today in food history

[HUCK]

WEDNESDAY - MAY 15, 2013

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, E, or U is the proper time for chocolate.”
Sandra Boynton, ‘Chocolate: The Consuming Passion’



TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

- National Chocolate Chip Day
- St. Isidore the Farmer, patron of agricultural workers, livestock, and ranchers.
- American Craft Beer Week (May 13-19, 2013)
- Food Allergy Awareness Week (May 12-18, 2013)
- National Women’s Health Week (May 12-18, 2013)
- UK: British Sandwich Week (May 12-18, 2013)
- UK: National Doughnut Week (May 11-18, 2013)

On this day in:

1923 Listerine was registered as a trademark.

1930 Ellen Church, a registered nurse, became the world’s first airline stewardess. The 11 passengers were flying on a United Airlines tri-motor Boeing 80A from San Francisco to Cheyenne, Wyoming. The meal was chicken, fruit salad and rolls.

1940 Nylon stockings went on sale for the first time in the U.S. in Wilmington, Delaware.

1989 Hershey's reduces the size of the Hershey bar to 1.55 ounces. The price remains 40 cents.

1991 The famous Paris cooking school, L'Ecole de Cordon Bleu, opens a branch in Tokyo, Japan.

2007 Karen Hess, culinary historian, died. Some of her books were 'The Taste of America' (1977) and 'Carolina Rice Kitchen: The African Connection' (1992). She also annotated Mary Randolph's 'Virginia Housewife' (1983).



DID YOU KNOW?

Approximately 25% of all cookies baked in the United States are chocolate chip cookies

The official state cookie of Massachusetts is the chocolate chip cookie (designated in 1997). They were invented in 1930 at the Toll House Restaurant .

In 2001, an effort to declare the Chocolate Chip Cookie the official cookie of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was defeated.



THIS WEEK’S FEATURED FOOD FESTIVALS:

May 16-18, 2013 World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest - Memphis, Tennessee
May 17-18, 2013 Mike The Headless Chicken Festival - Fruita, Colorado
May 18, 2013 24th NJ Chili & Salsa Cook Off - Toms River, New Jersey
May 18-19, 2013 54th Artichoke Festival - Castroville, California
May 18-19, 2013 Funtier Days & Texas Bison CookOff - Santa Anna, Texas
• See the Food Festivals section for over 7,000 Food Festivals & Shows!



FEATURED ARTICLE:

United States & World Porridge Making Championships
Fresh off winning its second title in four years at the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship in Scotland, Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods is once again looking to crown a United States Porridge Making Champion to represent the company at the international competition in Scotland this October.



FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ (new on May 13, 2013)

1) This English dish was originally from India. It will contain rice, lentil, and hard cooked eggs, with a rich cream sauce (béchamel), sometimes with curry. The English version usually contains smoked fish, or cooked fish.
Name this dish.

2) How many flower visits do honey bees have to make to produce 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of honey?
a) 4,000 b) 40,000 c) 400,000 d) 4 million e) 40 million

3) Walter A. Anderson and E.W. Ingram founded a food business in 1921. In 1954 James McLamore and David Edgerton founded a similar business.
What are the names of the businesses these men started?

4) Dr. Jonas Salk used a food service machine in his laboratory while he was working on the Salk Polio vaccine.
Can you name the specific machine he used?

5) This fruit is a cross between a grapefruit and a mandarin orange, and is probably a natural hybrid originating in Jamaica. The fruit has a descriptive name and is about the size of a small grapefruit, but sweeter.
Name this fruit.

6) This food was created by Ruth Graves Wakefield in the 1930s, near Whitman, Massachusetts. Ruth and her husband owned a small Inn and she came up with the recipe by accident when she had to substitute ingredients in a recipe.
Name this food.

7) This small Mediterranean evergreen tree with small blackish berries and glossy aromatic leaves is used for flavoring in cooking; also used by ancient Greeks to crown victors.
Name this herb.

8) Small grains of semolina cooked by steaming or boiling and served like rice.

9) Any of various herbs in the parsley family, with small white or greenish flowers in compound umbels, whose roots and fruits are used in flavoring liqueurs and whose stems are candied and eaten.

10) What city of northwest Italy, southeast of Turin is noted for its sparkling wines?

Click here for the answers to this Culinary Quiz





Dedication
This website is dedicated to:
Gladys Ehler, my mother, who taught me patience and how to make Sauerbraten
(it is still my favorite)
Edward Ehler, my father, who taught me a love of books and history.
Cpl. Thomas E. Saba, my nephew. Died in action on Feb. 7, 2007 in Iraq.
He was 30 yrs. young.

Chef James

[HUCK]

THURSDAY - MAY 16, 2013

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“Scallops are expensive, so they should be treated with some class. But then, I suppose that every creature that gives his life for our table should be treated with class.”
Jeff Smith (The Frugal Gourmet)



TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

- National Coquilles St. Jacques Day
- St. Honoratus' Day. Patron saint of bakers, pastry chefs, confectioners, flour merchants.

- International Pickle Week (May 16-27, 2013)
- American Craft Beer Week (May 13-19, 2013)
- Food Allergy Awareness Week (May 12-18, 2013)
- National Women’s Health Week (May 12-18, 2013)
- UK: British Sandwich Week (May 12-18, 2013)
- UK: National Doughnut Week (May 11-18, 2013)

On this day in:

1832 Philip Danforth Armour was born. An American industrialist, he was a pioneer in use of refrigeration and meat canning. Armour & Co. helped make Chicago the meatpacking capital of the world.

1861 John Stevens Henslow died. This British clergyman and botanist was a mentor of Charles Darwin. To get farmers to apply scientific methods, he gave lectures on the fermentation of manure. He also showed Irish farmers how to get starch from rotten potatoes during the potato famine of 1845-1846.

1866 Charles Elmer Hires invents root beer.

1947 Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins died. He discovered what we now call 'vitamins,' essential nutrients needed to maintain health.

2005 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Michigan and New York could not prohibit people from buying wine online from out of state wineries. Some 23 other states have similar laws that presumably would also be affected by the ruling.



DID YOU KNOW?

The process of making granulated sugar was invented by Jean Etienne Bore. He was born in America, educated in France, served as a member of the household guard of King Louis XV, grew indigo in Louisiana, and when the crop failed in 1794-95 he planted sugar cane and developed the process for making granulated sugar from sugar cane.



THIS WEEK’S FEATURED FOOD FESTIVALS:

May 16-18, 2013 World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest - Memphis, Tennessee
May 17-18, 2013 Mike The Headless Chicken Festival - Fruita, Colorado
May 18, 2013 24th NJ Chili & Salsa Cook Off - Toms River, New Jersey
May 18-19, 2013 54th Artichoke Festival - Castroville, California
May 18-19, 2013 Funtier Days & Texas Bison CookOff - Santa Anna, Texas
• See the Food Festivals section for over 7,000 Food Festivals & Shows!



FEATURED ARTICLE:

United States & World Porridge Making Championships
Fresh off winning its second title in four years at the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship in Scotland, Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods is once again looking to crown a United States Porridge Making Champion to represent the company at the international competition in Scotland this October.



FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ (new on May 13, 2013)

1) This English dish was originally from India. It will contain rice, lentil, and hard cooked eggs, with a rich cream sauce (béchamel), sometimes with curry. The English version usually contains smoked fish, or cooked fish.
Name this dish.

2) How many flower visits do honey bees have to make to produce 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of honey?
a) 4,000 b) 40,000 c) 400,000 d) 4 million e) 40 million

3) Walter A. Anderson and E.W. Ingram founded a food business in 1921. In 1954 James McLamore and David Edgerton founded a similar business.
What are the names of the businesses these men started?

4) Dr. Jonas Salk used a food service machine in his laboratory while he was working on the Salk Polio vaccine.
Can you name the specific machine he used?

5) This fruit is a cross between a grapefruit and a mandarin orange, and is probably a natural hybrid originating in Jamaica. The fruit has a descriptive name and is about the size of a small grapefruit, but sweeter.
Name this fruit.

6) This food was created by Ruth Graves Wakefield in the 1930s, near Whitman, Massachusetts. Ruth and her husband owned a small Inn and she came up with the recipe by accident when she had to substitute ingredients in a recipe.
Name this food.

7) This small Mediterranean evergreen tree with small blackish berries and glossy aromatic leaves is used for flavoring in cooking; also used by ancient Greeks to crown victors.
Name this herb.

8) Small grains of semolina cooked by steaming or boiling and served like rice.

