AUGUST 13
Today in Food History• National Filet Mignon Day - O. Henry (pen name of William Sydney Porter) was the first to use the term "filet mignon" in his book 'The Four Million' in 1906. A French derivative, it means small or dainty fillet.
Filet = boneless meat - mignon = small (dainty).
(Beef Steak Recipes) • National Prosecco Day (An Italian sparkling wine from Veneto). • [International Lefthanders Day] • UK: [Afternoon Tea Week] (Aug 12-18, 2024) A celebration of the great British tradition of Afternoon Tea.
On this day in:1884 Rufus Porter died (born 1 May 1792). American editor and inventor. On August 28, 1845 he put out the first issue of Scientific American, but sold the magazine after 10 months. He held over 100 patents, including a fire alarm, signal telegraph, fog whistle, and a washing machine. 1899 The Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, was born. He was the son of a Leytonstone green grocer.
(Alfred Hitchcock Food Trivia) 1910 Florence Nightingale died (born 12 May 1820). English nurse who established modern nursing practice. 1913 True Stainless steel was cast for the first time in Sheffield, England. Harry Brearly of Thomas Firth & Sons discovered how to make 'the steel that doesn't rust.' It revolutionized the cutlery industry. 1917 Eduard Buchner died (born 20 May 1860). A German biochemist, awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1907 for demonstrating the fermentation of carbohydrates results from the action of different enzymes contained in yeast and not the yeast cell itself. He showed that the enzyme zymase causes sugar to break up, and it can be extracted from yeast cells.
(Yeast Trivia -- How Yeast Works) 1952 The original version of the song 'Hound Dog' was recorded by Willie Mae (Big Mama) Thornton. (Elvis Presley recorded it in 1956). 1957 Noda Shoyu Co., Ltd. registered the 'Kikkoman' trademark (for soy sauce), first used in 1885. 1970 'Make It With You' by Bread is #1 on the charts. 1985 Hotelier John Willard Marriott died (born Sept 17, 1900). Beginning with Hot Shoppe restaurants, then airline catering, and then motels, Marriott built his business into one of the largest, fastest growing, and most profitable hotel and restaurant businesses in the U.S. 1991 Jack Ryan died. Before helping to develop the Barbie Doll for Mattell, Ryan worked for the Pentagon designing missiles! 2004 Julia Child died 2 days before her 92 birthday (born Aug 15, 1912). American cooking authority, cookbook author, TV Cooking show host, etc. During World War II, she also worked for the OSS from 1941-1945 (The OSS is the forerunner of the CIA).
| 