National Trail Mix Day

August 31st is National Trail Mix Day in the United States.

Trail mix was originally designed as a snack food to be eaten on the "trail," hence the name, this is a mixture of nuts and dried fruit, and possibly chocolate. It's not known when it was originally created; it's claimed by two companies that it was first made in 1968, but it is also mentioned in a Jack Kerouac novel of a decade earlier.

It is possible to buy the mix pre-made, or you can make your own to use only the fruit and nuts that you want in it. "Nuts" includes culinary nuts such as the peanut (which is actually a bean) as well as other seeds. There are a wide range of different items that can be added to a trail mix, including cereals, crystallised ginger and marshmallows. With homemade trail mix, the limit is only by what you prefer. If chocolate is included, it can be chocolate chips or branded small chocolate pieces such as M&M's and Smarties.

It's possible to make trail mix into bars as well, but at this point it really stops being trail mix.

National Toasted Marshmallow Day

In the United States, August 30th is National Toasted Marshmallow Day.

The modern marshmallow is a candy or sweet made from sugar that has been spun until it has a spongy consistency, rather than the original type which was made from a plant - the marshmallow. After the sugar is spun, it is made into pieces, usually of a cylindrical nature, which are then coated in corn starch.

Toasted marshmallows, like s'mores, are a popular outdoors tradition. You don't toast the marshmallows by putting them in a toaster - that would not be a very good idea. Similarly, trying to toast them under a grill (another way of toasting bread) would likely produce more of a mess than would be liked. Instead, marshmallows are placed on the end of a stick and are then held over a campfire or other open flame. The exterior will caramelise, whilst the interior turns molten.

How much the marshmallow is toasted is a matter of personal preference. They might be lightly charred on the outside, or they can be set on fire to create a more burned finish. Once toasted, they can be used to make s'mores.

National More Herbs, Less Salt Day

National More Herbs, Less Salt Day falls on August 29th in the United States.

Salt, or sodium chloride, is an essential supplement that is needed to help the human body work effectively. It is also used as a seasoning, and to preserve food. If it is so essential, why would it be a good idea to replace it with herbs instead?

The problem with salt is that too much is bad for you, and can cause health problems. With the modern diet, especially processed foods, it is unnecessary to add salt to most dishes. As well as occurring naturally in some foods, it is also added to most processed foods. As a result of this, even before adding any during cooking, let alone at the table, we are normally getting more than our daily allowance of salt.

Herbs are plants in which the leafy green parts are used in cooking (if another part of the plant is used, it's a spice). This may sound similar to vegetables, but with herbs only a small amount is used as flavouring. Herbs can be used either fresh or dried, and are often very easy to grow in limited space, such as on a windowsill, due to the amount that is needed.

Some herbs are annuals; some are perennials. Even amongst a particular plant that is used as a herb, there can be a wide variation of flavours. There are many different types of mint, for example; as well as the most common mints there are also spearmint and peppermint to name but two.

Herbs are an easy, and often cheap, way of adding flavour to dishes. You can buy jars of dried herbs, bundles of fresh herbs or even plants from many supermarkets. Plants tend to cost a similar amount to fresh herbs, and are therefore better value for money. If you have too great an amount of fresh herbs to use at once, you can always dry them yourself, which can be done in the microwave.

National Lemon Juice Day

August 29th is National Lemon Juice Day in the United States.

The lemon comes from a small, evergreen tree that was originally from Asia. They are a distinctive yellow fruit. Although all of the lemon can be used, the part that is most commonly used - outside of garnishing drinks - is the juice.

Lemon juice has a distinctive bitter taste which is from the citric acid - a weak, organic acid - that is present in the juice, to about 5%.

Lemon juice has many different culinary uses, including in lemonade. It is also commonly used with fish dishes, as either an ingredient in cooking or squeezed onto the complete dish at the table. Other uses include on pancakes.

Lemon juice also has the ability to stop foods from oxidising when they are exposed to the air. One example of this is with apples, whose exposed flesh otherwise turns brown.

National Chop Suey Day

August 29th is National Chop Suey Day in the United States.

Chop suey is a type of Chinese dish, although one that is generally not found in China itself. Instead, it is commonly found in American and other overseas Chinese food. The dish was originally believed to have been created in America, but it appears that it is descended from a dish from a part of China where many early Chinese immigrants to the United States originated.

Chop suey is made from meat, which includes fish, as well as eggs. These are then cooked with vegetables, such as bean sprouts, in a sauce that has been thickened. The ingredients are then stir fried. As is common with stir fry dishes, the actual cooking time is minimal; it is the preparation that takes the time.

National Cherry Turnover Day

August 28th is National Cherry Turnover Day in the United States.

Turnovers are a type of pastry where the clue is in the name. They are made from a piece of pastry - square is a good shape to do this - has a filling placed on it. The dough is then "turned over", sealing the filling in. The turnover is then cooked; they may be either baked or fried.

Turnovers can be either sweet or savoury; in this case, with a cherry filling, they are sweet. The pastry in a sweet turnover tends to be shortcrust or puff. Other types of pastry can be used, and usually are for savoury turnovers. There are a wide range of regional variations that are very similar, such as pasties and calzones.

Cherries tend to be in season at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, although it is likely that most commercial turnovers will use preserved rather than fresh cherries. A good reason for making your own.

Banana Lover's Day

August 27th is Banana Lover's Day in the United States.

Bananas are a type of fruit that comes in different shapes, sizes and colours, although the most common one that comes to mind is the long, slightly curved type with a yellow skin (which goes to black as it gets overripe) - the Cavendish being the one commonly sold. Bananas have been cultivated for at least 7,000 years and maybe even for 10,000, which would make them one of the oldest cultivated fruit trees. Bananas first originated in south-east Asia; they are believed to have been properly spread from there (there appears to be some diffusion earlier) by the spread of Islam.

Although there isn't an agreed difference between bananas and plantains, in Europe and the US, bananas usually refers to a soft, sweet fruit and plantains to a firmer one that is used for cooking. The interior, soft fruit of the banana is eaten, and the rind is discarded.

In pictures of bananas on a tree, they are often shown growing the wrong way up - they grow in the reverse manner to what would be expected. Bananas are one of the most radioactive fruits, although not to dangerous levels.

National Pots de Creme Day

August 27th is National Pots de Creme Day in the United States.

A pot de crème is a French dessert custard whose name literally translates to either "pot of creme" or "pot of custard." The dish dates back to at least the 17th century, and it is usually served in small, individual dishes, such as ramekins.

This custard, which is quite loose and much looser than such as flans, custards and crème caramel, is made from egg, egg yolks, milk and flavouring. For the flavouring, both chocolate and vanilla are popular, but there are other recipes. The cream and milk are normally heated, beaten into the remaining ingredients, then strained and served. Alternatively, the milk may be omitted and the dish frozen instead.

National Cherry Popsicle Day

In the US, August 26th is National Cherry Popsicle Day.

This is a rather specific food day. Rather than being a general popsicle day - popsicles are also known as ice pops and ice lollies amongst others, as Popsicle® is actually a registered trademark of Unilver, Inc. - this is a very specific one.

All true ice pops or lollies are made from frozen liquid (usually, but not always, frozen onto a stick) which has been flavoured and coloured. These particular ones have been flavoured and coloured in a very specific manner - with cherries and coloured red. A cherry popsicle that was another colour just wouldn't seem right.

Cherries themselves are a type of fleshy drupe, or stone fruit, that come from many trees, but only a few varieties are actually eaten. Cherry popsicles are flavoured with these although, in most cases, it's unlikely that there will be much more than cherry flavouring in the lolly.

National Banana Split Day

National Banana Split Day is on August 25th in the United States.

This dessert dish has bananas and ice cream as its fundamental ingredients. The banana is cut in half lengthways - which is where the "split" part of the name comes from - and then placed in a long dish. Dishes made especially for serving banana splits can be bought.

The classic recipe tops the banana split with scoops of the three traditional ice cream flavours; vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. The ice cream is then topped, respectively, with chocolate sauce, strawberry and pineapple. The dish is then garnished with whipped cream, chopped nuts and a maraschino cherry. This is the simplest version; there are more complex recipes.

The first banana split was made in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, by David Evans Strickler in 1904.

National Waffle Day

August 24th is National Waffle Day in the United States.

Waffles are a cooked using a waffle iron, originally two pieces of metal and these days often built into an electric appliance, which leaves a distinctive pattern on them. Today, this pattern is most usually of squares but, in the past, other, more distinctive patterns have been used, such as religious ones.

This day celebrates the waffles made from batter or dough, rather than the potato waffle which is a savoury dish. As waffles are made from batter or dough, whether or not they are sweet or savoury depends on what they are topped with, like pancakes and crepes, but sweet waffles are the most common.

