formed in 1951.
1903 Italo Marchiony applied for a patent for an ice cream cup mold. Initially, he would fold warm waffles into a cup shape. He then developed the 2-piece mold that would make 10 cups at a time. (The patent was granted on December 15).
1955 The first British commercial TV station began broadcasting. The first advertisement was for Gibbs SR toothpaste.
1967 The Queen Mary began her last Atlantic crossing.
1982 First Farm Aid Concert was held at Champaign, Illinois.
2002 William Rosenberg founder of Dunkin’ Donuts died.
2003 Actor Gordon Jump died. The ‘Matag Repairman’ in commercials, also Arthur Carlson on ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’

Filed under: Food Holidays, September Food Holidays, Uncategorized

September 22 is Happy National White Chocolate Day!

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

White chocolate originates from the cocoa (cacao) plant, but it is not ‘chocolate.’
According to the FDA, to be called ‘chocolate’ a product must contain chocolate liquor, which is what gives it the biter intense chocolate flavor (and color) to dark and milk chocolates.
White chocolate contains cocoa butter, milk solids, sugar, lecithin and flavorings (usually including vanilla). Cocoa butter is the fat from cocoa beans, extracted from the cocoa beans during the process of making chocolate and cocoa powder. Cocoa butter has very little ‘chocolate’ flavor.
Cocoa butter is one of the ingredients used to make real chocolate, it is gives chocolate the ability to remain solid at room temperature, yet melt easily in the mouth.
Cocoa butter is one of the most stable fats known, containing natural antioxidants that prevent rancidity and give it a storage life of 2 to 5 years.  It is used for its smooth texture in foods (including chocolate) and in cosmetics and soaps.


Today’s Food History

1777 John Bartram died. An American botanist, and considered the ‘father of American botany,’ he established a botanical garden in Philadelphia in 1728.
1877 Victor Shelford was born. An American zoologist and ecologist, he was one of the first to treat ecology as a separate science. He was active and influential in several ecological organizations, including the Nature Conservancy formed in 1951.
1903 Italo Marchiony applied for a patent for an ice cream cup mold. Initially, he would fold warm waffles into a cup shape. He then developed the 2-piece mold that would make 10 cups at a time. (The patent was granted on December 15).
1955 The first British commercial TV station began broadcasting. The first advertisement was for Gibbs SR toothpaste.
1967 The Queen Mary began her last Atlantic crossing.
1982 First Farm Aid Concert was held at Champaign, Illinois.
2002 William Rosenberg founder of Dunkin’ Donuts died.
2003 Actor Gordon Jump died. The ‘Matag Repairman’ in commercials, also Arthur Carlson on ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’

Filed under: Food Holidays, September Food Holidays, Uncategorized

September 22nd is National Ice Cream Cone Day!

Here are today’s five thing to know about Ice Cream Cones:

Edible cones have been mentioned in French cooking books as early as 1825, Julien Archambault describes a cone where one can roll “little waffles”.
According to one legend, a Syrian pastry maker, Ernest Hamwian, who was selling zalabia, a crisp pastry cooked in a hot waffle-patterned press came to the aid of a neighboring ice cream vendor (perhaps Arnold Fornachou or Charles Menches) who had run out of dishes; Hamwi rolled a warm zalabia into a cone that could hold ice cream.
The first cones were rolled by hand but, in 1912, Frederick Bruckman, an inventor from Portland, Oregon, patented a machine for rolling ice-cream cones. He sold his company to Nabisco in 1928. Nabisco is still producing ice-cream cones, as it has been since 1928. Independent ice-cream providers such as Ben & Jerry’s make their own ice-cream cones.
Some brands produce something very similar to the traditional ice-cream cone, but with a flat bottom, which enables it to stand upright without danger of falling. These types of wafer cups are called “kiddie cups”, “cake cones”, or “cool cups”.
A variety of cone exists that allows two scoops of ice cream to be served side by side, instead of the usual straight up order. The side-by-side variety has been the standard “double-header” in Australia for many decades, the ‘two-up’ variety is a relatively recent innovation in Gelato shops mostly.

Today’s Food History

1754 Joseph-Louis Proust born. Proust was a French chemist. In 1799 he extracted sugar from grapes, and proved it identical to sugar extracted from honey.

1774 John Chapman, Johnny Appleseed was born. American pioneer and legend, he planted apple seeds in the Ohio River valley area (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois).

1820 Daniel Boone died. American pioneer and frontiersman.

1843 Ivan Pavlov was born. He was the first to notice that dogs began to salivate when they could see, smell or taste food.

