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Chef James

“The duty of a good Cuisinier is to transmit to the next generation everything he has learned and experienced.”
 
Fernand Point, 1941

FEATURED FOR JULY

Updated: Over 9,000 Food Festivals

Summer & Picnic Food, Tips & Recipes

Grilling & Barbecue Articles & Recipes

Sports & Tailgating Articles & Recipes

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FEATURED RECIPES & TIPS

· Original Frank's Redhot Wings

· Ultimate Party Wings

· More Chicken Wing Recipes

· More Appetizer Recipes·

· French Onion Dip

· Jack's Screaming Red Sauce

· Potato Salad Recipes

· Cole Slaw Recipes

· Chicken Salad Recipes

· Kickoff Kabobs

· Banana Bread Recipes

· Mushroom Appetizer Recipes

· Crunchy Snack Mixes

· Mustard and Mustard Sauces

· Salsa Recipes

· Baked and Stuffed Potato Recipes

· Mac & Cheese Recipes
 

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July Food Holidays:

For Details, History and more DAY, WEEK and MONTH Food Holiday designations, including LINKS to Holiday Origins and Additional Information:
SEE Detailed JULY Food Calendar

JULY is:

• Air Conditioning Appreciation Days (July 3 to Aug 15)

• Grain of the Month: Wheat

• Lasagna Awareness Month

• National Baked Bean Month

• National Blueberry Month (Since 1974)

• National Culinary Arts Month - since 2002.

• National Grilling Month

• National Horseradish Month

• National Hot Dog Month

• National Ice Cream Month [Presidential Proclamation: 1984, President Ronald Reagan]

• National Picnic Month

• National Pickle Month

• National Watermelon Month

• UK: [National Fishing Month] (July 25-Aug 30, 2026)

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DID YOU KNOW?

Mirin is a sweet Japanese rice wine (saké), sometimes just called rice wine. Mirin is used for cooking, only, mainly in sauces and glazes.  It gives a nice glaze to grilled foods. If a recipe calls for Mirin or rice wine, you may substitute sherry or white wine with a little sugar.

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Saturday, July 11, 2026

Daily Trivia Questions are below

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“Well, I can't eat muffins in an agitated manner. The butter would probably get on my cuffs. One should always eat muffins quite calmly. It is the only way to eat them.”
Oscar Wilde 'The Importance of Being Earnest' (1895)
 

FOOD HOLIDAYS - TODAY IS:

• [World Population Day] (United Nations, since 1990; to enhance awareness of population issues, including their relations to the environment and development)

• National Blueberry Muffin Day
  (Blueberry Muffin Recipes  ---  Muffin Quotes)

• National Rainier Cherry Day. Named after Mount Ranier, Washington. Developed by Harry Fogle at Washington State University in 1952, a cross between the Bing and Van cherries. Rainiers have a thin yellow skin with a red blush and yellow flesh.
  (Cherry Trivia and Facts  ---  Cherry Quotes)

• National Mojito Day (A Mojito is a Cuban highball consisting of white rum, sugar, lime juice, sparkling water, and mint).

• UN: [World Horse Day]

• Feast of Theano, patron of vegetarianism.
• St. Benedict of Narsia feast day, patron of farm workers

• [Spain: Fiesta de San Fermin] - Running of the Bulls, Pamplona, Spain (July 6-14, 2026)

• National Salad Week (July 7-13, 2026)
  (Salad Recipes)

• UK: [Great British Pea Week] (July 6-12, 2026)
 

TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

1792 The first issue of the 'Farmer's Almanac' was published by Robert Bailey Thomas (the 1793 issue).  Now called 'Old Farmer's Almanac'. (Some sources list the date as October 13, others November 25)

1826 John Fowler born. Fowler was an English engineer who helped develop the 'steam-hauled' plow and several other specialty use plows.

1838 John Wanamaker was born (died Dec 12, 1922). American innovative businessman, founder of Wanamaker's department store. Wanamaker's was first store in U.S. with electric arc lamps, first with a telephone, first to offer money back guarantee. He also financed Anna Jarvis's successful campaign to recognize Mother's Day as an official holiday.

1950 According to the U.N., world population was 2½ billion people.

1964 'My Boy Lollipop' sung by Millie Small was number 2 on the charts.

1985 Dr. Harlan Stone announced he had developed zippers to use in place of stitches after operations on patients who might require a second operation.

1987 According to the U.N., world population hit 5 billion.

2011 According to the U.N., world population edged to 7 billion people.

2012 The U.S. Department of Agriculture declared more than 1,000 counties in 26 states natural disaster areas due to widespread drought in the Midwest.