Waffles are eaten in many different countries, with many variations of toppings and recipes even within the individual countries. They can be eaten plain, possibly sprinkled with sugar, or topped with such things as fruit and syrup. Really, there is no limit to what a waffle can be topped with - they are a very versatile dish - so use anything you like; jams, butter, spreads, fruit, syrup, chocolate or a combination of any of them. American waffles are usually made using leavened batter and, although they are a popular breakfast dish, they are also used to accompany savoury foods such as fried chicken.

National Peach Pie Day

August 24th is National Peach Pie Day in the United States.

This is another dish made with peaches, but it does fall during National Peach Month.

Pies themselves are baked dishes that are made from a pastry dough casing. There are different types of pies, as defined by how the pastry is used. A single, or bottom, crust pie has the top left open. A top crust pie has a lid on top, but no bottom. A two crust pie has both a top and bottom lid, although the top lid may be a lattice of pastry strips. In sweet dessert pies, which a peach pie is, the pastry used is usually, but doesn't have to be, flaky pastry.

The filling of this pie is, naturally enough, peaches. These are added to the pie and then the dish is finished in the oven by baking.

National Sponge Cake Day

National Sponge Cake Day falls on August 23rd in the United States.

Sponge cakes have an aerated structure resembling that of a natural sponge, hence the name. They are made from flour, sugar and eggs and are sometimes leavened. The two methods for making a sponge cake are the batter method - sponge cakes made like this are known as pound cakes in the US - and the foam method. The foam method uses little, if any, in the way of fat and are leavened by beating air into the mix rather than by the use of a leavening agent. The oldest known sponge cake recipe dates back to the early 17th century to an English book.

Sponge cakes, whilst being quite a simple dish, are rarely left like that. They are made into layer cakes, such as the Victoria sponge (named after Queen Victoria) which is a layer cake where the sponge is cut into two and a layer of raspberry jam and cream is sandwiched between the two layers. Other ingredients and flavourings can be added to the mix. They can also be glazed and iced, and are increasingly popular as celebration cakes, replacing the traditional fruit cake. It is not uncommon to find them being used for birthday and even wedding cakes. Even sponges that do not have icing or a glaze added to the outside will often be dusted with icing sugar.

National Eat a Peach Day

In the United States, August 22nd is National Eat a Peach Day.

The peach is a tree that was originally native to north-western China which has been cultivated since around 2,000 BC. From China, it spread westwards to Persia and then to Greece by Alexander the Great following his conquest of Persia. It continued to spread westwards and was transported to the Americas by the Spanish in the 16th century. Today, peaches are grown in many different countries, although China is still, by far, the largest producer of them.

The peach fruit itself, also called a peach, have white or yellow flesh, which is the part eaten. They have a stone (the seed) inside that either sticks to the flesh - a clingstone - or is easy to remove - a freestone. The skin of a peach is covered with a light fuzz. Nectarines, which are actually a peach rather than being a distinct different fruit, instead have a smooth skin.

The peach, like many fruit, contains many useful vitamins, minerals and nutrients. The seed, though, is less good for you, being toxic with the chance of producing the dangerous hydrogen cyanide gas. So, eat a peach, but don't eat the stone.

National Pecan Torte Day

August 21st is National Pecan Torte Day in the US.

Most sources seem to agree that this day is celebrated on August 21st, but some differ and have it as August 22nd.

Pecans are a type of culinary nut from the pecan tree, which is a species of hickory native to south-central and south-eastern United States as well as Mexico. Pecans are a culinary nut, as they are not a true nut, but rather a drupe, which is a single stone that is surrounded by the husk. The stone is the part that is referred to as a nut.

Tortes are a type of dessert cake that is normally, but not always, layered and can be filled with a variety of different toppings, which, after cooling, may be garnished and glazed. In this case, the primary additional ingredient is the pecan, which has a rich, buttery taste.

National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day

National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day is on August 20th in the United States.

Pecan pie in its various varieties is a popular American dessert dish, especially in the Southern states, and is a traditional holiday dish, but it is a comparatively recent creation. The earliest known recipe only dates back to 1886, although it is claimed to be older.

The primary ingredients for the filling of this pie is corn syrup, but alternatives such as molasses, sugar and maple syrup can all be used, as can honey, and pecan nuts. Other ingredients may also be added to the base pecan pie. This is an open pie with no top layer of pastry.

In this particular case, the added ingredient is, naturally enough, chocolate. To serve, the dish is often accompanied by whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

National Lemonade Day

August 20th in the United States is National Lemonade Day.

