Food Holidays: January 11th, 2022

Good morning, welcome to our series sharing Food Holidays: January 11th, 2022, Today is National Hot Toddy Day, but I will pass on it and instead celebrate National Milk Day. To celebrate National Milk Day, I will have a glass of Milk and Cookies for breakfast this morning and a cup of Hot Chocolate this evening before bed. Would you like to join me for a movie and Hot Chocolate, and we can even have more Cookies if you like.

National Hot Toddy Day

I have a question for you this morning. Do you crave festive Cocktails? Do you need to be warmed up this morning? Then you’ll want to celebrate National Hot Toddy Day which falls on January 11th. The Hot Toddy is a warm drink created in a kettle with various kinds of Alcohol which might be Rum, Brandy, or Whiskey. Along with Honey, Lemon, Water, and a Cinnamon Stick. A Hot Toddy is best enjoyed by the fire. Preferably with Snow falling outside. The Hot Toddy is even rumored to relieve cold and Flu symptoms.

NATIONAL HOT TODDY DAY ACTIVITIES

1. There are all kinds of twists on the classic Hot Toddy recipe, from Tea and Coffee to Butter and Apple Cider.
2. Use Hot Toddies as an excuse to bond with an old friend. If they don’t drink, whip up a Virgin Hot Toddy.
3. Snap a pic of your Hot Toddy to share on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Remind everyone #NationalHotToddyDay is meant to be celebrated.

5 TYPES OF HOT TODDIES

1. Switch out the traditional liquors with Scotch but be warned Scotch is strong!
2. Mix the Alcohol of your choice with Apple Cider and if you want a different flavor, you could try Whiskey.
3. The typical ingredients with Ginger-flavored liquor like Domane de Canton.
4. Hot Cinnamon Apple Toddy just says cozy. To make this combine Cinnamon Schnapps with Hot Apple Cider and cuddle up.
5. For one of the most lavish versions of the Hot Toddy, combine the usual ingredients with a few tablespoons of Butter. That’s smooth.

WHY WE LOVE NATIONAL HOT TODDY DAY

1. Winter brings dark and chilly factors into our life. Hot Toddies are here to fend them off.
2. Hot Toddies are mostly Alcohol. But the other ingredients aren’t going to induce a hangover. You’ve got water and Lemon Juice, and the only Sugar is from the Honey.
3. Cinnamon and dark liquor sounds like the makings of a Midwinter tradition.

National Milk Day

Not to be confused with World Milk Day on June 1st, National Milk Day falls on January 11th to observe the very first-time Milk was delivered to homes inside sterilized glass bottles. It took until 1878 before anybody thought to fill bottles with Milk and seal them with Waxed Paper. Before that, conditions for storing Milk (let alone delivering it) were Unsanitary at best and downright hazardous at worst. But now that we have the technology to Pasteurize and deliver fresh Milk to homes, stores, and processing facilities across the Country, this most basic type of Dairy is more accessible than ever before. By today’s standards, Milk with its nine essential Nutrients is considered a staple food, technically able to support human life without the addition of any other food groups to balance it out. Other life-supporting foods include Sourdough Bread, Chicken Eggs, Red Beans, and Beer! Of course, most of us aren’t on a Milk-only diet, but Milk is our very first food as babies and often remains a common source of Nutrition throughout our adult lives. For National Milk Day, we invite you to join us in celebrating the oldest and arguably most natural food for all the Mammals of the world — Milk.

NATIONAL MILK DAY ACTIVITIES

1. If you’re Homeschooling, then you and your students should learn something new about Milk. As a staple food available at practically any Supermarket, Milk is one of those foods we tend to take for granted. Milk is always there on the shelf, cold and fresh and ready to come home with you. But how much do you really know about Milk? On National Milk Day, you can read up on Milk’s Nutritional value or find out more about the new Hormones detected in modern Milks. Learn about how Cheese is made, or, if you’re more into History, learn about how Milk Pasteurization literally changed the world!
2. Try a new Milk product. The Dairy food group is one of the most diverse, even though Milk is derived from one basic food. It’s pretty likely there’s some kind of Dairy that you just haven’t tried. Give Yogurt a go, see if you like Cottage Cheese, or try Gelato (the Italian version of Ice Cream). If you’re already a Dairy connoisseur, take it to the next level with a bite of stinky Limburger Cheese or Feta made from Goat’s Milk. Love traveling? Dare yourself to take a sip of Fermented Mare’s Milk, Mongolia’s favorite drink.
3. Visit a local Dairy. Not all areas are well-suited to raising Dairy Cows, but thanks to modern cold storage and sanitary Milk transportation, there’s probably a Milk processing plant near you. Dairy facilities offer tours for visitors to learn more about how Milk is made into countless other foods. National Milk Day is the perfect excuse to go see the process for yourself. Many Dairy tours offer free samples and some of them even have onsite stores for you to buy your favorite products from the dairy.

WHY WE LOVE NATIONAL MILK DAY

1. Milk does a body good because Milk is packed with Vitamins, Minerals, and Nutrients important for your health. Milk contains nine essential Nutrients including Calcium that your body needs to live, and Milk also delivers some non-essential Nutrients like Sugars and Fats, which can provide your body with the energy it needs to function. Whole Cow Milk differs from human Milk in fat content and Nutrient ratios, its basic components are close enough for us humans to benefit from the beverage.
2. Milk is pretty great by itself, but Milk is also the foundation of the entire Dairy food group. We have Whole Milk, where none of the Milk fat has been separated, as well as lower Fat-content Milks like 2%, blended, and Skim Milk. Then there are the Creams, which are the higher fat-content Milk products that we’ve removed from the Skim Milk. Like Milks, Creams vary in fat content depending on how we’ll use them. Heavy Creams are used to make Butter and Whipped Cream, while lighter Creams are used to produce dairy variants like Yogurt, Cheese, and Ice Cream.
3. Most kids like to drink Milk, but National Milk Day is a great opportunity to get them interested in why they like to drink Milk. Studies show that children are more proactive about their food choices when they understand how their decisions impact the way their bodies feel. National Milk Day empowers kids to learn about what Milk brings to the table. Today also raises important questions about the differences between Organic Milk and other Milk options. Helping kids understand how certain Chemicals given to the Dairy Cows can end up in their glass.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates