NATIONAL CORN ON THE COB DAY

June 11 of each year is the day to celebrate National Corn on the Cob Day.  Fresh corn on the cob is a summertime treat that people from all corners of the United States look forward to as we start the picnic season.

Corn on the cob is also known in different regions as pole corn, cornstick, sweet pole, butter-pop or long maize.   It is a sweet corn that is picked when the kernels are still tender when it’s in its milk stage.

Boiling, steaming, roasting or grilling are the most common ways of preparing corn on the cob.   If it is grilled or oven roasted, the corn is usually left in its husk during the cooking process.

Proper dinner etiquette for eating corn says it is appropriate to hold the cob at each end with your fingers. 

HOW TO OBSERVE

Get the butter and the salt shaker ready, gather up some friends, start your grill and enjoy some corn on the cob! For those with hankering for corn off the cob, use #CornOnTheCobDay on social media and tell the world!

WORLD FLOUR DAY

On March 20th, World Flour Day recognizes the importance of flour in our daily diets and our health. In every part of the world, products made from flour provide daily sustenance for billions of people.

Flour is the main ingredient in delicious foods like pasta, cakes, pastries, bread, and biscuits. For thousands of years, humans have consumed grains ground into flour. Ancient humans gathered the oat kernels growing wild around them. Using a stone tool much like a pestle, they crushed the kernels into a coarse flour.

Today, we continue to enjoy many varieties of domesticated grains. In the Northern Hemisphere, many farms prepare to plant these grain crops around March 20th. The earth is warming and ready to grow. In the Southern Hemisphere, autumn has arrived. The grains have ripened, and harvest is beginning.

The day honors the farmers and millers, shippers and truckers, processors and bakers who bring the white gold to our tables. It’s a day for gratitude, and one of hope as the seeds are sown, and harvests are reaped.

WORLD FLOUR DAY HISTORY

The Flour World Museum founded World Flour Day on March 20th in 2019 to celebrate the global significance of flour in our daily lives.

About the Flour World Museum

The Flour World Museum in Wittenburg near Hamburg, Germany, has set itself the goal of creating a monument to flour in all its globe-spanning significance. After all, some 750 million tonnes of wheat flour are harvested each year and turned into a wide variety of foods.

Explore More…

HOW TO OBSERVE #WorldFlourDay

  • Invite a friend for a meal made with flour. A whole-grain sandwich or a sweet pastry sounds delicious.
  • Don an apron and bake up some cookies; deliver them to your favorite farmer or co-worker.
  • Try a new recipe while you’re at it.
  • Learn about varieties of flour and try baking with one you’ve never used.
  • Practice making a rue. One of the key ingredients is flour, and it makes some of the most amazing sauces and soups.
  • What’s your favorite flour product? Tell us using #WorldFlourDay and share on social media.

NATIONAL CREAM-FILLED CHOCOLATES DAY

Chocolate lovers rejoice as February 14th is National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day!  On the same day, approximately 58 million pounds of chocolate will be purchased. Much of it will be in heart-shaped boxes, filled with bite-sized chocolates with ooey, gooey centers. Quite a few of these cream-filled goodies will be exchanged and shared on Valentine’s Day.  

Chocolate makers offer a wide variety of cream-filled goodness, too. Take your pick from marshmallow cream, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, coconut, hazelnut creme and even creme de menthe. How about coffee cream filled chocolates? Nearly every fruit you can imagine can be made into some sort of creamy center. 

What’s inside those hard chocolate shells? Well, many chocolate makers provide a map so you don’t accidentally eat one that doesn’t sit well with you. One way to completely avoid the mystery is to create your own gift box with flavors you select. Some chocolate makers offer this option. Not only do you select the chocolates your love likes best, but it’s a personalized gift, too. How chocolately sweet is that? It’s also a terrific way to avoid biting into a flavor that will ruin the evening. 

No matter how you celebrate, be sure you bite into a cream-filled chocolate or two that you like!

Explore More…

HOW TO OBSERVE #CreamFilledChocolatesDay

You know what day is it is so sample a few of your favorite cream-filled chocolates and give a few, too. They can even be in a heart-shaped box if you like. What other ways can you celebrate?

  • Host a cream-filled chocolate sampling party. Invite friends to make one of their favorites to bring and everyone will get to sample. Supply fruit and sparkling wine to complement the chocolates.
  • Take your party a notch further. Test your sampling skills by seeing who can identify the most cream-filled mystery chocolate flavors. Varieties can range from sweet to savory. We’re thinking a little bacon flavor here, a little coffee there.
  • Try your hand at making your own cream-filled chocolates. While we often give chocolate as a romantic gesture, why not make it together instead. Turn up the heat in the kitchen and melt each others’ hearts while you melt some chocolate.

Share your celebration using #CreamFilledChocolatesDay to post on social media.

NATIONAL COLOR DAY

National Color Day focuses on the impact color has on each of us. The observance takes place each year on October 22nd. Color is powerful. It can affect a mood, draw attention, even cause alarm.  

It is hard to imagine a world without color. Without color, we would nearly be blind.  Doctors check for health through the color of a patient’s skin. On a late, crisp autumn morning, sparkling frost and leaves changing from green to vermillion signal a change of seasons. A flush of color in the cheeks of a friend sends a cue of her embarrassment. The street light turns from green to yellow to red. In the Grand Canyon, layers of sediment range in color from black to pale ash. All these signs alert us to change through color.  

Imagine a world without chrysocolla. This mineral formed from hydrated copper phyllosilicate develops colors from a brilliant cyan to jade green. From darkening skies before a storm to the undulating fragile glow of the aurora borealis, color in nature moves us to pause and enjoy or to warn us of impending danger. Long before colors had names, they served a purpose.

Colors accent our homes and feed our creativity, allowing us to express ourselves. Open a box of crayons or watercolors, and artists of any age lose themselves in a world of their own creation for hours.

Different colors are perceived to mean different things. The following is one rendition of the perceived meaning of the various colors in the United States.

Red:  Excitement – Love – Strength

Yellow:  Competence – Happiness

Green:  Good Taste – Envy – Relaxation

Blue:  Corporate – High Quality – Serenity

Pink: Sophistication – Sincerity

Violet/Purple:  Authority – Power

Brown:  Ruggedness

Black:  Grief – Fear

White: Happiness – Purity

Explore More…

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalColorDay

Explore the use of color in your life. Take in the vast and ever-changing array of shades available to you. What’s your favorite color?  Express yourself through color and use #NationalColorDay to post on social media.