Lemonade is a drink that has been flavoured with lemons, and normally sweetened with sugar as lemons are quite sour to the taste.

The precise definition of lemonade varies. In the United Kingdom and some other countries, lemonade refers to a commercially purchased carbonated (usually) soft drink that has been flavoured with lemons. Some types that are commonly called "lemonade" are actually lemon and lime drinks, such as Sprite. Most of the commercially available true lemonades that don't contain lime are clear drinks, but cloudy is another popular variety and yellow lemonade is a more uncommon one.

In the United States and Canada, lemonade refers to a different drink - which in the UK would be called home-made lemonade - that is normally made at home, although it can be purchased fresh. In this drink, water is mixed with sugar and lemon juice, although slices of lemon are also used where they are placed at the bottom of the glass or pitcher, the sugar is put on top, and then water is added. Lemon slices are commonly added to the drink even if lemon juice is used to make it.

National Potato Day

August 19th is National Potato Day in the United States.

The humble potato. An edible tuber - the part that is eaten, rather than the plant itself - that grows underground and has been domesticated for over 7,000 years in the Americas, originating in southern Peru and north-western Bolivia in South America. Following the Spanish conquest of much of the Americas, they introduced the potato to Europe in the 16th century and it has since spread across the world. Either Sir Francis Drake or an employee of Sir Walter Raleigh is credited with introducing the potato into England. In the US, they are sometimes referred to as Irish or white potatoes to differentiate them from the sweet potato.

Potatoes have since become an important element in the global food supply, both for humans and for animals. They were so important in the 19th century in Ireland that when the crop was devastated by the potato blight disease, the loss of this staple crop contributed to the roughly one million deaths that occurred during the famine.

Potatoes can be cooked many different ways. Some examples are mashed, baked, roast, French-fried and scalloped, as well as being used in other dishes as an ingredient such as potato salad or the potato omelette. As a snack, they are used in the potato chip, or crisp. They even cook well in a microwave.

National Ice Cream Pie Day

18th August is National Ice Cream Pie Day in the United States.

This national day celebrates an item that is pretty much what it sounds like - a pie that contains ice cream. Naturally, this is a sweet pie, not a savoury one.

An ice cream pie - there are a variety of recipes - is normally part baked and part not, so that the ice cream doesn't melt; this isn't usually like a Baked Alaska.

A pie crust would be baked in the oven, normally using shortcrust pastry, and then ice cream (probably softened first) would be added as a filling after the crust has cooled, as adding it immediately would cause it to melt and make the crust all soggy. This can then be placed into the freezer for a couple of hours to ensure that the ice cream becomes firm again.

This would be a single crust or bottom crust pie, and could be eaten as-is at this point. Alternatively, a topping that isn't made of pastry could be added on top of the ice cream, such as cream or a meringue. The pie should be served with the ice cream still firm.

National Vanilla Custard Day

August 17th in the United States is National Vanilla Custard Day.

Custard describes a whole range of different dishes that are all made from a base of either cream or milk and egg yolks, with other ingredients being added as desired. Custards can vary from a thin sauce that is poured over food to a thick cream that is used to fill pastries, and they can be used for both savoury and sweet dishes, either as a base for other ingredients to be added to or as a filling itself.

In this case, it's a sweet dish, to which vanilla has been added. Vanilla is a very expensive spice (only saffron is more expensive) that is derived from a species of orchid. Given the cost of true vanilla, it isn't uncommon for substitutes to be used instead to reduce costs. Although a bowl of custard could be eaten as-is, it is more common to use it as a component in a larger dish.

Although traditional custards all use egg yolks and, indeed, the term shouldn't be used for those that don't, there are a number of modern preparations called custards that are egg-free. These are often available in a powdered form, to which milk is added, and which are then heated.

Bratwurst Day

August 16th is Bratwurst Day in the United States.

The bratwurst, whose name is sometimes shortened to brat, is a type of sausage. The name of this sausage comes from an Old High German word, Brätwurst, and this is a type of German sausage. It combined the words for finely chopped meat, brät, with that for sausage, wurst. Bratwursts are first known of in Nuremberg, in modern day Germany, back in 1313.

Bratwursts can be made from a variety of different meats, such as veal, beef or pork, and there are many different recipes for them. The bratwurst in Germany would be served with German mustard in a white roll, and would normally be accompanied with sauerkraut potato salad. In other countries it is commonly served in a white roll, in the manner that a hot dog would be.