1902 Levi Strauss died. Inventor and manufacturer of jeans.  He originally planned to make canvas tents for miners in the California gold rush, but soon found that durable pants sold better.

1904 Lafcadio Hearn died. (Patricio Lafcadio Tessima Hearn). A writer, translator and teacher, her wrote ‘La Cuisine Creole,’ the first Creole cookbook.

1914 The U.S. Federal Trade Commission was established.

1953 Sugar rationing ended in Great Britain.

Filed under: Food Holidays, September Food Holidays

September 21st is National Pecan Cookie Day!

Here are today’s five thing to know about Pecan Cookie:

If the body does not get enough zinc, it may have difficulty producing testosterone – a key hormone in initiating sexual desire in both men and women.  Pecans provide nearly 10 percent of the recommended Daily Value for zinc.
It would take 11,624 pecans, stacked end to end, to reach the top of the Empire State Building in New York City.
Texas adopted the pecan tree as its state tree in 1919.  In fact, Texas Governor James Hogg liked pecan trees so much that he asked if a pecan tree could be planted at his gravesite when he died.
Albany, Georgia, which boasts more than 600,000 pecan trees, is the pecan capital of the U.S.  Albany hosts the annual National Pecan Festival, which includes a race, parade, pecan-cooking contest, the crowning of the National Pecan Queen and many other activities.
Pecan trees usually range in height from 70 to 100 feet, but some trees grow as tall as 150 feet or higher.  Native pecan trees – those over 150 years old – have trunks more than three feet in diameter.

Today’s Food History

1756 John Loudon McAdam was born. He invented macadam pavement for roads. The Macadamia Nut was named for him.
1760 Olof Swartz was born. A Swedish botanist who collected plants in Jamaica and Hispaniola, and published several books on the plants of the Caribbean.
1937 J.R.R. Tolkein’s ‘The Hobbit’ was published. Hobbits were well known as both gourmets and gourmands.
1961 Earle Dickson died. He invented Band-Aids for his wife, who had frequent kitchen accidents, cutting or burning herself. He worked for Johnson & Johnson, who soon began manufacturing Band-Aids.
1971 Coca Cola introduced the plastic bottle.

Filed under: Food Holidays, September Food Holidays Tagged: empire state building, facts, five food finds, food, foodimentary, fun, governor james hogg, j r r tolkein, john loudon mcadam, life, national pecan cookie day, olof swartz, swedish botanist, today's food history, todays food history

September 20th is National Rum Punch Day!

[image error] Here are today’s five thing to know about Rum:

Rum was manufactured, distilled, and made long before any other spirit. It’s history is a vast one filled with stories, and fables. It was the first branded spirit made.
Rations of rum were given to sailors in the British Army to be mixed with lime juice because it fought off the scurvy.
When wealthy titles were given to parsons, they were thanked with a glass of rum.
In Australia, the rum hospital can recognize rum as it as its chief contributor of revenues that were generated via the rum exports they were known for.
Triangular trade was introduced as slaves were traded for rum, sugars, and other items that were all carrying missionaries- this was known as ‘rum and bible.’

Today’s Food History

1842 Sir James Dewar was born. He invented the ‘Dewar Flask,’ the original ‘thermos bottle’.
1859 George B. Simpson patented the electric range.
1878 Upton Sinclair was born. His novel, ‘The Jungle,’ was a detailed horror story about the conditions in the meat packing industry of the time. It led to extensive reforms.
1890 Blues musician ‘Jelly Roll’ Morton was born.
1969 ‘Sugar, Sugar’ by the Archies hits Number 1 on the charts.

Filed under: September Food Holidays, Uncategorized Tagged: food, foodimentary, history, national rum punch day, september holidays

September 19th is National Butterscotch Pudding Day

[image error]Here are today’s five thing to know about Butterscotch Pudding:

Food historians have several theories regarding the name and origin of this confectionery, but none are conclusive. One explanation is the meaning “to cut or score” for the word “scotch”, as the confection must be cut into pieces, or “scotched”, before hardening. It is also possible that the “scotch” part of its name was derived from the word “scorch”.
In 1855 F. K. Robinson’s Glossary of Yorkshire Words, explained Butterscot as “a treacle ball with an amalgamation of butter in it”.
“Doncaster Butterscotch” was known at least as early as 1848 and sold commercially by rival confectioners S. Parkinson & Sons (still trading as Parkinson’s), Henry Hall, and Booth’s, all of Doncaster, via agents in Yorkshire. Internationally, Parkinson’s was recognised as the inventor but others tried to claim the product for themselves, Parkinson’s started to use and advertise the Doncaster Church as their trademark.
It was advertised as “Royal Doncaster Butterscotch”, or “The Queen’s Sweetmeat”, and said to be “the best emollient for the chest in the winter season”. Parkinson’s Butterscotch was by appointment to the Royal household and was presented to the Queen in 1948 and to Princess Anne, The Princess Royal in 2007. Doncaster Butterscotch is still sold today by Parkinson’s.
The term butterscotch is also often used for the flavour of brown sugar and butter together even where actual confection butterscotch is not involved, e.g. butterscotch pudding.

