Did you know....by Divinity

“TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY
* National Raspberry Bombe Day

1858 Christiaan Eijkman was born. A Dutch physician who discovered that beriberi was caused by a poor diet (a lack of vitamin B1), which eventually led to the discovery of vitamins.

1874 Harry S. Parmelee of New Haven, Connecticut patented the sprinkler head.

1949 Eric Carmen of the music group 'The Raspberries' was born.

1962 Booker T and the MG's released their instrumental single 'Green Onions'.

1992 The Mall of America opened in Bloomington, Minnesota. It was the largest shopping mall in the U.S.”

“Ugh, my niece (15 yo) loves to talk about going to the MoA.”

“Thank you Harry S. Parmelee!”

“DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
Kudzo was introduced to the U.S. in 1876, to control soil erosion in the South. Native to China and Japan, it can grow up to 1 foot per day, and virtually takes over telephone poles, trees, buildings, and anything else in it's way. We know it primarily as an uncontrollable weed, and sometimes as cattle forage. In Japan and China, it is also grown for its edible roots, which can reach 7 feet long and weigh 450 pounds. The roots are dried and pulverized into kudzu powder. This kudzo powder is used in cooking to thicken soups and sauces, dredge foods for deep frying, etc. The leaves and stems can be used as in salads. Kudzo is high in fiber and protein and a good source of vitamin A and D.”

“sounds scary”

“I heard on NPR last week that now a beetle has been introduced from Japan especially to control Kudzo.”

“Kudzu vines (the tender shoots at the end of the vine) can be cooked like green beans.”

“I am hoping the beetle won't be like the asian lady bug that the USDA introduced. Fairly beneficial to the forest, but a real pain in the ass when they hibernate in peoples homes and come out by the thousands.”

“Kudzu vine tips are tasty. I finally tried some last month. I didn't know about the roots though; I'd hate to have to dig those bad boys up though.”

“DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
Leeks, Allium ampeloprasum (porrum group) are a delicately flavored member of the onion family native to the Mediterranean region. Leeks were cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, and Emperor Nero ate them regularly. After the Roman legions brought the leek to Wales, it soon became the national emblem. To celebrate a famous battle victory in which the Welsh soldiers wore leeks in their hats, March 1 is celebrated as St. David's Day, and Welshmen wear leeks in their hats.”

“TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY
* National Mulled Cider Day
* St. Jerome, patron of librarians and students.

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.”

“TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY
* Moldy Cheese Day
* Grinder, Hoagie, Hero Day

1906 Joseph Farwell Glidden died. Glidden, an Illinois farmer, received a patent for the first commercial barbed wire on November 24, 1874. The beginning of the end to open range and the cowboy. Glidden formed the Barb Fence Company with Isaac L. Ellwood, and became one of the wealthiest men in the country.

1941 Carmen Miranda recorded 'The Man with the Lollipop Song.'

1946 'The Iceman Cometh' opened in New York City.

1985 Strawberry Fields, a 2 1/2 acre garden memorial in New York City's Central Park, was dedicated to John Lennon.

1996 World's largest grilled cheese sandwich was made, 3,000 pounds.”

“TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY
* National Chocolate Covered Insect Day
* National Dessert Day

1834 Henry Blair received a patent for a corn planter. He was the first African American to be granted a patent.

1926 'Winnie-the-Pooh' (the honey loving bear) by A. A. Milne is published.

1972 'Everybody Plays The Fool' by Main Ingredient is #1 on the charts.”

“DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
Eggplant is a member of the nightshade family and is native to India. The early varieties were bitter, but cultivation and crossbreeding have greatly improved the flavor. Eggplant is related to potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers.
Eggplant isn't a particularly popular vegetable in the United States, but it's a favorite in many areas of the South. Thomas Jefferson, who experimented with many varieties of plants in his Virginia garden, is credited with introducing eggplant to North America.
In various parts of Europe, people suspected that eating eggplant caused madness, not to mention leprosy, cancer, and bad breath, which is why eggplant was used mostly for decoration in England and the United States nearly up to the 20th century.”

“TODAY’S EVENTS IN FOOD HISTORY
* National Brandied Fruit Day

1880 Lydia Maria Francis Child died. An American abolitionist and author of novels and children’s books. She also wrote books of advice for women including 'The Frugal Housewife' (1829).

1882 Bela Lugosi was born. Dracula.

1970 Norman Borlaug received the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to the 'Green Revolution.' He had developed new varieties of wheat and rice to help increase food production in the Third World”

“TODAY’S EVENTS IN FOOD HISTORY
* National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day
* UK: National Apple Day
* St. Ursula, patron of teachers, students.