National Lemon Meringue Pie Day

In America, August 15th is National Lemon Meringue Pie Day.

This is, as the name suggests, a type of pie. This variety of pie is made without a top crust, so only has a bottom crust which is usually of shortcrust pastry. Shortcrust pastry does not puff up during baking, as it does not contain a leavening agent.

Lemon meringue pie is a baked sweet dessert pie, not a savoury one. The pie crust is filled with lemon custard, and then topped with meringue topping. The earliest known recipe for this pie dates back to the 19th century, although lemon flavoured pies and other dishes have been around for centuries.

The custard is flavoured with lemon zest, which is gratings from the rind of a lemon - don't use a waxed lemon, or be sure to remove the wax first, otherwise what you will have won't be lemon zest, but wax, and lemon juice, and is usually made from egg yolks, sugar and starch. The meringue topping uses egg whites, which is useful, as this means both parts of the egg can be used after separating them, and sugar, and is beaten well before being added on top of the custard. The dish is then baked.

National Creamsicle Day

August 14th is National Creamsicle Day in the United States.

This is one of the brand-heavy of the national days, as this is a brand name owned by a company, not a generic one, even if it may have become slightly more generic these days.

Creamsicles® are a brand of ice pop sold by Unilever. Ice pops, which are also known as freeze pops and ice lollies, are commonly known as popsicles in the United States, even though Posicle® is also a Unilever brand name. Posicle® has definitely became a generic name in terms of usage, even if not legally.

Whereas a normal ice pop is simply flavoured, and coloured, frozen liquid on a stick, Creamsicles® are slightly different. They have a frozen flavoured and coloured ice shell, similar to a normal ice pop, but this shell covers an also frozen and flavoured dessert centre, rather similar to ice cream.

There are a variety of recipes for sweet desserts and drinks that have creamsicle in their names, even though these don't actually use Creamsicles® in their creation. Often, it's the combination of orange flavour and frozen dessert that leads the recipes to be named after the snack.

National Filet Mignon Day

13th August is National Filet Mignon Day in the United States.

Filet mignon is a French term meaning either cute or dainty fillet. It is used to refer to a specific cut of beef. It is called by other names in other countries, such as fillet steak in the UK. One confusing thing about beef cuts is the fact that the names can vary from country to country, and a cut in one country may be something different in another.

The filet mignon cut is taken from the smaller end of the tenderloin, although some butchers may call all the tenderloin cuts filet mignon (which they aren't, really). The cut is the most tender cut of beef, although not the most flavoursome, and is usually also the most expensive. Only a tiny amount of any beef carcass is actually filet mignon.

To add flavour to the steak, it is commonly served with a sauce, or has bacon wrapped around it when cooked. It is a rather odd shaped piece of meat, as it comes from the end of the tenderloin, so if a piece being sold as filet mignon looks like a normal steak, it may well be a cut from further up the tenderloin.

National Julienne Fries Day

Geoff [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

August 12th in the United States is National Julienne Fries Day.

Julienne fries are a version of French fries (potatoes served in the French manner as Thomas Jefferson called them), otherwise known as chips in many other countries.

Julienne fries are made from potatoes, just like normal ones are, and are cooked in the same way too, whether that's by frying, microwaving or oven baking. The difference is in the preparation of the potatoes for cooking.

This process is known as "julienning" and is a knife cut. Where the term originates from is unknown, but it could be named after someone, as Julien is a known name. Julienning involves cutting the vegetables extremely finely, so that they resemble matchsticks in thickness. The potatoes are generally first trimmed to produce straight sides, then cut thinly one way to make thin slices, which are then cut the other way to make the matchstick-sized fries.

There is actually a specific size for julienned vegetables, including potatoes, of 1.5mm x 1.5mm x 5cm in length.

If potatoes are fried this way, it can be a fairly unhealthy way of cooking them, as the greater surface area allows more cooking oil to coat the chips than would be the case in normal sized ones.

National Raspberry Tart Day

August 11th in the United States is National Raspberry Tart Day.

Well, here we are with yet another raspberry day. They do tend to be in season at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, though, and fresh raspberries are nicer than preserved fillings, although frozen raspberries can be a good alternative.

Tarts are a type of sweet dessert. In a tart, there is a pastry base which then contains a filling (which can be sweet or savoury, a savoury example would be the quiche). In this case, the filling is raspberries. If a jam tart were made, the raspberry filling would be raspberry jam (or jelly), but in this case the filling would be made using fresh raspberries. These could be mixed with custard, or placed on top of a custard base for the tart.

