FEBRUARY 6 - Today in Food History• New Zealand: [Waitangi Day] (National Day) (New Zealand Food Trivia) • Frozen Yogurt Day • National Chopsticks Day (Chopstick Trivia) • Feast of St. Amand, patron of bartenders, brewers, and vintners. • St. Dorothy's Day, patron of brewers, gardeners and florists. • [African Heritage & Health Week] February 1-7 (commemorates the foods, flavors and healthy cooking techniques that were core to the wellbeing of African ancestors from Africa, South America, the Caribbean, and the American South.) • Pride in Foodservice Week (Feb 3-7, 2025) [Assoc. of Nutrition & Foodservice Professionals] On this day in:1617 Prospero Alpini died. An Italian physician and botanist, he is said to have introduced coffee and bananas to Europe and to have been the first to artificially fertilize date palms. 1685 Charles II, king of England, died. Known as the 'Merry Monarch.' Tea was introduced to England during his reign. On December 23, 1675, he issued a proclamation suppressing Coffee Houses. The public response was so negative that he had to revoke it on January 8, 1676. (Coffee History --- Coffee Trivia) (Coffee Quotes) 1788 Massachusetts became the 6th state to ratify the U.S. constitution. (Massachusetts Food Trivia) 1796 John Stevens Henslow was born. This British clergyman and botanist was a mentor of Charles Darwin. To help get farmers to apply scientific methods, he gave lectures on the fermentation of manure. He also showed Irish farmers how to get starch from rotten potatoes during the potato famine of 1845-1846. 1829 Bollinger Renaudin & Cie. was established. Producers of Champagne Bollinger in the village of Ay in Champagne, France. (Champagne Trivia & Facts) (Champagne Quotes) 1864 Frederic Tudor died (born Sept 4, 1783). 'The Ice King' He created an export trade for block ice harvested from frozen ponds in New England during the winter. The ice was shipped in insulated cargo holds to the Caribbean, India and Europe and stored in insulated warehouses. 1865 A horse meat banquet is held at the Grand Hotel in Paris. (Horses & Horsemeat Trivia & Facts) (Horse Quotes) 1865 Isabella Beeton died (born, March 12, 1836). A famous Victorian home economist, author of 'Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.' The book, popularly known as 'Mrs Beeton's Cookbook,' contained a compilation of over 900 recipes and advice on all aspects of running a middle class household. 1894 Ontario, Canada votes in favor of alcohol prohibition. 1898 Rudolf Karl George Friedrich Leuckart died. A German zoologist and pioneer in the modern study of parasites. He showed that trichinosis was caused by a worm-like parasite. (Pork & Trichinosis) 1914 Thurl Ravenscroft was born (died May 22, 2005). Voice actor best known as the voice of 'Tony the Tiger' in Kellogg's Frosted Flakes commercials - "They're grrrreeat!" 1937 Robert H. Brooks was born (died July 16, 2006). Founder of Naturally Fresh Foods in 1966, he also helped create The Hooters restaurant chain. 1985 Perrier introduced Perrier with 'a twist of lemon' - its first new product in 125 years. 1989 At about 11:30 am in the town of Rosewood, Queensland, Australia, a light rain of hundreds of small fish (bream) was reported to police.
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