NATIONAL MILK CHOCOLATE DAY

On July 28th dive into the ever-popular National Milk Chocolate Day. When it comes to chocolate, this sweet easily pleases.

On average, we recognize three chocolate holidays a month. Interestingly, July celebrates chocolate as often as February. 

Solid chocolate, when combined with either powdered, liquid or condensed milk, is known as milk chocolate. While candy bar makers use milk chocolate to make their most popular candy bars, the treat isn’t the healthiest of the chocolates. Dark chocolate takes home the honors for nutrition. With added sugar and fat, milk chocolate packs on the calories. Add to that, milk chocolate’s popularity in baked goods, and the calorie count keeps going up. Don’t forget, we add it to specialty coffee drinks and other beverages, too.

In fact, we’ve been adding milk to chocolate beverages since the mid-17th century. But, in 1875 Daniel Peter invented milk chocolate by mixing a powdered milk developed by Henri Nestlé with the liquor. It’s been milk chocolate bliss ever since. 

Since the days are heating up, melt that chocolate down. Drizzle it on some ice cream or mix it into some popcorn. Nobody said this holiday would be difficult.

Explore More…

HOW TO OBSERVE #MilkChocolateDay

Enjoy your favorite milk chocolate. Create a sweet treat and share with friends. Don’t forget to share on social media and tag with #MilkChocolateDay.

Fannie May, Milk Chocolate Candy, S'mores and Peanut Butter Pretzel Snack Mix, 2 Pack (18 oz and 22 oz Bags)
Fannie May, Milk Chocolate Candy, S’mores and Peanut Butter Pretzel Snack Mix, 2 Pack (18 oz and 22 oz Bags)

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE PUDDING DAY

This food holiday National Chocolate Pudding Day is observed each year on June 26th.  Chocolate pudding has been loved by children and adults for many years.  Usually eaten as a snack or dessert, chocolate pudding is also used as a filling for chocolate creme pie.

Historically, chocolate pudding is a variation of chocolate custard, using starch as a thickener instead of eggs.  The 1903 edition of Mary Harris Frazer’s Kentucky Receipt Book and the 1918 edition of Fannie Farmer’s Boston Cooking School Cook Book both have recipes for the earlier version, using both eggs and flour.

  • In 1934, General Foods (Jello) introduced chocolate pudding mix as “Walter Baker’s Dessert.”
  • In 1936, it was renamed “Pickle’s Pudding.”

Chocolate pudding is usually made with milk and sugar, flavored with chocolate and vanilla then thickened with flour or cornstarch.  Some recipes do use eggs when making the pudding.

Chocolate pudding can be purchased ready-made and sold in grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations.  The popular brands include Jell-O by the Kraft Foods Corporation and Snack Pack by Hunt’s.

Explore More…

HOW TO OBSERVE

Enjoy some delicious Chocolate Pudding as a dessert or as a snack. Try this homemade Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding recipe. Use #NationalChocolatePuddingDay on social media.

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE-COVERED NUT DAY

National Chocolate-Covered Nut Day on February 25th recognizes the delicious and crunchy snack drizzled, covered, dunked, or smothered in chocolate. The possibilities are endless with so many different types of nuts and chocolate combinations.

For thousands of years, nuts have been a staple of the human diet. The walnut was a favorite of the ancient Greeks and Romans, while Native Americans favored pecans.

Both chocolate and nuts can be good for you. Dark chocolate possesses a substantial amount of antioxidants, while the nuts contain essential fatty acids and linolenic acids. For the most part, the fats in nuts are unsaturated fats, including monounsaturated fats. Nuts also provide arginine, a substance that may help make the walls of the arteries more flexible and less prone to blockage from blood clot formation. Many nuts are good sources of vitamins E and B2 and are rich in protein, folate, fiber, and essential minerals, such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and selenium.

The first chocolate-covered peanut candy was Goobers, originally sold in 1925. The word “Goober” was a common slang word for peanut. 

One of the more recognized chocolate-covered nuts is the M & M. These chocolate-covered peanuts or chocolate-covered almonds have become a favorite of many. The peanut M & M was introduced in 1954. They were tan until 1960 when the colors red, yellow, and green were added to production.

Go Nuts!!!!

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE-COVERED NUT DAY HISTORY

While we continue to seek the origins of this day, we’re not withholding any reward. Chocolate, with or without nuts, is a staple snack in the National Day Calendar offices. That doesn’t mean we won’t stop looking for the founder of the day. It just means, it might be helpful if the answer was at the bottom of a bag of Brach’s chocolate-covered peanuts. 

HOW TO OBSERVE CHOCOLATE-COVERED NUT DAY

  • Eat a chocolate-covered nut.
  • Visit your favorite candy or chocolate shop and pick up some chocolate-covered nuts.
  • Make chocolate-covered nuts at home.
  • Give a gift of chocolate-covered nuts.
  • Have a taste test using different nuts and different chocolates.
  • Use #ChocolateCoveredNutDay to post 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.

WORLD NUTELLA DAY

World Nutella Day celebrates what happens when hazelnuts and chocolate collide. For example, millions of people celebrating all on February 5th each year!

It is often said that necessity is the mother of invention. Adding hazelnuts when cocoa is hard to come by may have been an Italian trick during hard times. In the 1800s, in the northern Italian city of Piedmont, they made a paste of chocolate and hazelnuts at a time when the nuts were abundant, but the cocoa was not.

At the end of World War II, cocoa was once again difficult to come by. Pastry Maker, Pietro Ferrero, made loaves of this sweet paste and called it Giandujot. Soon after, the Ferrero Company was founded on May 14, 1946.

It wasn’t until 1951 that Ferrero made the paste into a spreadable form. We wouldn’t even recognize the spread by name until 1964 when Ferrero’s son Michele gave the jar of creamy hazelnut and cocoa the name Nutella.

Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread, 26.5 Ounce (Pack of 1)
by Nutella
Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread, 26.5 Ounce (Pack of 1)

by Nutella


WORLD NUTELLA DAY HISTORY

Sara Rosso founded World Nutella Day in 2007 in celebration of and a way to introduce her favorite spread to her friends. She first discovered Nutella while living in Italy as a food blogger. Read more about her discovery and creation of World Nutella Day at whenihavetim

Explore More…

HOW TO OBSERVE #WorldNutellaDay

Enjoy your favorite hazelnut spread. It’s that simple! Of course, we always suggest celebrating with a friend or family member. Celebrations are best when shared. Create a new recipe or try the one you’ve itching to try. Share your favorites while you’re testing and tasting, too!

Use #WorldNutellaDay to share on social media.