9) Any of various herbs in the parsley family, with small white or greenish flowers in compound umbels, whose roots and fruits are used in flavoring liqueurs and whose stems are candied and eaten.

10) What city of northwest Italy, southeast of Turin is noted for its sparkling wines?

Click here for the answers to this Culinary Quiz





Dedication
This website is dedicated to:
Gladys Ehler, my mother, who taught me patience and how to make Sauerbraten
(it is still my favorite)
Edward Ehler, my father, who taught me a love of books and history.
Cpl. Thomas E. Saba, my nephew. Died in action on Feb. 7, 2007 in Iraq.
He was 30 yrs. young.

Chef James

[HUCK]

FRIDAY - MAY 17, 2013

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“If you don't want pickled eel, who cares if the store doesn't have any?”
Lorena McCourtney, 'Invisible'



TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

- National Cherry Cobbler Day
- Feast of St. Pascal Baylon, patron of cooks.

- International Pickle Week (May 16-27, 2013)
- American Craft Beer Week (May 13-19, 2013)
- Food Allergy Awareness Week (May 12-18, 2013)
- National Women’s Health Week (May 12-18, 2013)
- UK: British Sandwich Week (May 12-18, 2013)
- UK: National Doughnut Week (May 11-18, 2013)

On this day in:

1733 England passes the Molasses Act, putting high tariffs on rum and molasses imported to the colonies from anyplace other than Britain and its possessions.

1803 John Hawkins & Richard French patent a Reaping Machine.

1838 Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord died. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord, known simply as Talleyrand, French statesman, diplomat and grand gourmet, called the 'first fork of France.' He served at the top levels of French governments for almost 50 years. During this time his chefs included Bouchee, Careme, and Avice. Many culinary preparations have been created or named for him.

1886 John Deere died. Inventor and manufacturer, he developed the first steel plow in the 1830s, and founded John Deere & Company in 1868.

1967 Tennessee repealed its 1925 law making it illegal to teach evolution in public schools.

1985 The largest salmon to date, a Chinook salmon, caught with rod and reel weighed over 97 pounds and was caught in Alaska.

1986 ‘Chicken Song’ by Spitting Image hit #1 in UK.

1992 Lawrence Welk, champagne music-maker, died.



DID YOU KNOW?

The earliest known mention of cherries is in Theophrastus (372-272 B.C.) 'History of Plants', in which he indicated that cherries had been cultivated for hundreds of years in Greece.

There are about 7,000 cherries on an average tart cherry tree (the number varies depending on the age of the tree, weather and growing conditions), and it takes about 250 cherries to make a cherry pie, so each tree potentially could produce enough cherries for 28 pies.



THIS WEEK’S FEATURED FOOD FESTIVALS:

May 16-18, 2013 World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest - Memphis, Tennessee
May 17-18, 2013 Mike The Headless Chicken Festival - Fruita, Colorado
May 18, 2013 24th NJ Chili & Salsa Cook Off - Toms River, New Jersey
May 18-19, 2013 54th Artichoke Festival - Castroville, California
May 18-19, 2013 Funtier Days & Texas Bison CookOff - Santa Anna, Texas
• See the Food Festivals section for over 7,000 Food Festivals & Shows!



FEATURED ARTICLES:

Tips for First Time Gardeners
Whether you start with a few containers on your patio, create a raised bed in a side yard or go big and plant a grand victory garden, gardening can be easy if you start with these six simple steps.

United States & World Porridge Making Championships
Fresh off winning its second title in four years at the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship in Scotland, Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods is once again looking to crown a United States Porridge Making Champion to represent the company at the international competition in Scotland this October.



FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ (new on May 13, 2013)

1) This English dish was originally from India. It will contain rice, lentil, and hard cooked eggs, with a rich cream sauce (béchamel), sometimes with curry. The English version usually contains smoked fish, or cooked fish.
Name this dish.

2) How many flower visits do honey bees have to make to produce 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of honey?
a) 4,000 b) 40,000 c) 400,000 d) 4 million e) 40 million

3) Walter A. Anderson and E.W. Ingram founded a food business in 1921. In 1954 James McLamore and David Edgerton founded a similar business.
What are the names of the businesses these men started?

4) Dr. Jonas Salk used a food service machine in his laboratory while he was working on the Salk Polio vaccine.
Can you name the specific machine he used?