Today’s Food History

1783 The Montgolfier brothers successfully sent up some live animals in a hot air balloon, including a sheep and a rooster.
1839 George Cadbury was born. He took over his father’s chocolate business and built it into a major chocolate manufacturer.
1851 William Hesketh Lever, first Viscount Leverhulme, was born. British entrepreneur who founded Lever Brothers, the soap and detergent manufacturer.
1876 Melville Bissell patented the carpet sweeper.
1911 English author William Golding was born. His first novel was ‘Lord of the Flies’ (1954).
1941 Mama Cass Elliot, singer (The Mamas and the Papas) was born. The rumor that she choked to death on a ham sandwich in 1974 is not true. She actually died of a heart attack.
1949 Lesley Hornsby, aka ‘Twiggy’ was born. Not exactly a poster girl for French Haute Cuisine!
1960 ‘The Twist’ by Chubby Checker reached Number 1 on the charts. Great music to exercise to.
1975 The first episode of ‘Fawlty Towers’ premiered.
1995 Orville Redenbacher of popcorn fame died.

 

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September 18th is National Cheeseburger Day!

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

The oldest fast food restaurant in the world is the White Castle franchise, which opened in 1921.
The people of America eat more burgers out at restaurants or on the go than they do at home.
The largest hamburger ever created was over 8,000 pounds and was cooked for a burger festival in Wisconsin.
However, the hamburger in its current form, with ground beef and a bun, is a decidedly American creation.
Hamburgers are made of beef, not ham, and there is much debate over whether they actually originated in Hamburg.

Today’s Food History

1709 Samuel Johnson, dictionary author, was born. I have read somewhere that he served his cat fresh shucked oysters.
1851 The first edition of the New York Times was published.
1883 Elmer Maytag was born. Founder of the Maytag Co., washing machine manufacturer. One of his descendants was Fred Maytag II, whose Maytag Dairy Farms manufactures Maytag Blue Cheese.
1990 A 500 pound, 6 foot high Hershey Chocolate Kiss was put on display at Times Square in New York City.

Filed under: Food Holidays, September Food Holidays Tagged: blue cheese, chocolate kiss, facts, fast food restaurant, five food finds, food, foodimentary, fun, hershey chocolate, life, national cheeseburger day, samuel johnson dictionary, shucked oysters, today's food history, todays food history

September Food Holidays

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National Chicken Month

National Honey Month

National Mushroom Month

National Papaya Month

National Potato Month

National Rice Month


Daily Holidays

September 1

National Gyro Day

September 2

National “Grits for Breakfast” Day
International Bacon Day
 
September 3

National Welsh Rarebit Day
National Baby Back Ribs Day
 
September 4

National Macadamia Nut Day

September 5

National Cheese Pizza Day

September 6

National Coffee Ice Cream Day

September 7

National Beer Lover’s Day

September 8

National Date-Nut Bread Day

September 9

National “I Love Food” Day

September 10

National Hot Dog Day

September 11

National Hot Cross Bun Day

September 12

National Chocolate Milkshake Day

September 13

National Peanut Day

September 14

National Cream-Filled Doughnut Day

September 15
National Double Cheeseburger Day

National Creme de Menthe Day

National Linguini Day

September 16

National Cinnamon-Raisin Bread Day

September 17

National Apple Dumpling Day
National Monte Cristo Day

September 18

National Play-Dough Day

National Cheeseburger Day

September 19

National Butterscotch Pudding Day

September 20

National Punch Day / Rum Punch Day

September 21

National Pecan Cookie Day

September 22

National Ice Cream Cone Day

September 23

National White Chocolate Day

September 24

National Cherries Jubilee Day

September 25
National Lobster Day

National Food Service Workers Day

September 26

National Key Lime Pie Day

September 27

National Chocolate Milk Day

September 28

National Strawberry Cream Pie Day
National Drink a Beer Day

September 29
National Coffee Day

National Mocha Day

September 30

National Mulled Cider Day

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Continue to October Food Holidays

 

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