Food Holidays: January 12th, 2022

Good morning, we have a lot of Foods to celebrate this morning beginning with Marzipan and ending with the Glazed Donut which is funny as Charlie was asking for Donuts last night. I think why Charlie and David are sleeping I will sneak out to the Donut Store and pick up Glazed Donuts for us. Would you like to have a Donut as well?

National Marzipan Day

National Marzipan Day is one of the sweetest days of the year, taking place on January 12th. Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of Sugar or Honey and ground Almonds, sometimes augmented with Almond Oil or Extract. This treat is so special that the Persians and Italians claim the credit for the invention of Marzipan.

HISTORY OF NATIONAL MARZIPAN DAY

Marzipan might be a hard name to remember, but the taste is guaranteed to leave you wanting more. Marzipan is a light and tasty confection that uses ground Almonds, Sugar or Honey, and some binding agents like Corn Syrup to give it a flexible texture. Marzipan is commonly filled with Chocolate, turned into Fruit and Vegetable imitations, or converted into thin sheets of Glaze for Icing Cakes.

The origins of Marzipan aren’t entirely clear, but culinary historians have traced its most likely place of origin to Persia. But there is compelling evidence in support of Spain being the original creators of Marzipan.  Marzipan, it is believed, was brought into Europe by the Turks through trade routes. During this era, the Hanseatic League transported great quantities of Marzipan, making it a staple of most of the towns throughout Europe. The cities of Lübeck and Tallinn have a proud tradition of Marzipan manufacture and produce the highest quality of Marzipans with a specific number of Almonds.

Marzipan in the United States is not officially defined, but it is generally made with a higher ratio of Sugar to Almonds than Almond Paste. Normally, to make Marzipan, Raw Almonds are cleaned and blanched, and are then introduced to the rotating cylinders to rid their skins. It is followed by coarsely chopping the Almonds and grinding them to paste with 35% of Sugar. They are further roasted and cooled. Sugar and the binding agent are finally added to give a flexible texture, which can be shaped into almost anything including Fruits or Vegetables

There is no specific history for the creation of National Marzipan Day, but it is celebrated annually on January 12th.

NATIONAL MARZIPAN DAY ACTIVITIES

1. You can’t celebrate National Marzipan Day without actually trying Marzipan. Make sure you go out to a local Bakery that sells the treat and purchase Marzipan.
2. Buy premade Marzipan that hasn’t yet been set, and really stretch your creativity by creating all manner of Marzipan creations. Marzipan can be molded into any number of interesting shapes. Gather friends and family, get food coloring, and go wild.
3. Buy Marzipan to share with friends, that might be interested, including the less fortunate. If you’re opting to make Marzipan yourself, make sure to make extra to go around.

5 FACTS ABOUT MARZIPAN

1. Marzipan was prescribed as a medicine for mental and physical ailments during the Middle Ages.
2. Marzipan is good for brain health because Almonds contain large amounts of Lecithin responsible for stimulating the Nerve Cells.
3. For a confection to qualify as Marzipan, it must meet the required percentage of Almonds prescribed and regulated by the manufacturers’ Country.
4. The figures made from Marzipan Sugar Paste and Jellies were presented at the end of a Medieval feast to Royals.
5. Confectioners only recognize the German and French methods of making Marzipan.

WHY PEOPLE LOVE NATIONAL MARZIPAN DAY

1. If you have a sweet tooth, then today is your lucky day. On National Marzipan Day, you can have as many sweet treats as you want, which is usually frowned upon on regular days.
2. Marzipan can be formed into any shape or color of your choice making it a very fun activity to do with family.
3. A lot of people may not even know what Marzipan is or have eaten Marzipan without even knowing what it is. This Holiday raises awareness and allows us to find out more about Marzipan.

National Curried Chicken Day

1. The chief spices found in most Curry powders are Turmeric, Coriander, and Cumin.
2. The word Curry is derived from a South-Asian word Kori ; a sauce with cooked Meat or Fish
3. A Hen can lay about 300 Eggs each year.
4. So that the Yoke does not stick to the eggshell, a mother hen turns the Egg about 50 times each day.
5. There are more Chickens on Earth than there are humans.

