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 JULY

Updated: Over 9,000 Food Festivals

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
 

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
 

 


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

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)

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

DID YOU KNOW?

Arrowroot is  the name of the edible starch produced from the rhizomes of the arrowroot plant. The fine, white powder is used as a thickener in cooking. It is the most easily digestible of the cooking starches, and has about twice the thickening power as flour. It produces a clear sauce with a glossy finish, excellent for fruit glazes and light savory sauces.

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

Thursday, July 23, 2026

Daily Trivia Questions are below

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“Never trust the food in a restaurant on top of the tallest building in town that spends a lot of time folding napkins.”  Andy Rooney
 

FOOD HOLIDAYS - TODAY IS:

• National Vanilla Ice Cream Day (Ice Cream Recipes)

• National Refreshment Day (July 23, 2026 - 4th Thurs)

• St. Phocas the Gardener, patron of farmers and gardeners.
 

TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

1803 Samuel Augustus Maverick was born (died Sept 2, 1870). An American cattleman and politician. He didn't brand his cattle, and his name is the source of the term 'maverick' referring to an unbranded animal.
(Cattle Trivia and Facts)

1894 Arthur Treacher, actor, announcer was born. He later founded Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips restaurant franchise.

1903 Ford Motor Company sold its first car, a Model A

1904 The Ice Cream cone was invented. Charles E. Minches invents the ice cream cone for his customers convenience at the St. Louis World's Fair (The Louisiana Purchase Exhibition). This is only one account, there are several other candidates.
(Ice Cream Trivia & Facts)

1915 Vincent Sardi Jr. was born (died Jan 4, 2007).  Owner, Sardi's Restaurant, New York, N.Y.

1964 Leroy and Forrest Raffel open the first Arby's Roast Beef Restaurant in Boardman, Ohio, serving only roast beef sandwiches, potato chips and a beverage. The name stands for R.B. the initials of Raffel Brothers.

1975 Canada bans the Soviet Unions Atlantic fleet from Canadian ports for overfishing quotas.

1982 The International Whaling Commission (IWC) voted to ban commercial whaling beginning with the 1985/86 season.

1987 Major League Baseball pitcher (1965-1979) ‘Catfish’ Hunter was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1995 The National Inventors Hall of Fame opened in Akron, Ohio. (http://invent.org/ )

2010 The largest recorded hailstone ever recovered in the U.S. fell during a severe thunderstorm in Vivian, South Dakota.  Verified by the National Climatic Extremes Committee, it weighed 1 pound, 15 ounces, and measured 8 inches in diameter with a circumference of 18.62 inches.
 

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

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

July 20-26, 2026  Corn Capital Days
Olivia, Minnesota

July 21-25, 2026  National Baby Food Festival
Freemont, Michigan

July 22-25, 2026 - Hood River County Fair
Odell, Oregon

July 23-25, 2026  Annual Cave City Watermelon Festival - Cave City, Arkansas

July 23-August 1, 2026  Delaware State Fair
Harrington, Delaware

July 23-26 & July 30-Aug 2, 2026  Glier’s Goettafest
Newport, Kentucky

(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?
· The first use of the Del Monte name on a food product: a premium coffee for the Hotel Del Monte Hotel in Monterey, California.
· California oranges are first shipped East by rail.
· Coca-Cola was invented by pharmacist John Styth Pemberton at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia.
· Horlick's of Wisconsin offered the first malted milk for sale to the public.
· The first commercially successful dish washing machine was patented.
· In San Francisco, Ristorante Fior d' Italia opened, America's oldest Italian restaurant.

2) In 1648 the Massachusetts Bay Colony had poor harvests, and were saved from starving by eating what abundant species?

3) In 1981 the recipe for Hunt's Tomato Sauce was changed due to consumer demand. What was the change?

4) In the first half of the 19th century, wearing a coffee sack for a shirt, this wilderness loving, eccentric, bearded man walked hundreds of miles each year in the Midwestern wilderness. In exchange for meals and a place to sleep he would give his hosts some seeds, and read from his Bible and from a book by Kierkegaard (a Danish philosopher).
What was the nickname and real name of this legendary, odd gentleman?
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

Potatoes that are stored below 40 degrees F. will become sweeter, but when returned to room temperature, will consume the excess sugar through normal respiration.

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

 


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

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?

Chervil (Anthriscus cereifolium) is an aromatic herb, a member of the parsley or carrot family, and indigenous to the regions around the Black and Caspian Seas. It is an essential ingredient of fines herbes, widely used in French cuisine.

* ** ** ** ** **

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?

India grows more mangoes than all of its other fruits combined and at least 500 varieties of mango are grown there.

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

  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, July 23, 2026