5) This fruit is a cross between a grapefruit and a mandarin orange, and is probably a natural hybrid originating in Jamaica. The fruit has a descriptive name and is about the size of a small grapefruit, but sweeter.
Name this fruit.

6) This food was created by Ruth Graves Wakefield in the 1930s, near Whitman, Massachusetts. Ruth and her husband owned a small Inn and she came up with the recipe by accident when she had to substitute ingredients in a recipe.
Name this food.

7) This small Mediterranean evergreen tree with small blackish berries and glossy aromatic leaves is used for flavoring in cooking; also used by ancient Greeks to crown victors.
Name this herb.

8) Small grains of semolina cooked by steaming or boiling and served like rice.

9) Any of various herbs in the parsley family, with small white or greenish flowers in compound umbels, whose roots and fruits are used in flavoring liqueurs and whose stems are candied and eaten.

10) What city of northwest Italy, southeast of Turin is noted for its sparkling wines?

Click here for the answers to this Culinary Quiz





Dedication
This website is dedicated to:
Gladys Ehler, my mother, who taught me patience and how to make Sauerbraten
(it is still my favorite)
Edward Ehler, my father, who taught me a love of books and history.
Cpl. Thomas E. Saba, my nephew. Died in action on Feb. 7, 2007 in Iraq.
He was 30 yrs. young.

Chef James

[HUCK]

SATURDAY - MAY 18, 2013

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.”
Steven Wright, Comedian, actor, writer.



TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

- National Cheese Soufflé Day
- Rooster Day
- St. Theodotus' Day, patron of innkeepers.

- International Pickle Week (May 16-27, 2013)
- American Craft Beer Week (May 13-19, 2013)
- Food Allergy Awareness Week (May 12-18, 2013)
- National Women’s Health Week (May 12-18, 2013)
- UK: British Sandwich Week (May 12-18, 2013)
- UK: National Doughnut Week (May 11-18, 2013)

On this day in:

1808 Elijah Craig died. A Baptist minister in Kentucky, he is an important figure in the invention of Bourbon Whiskey. He ran a paper mill and started a distillery in 1789. Legend credits him with being the first to use new charred oak barrels to age corn whiskey, which is a key step in making bourbon.

1935 Allan Burns was born. Screenwriter and producer, co-creator of ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ and ‘Rhoda’. He also created the character Captain Horatio Magellan Crunch for Quaker Oats 'Cap'n Crunch' breakfast cereal.

1955 Chow Yun-Fat was born. Internationally famous Hong Kong actor.

1995 Elisha Cook Jr. died. A well known character actor in films and TV. I remember him mainly in his role as Wilmer, in the 'Maltese Falcon'.

2001 Hong Kong ordered more than 1 million chickens and other poultry killed to halt the spread of another bird flu epidemic.

2005 Reminiscent of Hitchcocks movie 'The Birds,' large black grackles attacked pedestrians in downtown Houston, Texas after a young bird had fallen from its nest.



DID YOU KNOW?

Supposedly, the first recipe for soufflé appeared in Vincent La Chapelle's ‘Le Cuisinier Moderne’ (1742). The word “soufflé” first appeared in English in Louis Ude's ‘The French Cook’ (1813), and by 1845 was so commonly accepted that in Eliza Acton's ‘Modern Cookery’ (1845) a recipe for soufflé was included as just another recipe.



THIS WEEK’S FEATURED FOOD FESTIVALS:

May 16-18, 2013 World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest - Memphis, Tennessee
May 17-18, 2013 Mike The Headless Chicken Festival - Fruita, Colorado
May 18, 2013 24th NJ Chili & Salsa Cook Off - Toms River, New Jersey
May 18-19, 2013 54th Artichoke Festival - Castroville, California
May 18-19, 2013 Funtier Days & Texas Bison CookOff - Santa Anna, Texas
• See the Food Festivals section for over 7,000 Food Festivals & Shows!



FEATURED ARTICLES:

Tips for First Time Gardeners
Whether you start with a few containers on your patio, create a raised bed in a side yard or go big and plant a grand victory garden, gardening can be easy if you start with these six simple steps.

United States & World Porridge Making Championships
Fresh off winning its second title in four years at the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship in Scotland, Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods is once again looking to crown a United States Porridge Making Champion to represent the company at the international competition in Scotland this October.



FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ (new on May 13, 2013)

1) This English dish was originally from India. It will contain rice, lentil, and hard cooked eggs, with a rich cream sauce (béchamel), sometimes with curry. The English version usually contains smoked fish, or cooked fish.
Name this dish.

2) How many flower visits do honey bees have to make to produce 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of honey?
a) 4,000 b) 40,000 c) 400,000 d) 4 million e) 40 million

3) Walter A. Anderson and E.W. Ingram founded a food business in 1921. In 1954 James McLamore and David Edgerton founded a similar business.
What are the names of the businesses these men started?

4) Dr. Jonas Salk used a food service machine in his laboratory while he was working on the Salk Polio vaccine.
Can you name the specific machine he used?

5) This fruit is a cross between a grapefruit and a mandarin orange, and is probably a natural hybrid originating in Jamaica. The fruit has a descriptive name and is about the size of a small grapefruit, but sweeter.
Name this fruit.

6) This food was created by Ruth Graves Wakefield in the 1930s, near Whitman, Massachusetts. Ruth and her husband owned a small Inn and she came up with the recipe by accident when she had to substitute ingredients in a recipe.
Name this food.

7) This small Mediterranean evergreen tree with small blackish berries and glossy aromatic leaves is used for flavoring in cooking; also used by ancient Greeks to crown victors.
Name this herb.

8) Small grains of semolina cooked by steaming or boiling and served like rice.

9) Any of various herbs in the parsley family, with small white or greenish flowers in compound umbels, whose roots and fruits are used in flavoring liqueurs and whose stems are candied and eaten.

10) What city of northwest Italy, southeast of Turin is noted for its sparkling wines?

Click here for the answers to this Culinary Quiz





Dedication
This website is dedicated to:
Gladys Ehler, my mother, who taught me patience and how to make Sauerbraten
(it is still my favorite)
Edward Ehler, my father, who taught me a love of books and history.
Cpl. Thomas E. Saba, my nephew. Died in action on Feb. 7, 2007 in Iraq.
He was 30 yrs. young.

Chef James

[HUCK]

SUNDAY - MAY 19, 2013

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“I abhor averages. I like the individual case. A man may have six meals one day and none the next, making an average of three meals per day, but that is not a good way to live.”
Louis D. Brandeis, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1856-1941)



TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

- National Devil's Food Cake Day

- International Pickle Week (May 16-27, 2013)
- American Craft Beer Week (May 13-19, 2013)

On this day in:

1834 Catharine Furbish was born. An American botanist, she spent almost 40 years traveling and painting watercolors of the flora of the state of Maine.

1864 Carl Akeley was born (died Nov 18, 1926). A biologist, taxidermist, nature photographer and conservationist.

1910 The Earth passed through the tail of Halley's Comet and nothing happened. There had been dire predictions that everyone would die, and many hucksters sold 'comet pills' to counter the effects of the 'comet gas.'

1962 Marilyn Monroe sings 'Happy Birthday' at a birthday salute to President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden.

2006 Nicole Belinda Franzen Reese was chosen as the 59th 'Alice in Dairyland' by the Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. She will be the spokesperson for the states agriculture industry.



DID YOU KNOW?

Early Spanish explorers found Red Pepper pods in the Caribbean while looking for true pepper berries. In innocent confusion or perhaps to save face, the Spaniards named their discovery 'pepper.' There is no relationship between the capsicum pods and the true pepper berries, but the misnomer 'pepper' has stuck.



THIS WEEK’S FEATURED FOOD FESTIVALS:

May 16-18, 2013 World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest - Memphis, Tennessee
May 17-18, 2013 Mike The Headless Chicken Festival - Fruita, Colorado
May 18, 2013 24th NJ Chili & Salsa Cook Off - Toms River, New Jersey
May 18-19, 2013 54th Artichoke Festival - Castroville, California
May 18-19, 2013 Funtier Days & Texas Bison CookOff - Santa Anna, Texas
• See the Food Festivals section for over 7,000 Food Festivals & Shows!



FEATURED ARTICLES:

Tips for First Time Gardeners
Whether you start with a few containers on your patio, create a raised bed in a side yard or go big and plant a grand victory garden, gardening can be easy if you start with these six simple steps.