1422 Charles VI of France died. It was during Charles VI rule that Taillevent was made Master of the King's kitchens. Charles VI also gave sole rights for the aging of Roquefort cheese to the village of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, and all Roquefort must still be aged in the caves there today.

1449 George Plantagenet, duke of Clarence was born. Brother of Edward IV whom he was accused of plotting against. He was thrown into prison and secretly executed in the Tower of London. The rumor is that he was drowned in a butt (large cask) of malmsey wine.

1879 Thomas Edison demonstrated the first commercially practical light bulb at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

1990 Tom Carvel died. He was the inventor of the soft-serve ice cream machine, and founder of the Carvel ice cream chain.

View: Culinary History Calendar for the year -- Oct Food Festivals -- Nov Food Festivals


DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
Lemons are believed to have originated in Southeast Asia, and spread to Spain and North Africa during the Middle Ages. The cultivated variety is thought to be a hybrid of wild species of lime and citron. Lemon trees bloom throughout the year, and fruit is picked 6 or more times a year, with an average commercial tree yielding about 1,500 lemons per year.”

“mmmmmm...pumpkin cheescake...YUMMMMM”

“I love pumkin cheese cake tooo...yummmmmm....”

“I love cheesecake and I love pumpkin pie, But I've never had pumpkin cheesecake but now I want some really really bad.”

“I want some pumkin cheesecake! yo bear”

“Did yall kno
the mouf of a pellycan holds mor than her belly can? BOL!”

“oh belle, what a gal!”

“Pumpkin flan is even better than pumpkin cheesecake.”

“TODAY’S EVENTS IN FOOD HISTORY
* National Chocolate Day
* Feast of Simon the Apostle, patron of curriers, sawmen and tanners.

1846 (Georges-) Auguste Escoffier was born. Escoffier was called "the emperor of chefs" and “emperor of the world’s kitchens” by Emperor William II of Germany. He modernized and codified the elaborate haute cuisine created by Marie-Antoine Carême, and developed the ‘brigade de cuisine,’ system of kitchen organization. Escoffier was chef at the Carlton Hotel in London, the Grande National Hotel in Lucerne, Switzerland, the Grand Hotel in Monte Carlo, the Savoy in London and the Ritz hotels in Paris and New York City. His books include 'Guide culinaire' and 'Ma Cuisine.'

1886 The Statue of Liberty (‘Liberty Enlightening the World’) was officially unveiled and dedicated in New York Harbor.

1916 Cleveland Abbe died. Abbe was an astronomer and meteorologist, and is considered the "father of the U.S. Weather Bureau." The Weather Bureau (National Weather Service) was authorized by Congress in 1870.

1919 The Volstead Act was passed, which enforced the 18th amendment, prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages. It went into effect on January 16, 1920.

View: Culinary History Calendar for the year -- Oct Food Festivals -- Nov Food Festivals


DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
2007 U.S. Per Capita Potato Consumption
Total: 126 pounds
Frozen Potatoes: 53 pounds
Fresh Potatoes: 44 pounds
Potato Chips: 16 pounds
Dehydrated Potatoes: 13 pounds
(USDA Estimate)”

“TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE
“Many wagon-loads of enormous water-melons were brought to market every day, and I was sure to see groups of men, women, and children seated on the pavement round the spot where they were sold, sucking in prodigious quantities of this water fruit. Their manner of devouring them is extremely unpleasant; the huge fruit is cut into half a dozen sections, of about a foot long, and then, dripping as it is with water, applied to the mouth, from either side of which pour copious streams of the fluid, while, ever and anon, a mouthful of the hard black seeds are shot out in all directions, to the great annoyance of all within reach. When I first tasted this fruit I thought it very vile stuff indeed, but before the end of the season we all learned to like it. When taken with claret and sugar it makes a delicious wine and water.”
Frances Trollope, ‘Domestic Manners of the Americans’ (1832)


TODAY’S EVENTS IN FOOD HISTORY
* National Candy Corn Day

1815 Andrew Jackson Downing was born. American horticulturist, author of ‘The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America’ (1845) and editor of the 'Horticulturist' periodical.

1894 The first U.S. patent for a time clock was issued to Daniel Cooper of Rochester, New York.

1990 'Ice Ice Baby' by Vanilla Ice is #1 on the charts.

