Welcome to our series featuring Food Holidays: October 12th, 2022. Today is National Peanut Festival. I wish I had knew this earlier today I would have tried to find a Peanut Festival to take David to. David loves Hot Roasted Peanuts. Do you like them as well?
Five thing to know about Nuts:
- Nuts are healthier in their raw form and the reason is that over 15% of the healthy Oils are lost in the roasting process.
- Studies show that people who eat Nuts regularly live 2-3 years longer than those who don’t.
- Did you know Nut allergy is among the most common food allergies.
- Roasted Nutshells were used as a Coffee substitute during the Civil War.
- Half of the world’s Nuts are inedible or poisonous to humans.
Yorkshire Pudding Day
Yorkshire Pudding is a blend of Eggs, Flour and Milk that are mixed together and baked. When paired with meat drippings, Gravy, and the other dishes that go along with a Sunday Roast, the results are yummy.
In honor of this delectable Pudding, a day has been set aside to learn about and celebrate everything that goes along with Yorkshire Pudding!
History of National Yorkshire Pudding Day
The story begins hundreds of years ago and, in true fairy tale fashion, it can only begin with Once Upon a Time.
Robust and lovely Wheat Flour began to enter into common use for the making of Cakes and Puddings. Cooks in the North of England became part of a story that would change the course of cookery forever. They began making use of the fat from the dripping pan to cook a batter Pudding while the Meat roasted in the oven. This brilliant idea caught on and has never let go.
In 1737, the first recipe for “dripping Pudding” was published in The Whole Duty of a Woman. This book was a guide for the fairer sex with rules, directions, and observations for a lady’s conduct and behavior. The topic of a lady’s love life was included with tips for married, single, and even divorced women. Talk about scandalously genius. The Whole Duty of a Woman might be fun to read, even today! Though it could be a little difficult to find a copy.
One of the most important parts of the success of this particular book was related to the recipe for “dripping Pudding.” The instructions were fairly simple: just make a good batter like for Pancakes, put in a hot toss-pan over the fire, add a bit of Butter to fry the bottom a little, then put the pan instead of a dripping pan and under a shoulder of Mutton. Don’t forget to shake it frequently so it will be light and savory. When the Mutton is done, turn the Pudding into a dish and serve hot.
In 1747, Hannah Glasse shook up the recipe with her own version in The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Simple. Forget Nigella, Glasse was the original domestic goddess! The dripping Pudding had been cooked in England for Centuries, although the Puddings were much flatter than the puffy versions of the Pudding known today. And Glasse was a clever woman who re-invented and re-named the dripping Pudding into what is now known as Yorkshire Pudding.
Then in 2008, the Royal Society of Chemistry got involved when it declared that “A Yorkshire Pudding isn’t a Yorkshire Pudding if it is less than four inches tall.” This came about when Ian Lyness, an Englishman living in the Rockies experienced a series of Yorkshire Pudding “flops” in the high Country despite huge successes in the low Country.
It is no myth – the rise is just not the same at certain altitudes. This probably seems fairly strange for those who are able to cook perfect Puddings in the Pennines of England, but it is important to remember that their altitude is less than one-fourth of the altitude of the Rocky Mountains.
That aside, Yorkshire Pudding is still a staple of the British Sunday lunch. In some cases Yorkshire Pudding is eaten as a separate course prior to the main Meat dish. This is the traditional way to eat Yorkshire Pudding and is still common in parts of Yorkshire today. There is a reason for this too.
Because the rich gravy from the roast Meat drippings was used up with the first course, the main Meat and Vegetable course was often served with a Parsley or White Sauce. Which was a cheap way to fill diners, thus stretching the use of more expensive ingredients since the Yorkshire Pudding was served first. Should a person wish to tighten those purse strings a little bit, this is one way to do it.
Most people these days, though, like to load their plates with all the trimmings together in one go, Yorkshire Pudding included, so forget the other two courses!
As a final note, Chemical Scientist and author John Emsley, of Yorkshire, believes that the ability to make good puds is “in the blood and instinct of people born and raised in Yorkshire.”
National M&M Day Activities
- Bake sales are always great because they get everyone involved in the celebration and they raise money for a cause. Celebrate National M&M Day by inviting family to join you in a bake sale. The only catch is that they have to incorporate M&M’s into whatever item they make.
- We don’t mean sweet as in “rad” or “cool”, but when we say sweet, we mean foods, snacks, and drinks that’ll satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth. For instance, you can serve M&M Brownies, and Cocktails!
- We’ve all seen the commercials: the smart, know-it-all red M&M, the dumb but kindhearted yellow M&M, the sassy, sultry green M&M. Odds are, there’s an M&M you connect with most. On National M&M Day, celebrate by rocking a yellow tie, a red shirt, or a green scarf. Whatever helps you get in touch with your inner M&M.
M&M’s Facts
- M&M company stopped making red M&M’s for 10 years because researchers linked the red dye Amaranth to cancer even though red M&M’s didn’t and still don’t contain this type of red dye; they picked orange as the replacement.
- Today, we associate a tube of M&M’s with mini M&M’s, but back in the day, the original packaging of all M&M’s was a cardboard tube.
- Forrest Mars Sr., of the Mars Candy Company, struck a deal with Bruce Murrie, son of Hershey president William Murrie, to develop a hard-shelled candy with Chocolate at the center.
- Mars eventually decided that having tan and brown M&M’s was silly. Tan candy was a bit underwhelming. They had fans choose between blue, pink or purple as the color to replace tan M&M’s; obviously, blue was the winner.
- Astronauts love M&M’s because of how easy they are to eat, making M&M’s are the most consumed Chocolate in outer space.
Why PEOPLE Love National M&M Day
- Today gives us an excuse to have a sweet treat. Not that you need permission to indulge in Chocolatey goodness. Go ahead, take full advantage of National M&M Day. The big question: How many will you have?
- Because they melt in your mouth, not in your hand. Need we say more? As M&Ms famous tagline suggests, M&M’s won’t melt in your hand. Making M&MS a perfect treat for kids and any adults who have a million things to do and can’t inhale their M&M’s in a matter of seconds. Celebrate M&Ms and the one that has saved you from being a Chocolatey mess.
- There’s a flavor — and a color — for all of us from Milk Chocolate to Dark Chocolate. Salty Caramel or Mint. Don’t forget Peanuts. Like race cars, M&Ms come in a variety of custom colors. On National M&M Day, celebrate the Candy that has something for everyone.
Five thing to know about M&Ms:
- Did you know from 1976 to 1985, there were no red M&Ms. That stinks as the red and green are my favorite. While blue shouldn’t be a M&M.
- Blue M&Ms were introduced in 1995.
- M&Ms were taken along on the first Space Shuttle voyage in 1982.
- Did you know there are 340 million M&M’s produced daily.
- The “M&M” was modeled after a Candy Forrest Mars, Sr. encountered while in Spain during the 1930s. During the Spanish Civil War there, he observed Soldiers eating Chocolate Pellets with a hard shell of tempered Chocolate. This prevented Candies from melting, which was essential when included in Soldiers rations as they were.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
