National Bicarbonate of Soda Day

December 30th is National Bicarbonate of Soda Day in the United States.

This multipurpose substance is also known as bicarbonate of soda and baking soda and isn't actually a food in itself. Although it occurs naturally, John Dwight and Austin Church, some years after the first was produced artificially, started a factory ion the mid 19th century that made baking soda from sodium carbonate and carbon dioxide.

It is actually a salt, and can be used as a cleaning agent and fire extinguisher amongst other uses, as well as its use in cooking. In cooking it is used as a leavening agent in baking - hence the name "baking soda." This is its primary food use, although it can also be used to tenderise meats and make vegetables softer.

In baking, bicarbonate of soda reacts with the acidic components in batters which causes carbon dioxide to be released expanding the batter and giving the characteristic texture many have, including pancakes, cakes, breads and fried foods.

Pepper Pot Day

December 29th is Pepper Pot Day in the United States.

This is not, as the name might suggest, a celebration of that means of dispensing, usually ground, pepper. This is in actual fact a thick soup or stew that is also called Philadelphia Pepper Pot.

The soup (or stew) is made with beef tripe, pepper and vegetables. The origins of the stew are legendary, albeit a fairly recent legend, dating back to the American Revolutionary War. One story has it that the baker general of the Continental Army, Christopher Ludwick, made the stew during the winter of 1777-8. Local farmers had sold their produce to the British, rather than accept the Continental in exchange - a very weak currency - so the soldiers had to make a stew from anything they could lay their hands on.

National Chocolate Candy Day

December 28th is National Chocolate Candy Day in the United States.

Chocolate may not always be considered to be a candy (or sweet) but it is, as the term can be used to describe any type of sweet confection - even bittersweet chocolate.

There are so many different types of chocolate candies that they seem to be in an entire category by themselves - and, in fact, can be treated that way. This definition includes items such as chocolate bars (of whichever of the many types) and truffles, but excludes white chocolate (as this is not considered to be true chocolate). It can include all the rather vague items too which are covered in chocolate, which can mean anything that is dipped in chocolate, or uses it.

The most popular types of chocolate candies are probably the chocolate candy bars, which come wrapped and can include just about anything. Boxes of chocolates too are popular, especially at this time of the year.

National Candy Cane Day

December 26th is National Candy Cane Day in the United States.

Candy canes are what they sound like - a piece of candy in the shape of a cane (or walking stick, or shepherd's crook if you prefer).

It's not known precisely when these were invented. There is a story dating them back to the latter half of the seventeenth century in Germany, which ties them in with giving sweets (candy) to children during Mass in the shape of a shepherd's crook to remind them of the shepherds who attended Jesus. This is probably false.

There is a definite recipe for candy canes published in the middle of the 19th century, and was associated with Christmas - an association it still bears - a few decades later.

The traditional candy cane is a short, red and white striped hard candy pole with a hook on the end. It has been hung on Christmas trees for decades now, so the day after Christmas is an ideal time to eat them - they are no longer really needed for decoration by this point.

National Pumpkin Pie Day

December 25th is National Pumpkin Pie Day in the United States.

This may seem an odd dish to have Christmas Day as its national day, given all the other foods associated with this day, such as turkey, Christmas pudding and fruitcake, but pumpkins are used in many different recipes in the US and are native to North America, and are popular during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season.

Although the harvesting season for pumpkins - a type of squash - was earlier in the year, pumpkin pie is rarely made from the raw pumpkin itself, as this is certainly a harder way of doing it. The pie is made using a pie shell and rarely has a top crust. The interior filling is a pumpkin based custard that has been flavoured with spices, with cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg being the most common. When making pumpkin pie, many will normally use pre-made commercially available pumpkin pie filling, which comes with the spices included in it. Using a pre-made pie shell and pre-made filling certainly makes this an easy dish to prepare.

National Eggnog Day

National Eggnog Day is on December 24th in the United States.

It's not truly known when and where the drink eggnog originated. It may have come from East Anglia in England, or it may be descended from the medieval drink known as a posset, which was made with hot milk. It moved to the Americas in the 18th century.

Whilst many versions of this drink do contain alcohol, this is an optional extra, although spirits are the most usual ones used. The basic constituents of eggnog are eggs (not surprisingly), milk and /or cream and sugar. The eggs are supposed to be raw, although this is uncommon these days due to health reasons, and whipped to give it a frothy texture, and the finished drink is often garnished with spices, typically ground cinnamon or nutmeg. The drink is traditionally served warm.

This is a drink much associated with this time of year, both Thanksgiving and Christmas, in Canada and the United States. It can be drunk by itself, or added to other drinks, especially those which commonly have milk added, such as tea and coffee, and other foods.

National Pfeffernuesse Day

December 23rd is National Pfeffernuesse Day in the United States.

Pfeffernüsse is a dish you may well not have heard of. They are actually a type of small cookie that are popular in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark during the holidays, which makes late December a perfect time to be celebrating them.

They are not an old dish, probably dating back to the mid 19th century, and they are believed to have been associated with the feast of Sinterklaas earlier in the month - Sinterklaas is a figure based on Saint Nicholas and, as you might guess, one of the sources for Santa Claus.

Pfeffernüsse recipes differ, with no one recipe in particular being specific to the cookie. Spices are contained in all of them, especially anise, cinnamon and cloves, and they are normally sweetened with molasses and honey.