View: Culinary History Calendar for the year -- Oct Food Festivals -- Nov Food Festivals


DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
Although fish oils high in omega-3 fatty acids help reduce the risk of heart disease, caution must be used when taking capsules of fish oil as supplements. Since they 'thin' the blood, taking too much can cause excessive internal and external bleeding. You are much better off eating fish high in omega-3 fatty acids.
last edited: 10/30/08 2:40:50 AM”

“DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
Rennet is an enzyme used to make cheese. Rennet is extracted from the lining of calves’ stomachs. New technologies have enabled the removal of the specific gene that produces rennet and have reproduced it in bacteria. This allows the production of rennet through a fermentation process, eliminating the need for extracts from calves’ stomachs”

“Hmmmmmm!Intesting!”

“DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
BUBBLE AND SQUEAK: An old English dish, named for the sounds the ingredients make while cooking (or from the sound one's stomach makes after eating it). Some sources say it was originally cold boiled beef and chopped cabbage, others claim it was originally mashed potatoes and cabbage, while some claim it originally contained all three. Today it is typically made from leftover potatoes and cabbage fried together.”

“It's also good when you use some leftover corned beef in it.”

“TODAY’S EVENTS IN FOOD HISTORY
* National Candy Day
* St. Charles Borromeo, patron of apple orchards.

1873 Anthony Iske was issued a patent for a meat slicing machine. It worked much like a mandoline, with a frame to hold the meat while sliding it against the blade.

1879 James and John Ritty invented the first cash register. They came up with the idea to prevent bartenders from stealing at the Pony House Restaurant in Dayton, Ohio.

1879 African-American inventor, Thomas Elkins received a patent for a refrigerating machine, which could be used to cool food (or even human corpses according to the patent application).

1923 Alfred Heineken was born. Grandson of Gerard Adriaan Heineken, the founder of Heineken Brewery. He was president of the company from 1964 to 1989.

View: Culinary History Calendar for the year -- Nov Food Festivals -- Dec Food Festivals


DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
Cardamom is the dried, unripened fruit of the perennial Elettaria cardamomum. Enclosed in the fruit pods are tiny, brown, aromatic seeds which are slightly pungent to taste. Cardamom pods are generally green but are also available in bleached white pod form. It is available both in the whole pod and as decorticated seeds with the outer hull removed.
Cardamom is one of the oldest spices in the world, and the most popular spice in ancient Rome was probably cardamom. It is the world's second most expensive spice, saffron being the most expensive.”

“TODAY’S EVENTS IN FOOD HISTORY
* National Nachos Day
* St. Leonard's Day, patron of greengrocers.

1814 Antoine-Joseph (Adolphe) Sax was born. A musical instrument maker, he invented the saxophone.

1923 HyperInflation ran rampant in Europe. A loaf of bread cost 140 Billion German Marks.

1991 'Cream' by Prince & The NPG is #1 on the charts

1993 The world's largest peanut butter and jelly sandwich was created in Peanut, Pennsylvania. It was almost 40 feet long and used 150 pounds of peanut butter and 50 pounds of jelly.

View: Culinary History Calendar for the year -- Nov Food Festivals -- Dec Food Festivals


DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
Cashews are native to the Americas, but widely cultivated in India and Africa since the 16th century. You never see cashews for sale in the shell because between the outer and inner shells covering the nut is an extremely caustic oil. The outer shell must be roasted or burned off with the oil (the smoke is also an irritant). The kernels are then boiled or roasted again, and a second shell is removed.”

“TODAY’S EVENTS IN FOOD HISTORY
* National Sundae Day
* St. Martin's Day, patron of drunkards, harvests, horses, innkeepers.
* St. Menas of Egypt, patron of travelling merchants.

1790 Chrysanthemums were introduced to England from China. Both the greens and blossoms are edible, and are particularly popular in Japan, China and Vietnam.

1918 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).

1933 The first great dust storm occurred on the Great Plains.

1938 Typhoid Mary (Mary Mallon) died at North Brother Island, New York City. She was an infamous household cook who was responsible for major outbreaks of typhoid in the New York City area in 1904, 1907, and 1914. She was immune to typhoid, but was a carrier of the bacillus, and spread it wherever she worked as a household cook.

1945 Vincent Martell of the music group 'Vanilla Fudge' was born.

2006 A Hong Kong real estate tycoon and his wife paid $160,000 for a 3.3 pound Italian Alba white truffle.”

“DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
An estimated 271 million turkeys were raised in the United States in 2007. The estimate for 2008 is about the same. In 2007, the turkeys produced weighed 7.9 billion pounds altogether and were valued at $3.7 billion. Minnesota raised 49 million turkeys, followed by North Carolina (39 million), Arkansas (31 million), Virginia (21 million), Missouri (20 million) and Indiana (15.9 million). These six states together account for nearly 2 of every 3 turkeys produced in 2007 and 2008.”