United States & World Porridge Making Championships
Fresh off winning its second title in four years at the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship in Scotland, Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods is once again looking to crown a United States Porridge Making Champion to represent the company at the international competition in Scotland this October.



FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ (new on May 13, 2013)

1) This English dish was originally from India. It will contain rice, lentil, and hard cooked eggs, with a rich cream sauce (béchamel), sometimes with curry. The English version usually contains smoked fish, or cooked fish.
Name this dish.

2) How many flower visits do honey bees have to make to produce 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of honey?
a) 4,000 b) 40,000 c) 400,000 d) 4 million e) 40 million

3) Walter A. Anderson and E.W. Ingram founded a food business in 1921. In 1954 James McLamore and David Edgerton founded a similar business.
What are the names of the businesses these men started?

4) Dr. Jonas Salk used a food service machine in his laboratory while he was working on the Salk Polio vaccine.
Can you name the specific machine he used?

5) This fruit is a cross between a grapefruit and a mandarin orange, and is probably a natural hybrid originating in Jamaica. The fruit has a descriptive name and is about the size of a small grapefruit, but sweeter.
Name this fruit.

6) This food was created by Ruth Graves Wakefield in the 1930s, near Whitman, Massachusetts. Ruth and her husband owned a small Inn and she came up with the recipe by accident when she had to substitute ingredients in a recipe.
Name this food.

7) This small Mediterranean evergreen tree with small blackish berries and glossy aromatic leaves is used for flavoring in cooking; also used by ancient Greeks to crown victors.
Name this herb.

8) Small grains of semolina cooked by steaming or boiling and served like rice.

9) Any of various herbs in the parsley family, with small white or greenish flowers in compound umbels, whose roots and fruits are used in flavoring liqueurs and whose stems are candied and eaten.

10) What city of northwest Italy, southeast of Turin is noted for its sparkling wines?

Click here for the answers to this Culinary Quiz





Dedication
This website is dedicated to:
Gladys Ehler, my mother, who taught me patience and how to make Sauerbraten
(it is still my favorite)
Edward Ehler, my father, who taught me a love of books and history.
Cpl. Thomas E. Saba, my nephew. Died in action on Feb. 7, 2007 in Iraq.
He was 30 yrs. young.

Chef James

[HUCK]

MONDAY - MAY 20, 2013

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It's amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor.”
D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930)



TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

- National Quiche Lorraine Day
- St. Bernadine of Siena, patron of advertisers.

- International Pickle Week (May 16-27, 2013)
- UK: National Vegetarian Week (May 20-26, 2013)

On this day in:

1506 Christopher Columbus, explorer, died.

1799 Honore de Balzac Born. French author. Balzac would lock himself away during creative bursts, drinking coffee and eating only fruit and eggs. When he finally took a break, he was known to consume huge quantities of food. One report recalls that at the Véry restaurant he ate "a hundred Ostend oysters, twelve cutlets of salt-meadow mutton, a duck with turnips, two partridges and a Normandy sole," not to mention the desserts, fruit and liqueurs he also consumed.

1810 On this day Dolly Madison, wife of president James Madison, supposedly served the first ice cream at the White House, for a reception.

1862 President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law. It opened millions of acres Western land to settlers.

1874 Jeans with copper rivets are patented by Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis.

1875 The International Bureau of Weights and Measures was created.

1884 L. Blue patented a hand corn sheller.

1892 George Sampson received a patent for a clothes dryer.

1913 William Hewlett was born. Founder with David Packard of Hewlett Packard Company. Before they became famous for computers and printers etc., some of their early inventions were an automatic urinal flusher and a weight loss shock machine!

1961 A record Jewfish weighed 680 pounds and was caught in Fernandina Beach, Florida.

1993 The last episode of 'Cheers' aired on TV.

2005 Governor Jeb Bush signed a bill making the orange the official State Fruit of Florida. The orange blossom and orange juice have been previously declared the official state flower and official state beverage.

2009 Hot Dog Wars: Sara Lee (Ball Park Franks) sued Kraft Foods (Oscar Mayer Jumbo Beef Franks) over claims that Oscar Mayer franks are better than Ball Park Franks.



DID YOU KNOW?

Male mosquitoes are vegetarians and live on plant nectar and juices. Only female mosquitoes drink blood - they need the protein to make eggs.



