Food Holidays: July 21st, 2022

I would like to share our series featuring Food Holidays; July 21st, 2022 with you. As you look at the new holidays being celebrated today would you let me know which holiday you most want to celebrate and why. Charlie and I are going to sit this holiday out as neither of us like Creme Brulee. Do you?

National Creme Brûlée Day

In a miraculous stroke of culinary genius, someone thought topping Vanilla Custard with a brittle crust of Caramelized Sugar would taste good. Of course they were wrong as this dish tasted fantastic! Creme Brulee is best known as “burnt creme” in French depending on where you’re from, it’s also known as Crema Catalana and Trinity Burnt Creme. Whatever you like to call this creamy, crunchy and dish, schedule your day of indulgence on July 27th.

NATIONAL CREME BRÛLÉE DAY ACTIVITIES

1. There’s nothing like the original Creme Brulee and if you haven’t made a standard Crème Brûlée before, just know that there are lots of variations between recipes in terms of ingredient amounts and methods. This includes whether you broil the Cream to create your crispy topping or go all-in by using a small butane torch to get that crust.
2. No need to stop at Vanilla to make a killer Crème Brûlée. You can substitute virtually any flavor extract or Spice mix as you prepare your Custard and include Fruit or other garnishes before baking. You can even flavor your dessert with key Lime, Chai, Irish Coffee, Pineapple!
3. Throw a Creme Brulee you can make each party-goer their own individual Crème Dessert or you can be adventurous and try out Crème Brûlée-flavored Brownies, Cheesecake, Cupcakes or Pies. If there’s anything better than decadence, it’s decadence shared among friends!

5 FIERY FACTS ABOUT CRÈME BRÛLÉE

1. You don’t need a butane torch to make Crème Brûlée topping just broil the dessert for two to three minutes.
2. Eggs, Cream, Vanilla, Sugar and Water are all you need to make Crème Brûlée.
3. Did you know the largest Crème Brûlée on record weighed 1,600 pounds.
4. For Vegan lovers there is even Vegan Crème Brûlée which can be made from Coconut or Almond Milk, Sugar, Corn Starch, Nutritional Yeast and Vanilla Bean.
5. Did you know Popcorn, Cocktails and even, hair products have all been made to taste or smell like Crème Brûlée.

WHY PEOPLE LOVE NATIONAL CREME BRÛLÉE DAY

1. Crème Brûlée is a Custard made up of a mixture of Vanilla-infused Cream, Egg Yolks, and Sugar, with a scattering of Sugar on top.
2. The first Crème Brûlée recipe appeared in a royal cookbook written by a cook at France’s Palace of Versailles in 1691. But a similar dessert called Trinity Burnt Creme appeared as far back as the 1400’s in England. There’s even earlier evidence of a Spanish version called Crema Catalana.
3. Crème Brûlée bounced back into popularity during the ’80s, the dessert has been modified way beyond its Vanilla basics with cooks jazzing up the flavors to include everything from Chocolate and Lemon to Peach and Nutella. There’s even a recipe calling for a Snickerdoodle-flavored Crème Brulee.

Five Facts Creme Brulee:

1. The custard base of Creme Brulee is traditionally flavored with Vanilla, but is also sometimes flavored with Lemon or Orange Zest, Rosemary, Coconut, or other Fruit.
2. The earliest known reference of Crème Brûlée as we know it today appears in François Massialot’s 1691 cookbook, and the French name was used in the English translation of this cookbook, but the 1731 edition of Massialot’s Cuisinier roial et bourgeois changed the name of the same recipe from “Crème Brûlée” to “Crème Anglaise”.
3. In Britain, a version of Crème Brûlée known locally as ‘Trinity Cream’ or ‘Cambridge Burnt Cream’ was introduced at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1879 with the college arms “impressed on top of the Cream with a branding iron”.  The story goes that the recipe was from an Aberdeenshire Country House and was offered by an undergraduate to the college cook, who turned it down.
4. In Catalan language; Crema Catalana ‘Catalan Cream’, Crema Cremada ‘Burnt Cream’ or Crema de Sant Josep, is a Catalan dish similar to Crème Brûlée. Which is traditionally served on Saint Joseph’s Day, March 19th, although nowadays it is consumed at all times of the year. The Custard is flavored with Lemon or Orange Zest, and Cinnamon. The sugar in Crema Catalana is traditionally Caramelized under an iron broiler or with a specially made iron, not with a flame.
5. Crème Brûlée is usually served in individual ramekins. Discs of Caramel may be prepared separately and put on top just before serving, or the Caramel may be formed directly on top of the Custard, immediately before serving. To do this, Sugar is sprinkled onto the Custard, then caramelized under a broiler/salamander, with a butane torch or by flambéing a hard liquor on the Creme Brulee.

