Our word “dessert” emerged in mid-16th-century French, a combination of the past participle of desservir “to clear the table,” and servir, “to serve.” The name reflects that dessert was served after the table had been cleared of other dishes. A variety of desserts set on the table of the same time became known as service […]
September 29th is National Mocha Day. What is mocha (MO-kuh), and where did it come from? The coffee bean, which was first discovered growing wild in Ethiopia, was not extensively cultivated until the 15th and 16th centuries. Then, extensive planting of the trees was undertaken in the Yemen region of Arabia (the history of coffee). […]
[1] Pineapple pound cake recipe (photos #1 and #2 plus recipe courtesy Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog). [2] If you don’t use a glaze, serve it à la mode. [3] (photo courtesy Produce Marketing Guide). Since the pineapple first reached Europe in the 15th century, it has been considered a symbol of hospitality. Pineapple […]
September 13th is National Peanut Day. January 24th is National Peanut Butter Day, and PB&J lovers can look forward to April 2nd. A bit of history about the peanut, also known as a groundnut and goober. First, it isn’t a nut, but a legume. The difference: A legume is a pod with multiple seeds. A […]
August 6th is National Root Beer Float Day: a type of ice cream float (a.k.a. ice cream soda) that combines ice cream, usually chocolate or vanilla, with root beer. Just place a couple of scoops of ice cream in a tall glass, add the root beer, and serve with a straw and a long spoon […]
[1] Artisan lollipops from Quevanna. [2] European lollipop art (photo courtesy Williams-Sonoma). [3] Taking lollipops to the next level: art. From MolassesCandy.Blogspot. July 20th is National Lollipop Day. According to the National Confectioners Association, eating sugar from a stick likely dates to prehistoric man, who licked honey off the stick he used to scrape […]
July 2nd is National Chocolate Wafer Day. Most people who have eaten chocolate wafer cookies think they’re the invention of Nabisco, which has sold its Famous Chocolate Wafers cookies (photo #2) since 1924. But the wafers are much older. While chocolate was a drink for centuries (check out the history of chocolate), by the end […]
Watermelon and feta stacks. The recipe is below (photo courtesy Mozzarella Company). [2] Instead of the dressing in the recipe below, you can drizzle balsamic glaze across the plate, as shown (photo courtesy Watermelon.org). [3] This Watermelon “Caprese” uses the conventional Caprese cheese, mozzarella, and substitutes watermelon for the not-yet-in-season tomatoes. It adds pizzazz with […]
June is National Candy Month. How much does mankind like candy and its chief ingredient, sugar or honey? Well: Our species evolved with a built-in sweet tooth. The history of candy dates back to cavemen. They ate honey and honeycomb; but took the next step to make candy from it, by drying it into a […]
For holiday weekends or cookouts, most of us pick up cole slaw at the grocery store. This commercial slaw generally consists of cabbage, mayonnaise thinned with vinegar, and a few shreds of carrot for color. It may be tangy and crunchy, but it can be so much more flavorful. Here’s how to fix up store-bought […]