The pastry base itself is normally made from shortcrust pastry, but there is no reason why other suitable types of pastry, or other ingredients, couldn't be used. Pre-made pastry or bases are the easiest to use.

If a full size tart isn't wanted, then individual tartlets could also be made, each suitable for one person.

National S'mores Day

August 10th is National S'mores Day in the United States.

S'mores. What an odd word that is. And there's an entire day named after it too. So, what are s'mores, and does anyone know why they are called that?

It's believed that s'more (sometimes spelled smore) is the contracted form of "some more" although this is not known for definite, as the first use of the word dates to 1974, but the first recipe dates back to 1927.

S'mores are a campfire treat in North America, namely Canada and the United States, that are linked to organisations such as the Scouts (the first known recipe was in a Girl Scouts book after all).

They are made from two pieces of graham cracker (a cracker named after the Rev. Sylvester Graham, who invented them, although he likely wouldn't approve of the modern version) that these days are normally made from refined, bleached white flour rather than the unbleached that Graham preferred. Between these two crackers a toasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate are sandwiched. The basic recipe is to take a cracker and place a square of milk chocolate on it, then toast a marshmallow, place it on top of the chocolate, and then add the second cracker and squeeze.

National Rice Pudding Day

In the United States, August 9th is National Rice Pudding Day.

Rice pudding may be most familiar as a dessert, but it can also be made into a savoury dish; it's all down to what additional ingredients are used to make it.

There is a huge amount of variation in the recipes for rice pudding, from country to country and region to region within the countries. The one thing they all have in common, is, pretty obviously, rice, which is a seed and classed as a cereal grain. Short grain white rice is the most common variety of rice used, but it is not the only one. Long grain and other types such as basmati, brown and black rice are all used in some variants.

Even how it is cooked can vary. Some recipes boil it, whilst others bake it. The most basic dessert puddings will also include such things as milks, spices, flavourings, sweeteners and eggs, but again, these can all vary in type. The most popular North American recipe for rice pudding is very simple, being made from long grain white rice, milk and sugar, and may have spices and raisins added too. Maple syrup is sometimes used as an alternative for the sweetener. There are many other variations, with many descended from European dishes.

National Frozen Custard Day

August 8th in the United States is National Frozen Custard Day.

Frozen custard is a dessert that is very similar to ice cream. It originated in Coney Island, New York. Coney Island is a residential neighbourhood of New York, but it is probably best known for its amusements parks and as a seaside resort - an ideal place to sell ice cream in other words.

The difference between ice cream and frozen custard is that the latter uses egg yolks in the mix, as well as the cream and sugar. It was created by John Sanchez and Taryn Weeks, who found that, by adding the egg yolks, they got a smoother texture than that of normal ice cream and - an important factor when selling ice cream in hot weather - the mixture remained colder for longer.

After the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago, frozen custard was introduced to a wider audience. Unlike soft serve ice creams that contain a lot of air, frozen custard is much more dense, meaning that the same amount of space is taken up by much more of the actual dessert. Just like ice cream, frozen custard can be made in a variety of different flavours.

National Zucchini Day

National Zucchini Day is on August 8th in the United States.

Zucchinis, which are also known as courgettes, are a type of squash. Specifically, they are a type of summer squash, which type is harvested when immature and the rind is still tender and edible.

Similar to items such as the tomato, zucchinis are not actually vegetables, but are fruit. Again, like the tomato, they are treated like vegetables when cooked.

Zucchinis can grown up to a meter long. When used for food, though, they are normally harvested at around 20cm long.

They are somewhat similar to the cucumber but, unlike that item, they are normally cooked rather than served raw. They can still be eaten raw if desired. Zucchinis are versatile and can be cooked in many different ways, from frying to boiling to barbecuing to stuffing. The skin is left on when they are prepared.

National Raspberries and Cream Day

August 7th in the United States is National Raspberries and Cream Day.

This is a rather simple dish, as it is made from only two ingredients, neither of which need cooking in order to be prepared. Raspberries are a type of fruit that is commonly in  season in the Northern Hemisphere at this time of year, and one that is widely eaten, with the red Eurasian variety being one of the more popular, and well know, species.

Cream is the layer that is higher in butterfat that is skimmed from the top of milk - usually, cow's milk - before the milk is homogenized. There are different types of cream (with the definitions varying from country to country), so there is no need to stick to one particular type when preparing this dish; you can use anything from aerosol cream to clotted cream, a thick cream which is a speciality of Devon and Cornwall in the UK, with various types in-between.

