Sunday, January 25, 2026Daily Trivia Questions are below TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE“Banish (the onion) from the kitchen and the pleasure flies with it. Its presence lends color and enchantment to the most modest dish; its absence reduces the rarest delicacy to hopeless insipidity, and dinner to despair.” Elizabeth Robbins Pennell
FOOD HOLIDAYS - TODAY IS:• National Irish Coffee Day (Irish Coffee Trivia) • National Fish Taco Day
TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY1759 Robert Burns was born (died July 21, 1796). Scottish poet, widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland. His poem 'Auld Lang Syne,' set to the tune of a traditional folk song, is traditionally sung at midnight to celebrate the start of the New Year. 1799 Eliakim Spooner of Vermont patented a gravity feed seed planting machine. It was not until 1840 that a truly practical seed planting machine was developed. 1858 Mendelssohn's famous ‘Wedding March’ was first performed at a royal wedding. Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise, the oldest child of Queen Victoria, married Frederick William IV of Prussia. 1870 Gustavus D. Dows received U.S. patent No. 99,170 for an "Improvement in Soda-Fountains" 1874 British author, W. Somerset Maugham was born. Among the titles of his novels and short stories are: 'Cakes and Ale', 'The Alien Corn' and 'The Breadwinner.' 1906 Helen Corbitt was born (died: Jan 16, 1978). American chef and cookbook author. Texas Monthly declared Corbitt the 'Tastemaker of the Century.' 1919 The Hotel Pennsylvania opened in Manhattan, across the street from Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden. Built by the Pennsylvania Railroad and operated by Ellsworth Statler, with 2,200 rooms it was the largest hotel in the world at the time. 1924 The First Winter Olympics open at Chamonix, in the French Alps. 1936 Donald Featherstone was born (died June 22, 2015). An American artist, he designed the original plastic pink flamingo lawn ornament. 1938 New England Products, Inc. registered "V8" trademark for its combination of eight vegetable juices: tomato, spinach, celery, carrot, beet, lettuce, watercress and parsley juice. 1945 Grand Rapids, Michigan became the first U.S. city to fluoridate its drinking water, to reduce tooth decay. (Michigan Food Trivia) 1959 American Airlines opened the jet age in the U.S. with the first scheduled transcontinental flight of a Boeing 707. 1969 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine' by Marvin Gaye was number one on the music charts. 1974 Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s fast food restaurant chain, bought the San Diego Padres baseball team for $12 million. (McDonald’s Trivia) 1993 Sears announced the closing of the catalog sales department after 97 years. 2018 French fishermen blockaded the port city of Calais to protest the practice of electric pulse fishing, which uses electrodes to emit electric waves, stunning fish which then float upwards and are scooped up by giant nets.
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** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** January 1-31, 2026 - Napa Valley Restaurant Month
Napa Valley, California January 20-Feb 12, 2026 NYC Restaurant Week
New York, New York January 22-February 1, 2026 140th Saint Paul Winter Carnival - St. Paul, Minnesota January 23-February 1, 2026 Baltimore Restaurant Week - Baltimore, Maryland January 26-31, 2026 Cheeseburger Week in Pasadena - Pasadena, California January 28-February 1, 2026 Key West Food and Wine Festival - Key West, Florida January 31, 2026 Manitou Springs Great Fruitcake Toss - Manitou Springs, Colorado (SEE ALL FOOD FESTIVALS and OTHER FOOD EVENTS)
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ (new DAILY questions)1) The following events took place in the same year.
What year is it?
· 85% of U.S. bread is commercially baked.
· Welch's Junior Mints candy are introduced.
· Constant Comment Tea is introduced by NY entrepreneur Ruth Bigelow. 2) In early Europe, this spice was used as a dye and an aromatic. It was burnt in sacrifice for its aroma, it was used in an aromatic hair oil, 'crocinum', which also contained wine and supposedly dragon's blood. The Romans mixed it with sweet wine and sprayed it in theaters, filling the air with its costly fragrance. A Cretan wall painting suggests that monkeys may have been trained to pick it. Grown in Iran from ancient times, the highest quality comes from southern Spain today. Look hard, there are 4 fairly good clues in there. Name this spice. 3) The fruit of this plant is harvested in the immature stage, 50 to 70 days after planting. As a crop, they rank 12th in cash value among all vegetables grown in the United States. In the United States, each person consumes more than four pounds of them each year. It is just as popular in northern and eastern European cookery as in Mediterranean countries. Stuffed ones are popular in Poland. Columbus brought the first ones to the New World, planting them in Haiti in 1494. There are reddish brown, green, long, egg shaped, smooth and rough skinned varieties. Name this vegetable. 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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