National Red Wine Day

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August 28th is National Red Wine Day in the United States.

Red wine is wine that has been made from dark coloured grapes. The colour of the wine can vary a lot, with that of young wines being violet through brick red and to brown for older wines. The colour comes from the skins of the grape in most cases, as the juice of purple grapes is greenish white; the exception being teinturier varieties which produce a red juice. There are dozens of different grape varieties used to make red wine.

Traditionally, red wines are drunk at room temperature, though the coolest room of the house, not the room where they are drunk, not chilled, though it is becoming more common to chill red wines, especially those that are highly aromatic.

National Whiskey Sour Day

National Whiskey Sour Day falls on the 25th of August in the United States.

Whisky, or whiskey (the first is the British spelling, the second the American, but in the trade the former normally refers to Scotch and the latter to Irish) is a distilled drink made from fermented grain mash. There is no-one type of grain that is used to make whisky; several different varieties are used. The drink is normally aged after distillation. There are many regional verities of whisky, which can be called by different names, such as bourbon.

A whiskey sour is a drink that uses whisky as its base. Different types of whiskeys can be used - bourbon is apparently popular - but a pure whiskey drinker (the type who objects to adulterating the taste with ice, for example, never mind anything else) would probably be horrified by the idea of using a really good whisky to make this drink.

To the whiskey is added lemon juice and sugar. In a Boston Sour, egg white is also added. The drink is shaken, and then either served straight or poured over ice, and then garnished with a maraschino cherry and a slice of orange. The standard mix is 4.5 cl of bourbon to 3 cl of fresh lemon juice to 1.5 cl of Gomme syrup (where the sugar comes from) and the optional dash of egg white.

National Cuban Sandwich Day

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August 23rd is National Cuban Sandwich Day in the US.

The Cuban sandwich is a type of ham and cheese sandwich whose precise origins are uncertain, but which is thought to have most likely originated in cafes in Key West or Tampa in Florida that catered to Cuban workers. Both locations were centred around the cigar industry. It's thought that, later, Cubans then brought the sandwich to Miami.

The ingredients may vary, but all Cuban sandwiches start with Cuban bread, a white bread similar to French and Italian bread. This is sliced lengthways, lightly buttered or brushed with olive oil and then yellow mustard. Swiss cheese, roast pork, glazed ham and sliced dill pickles are then added. There is a disagreement as to whether or not to add salami. The sandwich can then be toasted in a sandwich press called a plancha, which is similar in form to a panini press.

World Plant Milk Day

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August 22nd is World Plant Milk Day.

Plant milk is pretty much what it sounds like; it's a milk substitute made using plants, rather than coming from animals. It is a non-dairy alternative to normal milk and is suitable for vegans and those who have a problem with dairy products.

Plant milk is not a new invention. There was as North African drink that came to Spain before 1000 AD and in English the word "milk" has been used to refer to plant juices that are similar to milk since 1200 AD.

A number of different plants are used to make plant milk, with soy, coconut (which actually contains a plant milk inside the shell) and almond being the most common. Just like normal milk, plant milk can be used to make cream, cheese, ice cream and yoghurt, or substances similar to these.

National Fajita Day

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National Fajita Day is on August 18th in the United States.

The fajita is a dish found in Tex-Mex and Mexican cuisine that refers to any type of grilled meat that is served as a taco in either a flour or corn tortilla, though there are many alternatives. Though the dish originally used skirt steak, since then other cuts of beef have been used, as well as other meats, such as chicken, vegetables and seafood, especially prawns.

The filling will often be cooked with onions and bell peppers and the result is then served on a warm tortilla with other ingredients. Popular additional ingredients are grated cheese, shredded lettuce, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, diced tomatoes and refried beans. The ingredients will be arranged down the centre of the tortilla, which will then be roiled up into a wrap.

National Rum Day

The 16th August is National Rum Day in the United States.

The "modern" drink called rum dates back to the 17th century, but its precursors date back much further; thousands of years is an estimate.

Rum is a distilled (the first product of alcoholic fermentation is then distilled to create a much stronger drink by removing much of the water) alcoholic drink with its origins in sugarcane. It is either produced from the juice of the sugarcane, or from sugarcane by-products. Sugarcane is a species of grass that is actually native to South Asia, despite its' association with the Caribbean. The stalks of sugarcane are rich in sugar.

Rum was first made in the Caribbean sugarcane plantations - the sugarcane having being transplanted there to grow - and today much of the rum is still produced in that region and in Latin America, but it is also produced in many other countries and regions around the world, especially those with a similar climate.

Rum comes id different varieties, but it is difficult to precisely determine what rum is, as this depends on the country in question. The more common varieties are probably those called light, or white (a clear liquid) and dark, which are red, black or brown. There are also gold rums, which are lighter than dark rums, and rums with other things added to them.

Rum has some strong associations, such as Bacardi, who produce white rum, and with the British Royal Navy, for whom a tot of navy rum was given as a daily ration in place of French brandy in the 17th century, as Britain had seized control of Jamaica, a rum-producing island.

International Beer Day

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The first Friday in August is International Beer Day.

International Beer Day was created in 2007 by Jesse Avshalomov in Santa Cruz, California. The day has three stated aims: gathering with friends to enjoy the taste of beer, celebrate those who brew and serve beer and united the world under the banner of beer by celebrating beers from all nations. From being celebrated at the founders' local bar it has since spread around the world.

Beer itself is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages in the world, with earliest evidence of its existence dating back 13,000 years, and is the most widely consumed, being the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. Beer is brewed from cereal grains and most modern beers are brewed with hops that add bitterness and act as a natural preservative and stabilising agent. Other flavourings may also be added. Beer is available in a wide range of types.

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day

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August 4th is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day in the United States.

Chocolate chip cookies are drop cookies that have chocolate chips in them. They were created in 1938 when Ruth Graves Whitfield added chopped pieces from a chocolate bar into a cookie. Semi-sweet - a type of dark - chocolate is most commonly used.

At the time, Wakefield owned the Toll House Inn - the chocolate chip cookies were named after the restaurant. It is often said that Wakefield added the chocolate chips to the cookie dough, expecting them to melt, but was surprised when they didn't. However, it is said that this claim that they were accidentally invented is inaccurate; that she intended to try them this way as an experiment.

Today, bags of chocolate chips sold in the U.S. and Canada will normally have a variation of the original recipe printed on them.

National Mustard Day

National Mustard Day is celebrated on the first Saturday in August, making it a literal moveable feast.

Mustard can refer to the condiment or the spice, and this day celebrates the condiment, rather than the spice (mustard seeds), even though the condiment is made from the spice. It uses the seeds of the mustard plant, which can be whole, ground, cracked or bruised, which are then mixed with such as vinegar, water, lemon juice, wine, salt and frequently other flavourings or spices. There are a lot of different variations in mustard from many different countries. Some are quite mild; others are definitely not. The consistency of mustard can also vary, from thin enough to squirt from a bottle to thick enough to need a spoon.

Mustard is most often used with meats of various types such as hot dogs, hamburgers, roast beef and steak. It's also used as a constituent in some salad dressings. Mustard is a very versatile condiment, with types that should appeal to anyone.

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