Wednesday, August 19, 2026Daily Trivia Questions are below TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE“I do not believe that you have to spend a lot of money to eat well: it is hard to beat a plain old baked potato.”
Laurie Colwin (1944-1992)
FOOD HOLIDAYS - TODAY IS:• National Soft Serve Ice Cream Day
(Ice Cream Tips -- Ice Cream Recipes) • National Hot & Spicy Food Day
(International Hot & Spicy Food Day is January 16)
(Chile Pepper Trivia & Facts) • National Potato Day (Potato Trivia -- Potato Tips)
(Potato History -- Potato Recipes)
(Potato Quotes) • Feast of St. Magnus, patron of fish mongers
TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY1851 Charles Elmer Hires was born (died July 31, 1937). Pharmacist and creator of Hires Root Beer, which he introduced to the world at the Philadelphia Centennial Expo in 1876. He sold it in small packets containing a mixture of various barks, herbs and berries to brew as 'root beer.' In 1880 he introduced a more convenient liquid version.
(Why does root beer foam?) 1856 Gail Borden was granted U.S. patent #15,553 for a process to make condensed milk, which he had developed in 1853. (Condensed Milk Trivia)
(Borden Co. Trivia & Facts) 1887 Spencer Fullerton Baird died (born Feb 3, 1823). An American naturalist and zoologist, a leading authority on North American birds and mammals. In 1878 he was named the second Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 1913 Candy manufacturer Clarence Crane registered 'Life Savers' trademark. He invented the mint hard candy in 1912. (Life Saver’s Trivia) 1913 Canada: An estimated 40,000 men travel west from the Maritime (eastern) Provinces to help bring in a record breaking harvest on prairie farms in central Canada. 1919 William B. Ward registered 'Hostess' trademark (for breads, biscuits and cakes). 1934 Soap Box Derby: Newsman Myron Scott organized the first All-American Soap Box Derby in Dayton, Ohio. 362 kids ages 6-16 competed with their homemade soap box vehicles. The national winner was Robert Turner of Muncie, Indiana, who made his car from the wood of a saloon bar. 1935 Prince Edward Island, Canada records record breaking temperatures of over 101 degrees F. 1947 Dutch chemists, Jozef Ferdinand Arens and David Adriaan van Dorp. synthesized vitamin A. 1960 The USSR launched Sputnik 5 into Earth orbit carrying 2 dogs, 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants. The capsule was successfully returned to Earth the next day on August 20. 1996 Miss Universe was told to lose 27 pounds or lose her crown. 2002 The Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington DC put the kitchen of legendary cook Julia Child on display. Child had donated the kitchen from her Cambridge home of 32 years, and it had been disassembled and moved to the Smithsonian. 2019 A limited edition Pumpkin Spice Spam will be available in September.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** August 7-23, 2026 - Indiana State Fair
Indianapolis, Indiana August 15-22, 2026 Washington County Agricultural Fair - Washington, Pennsylvania August 18-22, 2026 180th Vermont State Fair
Rutland, Vermont August 19-22, 2026 149th Arkansas Valley Fair
Rocky Ford, Colorado August 20-23, 2026 Lexington Blueberry Festival
Lexington, Ohio August 21-September 7, 2026 Alaska State Fair
Palmer, Alaska August 22-23, 2026 Annual Banana Split Celebration
Latrobe, Pennsylvania (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?
· Boston, Massachusetts appointed the first Inspector of Milk in the U.S.
· In the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City, the first elevator in an American hotel began operation.
· Battle Creek, Michigan was incorporated as a city. The Breakfast Cereal center of the world.
· The first Pullman Sleeper railroad cars were put into service on the Chicago & Alton Railroad.
· Edwin L. Drake drilled the 1st successful commercial oil well in the U.S. near Titusville, Pennsylvania. 2) These dried flower buds are picked before they open. The tree is a member of the myrtle family and is native to the Spice Islands of Indonesia (Moluccas) 3) A deep dish (casserole or souffle dish) fruit pie (peach is most common) with only a top biscuit dough crust. 4) This black, bulbous fungus is considered by most U.S. farmers as a plant disease. The Aztecs considered it a delicacy, and it is still prized in Mexican cuisine.
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
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