THIS WEEK’S FEATURED FOOD FESTIVALS:

May 23-26, 2013 46th Annual Jambalaya Festival - Gonzales, Louisiana
May 24-25, 2013 27th Annual Festival of Beers - San Luis Obispo, Calif.
May 25, 2013 72nd Happy Valley Strawberry Festival - Anderson, California
May 24-27, 2013 Worlds Largest Brat Fest - Madison, Wisconsin
May 25-26, 2013 Jersey Shore Food Truck Wars - Oceanport, New Jersey
May 25-26, 2013 30th Pungo Strawberry Festival - Virginia Beach, Virginia
• See the Food Festivals section for over 7,000 Food Festivals & Shows!



FEATURED ARTICLES:

Tips for First Time Gardeners
Whether you start with a few containers on your patio, create a raised bed in a side yard or go big and plant a grand victory garden, gardening can be easy if you start with these six simple steps.

United States & World Porridge Making Championships
Fresh off winning its second title in four years at the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship in Scotland, Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods is once again looking to crown a United States Porridge Making Champion to represent the company at the international competition in Scotland this October.



FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ (new on May 13, 2013)

1) This English dish was originally from India. It will contain rice, lentil, and hard cooked eggs, with a rich cream sauce (béchamel), sometimes with curry. The English version usually contains smoked fish, or cooked fish.
Name this dish.

2) How many flower visits do honey bees have to make to produce 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of honey?
a) 4,000 b) 40,000 c) 400,000 d) 4 million e) 40 million

3) Walter A. Anderson and E.W. Ingram founded a food business in 1921. In 1954 James McLamore and David Edgerton founded a similar business.
What are the names of the businesses these men started?

4) Dr. Jonas Salk used a food service machine in his laboratory while he was working on the Salk Polio vaccine.
Can you name the specific machine he used?

5) This fruit is a cross between a grapefruit and a mandarin orange, and is probably a natural hybrid originating in Jamaica. The fruit has a descriptive name and is about the size of a small grapefruit, but sweeter.
Name this fruit.

6) This food was created by Ruth Graves Wakefield in the 1930s, near Whitman, Massachusetts. Ruth and her husband owned a small Inn and she came up with the recipe by accident when she had to substitute ingredients in a recipe.
Name this food.

7) This small Mediterranean evergreen tree with small blackish berries and glossy aromatic leaves is used for flavoring in cooking; also used by ancient Greeks to crown victors.
Name this herb.

8) Small grains of semolina cooked by steaming or boiling and served like rice.

9) Any of various herbs in the parsley family, with small white or greenish flowers in compound umbels, whose roots and fruits are used in flavoring liqueurs and whose stems are candied and eaten.

10) What city of northwest Italy, southeast of Turin is noted for its sparkling wines?

Click here for the answers to this Culinary Quiz





Dedication
This website is dedicated to:
Gladys Ehler, my mother, who taught me patience and how to make Sauerbraten
(it is still my favorite)
Edward Ehler, my father, who taught me a love of books and history.
Cpl. Thomas E. Saba, my nephew. Died in action on Feb. 7, 2007 in Iraq.
He was 30 yrs. young.

Chef James

[HUCK]

TUESDAY - MAY 21, 2013

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“Even the coeur flottant merveilleux aux fraises, presented with a great flourish, made little impression, for it was no more than what may happen to the simple, honest dish of strawberries and cream once it falls into the hands of a Frenchman.”
Dr. Watson in 'Sherlock Holmes and the Hapsburg Tiara' by Alan Vanneman (2004)


FOOD HOLIDAYS - Today is:

- National Waitstaff Day
- National Strawberries & Cream Day
- International Pickle Week (May 16-27, 2013)
- UK: National Vegetarian Week (May 20-26, 2013)

TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

On this day in:
1881 Clara Barton founded The American Red Cross in Washington D.C.

1923 Delmonico's Restaurant closed its doors, a victim of Prohibition. (Some sources list October 4, 1918/19 - it was sold to new owners, not closed).

1987 Archie Fairley Carr died. An American biologist and authority on turtles. His extensive studies and conservation efforts helped to increase turtle populations around the world.

2009 After months of numerous mechanical failures, a new recycling system was activated on the international space station. The new system recycles astronauts urine and sweat into drinking water.


DID YOU KNOW?

