National Queso Day

Wackyrussell at English Wikipedia / Public domain

September 20th is National Queso Day in the United States.

Queso is Spanish for cheese but in this case it's an abbreviation for chile con queso, rather than celebrating cheese itself. Chile con queso means chili with cheese and is a cheese dip that is part of Tex-Mex cuisine. It is derived from Queso chihuahua and Queso flameado from the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

Chili con queso is a creamy sauce that is used for dipping. It's made from a blend of melted cheeses, chili peppers and cream and its most basic, but it can have other ingredients added too. The dish is served warm and, most commonly with tortilla chips, pita chips or tortillas. It is also used to top many other Tex-Mex dishes, including tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas and migas.

National Pepperoni Pizza Day

September 20th is National Pepperoni Pizza Day in the United States.

Pizza itself is an Italian dish that consists of a base, usually round, flattened and made from wheat-based dough, that can be topped with a range of toppings. Most pizzas use cheese and tomato as the basic toppings, called the cheese pizza or margherita, but others can be added.

The pepperoni pizza is more of a U.S. creation than an Italian one, and in the U.S., it is often called a sausage pizza. Outside the U.S., this is less typical, for "sausage" is not a term used to describe pepperoni. Pepperoni is an American salami that is made from cured pork and beef and seasoned with paprika or other chilli pepper. For a pepperoni pizza, the salami is sliced thinly.

Image: Pink Sherbet Photography from USA / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

National Rum Punch Day

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

September 20th is National Rum Punch Day in the US.

Punch is a term for a wide range of drinks. These can be alcoholic, or non-, depending on what ingredients are used. Rum punch is, naturally, one of the alcoholic variants.

The name "punch" comes from a Sanskrit word meaning "five" as the original drink was made with five ingredients: sugar, lemon, water, alcohol and either tea or spices. Modern punches tend to use fruit and/or fruit juice when made. The drink came from India to England, and then spread to other countries from there. It is quite a popular party drink, where it is served in large bowls known as punch bowls, where guests have the drink ladled into individual glasses.

There are a number of different popular varieties of rum punch available. All use rum, naturally, but the type of rum and the other ingredients vary. Two of the oldest known rum punch recipes are Planter's and Bajan. Planter's tends to contain rum, pineapple juice, lemon juice, grenadine, orange juice, soda water, Angostura bitters, cayenne pepper and curaçao. Bajan, or Barbadian, uses one part of lime juice to two parts sweetener to three parts rum and four parts water, with a dash of nutmeg and Angostura bitters.

National Creme de Menthe Day

M.Lawrenson / Public domain

September 15th is National Creme de Menthe Day in the United States.

Crème de menthe is an alcoholic beverage whose name translates from the French as "mint cream." It therefore, not surprisingly, tastes of mint. The drink is available in both colourless (which is called "white") and green varieties, with the green drink coloured either using mint leaves or food colouring. Each has a very similar flavour and, when used in recipes, they are considered interchangeable, unless colour is important.

The drink is used in a number of different cocktails, but can also be consumed by itself, as it is popular as an after-dinner drink (as other minty things are). It can also be used in food as a flavouring, such as mint chocolate. It is comparatively easy to make at home.

National Beer Lovers Day

Jordi coll costa / Public domain

September 7th is National Beer Lovers Day in the United States.

Yet another day celebrating the most popular alcoholic beverage in the world, beer. Indeed, beer is one of the most popular drinks. Or, rather, more those who drink beer than the drink itself.

Beer is one of the oldest drinks in the world as well and it comes in an enormous range of types, colours and strengths. One of the oldest writings in the world, the Code of Hammurabi, have laws regulating beer and serving it.

Beer is made from cereal grains, with many different types of grain used, which are fermented to create alcohol and carbonation. Other ingredients may also be added to give beer different flavours. Today, beer has three measurements to classify it; bitterness, colour and strength.

Blueberry Popsicle Day

PhreddieH3 at English Wikipedia / Public domain

September 2nd is National Blueberry Popsicle Day in the United States.

Yes, another popsicle day. Blueberries, despite their name, are not so much blue as indigo (between blue and violet). Blueberries that are bought commercially come from species that are native to eastern and north-central North America. Blueberries were for years, and sometimes still are, handpicked, especially the more delicate varieties. Another method of "picking" them is by simply shaking the plant. Blueberries are a sweet fruit and are, unlike so many fruits called berries, actually a berry in the botanical sense.

A blueberry popsicle is an ice lolly or ice pop, which are flavoured ice on a stick, flavoured with blueberries. Although they may not have much actual blueberry in them. Popsicles themselves are actually a brand of ice pop owned by Good Humor-Breyers. However, the name popsicle has become more of a generic name for ice pops than one associated with a particular company.

World Coconut Day

Ramon FVelasquez / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

September 2nd is World Coconut Day.

Coconuts are the fruit of the coconut palm and, like many things with "nut" in the name are not nuts, being drupes. The coconut is one of the larger drupes around and is covered in a fibrous husk whose outermost layer, coir, has a wide range of uses, such as ropes, mats, brushes, sacking and caulking.

Coconuts contain coconut meat, which is a white, fleshy part of the fruit that is used in candies and desserts and is also used dried. Coconut milk is obtained by pressing the coconut meat that can be used to create a number of beverages. Coconut water is the liquid found inside the coconuts and is drunk and turned into a vinegar. Coconut oil is used in cooking. There are various derivatives from the various parts of the coconut.

Almost every part of the coconut can be used in some way and it has significant economic value.