For those that are lactose intolerant, there are various non-dairy substitutes that can be used. To serve, simply put the raspberries in a dish and pour, squirt or spoon the cream over. If you can find a pick-your-own raspberry farm, or grow your own at home, so much the better.

National Root Beer Float Day

In the United States August 6th is National Root Beer Float Day.

First of all, what is a root beer float? If you aren't American, you may never have heard of this or, even if you have, you might not know what it actually is.

A root beer float is a type of ice cream soda, a drink that is also known as a coke float, snowball and spider. These drinks have ice cream in a soft drink or a mixture made from flavoured syrup and carbonated water (which is all many soft drinks are themselves, really).

The root beer float is also known as a "black cow" or "brown cow" and the traditional recipe for it uses vanilla ice cream, although other flavours can also be used. The soft drink used is, naturally, root beer. Root beer is, in this case, a carbonated soft drink (there are alcoholic versions) that is made using the root (hence the name) of the sassafras plant or the bark of the tree, which is native to North America and Asia, although some use cola instead. The "cow" names tend to be from using different drinks as the base and different ice cream flavours.

National Oyster Day

August 5th is National Oyster Day in the United States.

Oysters are a type of bivalve mollusc - there are many different types of mollusc - and bivalves have bodies that are enclosed in a shell made from two hinged parts. Oysters can be found in the sea or in brackish water, the latter being water that isn't fresh but doesn't have as much salt as seawater. This is common in coastal and tidal areas, such as river estuaries and coastal marshes, where freshwater from the river mixes with seawater.

Not all oyster types are eaten. Those from which pearls are normally harvested (the majority of molluscs that have shells produce pearls, but only certain types are valuable) tend not to be consumed. Oysters have been consumed for years, back before the beginning of recorded history.

Oysters, like many molluscs, were said to be only safe to eat in months that had an "r" in the name - those that don't are the hottest months of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and are therefore the months that they are most likely to go off, and shellfish that goes off is bad for you.

Oysters are one of the many types of seafood that must be cooked, or eaten, alive. They are prepared in a host of different ways with different sauces and dressings. Raw oysters are eaten with such as lemon juice, cocktail sauce or vinegar. Opening a live oyster to eat - "shucking" - requires a degree of skill, or the knife used can slip and cause injury.

National Sandwich Month

August is National Sandwich Month in the United States.

Although there were similar items before the modern sandwich, it is named after John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich - after his title, rather than his personal name.

The flatbread, which is used in such as the modern sandwich wrap, are believed to date back to before the Common Era.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, a common item was the trencher, which was a slice of thick, stale bread on which food was served and which served as a "plate." After the meal, this would be soaked in juices from he food, and would be given to dogs or beggars.

Thin slices of beef were apparently served on buttered bread in the Netherlands in the 17th century.

Whilst the traditional modern sandwich consists of two slices of bread with fillings between them, there are many alternatives.

The open sandwich has just one slice of bread, or similar item, on which the topping is placed.

Wraps are made from various flatbreads, including tortillas.

As an alternative to sliced bread, bread cakes and rolls may be used instead - which means even the beefburger is a sandwich.

A versatile food, sandwiches can have pretty much any filling, can be either sweet or savoury and can be served hot, cold or toasted.

National Catfish Month

The month of August is National Catfish Month in the United States.

Catfish are a type of fish with prominent barbels - a slender tactile organ near the fish's mouth - that resemble a cat's whiskers, hence the name. They are found in inland and coastal waters everywhere on the planet except Antarctica, with over half of the number of species living in the Americas. Generally, catfish are found in freshwater, with a tendency towards running, shallow water. Their size can range from tiny to several metres in length.

Catfish have been caught, raised and farmed as food for centuries, although opinions on their flavour range from them being tasteless to excellent, and are high in vitamin D. In Central Europe, catfish are often viewed as a delicacy, and this idea was brought to the United States, especially in the South. Farm raised catfish are such a staple part of the US diet that President Ronald Reagan created an official National Catfish Day.

One of the most popular ways of cooking catfish in the US is to crumb them with cornmeal and then fry them.

National Watermelon Day

August 3rd is National Watermelon Day in the United States.

The watermelon plant, whose fruit is also called the watermelon, is believed to have originated in Africa, but it has since spread to other continents, reaching China, currently the world's largest producer, in the 10th century. In the United States, the watermelon is grown in 44 different states, most of which varieties have at least some genetic influence from a type known as the Charleston Grey which is a disease and wilt-resistant watermelon strain cultivated in Charleston by the USDA in 1954.