• Strawberries are Americans favorite fruit.
• Strawberries are eaten in more than 90% or U.S. households each year.
• The U.S. is the leading producer of strawberries, and supplies about 20% of the world's strawberries.
• California grows about 88% of U.S. strawberries.
• A prominent figure at Napoleon's court, Madame Tallien added the juice of 22 pounds of strawberries to each of her baths.


THIS WEEK’S FEATURED FOOD FESTIVALS:

May 23-26, 2013 46th Annual Jambalaya Festival - Gonzales, Louisiana
May 24-25, 2013 27th Annual Festival of Beers - San Luis Obispo, Calif.
May 25, 2013 72nd Happy Valley Strawberry Festival - Anderson, California
May 24-27, 2013 Worlds Largest Brat Fest - Madison, Wisconsin
May 25-26, 2013 Jersey Shore Food Truck Wars - Oceanport, New Jersey
May 25-26, 2013 30th Pungo Strawberry Festival - Virginia Beach, Virginia
• See the Food Festivals section for over 7,000 Food Festivals & Shows!


FEATURED ARTICLES:

Tips for First Time Gardeners
Whether you start with a few containers on your patio, create a raised bed in a side yard or go big and plant a grand victory garden, gardening can be easy if you start with these six simple steps.

United States & World Porridge Making Championships
Fresh off winning its second title in four years at the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship in Scotland, Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods is once again looking to crown a United States Porridge Making Champion to represent the company at the international competition in Scotland this October.


FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ (new on May 21, 2013)

1) The following events all took place during the same year. What year was it?
• Gerber sells 2 million cans & jars of baby food per week.
• The London Co-Operative Society opens the 1st full size supermarket in Britain.
• 'The Unprejudiced Palate' by Angelo Pellegrini is published.
• Nestle's Quik chocolate milk mix is introduced in the U.S.
• Campbell Soup Co. introduces V-8 Cocktail Vegetable Juice.
• Britain ends bread rationing in July.
• The McDonald brother's turn their 8 year old hamburger stand into a self service restaurant.
• Chef and author ('Larousse Gastronomique') Prosper Montagne dies at age 83.

2) What family of plants includes: anise, caraway, chervil, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, celery, parsnip, and goutweed, as well as the poisonous species poison hemlock, water hemlock and fool's parsley, and ornamentals sea holly, masterwort and blue lace flower?

3) Half and Half can refer to 2 totally unrelated liquids.
Can you name both, and what they consist of?

4) Paunch and pluck are the principal ingredients for what famous ethnic dish?

5) The cluster bean is most likely native to India. It is used as a vegetable, and for producing a food additive that is used as a thickener and stabilizer in commercial food processing. It has almost 8 times the thickening power as cornstarch, and is used in dressings, sauces and baked goods. It is also used in paper manufacturing, textiles, printing, cosmetics and even in pills to hold them together.
Name this food additive.
a) chicle b) guar gum c) agar-agar d) gum tragacanth

6) Here are some Culinary Characters that represent various food products. Do you know which ones are real people, and which ones are fictitious?
a) Chef Boyardee.
b) Aunt Jemima
c) Dr Pepper
d) Granny Smith (apple)
e) Jack or Monterey Jack (cheese)
f) Betty Crocker
g) McIntosh (apple)

7) What is Gremolata or Gremolada?
a) Minced parsley, lemon zest and garlic.
b) An Italian ice.
c) Toasted fine bread crumbs.
d) Chopped onions, celery and carrots.
e) A type of sausage.

8) What culinary preparation was created in the 1920s at San Francisco's Palace Hotel and named after a play, to honor George Arliss, who was appearing in the play?

9) If you were a geophagist (someone who practices 'geophagy'), what unusual item would you include in your diet?

10) What is a "Buck Rabbit" (besides being a male rabbit)?
a) A popular 1930's cocktail.
b) A type of farmers cheese.
c) A type of cheese sandwich.
d) A 'mock' rabbit stew.
e) A type of sausage.

Click here for the answers to this Culinary Quiz





Dedication
This website is dedicated to:
Gladys Ehler, my mother, who taught me patience and how to make Sauerbraten
(it is still my favorite)
Edward Ehler, my father, who taught me a love of books and history.
Cpl. Thomas E. Saba, my nephew. Died in action on Feb. 7, 2007 in Iraq.
He was 30 yrs. young.

Chef James