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 banana lengthwise, nestled three scoops of ice cream between the halves, drizzled them with chocolate and strawberry sauces, sprinkled crushed nuts on top and finished […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Cabernet Sauvignon has earned the title ‘king of red grapes’. It arose in 17th‑century Bordeaux as an accidental cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, inheriting thick skins and small berries from its parents. Those traits give the wine deep colour, robust tannins and the ability to age gracefully. Over the centuries Cabernet spread across […]
A Celebration Across Two Months Hispanic Heritage Month unfolds across two months—beginning on September 15 and ending on October 15—reflecting the complex tapestry of Latin American independence and culture. The starting date, September 15, honors the anniversaries of independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; Mexico’s independence follows on September 16, and […]
October’s arrival ushers in Filipino American History Month, a period of storytelling, culinary delights and remembrance. The timing honors a remarkable event: on October 18, 1587, a group of ‘Luzones Indios’ from the Philippines—then a Spanish colony—landed at Morro Bay, California, as part of the Spanish Manila galleon trade. They became the first recorded Filipinos […]