FoodReference.com Logo

FoodReference.com     (since 1999)

 

HOME   |   Articles   |   Food_Trivia   |   Today_in_Food_History   |   Food_History_Timeline   |   Recipes   |   Cooking_Tips   |   Food_Quotes   |   Who’s_Who   |   Culinary_Schools_&_Tours   |   Trivia_Quizzes   |   Food_Poems   |   Cookbooks   |   Free_Magazines   |   Food_Festivals_&_Events

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 JUNE

Updated: Over 9,000 Food Festivals

Fourth Of July And Food

Summer & Picnic Food, Tips & Recipes

Grilling & Barbecue Articles & Recipes

Sports & Tailgating Articles & Recipes

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
 

 


** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

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
 

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
 

 


** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

June Food Holidays:

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

JUNE is:

• California Avocado Month - Peak California Avocado Season.

• Georgia Blueberry Month - Peak season for Georgia blueberries.

• Grain of the Month: Sorghum

• Men’s Health Month

• National Candy Month

• National Dairy Month - Began in 1937 as National Milk Month to promote drinking milk.

• National Dairy Alternative Month

• National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month (Sept is Fruit & Veggies Month)

• National Iced Tea Month

• National Mango Month: peak month for fresh mangos.

• National Papaya Month  (also September)

• National Soul Food Month (The yearly recognition grew out of the “Grits and Green Conferences” developed and produced by the Culinary Historians of Chicago in 2000 and 2001).

• National Steakhouse Month

• Turkey Lovers' Month

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

DID YOU KNOW?

A nectarine is a fuzzless variety of peach. It is NOT a cross between a peach and a plum.  Peach seeds may occasionally grow into trees that bear nectarines, and nectarine seeds may grow into trees that bear either nectarines or peaches.  It is not possible to know which fruit will grow on trees grown from nectarine seeds, so nectarine branches are grafted onto peach trees to guarantee a crop of nectarines.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Thursday, June 25, 2026

Daily Trivia Questions are below

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“The catfish is a plenty good enough fish for anyone.”
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
 

FOOD HOLIDAYS - TODAY IS:

• National Catfish Day (see 1987 below)
  (Catfish Trivia & Facts  --  Catfish Recipes)

• National Goats Cheese Day
  [1998 American Cheese Society]

• National Strawberry Parfait Day (Strawberry Trivia)

• [National Pollinator Week] (June 22-28, 2026) Birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles, and other small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food.

• UK: English Wine Week (June 20-28, 2026)
  [Wines of Great Britain]
 

TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

1630 Massachusetts Bay colony governor John Winthrop supposedly introduced the fork to American dining.  (Fork Trivia and Facts  ---  Fork Quotes)

1788 The Commonwealth of Virginia ratified the Constitution and became the 10th state of the United States of America. (Virginia Food Trivia)

1799 David Douglas was born (died July 12, 1834). A Scottish botanist, he collected plants in Scotland, North America and Hawaii. The Douglas Fir is named for him.

1844 John Tyler, 10th U.S. President, married Julia Gardner, the first president to marry while in office. This was his second marriage, his first wife Letitia Christian died of a stroke in the White House in 1842.  He fathered more children than any other U.S. president (15); eight children with Letitia and seven children with his second wife Julia.

1867 Lucien B. Smith of Kent, Ohio received U.S. patent No. 66,182 for barbed wire.  (One of many patents for barbed wire.)  See also Nov 24, 1874.
(Barbed Wire Trivia)

1938 The new Federal minimum wage law guaranteed workers 40¢ per hour.

1951 On the CBS network Pabst aired the 1st color Beer Commercial on the first commercial color TV program.  The public did not own any color TV's, and CBS only owned about 3 dozen color TV sets! The hour long variety show was shown in department stores, hotels and auditoriums in 5 cities, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C.

1956 Anthony Bourdain was born (died June 8, 2018).  Influential American celebrity chef, author ('Kitchen Confidential') and culinary traveler.  Host of  'A Cook's Tour', 'Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations' and 'Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown'.  He died of an apparent suicide.

1971 Sir John Boyd Orr died. A Scottish scientist and nutrition expert, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to eliminate world hunger.

1974 The first checkout scanner was installed in a supermarket.

1987 President Ronald Reagan officially proclaimed June 25 as National Catfish Day. (Proclamation)

1994 The London Times reported a previously unknown species of mammal was discovered in Vietnam, the Vu Quang Ox. It was the first discovery of a new large mammal since the Okapi in 1910. The ox is thought to inhabit an area along the Vietnam-Laos border.

1997 Jacques-Yves Cousteau died. Ocean explorer, marine biologist. Co-inventor of the aqualung.

2004 The last elevated train in Boston made its final run.

2020 Coronavirus: New York City Marathon in November canceled;  McDonald's iconic NYC Times Square restaurant closes for good;  Grocery prices continue to rise.
 

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

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

June 24-27, 2026  52nd Annual Bixby Green Corn Festival - Bixby, Oklahoma

June 25-28, 2026  Placer County Fair
Roseville, California

June 25-28, 2026  Luling Watermelon Thump
Luling, Texas

June 26, 2026  Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off
Monroe, Louisiana

June 26-27, 2026  The Great Lenexa Barbeque Battle
Lenexa, Kansas

June 26-27, 2026  Annual Cheese Curd Festival
Ellsworth, Wisconsin

(SEE ALL FOOD FESTIVALS and OTHER FOOD EVENTS)
 

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ    (new DAILY questions)

1) All of the following events took place in the same year.  What year is it?
· Heinz Tomato Soup went on sale in the UK for first time.
· The population of the U.S. is now 92,228,496. Farmers are 31% of the labor force.
· The Earth passed through the tail of Halley's Comet and nothing happened.
· Ward Baking Company of Chicago, Illinois opened the first completely automated bread plant in the U.S. Untouched by human hands.
· Cellophane was invented by Jacques Brandenberger, a Swiss chemist

2) How did the alligator pear get its name and what is the other common name for it?

3) How much feed does it take to produce a dozen eggs?

4) What country has more varieties of crabs than anywhere else in the world?
Click Here for Today’s Quiz Answers
 

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

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
 

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

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

Life Savers were created by Clarance Crane in 1912 as a candy that would not melt in the summertime. Crane was a candy maker from Cleveland, Ohio.

** ** ** ** ** **

 


** ** ** ** ** **

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'

** ** ** ** ** **

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

 

** ** ** ** ** **

Classic Fish and Seafood Recipes
 

** ** ** ** ** **

DID YOU KNOW?

Neufchatel is a mild flavored, soft, unripened cow's milk cheese similar to cream cheese, but with a lower fat content and more moisture.  Originally from the town of Neufchatel in the Normandy region of France. The fat content is usually about 45%. Sold in various shapes - small rectangles, cylindrical, heart shapes, etc.

* ** ** ** ** **

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

** ** ** ** ** **

DID YOU KNOW?

Catfish have many external taste buds and some are located on their barbels - which means they can taste something by simply touching it with their barbels.

** ** ** ** ** **

  Home   |   About Us & Contact Us   |   Privacy Policy   |   Chef James Biography   |   Bibliography   |   Food Links  

Please feel free to link to any pages of FoodReference.com from your website.

For permission to use any of this content please E-mail: james@foodreference.com

All contents are copyright © 1990 - 2026 James T. Ehler and www.FoodReference.com unless otherwise noted.
All rights reserved.

You may copy and use portions of this website for non-commercial, personal use only.
Any other use of these materials without prior written authorization is not very nice and violates the copyright.

Please take the time to request permission.
 

Website last updated on Thursday, June 25, 2026