“TODAY’S EVENTS IN FOOD HISTORY
* National Guacamole Day

1851 Herman Melville's novel 'Moby Dick' was published. Captain Ahab's search for the white whale.

1863 Leo Hendrik Baekeland was born. He was a chemist who invented Bakelite, the first plastic that did not soften when heated. Those black plastic knobs on stoves were made of bakelite.

1865 Prosper Montagne was born. Montagne was one of the great French chefs of all time. He is mainly remembered as the creator of ‘Larousse Gastronomique’ (1938), a comprehensive encyclopedia of French gastronomy.

1889 George S. Kaufman was born. A playwright, he wrote 'The Man Who Came to Dinner,' and the script for 'Cocoanuts' for the Marx Brothers.

1889 Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Jane Cochran), began her successful attempt to beat the record of Jules Verne's fictional Phileas Fogg to go 'Around the World in Eighty Days'. Bly was a U.S. newspaper reporter and completed the journey in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds.

1922 The BBC officially began daily radio broadcasting with the 6 p.m. news.

1964 Nic Dalton of the music group 'Lemonheads' was born”

“DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
1.8 billion pounds of sweet potatoes were produced by major sweet potato producing states in 2007. North Carolina (667 million pounds) produced more sweet potatoes than any other state. It was followed by California (426 million pounds). Mississippi and Louisiana also produced large amounts: at least 300 million pounds each.
Asia produces 90 percent of the world's sweet potatoes. They are among the world's principal food crops.”

“TODAY’S EVENTS IN FOOD HISTORY
* National Fast Food Day
* St. Gertrude the Great, patron of travelers.

1620 The first corn (maize) was supposedly discovered (by European settlers) by some Pilgrims led by Myles Standish, while exploring the area near Provincetown, Massachusetts. They named the spot Corn Hill.

1867 Leon Daudet was born. French journalist and novelist, well known gastronome of his time.

1913 The first volume of Marcel Proust's 'Remembrance of Things Past' was published. On January 1, 1909, he ate a piece of tea-soaked toast whose taste caused a flood of childhood memories. In his 7 volume allegorical novel 'Remembrance of Things Past,' a character has a similar experience when he bites into a lemon cookie (a madelaine) which brings on a similar flood of memories. This is one of the most widely quoted allusions in literature.

View: Culinary History Calendar for the year -- Nov Food Festivals -- Dec Food Festivals


DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
Chitterlings or chit'lins are the intestines of young pigs, cleaned and stewed and then frequently battered and fried.
Chitlin's are considered a delicacy (a special and desirable food) in South Carolina and other parts of the South. But chitlin's must be prepared carefully. They must be soaked and rinsed thoroughly in several changes of cool water, and repeatedly picked clean, by hand, of extra fat and specks. They are then boiled and simmered until tender. They can be prepared different ways. Standard recipes call for simmering the chitlin's for three to five hours in water seasoned with salt, black pepper, and perhaps hot peppers, along with vinegar and an onion. But everyone has a different recipe. Sometimes they are cooked with hog maws (hog stomach), or fried in a batter.”

“Just what are the "specks"?”

“Don't ask. There's a funny story about the chitlin festival in SC. When the festival starts all the residents around that area leave, because of the pervasive smell.”

“When I first moved to Alabama, I went to a clients house where they were boiling chitlins & they told me you had to clean them real good & get all the worms out....ick....I won't touch em.....”

“TODAY’S EVENTS IN FOOD HISTORY
* Homemade Bread Day
* National Baklava Day
* Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, patron of bakers.

1749 Nicolas Appert was born. Appert was a French cook and inventor who developed the method of preserving food that we call canning. He originally used glass jars sealed with wax and reinforced with wire.

1869 The Suez Canal opened, linking the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea.

1967 'Incense And Peppermints' by Strawberry Alarm Clock is #1 on the charts

1988 Wal-Mart opened its first Super Center at Wheeler, Oklahoma. It carries fresh meat, produce, dairy products, and baked goods, in addition to other standard supermarket products and discount store merchandise.