Watermelons are, not surprisingly, mostly made of water, with 91% of their weight being that substance. Much of the rest is sugar, at 6%, with the watermelon also being a good source of vitamin C. The most well known watermelon varieties tend to be those with red flesh, but they do come in different colours too, such as orange, yellow and white, with over 1,200 different varieties currently known.

Even the skin on a watermelon is edible but, due to its unpleasant taste, it is rarely consumed, although it is sometimes pickled and occasionally used in other cooking. The flavour of the watermelon varies between the different types, with the most commonly eaten being sweet, although with different overtones. For those who juice fruit, watermelons produce a substantial amount of fluid.

National Grab Some Nuts Day

August 3rd is National Grab Some Nuts Day in the United States.

Nuts, in the botanical sense, are a fruit comprised of a hard shell and a seed. The culinary definition of the nut is much broader. The mere inclusion of the word "nut" in the name does not make it one, but many are still classed as nuts when it comes to food. For example, the peanut is not actually a nut, it's a legume.

Culinary nuts can be eaten raw, but they can also be roasted, dried, pickled, salted, made into spreads and added to confectionery. Bowls of nuts, and similar salted snacks, are commonly provided free of charge in places such as bars or pubs, as the salt makes you thirsty and makes you drink more.

The broad, culinary, definition of the nut has many different types. nut allergies, one of the most common type, mean that not everyone can safely eat them. They are also commonly high in various nutrients, including proteins, the latter making them useful for vegetarians.

National Peach Month

August is National Peach Month in the United States.

Peaches come from a fruit tree of the same name that was first domesticated in north west China, which is the region from which they originated, although the name "peach" and its scientific name is due to early Europeans believing that the tree originated in Persia. China is still the largest producer of peaches in the world.

Peaches are  a spherical stone fruit, or drupe, that have a velvety skin and yellow or whitish flesh, and may come in different colours. Nectarines, which are considered a different fruit, also come from the peach tree; the difference is that they have a smooth, rather than a velvety, skin.

Peaches, like many fruit, can be eaten fresh, but they are also preserved, tinned and used in an ingredient in many dishes, especially desserts.

National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

August 2nd in the United States is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day.

No, this isn't Google's Android mobile operating system release of the same name, but the confection it is named after.

The ice cream sandwich consists of a block of ice cream that is "sandwiched" between two biscuits (cookies), wafers or pieces of cake. There are number of regional variations on this dish, but they are generally very similar to each other and are recognisable as being the same dish. Those that are made with wafers could also optionally have the wafers dipped in chocolate.

There is no one flavour of ice cream that can be used in this sandwich; although vanilla ice cream may be the most popular flavour in the British Isles, New Zealand and North America, other flavours can also be used. The sandwiches can be bought pre-made, or the wafers or other "sandwich" parts can be purchased separately, and the finished dish made at home. The pre-made varieties are easier and more consistent. A reasonably hard type of ice cream is really needed; soft scoop is a little too soft to be truly effective.

National Panini Month

August is National Panini Month in the United States.

The name panini refers to a type of toasted sandwich that originated in Italy, which in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom is used to refer to a specific type of pressed and toasted sandwich. The name itself maens "small bread, bread roll."

This type of sandwich is made using bread such as baguette, ciabatta and michetta. This bread is sliced open and filled, then toasted, and pressed flat, in a panini press.

These sandwiches can be made with a wide variety of fillings, and can be bought pre-made in stores and sandwich shops. They can also be made at home, if you have either a proper panini press, or some other device that will achieves the same effect (a George Foreman Grill can do the trick).

National Raspberry Cream Pie Day

In the United States August 1st is National Raspberry Cream Pie Day.

Cream pies are a type of sweet dessert dish. The pie is a filled pie, otherwise known as a bottom or single crust pie, in which the dish is lined with pastry, but the top is left open. Flaky pastry, which is similar to puff pastry but has large lumps of shortening in it, is the most common type of pie crust used, but there are other types.

In the cream pie, the pie crust is filled with a custard or pudding filling, which is then topped with whipped cream. The custard or pudding filling can come in a variety of flavours; in a raspberry cream pie this is, of course, raspberry flavoured. The most common type of raspberry used is the more widely known Eurasian red raspberry, but others could be used, such as the purple and black varieties. The raspberries are more likely to be puréed before being mixed into the filling, rather than being used whole.