National Junk Food Day

Have you ever wished for a holiday where you can eat absolutely anything you want? Well that holiday is today. National Junk Food Day is celebrated every year on July 21sy. Dedicated to the foods we like to snack on, this isn’t your average cheat day. Today, you can eat junk food for every meal. Popularized in the U.S in the 1950s, junk foods are usually, by definition, high in fats, Sugars, Salt, and Calories. But junk food is high in flavor! Junk food day is the perfect day to treat yourself. On this holiday, you’re allowed your favorite junk foods without any guilt. Go ahead and add extra Cheese on that Hamburger and don’t forget the French Fries.

NATIONAL JUNK FOOD DAY ACTIVITIES

1. This is the easiest and most fun way to participate in National Junk Food Day. Craving chips? Pie? French fries? Pick whatever your heart desires and chow down. Calories don’t count!
2. Junk Food Day is the perfect time to indulge and brag about indulging at the same time. Take a picture of those Chocolate Cupcakes you had for lunch and share on Instagram. Don’t forget to use hashtag #NationalJunkFoodDay
3. The only thing that’s better than getting to eat junk food is getting to eat junk food with your family. Have your family join you for a junk food potluck party. No green leafy foods allowed, just everyone’s favorite Cheesy, fatty, carby friend foods.

WHY PEOPLE LOVE NATIONAL JUNK FOOD DAY

1. No calorie countingDo you count carbs or calories? On Junk Food Day, you’re off the hook. Skip the salad and go straight for the meat-lovers pizza. Sure, your fat-free frozen yogurt is tasty, but today get the double fudge ice cream without feeling any guilt.
2. Everyone’s cheatingThere’s always that one coworker in the break room eating a healthy salad while you’re snacking on nachos. You don’t have to worry about them today because they’re (secretly) indulging in Junk Food Day, too.
3. It allows you to satisfy that cravingCravings are an overwhelming sensation of desire for a certain food. Junk food cravings sometimes occur when the brain’s opioids and dopamine react to the benefit of high-calorie foods. This is why studies have shown that when we’re stressed, we’re more likely drawn towards things like cakes and sweets. While eating junk food is not the way you should always deal with stress, National Junk Food Day gives you the perfect excuse (just for a day.)

NATIONAL JUNK FOOD DAY ACTIVITIES

1. Eat your favorite junk foodThis is the easiest and most fun way to participate in National Junk Food Day. Craving chips? Pie? French fries? Pick whatever your heart desires and chow down. Today those calories don’t count!
2. Share your junk food on social mediaJunk Food Day is the perfect time to indulge — and brag about it at the same time. Take a picture of those chocolate bourbon cupcakes you had for lunch and Instagram it. Don’t forget to use hashtag #NationalJunkFoodDay
3. Throw a junk food partyThe only thing that’s better than getting to eat junk food is getting to eat it with your friends. Invite some over for a junk food potluck party. No green leafy foods allowed, just everyone’s favorite cheesy, fatty, carby foods.

WHY WE LOVE NATIONAL JUNK FOOD DAY

1. No calorie countingDo you count carbs or calories? On Junk Food Day, you’re off the hook. Skip the salad and go straight for the meat-lovers pizza. Sure, your fat-free frozen yogurt is tasty, but today get the double fudge ice cream without feeling any guilt.
2. Everyone’s cheatingThere’s always that one coworker in the break room eating a healthy salad while you’re snacking on nachos. You don’t have to worry about them today because they’re (secretly) indulging in Junk Food Day, too.
3. It allows you to satisfy that cravingCravings are an overwhelming sensation of desire for a certain food. Junk food cravings sometimes occur when the brain’s opioids and dopamine react to the benefit of high-calorie foods. This is why studies have shown that when we’re stressed, we’re more likely drawn towards things like cakes and sweets. While eating junk food is not the way you should always deal with stress, National Junk Food Day gives you the perfect excuse (just for a day.)