National Pulled Pork Day

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October 12th is National Pulled Pork Day in the United States.

This dish is an American barbecue dish at its base, associated with the American South. It can be slow-smoked over wood, normally outside, but it is most commonly cooked inside using a slow cooker. It is a very simple dish; the pork is slowly cooked until it starts to fall apart, then manually shredded, often just by pulling it apart with a fork. For the pork to reach the proper stage for "pulling" it must be cooked at the correct temperature range. Though a simple dish, it is also time consuming, as the cooking process requires hours. Once cooked, pulled pork is often used with a sauce. It is sometimes eaten on its own, but it is also used as an ingredient in other dishes; as sandwich filling, for example, or as a topping on burgers or hot dogs.

National Cake Decorating Day

October 10th is National Cake Decorating Day in the United States.

Cake decorating is the process of making a cake more interesting. It is a sugar art that uses icing, frosting or other decorative elements, though it can also be applied to moulding the cake itself into a three-dimensional item, which would normally then be decorated.

Cake decorations can be purchased in shops as food-safe plastic, but true cake decorations will be made from edible material. These can be made from gum paste, fondant and modelling chocolate, which are sculpted into shape. Piped decorations will be made using royal icing, which is pied directly onto a cake or onto something like greaseproof paper for later attachment using an icing bag.

Decorated cakes are most commonly seen for special occasions, with birthdays being one, though the most elaborately decorated cakes are usually seen at weddings. A whole range of decorations from simple to complex can be used to enhance the visual appeal of a cake.

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National Vodka Day

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October 4th is National Vodka Day in the United States.

Vodka is a clear distilled alcoholic drink that is made from fermented substances, such as potatoes and grains. Cereal grains are the traditional source, but potatoes became a recent alternative. More modern vodkas may be made with fruit.

Vodka is commonly associated with Russia, but it is prevalent in other Eastern European countries, especially Poland. Scandinavia is also a source of vodka, although, for example, Swedish vodka only started being called that in the mid-twentieth century.

It is not known precisely when or where vodka originated. It appears to have been around in what is now Russia in the 9th century, but may date back to 8th century Poland. Vodka is a fairly strong spirit. In the European Union, vodka has to be over 37.5% proof in order to be called vodka. Vodka is drunk neat and, in countries known as the vodka belt, vodka is served freezer chilled, though this is a custom that has migrated to other countries too.

Vodka is usually clear, and is a common ingredient in cocktails. There has been a recent growth in commercially available flavoured vodkas, although vodka has been flavoured for years to improve its taste.

National Crunchy Taco Day

Renee Comet (photographer) / Public domain

October 4th is National Crunchy Taco Day in the United States.

Tacos are a traditional Mexican dish in which a small wheat or corn tortilla is topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. Tacos can have a wide range of fillings, including meat, vegetables, seafood and cheese, and combinations of several ingredients are common. These are then garnished with such as sour cream, salsa and guacamole. Chillies and hot peppers are common accompaniments.

Crunchy tacos are perhaps the type that many are most familiar with; these have the tortillas folded into a U-shape and are fried, making them hard and crunchy, as opposed to the soft tacos. Soft tacos are wrapped around the fillings; crunchy tacos are stuffed with the filling.

National Cinnamon Roll Day

Evan-Amos / Public domain

National Cinnamon Roll Day is on October 4th in the United States.

The cinnamon roll, known by a number of other names such as cinnamon buns, is a sweet roll common in Northern Europe, especially Scandinavia, and North America. Like most such dishes, it has migrated to other countries. The roll is made from a sheet of leavened dough that is rolled up. A mixture of cinnamon and sugar is sprinkled onto the pastry, over a thin layer of butter, sometimes with raisins. This is then rolled and either baked or deep fried. Depending on the country, a cinnamon roll is eaten during a coffee break, for breakfast or as a dessert.

The amount of cinnamon used in the roll can alter the taste significantly. Cinnamon buns in Canada have so much of the spice that they are hot and spicy, rather than sweet.

National Homemade Cookies Day

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October 1st is National Homemade Cookies Day in the United States.

Cookies, or biscuits as they are known in much of the world, are a baked food that is normally small, round or flat, though there are variations; some cookies are giant. They come in a wide range of varieties, though the basics are typically flour, sugar and some type of oil or fat; the sugar cookie is an example of the most basic type of cookie there is. Cookies are easily purchased from the shops, but there is nothing to say you can't bake them yourself though, and baking at home will spread a lovely smell throughout your house. You can also make a cookie that contains just the ingredients you want.

Cookies can be easy to make, or as complicated as you want them to be. The basic recipe is very simply, but more can be added. If they aren't as perfect as shop-bought, so what?

International Coffee Day

October 1st is International Coffee Day.

Coffee is a drink that is brewed, usually using near-boiling water, from roasted coffee beans. Ripe beans are harvested, processed and dried, which are then ground and brewed. Coffee is a stimulant, due to its caffeine content, and can be served in a number of different ways. Different items can be added to it, from milk and cream to reduce the bitterness of the drink, to flavourings.

Though coffee is normally served hot, it can also be served chilled or iced. Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world, yet it is also one of the newer ones. It is more recent than tea, dating back only five hundred years compared to tea's close to 1700 years, and thousands of years newer than alcoholic drinks such as beer.

Image: Julius Schorzman / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)