One of the yummiest days, National Curried Chicken Day or National Chicken Curry Day, is on January 12th. Chicken Curry has been filling our bellies in the Western world since the 1800s and has been in existence long before then. We have India to thank for providing us with Chicken Curry which has since spread all over the world, reaching the United Kingdom, America, and the Caribbean.

HISTORY OF NATIONAL CURRIED CHICKEN DAY

Chicken Curry is one of the most popular Chicken dishes we know today. With its long, adventurous history, Chicken Curry remains one of the go-to poultry dishes to date. Curry is any dish with a Sauce, seasoned with Spices, and this dish dates back to the B.C. era.

Chicken Curry remains one of the most prominent Curry dishes, and the most sought after. Originating in India, Chicken Curry has since taken different aliases across the Western world: in the U.S. Chicken Curry is popularly known as the ‘Country Captain Chicken,’ while in the U.K. it goes by the name ‘Coronation Chicken.’

History states that Soldiers stationed in India during the British rule were craving for this delicacy and started including Chicken Curry on their menus. In the early 1800s, a British Sea Captain stationed in Bengal, India, shared the recipe for Chicken Curry with friends at the major shipping port in Savannah, Georgia. The earliest statement of that record dates to 1825, and by 1858, Chicken Curry wide popularity across the U.K.

In 1940, a woman from Warm Springs, Georgia, served Chicken Curry under the name ‘Country Captain’ to Franklin D. Roosevelt and General George S. Patton, but the recipe gained its popularity in the U.S. only after the 1950s. Chefs Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume cooked the Curried Chicken recipe for the Coronation ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, and it was called ‘Coronation Chicken.’ Since then, Chicken Curry has become a much-loved sandwich filling as well.

A typical Curry from India consists of Chicken stewed in an Onion and Tomato-based Sauce, flavored with Ginger, Garlic, Chili Peppers, and a variety of Spices, often including Turmeric, Cumin, Coriander, Cinnamon, and Cardamom. Outside of India, Chicken Curry is often made with a pre-made Spice mixture known as Curry Powder.

HOW TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL CURRIED CHICKEN DAY

1. With different flavors and recipes to choose from spend the day trying your hand at a few recipes and choose any one of the recipes to cook today. Chicken Curry is best served with Indian Flatbread or Rice.
2. Who better to serve you Chicken Curry today than the originators? Make your way over to your local Indian restaurant and enjoy a meal of Chicken Curry.
3. Not in the mood to go out. That’s OK because you can enjoy Chicken Curry at home. Look up a nice restaurant serving the recipe near you and order a meal. Don’t forget to order enough for your family.

5 FACTS ABOUT CURRY

1. The term ‘Curry’ comes from the Tamil word for a spiced dish, ‘Kari,’ which was later anglicized.
2. Great Britain is home to nearly 10,000 Curry houses!
3. The spiciest Curry is the Chicken Naga, from Nagaland, India, with the Naga Peppers being a hundred times hotter than Jalapeno Peppers.
4. Curry Powder is nothing, but a blend of Spices also called ‘Garam Masala’ in India.
5. To bring down the spicy level of your Curry, you could add Coconut Milk while it’s still cooking.

National Glazed Doughnut Day

1. The word “doughnut” comes from the Dutch origin of olykoeck or “oily cake”.

2. The two most common types of Doughnuts are the flattened sphere (you know…the ones that are injected with Jelly or Custard) and the Ring Donut.

3. Internationally, Dunkin’ Donuts has over 1700 locations in 29 Countries and over 6,000 stores in 30 Countries world-wide! In the U.S. there are over 4,400 locations across 36 states.

4. Krispy Kreme is probably best known for their fresh, hot, glazed, Yeast-raised Doughnuts. The company’s “Hot Doughnuts Now” flashing sign is an integral part of the brands appeal and fame.

5. Jelly-filled and Chocolate Frosted also rank as their top sellers.

6. Americans consume 10 billion Doughnuts annually.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates