A New Breakfast Breakthrough – Did you know?

A New Breakfast Breakthrough

USA, May 1, 1941

CheeriOats, a new oat-based breakfast cereal that is ready to eat without cooking has been introduced to consumers. Manufactured and marketed by General Mills Inc., the oatmeal, rye, and corn cereal shaped into “little doughnuts” is sold using the slogan “The breakfast food you’ve always wanted!”

General Mills Inc. was formed in 1928 through a merger of several of the leading milling firms in the United States. After the merger, General Mills Inc. was the largest flour miller in the world, controlling 27 different milling companies.

When cereal was first developed, it made up of single flat flakes. In 1937 General Mills Inc. invented the “puffing gun,” which heats grains such as rice until they puff up into crunchy little balls. The first puffed cereal available was “Kix.”

And so it is!

 

Damp Caves Giving Birth to a New Style of Cheese – Did You know?

Damp Caves Giving Birth to a New Style of Cheese

Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, France, 1411

The residents of the town of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon are sporting cheesy grins today. King Charles VI has given them exclusive rights to produce their famous smelly cheese. In.  an effort to stamp out inferior imitations of the cheese, genuine Roquefort now can only be produced at Roquefort-dur-Soulzon, being aged in the nearby caves that produce the particular mold that is responsible for this unique cheese.

A similar style of cheese has been in existence since Roman times. Mention of it can even be found in the writings of the great Roman historian Pliny. The cheese was a particular favorite of the emperor Charlemagne, and a captivating legend surrounds its discovery.

The story says that a local shepherd once thought he saw a beautiful woman in the distance and left his sheep to pursue her. He also left his lunch of rye bread and cheese in one of the dark caves of the Grotte du Combalou. When he returned some weeks later, sadly without the young woman, the air currents in the cave, combined with the dampness of the rocks, had caused an odd blue mold to grow in streaks along the surface of the ewe’s milk cheese. The shepherd ran down to the village shouting: “It’s a miracle, it’s a miracle.” The people of the town gathered around him, tasted his cheese, and like it.

Ever since then the limestone caves of Mount Combalou near Roquefort-sur-Soulzon have been used for the production of this famous blue cheese. The cheesemakers still use milk from ewes that graze on the Aveyron Plateau. The cheese is white, crumbly, and slightly moist, with the distinctive veins of blue mold that produce a sharp tang. It has no rind, and the exterior of the cheese is edible and slightly salty.

Next time you enjoy a piece of that cheese, remember where it came from¨Bon Appetite!

 

 

“FRENCH COOKING’S ALL VERY WELL, BUT THEY CAN’T DO A DECENT ENGLISH BREAKFAST.”

Prince Philip, England

 

 

Christopher Columbus's Strange Fruit - Did You know?

Christopher Columbus's Strange Fruit

Spain, 1496

The Spanish court is buzzing with excitement at their first taste of a succulent new fruit brought back to Europe by Christopher Columbus after his second voyage to the New World.

This exotic fruit has become known as a "pineapple" because it looks just like a large pinecone. It is native to southern Brazil and Paraguay where it was spread by the Indians northward through South and Central America to the West Indies. Columbus discovered the fruit when he lowered anchor in a  cove off the lush volcanic island of Guadeloupe in 1493, and rowed ashore to inspect a deserted Carib village, where he found cultivated plants bearing fruit.

The pineapple has become a "Regal" fruit, an item of celebrity and curiosity for royal gourmets and horticulturalists alike.

and so it happened!

 

New “Hamburger” Snack is Being Created – Did You know!

New “Hamburger” Snack is Being Created

New Haven, Connecticut, USA, December 1900

A small lunch wagon that sells steak sandwiches to local factory workers in tiny New Haven, Connecticut, has served what they are calling a “hamburger,” which was hastily made for a man who dashed off the street asking for a quick meal that he could eat on the run.

According to the diner’s owner, the “snack” consisted of a hurriedly broiled beef patty thrown between two slices of bread. “i don’t like to waste the excess beef from the daily lunch rush, so I ground it up, grilled it, and served it in a sandwich..”

The chef preferred not to be identified. And so it is!

The Worlds First Brandy Distilled – Did You know?

The Worlds First Brandy Distilled

Armagnac, France, 1411 

A new style of drink is being sold commercially throughout southwestern France. Called Armagnac brandy, it has been successfully distilled and produced in the town of Armagnac, located in the province of Gascony, at the foothills of the Pyrénées.

Not only is Armagnac an invigorating beverage, but it also can be used to revive the spirits of those suffering from shock and as an antidote during epidemics.

The primary grapes used in the production of Armagnac brandy are Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, and Colombard.

Conclusion: Drink the hell out of Armagnac during this Pandemic period! LOL

The New Fast Food for Families – Did You know?

The New fast Food for Families

Des Plaines, Chicago, April 15, 1957 

A fast-food outlet in suburban Chicago is doing a remarkable trade and celebrated its second anniversary today. The outlook of owner/manager Ray Kroc is reflected in his objection to a local reporter’s usage of the term “hamburger joint.” It is, he says, a family restaurant.

It is evident from the immaculate grounds, neatly and uniformly dressed staff, hygienic kitchen, rapid service, small standardized menu (focusing on hamburgers), low prices, consistent standards, and no-tipping policy, that Kroc’s intention is to appeal to busy young suburban families. These pressed-for-time families he suggests, are seeking a reliable cheap meal that will appeal to children, and a friendly, polite, and safe environment.

Kroc first made a name for himself after the war selling contraptions that allowed busy drugstore owners to mix five milkshakes at a time. When sales began to fall, he recognized that neighborhood drugstores were in decline.

However, one hamburger outlet in California, which was called McDonald’s, had bought 10 of his “multimixers.” Curious, he investigated and was impressed by the business’s cleanliness and orderliness, the systematic method, family-friendly atmosphere (“no leather-jacketed guys, jukeboxes or cigarette machines,” Kroc says), and remarkable popularity. He convinced the McDonald brothers to make him their franchising agent and soon opened his own McDonalds.

Kroc militantly protects the company’s reputation by very carefully considering all potential franchisees and locations, and strictly imposing set menus, prices, standards, and methods on all takers.

Twelve McDonald’s were opened around the country last year but Kroc envisages hundreds more. With his fierce drive, determination, and competitiveness, he seems sure to succeed.

TODAY, MCDONALD’S IS IN 120 COUNTRIES WITH 37,855 RESTAURANTS, EMPLOYING 250,000 PEOPLE!!

SARS VIRUS a Threat to World Health - Geneva, Switzerland, March 15, 2003

DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR TO YOU? PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH WAS IN OFFICE FROM JANUARY 2001  THROUGH  JANUARY 2009, WHY DIDN’T HE FILL THE SHELFS AND STOCK UP THEN? WHERE WAS CNN THEN? 

SARS VIRUS a Threat to World Health

Geneva, Switzerland, March 15, 2003

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an emergency travel advisory following the outbreak of SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROM (SARS), an atypical pneumonia originating in southern China.

SARS was first identified by DR. Carlo Urbani, a WHO specialist based in Hanoi, Vietnam. An epidemiologist, Urbani was asked to examine a visiting Chinese-American businessman who showed pneumonis-like symptoms but also had a high fever and shortness of breath. Not only did the patient die, he also infected 33 hopital staff including Urbani himself, who died a month later.

In the week prior to today’s announcment,WHO had received reports of 150 cases of SARS from Canada, China, Hongkong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Acknowledging  that the virus is now a worldwide health threat. Dr. Gro Brundtland, the Director General of WHO, has told the press: “The world needs to work together to find its cause, cure the sick, and stop its spread.”

SARS spread over 8000 people worldwide and killed almost 800.