1996 The World Food Summit concluded. Delegates promised full efforts to ease world hunger.

View: Culinary History Calendar for the year -- Nov Food Festivals -- Dec Food Festivals


DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
Rhubarb is a relative of buckwheat and has an earthy, sour flavor. Rhubarb thrives in cold climates and originated in Western China, Tibet, Mongolia, Siberia and neighboring areas. The traditional role was medicinal-the dried root was a popular remedy for a wide range of illnesses. Its primary function was to induce vomiting, although rhubarb is also a mild astringent. This medicinal role caused the price of the dried root to rise. In 1542, rhubarb sold for ten times the price of cinnamon in France and in 1657 rhubarb sold for over twice the price of opium in England (Schneider, 2001). Beginning in the eighteenth century, rhubarb began to be consumed in foods, primarily drinks and meat stews.
Botanically speaking, rhubarb is considered a vegetable, but it's most often treated as a fruit — though it's rarely eaten raw. Just like fresh cranberries, rhubarb is almost unbearably tart on its own and needs the sweetness of sugar, honey, or fruit juice added to it to balance out the acidity. Rhubarb's nickname is the 'pie plant' because that is the primary use for this vegetable.
Rhubarb was introduced to the United States at the end of the eighteenth century. Today most rhubarb is frozen for commercial and institutional use; only about a quarter of the crop is sold fresh.”

“Raw rhubarb is quite tasty fresh. Supposedly the green of the leaves is toxic but I must have eaten a ton of it when I was a kid. My preference is just simple straight rhubarb. To mix it with anything else is a waste of both ingredients. Worst thing you can do to strawberries is mix them with rhubarb. Trashes both exquisite flavors.”

“TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE
“I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country.....The turkey is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America.”
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)


TODAY’S EVENTS IN FOOD HISTORY
* National Carbonated Beverage with Caffeine Day

1600 Charles I, king of England, Scotland and Ireland was born. Ice cream is said to have come from France when he married Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henri IV, and sister of Louis XIII.

1961 Michael Rockefeller, son of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, disappeared, and was presumed eaten by the cannibals of New Guinea.

1977 The largest albacore weighed 88 pounds and was caught off the Canary Islands.

View: Culinary History Calendar for the year -- Nov Food Festivals -- Dec Food Festivals


DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
Despite a physical similarity and a frequent confusion with their names, yams and sweet potatoes are not even distantly related. They are in two different botanical families. Yams are actually related to grasses and lillies.
Boniato or Cuban sweet potato is a variety of sweet potato with white flesh rather than the yellow or orange flesh of other varieties. They tend to be irregular in shape, and skin color can vary from reddish to cream colored. They are drier and not as sweet as other varieties of sweet potato.”

“* National Carbonated Beverage with Caffeine Day

HPM will be delighted.”

“woooo Hoooo....pop day!!!!!”

“bleah nasty!!”

“TODAY’S EVENTS IN FOOD HISTORY
* National Peanut Butter Fudge Day

1820 A whaling ship, the Essex, was rammed twice by a sperm whale and eventually sank.

1967 The U.S. population passed 200 million, according to the Census Clock at the Department of Commerce.

1969 DDT was banned for residential use as part of a total phase out of its use in the U.S.

View: Culinary History Calendar for the year -- Nov Food Festivals -- Dec Food Festivals


DID YOU KNOW? Food Trivia
Buckwheat has nourished man since the eighth millennium BC. Buckwheat is used in much the same manner as grain and has many characteristics of grain. It is a fruit that is a distant cousin of rhubarb. Its seed is triangular in shape and has an inedible black shell, which is removed before processing. The kernel inside is known as groat and is most commonly ground into a dark, gritty flour. Buckwheat is used to make everything from pancakes to soba noodles, (main ingredient). Buckwheat flour is often mixed with wheat flour to make bread and pancakes with its distinctive nutty flavor.
Groat toasted in oil is commonly called kasha. This method is used to remove Buckwheat’s natural bitterness and to bring out a sweeter, nuttier flavor. In the Middle East, kasha is a favorite side dish and breakfast cereal.
Buckwheat is a nutritional powerhouse and is about 70 percent carbohydrate. It has a high content of fiber, protein, minerals and vitamins B1 and B2.”

“Anyone here remember "Buckwheats" cereal? I loved the stuff when I was a kid.”

“darn...my food site is down!!!!”

“Bummer.

On the flipside I made pork loin simmered in beer and homegrown herbs last night. Sam Adams Octoberfest beer (still sitting around) sage, garlic, coriander seed...the pepper and cinnamon didn't come from the garden though. The pork was incredibly tasty.”

“

I did not know that about Buckwheat.”