2020 Coronavirus: Coronavirus: Carnival, world's largest cruise company, will scrap or sell 13 of its cruise ships.

2021 According to the U.N., current world population is estimated to be 7.9 billion people.
 

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A FEW FEATURED FOOD FESTIVALS
(See All 9,000 Food, Wine & Beer Festivals)

June 19-July 12, 2026  Alameda County Fair
Alameda County Fairgrounds, California

July 4-11, 2026  170th Gibson County Fair
Princeton, Indiana

July 4-11, 2026 - 100th National Cherry Festival
Traverse City, Michigan

July 8-12, 2026 - Winona County Fair
St. Charles, Minnesota

July 9-11, 2026  39th Annual Slugburger Festival
Corinth, Mississippi

July 9-11, 2026  Delta Chicken Festival - Delta, Ohio

July 10-12, 2026  Moxie Festival - Lisbon, Maine

(SEE ALL FOOD FESTIVALS and OTHER FOOD EVENTS)
 

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FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ    (new DAILY questions)

1) All of the following events took place in the same year.  What year is it?
· This was declared 'The Year of the Restaurant' by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce.
· Restaurant Nora in Washington DC became America's first certified organic restaurant.
· Nicholas Vitalich is arrested for assaulting his girlfriend with a large tuna, outside a San Diego supermarket.
· The Russian Duma passed an animal rights bill that prohibits people from eating their pets.
· The films 'American Pie' and 'Breakfast of Champions' opened in U.S. theatres.

2) A deep-water fish from New Zealand that increased in popularity in the U.S. in the 1980s and 1990s. It has a mild flavor, white flesh and firm texture. One of it's names is 'slimehead', what is its common commercial name?

3) Who first started flavoring chocolate with vanilla and other spices?

4) Native to both Europe and the Americas, today this fruit is cultivated in the U.S. from Alaska to Florida, but it is rarely cultivated from seed. The U.S. produces 75% of the world's crop, and it is an important crop in Canada, Australia, Japan, and parts of Africa.
   Its name is very old, dating back to at least 1000 AD, There are many theories, but no one really knows for sure how, why and where its name originated. The Romans valued it for its supposed medicinal properties, such as healing loose teeth and treating stomach problems
   This fruit is technically an enlarged pulpy receptacle bearing numerous achenes, or in other words an aggregate of numerous nutlets distributed on an enlarged, pulpy, scarlet receptacle.  It is 90% water and contains more vitamin C than an equal quantity as lemons or oranges.
Name this fruit.
Click Here for Today’s Quiz Answers
 

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Read an article about Chef James and the FoodReference.com website published in the Winona Daily News, Minneapolis StarTribune, and numerous other newspapers: Click here for the Article
 

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Dedication
This website is dedicated to:
· Gladys Ehler, my mother, who taught me patience and how to make Sauerbraten (it is still my favorite)
· Edward Ehler, my father, who taught me a love of books and history.
· Barbara Saba, my sister, who taught me how to dance.
· Cpl. Thomas E. Saba, my nephew.  Died in action on Feb. 7, 2007 in Iraq.  He was 30 yrs. young.

          Chef James
 

TOP

DID YOU KNOW

In 1961 the Blueberry Muffin was designated as the Official Muffin of Minnesota.

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A FOOD LIFE

"There are those who say that a life devoted to food -- cooking it, eating it, writing about it, even dreaming about it -- is a frivolous life, an indulgent life.  I would disagree.  If we do not care what we eat, we do not care for ourselves, and if we do not care for ourselves, how can we care for others?"
Fictional cookery writer Hilary Small, in episode 6, series 2 of 'Pie In the Sky'

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Click Here for
Food Emergency
Websites, Phone #s, E-mails, etc.

 

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Classic Fish and Seafood Recipes
 

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DID YOU KNOW?

Milton Stavely Hershey first became rich selling caramels. He sold his caramel business in 1900 for $1 million and started making milk chocolate.
 

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IN SEASON FOR SPRING

VEGETABLES
(Recipes  --  Tips)
Asparagus
Avocados
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Collard Greens
Kale
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Onions
Peas
Plantains
Radishes
Rhubarb
Spinach
Swiss Chard
Turnips

FRUITS (Tips)
Apples
Apricots
Bananas
Blackberries
Kiwifruit
Lemons
Limes
Pineapples
Strawberries

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DID YOU KNOW?

Cranberries are one of only three major fruits native to North America (Concord grapes and blueberries are the others).

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Website last updated on Saturday, July 11, 2026