A well‑made whiskey sour is a lesson in balance. The drink likely evolved from sailors’ grog—spirits mixed with citrus juice and sugar to ward off scurvy. By the mid‑19th century, bartenders in the United States were combining whiskey, lemon and sugar with ice and shaking them to a frothy chill. One popular origin story credits […]
Green Goddess dressing is a testament to how the theatre can influence cuisine. In the 1920s San Francisco’s Palace Hotel hosted the actor George Arliss, who was starring in the […]
On a summer afternoon in 1904, David Evans Strickler, a 23‑year‑old apprentice pharmacist at Tassel Pharmacy in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, decided to liven up the soda fountain menu. He split a […]
Charcuterie is the craft of curing, smoking and preserving meat, a tradition that dates back to at least 15th‑century France. The word comes from ‘chair cuite’, meaning cooked flesh, and […]
The Popsicle owes its existence to an 11‑year‑old boy’s forgetfulness. In 1905, San Francisco resident Frank Epperson mixed powdered soda pop with water and left his cup, stirring stick and […]
Bananas are so ubiquitous in grocery stores that it’s easy to forget their exotic origins. The fruit likely originated in Southeast Asia, where wild bananas were first domesticated more than […]
Pots de crème—literally ‘pots of cream’—are small French custards baked in individual cups. Their history stretches back to the 17th century when custards were prized at Versailles for their smooth texture and rich flavour. While early versions were encased in pastry shells, the dessert evolved into a standalone pudding cooked slowly in a water bath. […]
National Crackers Over The Keyboard Day is one of those quirky celebrations invented to make us chuckle. The day was dreamt up by Thomas and Ruth Roy, a husband‑and‑wife acting duo who have created dozens of ‘special’ days through their company Wellcat Holidays. This one encourages workers and students to break one of office etiquette’s […]
There’s something about banana pudding that feels like a hug from the inside. Maybe it’s the layers: the soft slices of ripe banana, the rich vanilla custard, the nilla wafers that soften to a cake‑like texture and the cloud of whipped cream or meringue on top. Maybe it’s the way the flavors meld after a […]
Turnovers may have originated as a clever workaround to baking bans. In 15th‑century England some towns outlawed cakes to curb flour consumption, so bakers folded pastry around fruit filling and claimed it wasn’t a cake at all. These ‘pocket pies’ became popular throughout Europe. A turnover is essentially a hand pie: flaky puff pastry or […]
Wine has been part of human culture for at least eight thousand years. Archaeologists have discovered traces of fermented grape juice in Neolithic pottery from Georgia, and Greek and Roman writers extolled wine’s virtues. Today red wine is made from countless grape varieties—Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah—each reflecting its terroir. National Red Wine Day, […]
Every year around this time, I find myself craving national cherry popover day. It signals a call to gather over plates and conversation. In kitchens and cafes across the country, people take note of the date and remember how national cherry popover day connects them to seasons past and present. Long before anyone thought to […]