On March 23rd, it is a National Day just for the chip and dip! National Chip And Dip Day celebrates a perfect combination loved by many across the country. Chips and dip are the quick and easy party dish that also makes for great parties. We enjoy them for just about any occasion. From watching the game to hunkering down for a big storm, chips and dips are the way to go. Just no double-dipping, please!
Only a few days earlier on March 14, we celebrate Potato Chip Day, and now we add a partner, the dip. And people have been dipping their food for centuries. Hummus-like recipes date back to the 13th century. These are some of the first “dip” recipes found.
Potato chips are not the only mode of celebrating the day. There are tortilla chips, corn chips, pretzel chips, and even popcorn chips to name a few. After you have chosen your chips, there are dozens of dips to partner with them. There are a variety of dips usually made with sour cream, cheeses, salsas, and seasonings. The combinations are endless. Don’t hesitate to mix up your favorite or try something new!
HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalChipAndDipDay
Invite some family and friends over and have a chip and dip party! Be sure to share your favorite recipes, too. Use #NationalChipAndDipDay to post on social media.
National Potato Chip Day on March 14th celebrates America’s #1 snack food. Millions will enjoy their favorite chip this holiday. It’s a good thing there are so many to choose from, too!
Saratoga Chips
On August 24, 1853, an unhappy restaurant customer kept sending his potatoes back to the kitchen, complaining they were thick and soggy. Chef George Crum decided to slice the potatoes as thin as possible, frying them until crisp and added extra salt. To the chef’s surprise, the customer loved them. The crispy potatoes soon became a regular item on the restaurant’s menu under the name of “Saratoga Chips.”
Other explanations point for the existence of the potato chip point to recipes in Shilling Cookery for the People by Alexis Soyer (1845) or Mary Randolph’s The Virginia House-Wife (1824). While many references between these dates sliced potatoes and fried them in grease, uncertainty remains whether the potatoes were fried to a crisp.
However, by the late 1870s, menus across the country used the term “Saratoga Chips” on train cars, hotel restaurants, and street carts. The name carried into grocers when bakeries made the chips in larger batches. They shipped them by wagon to the restaurants and grocers by the barrel. The grocers sold them to private families by the pound. Folks were instructed to bake the chips in a hot oven for a few minutes, and the chips would be as crisp as if fried that same day.
Classic Potato Chips
The Dayton, Ohio-based Mike-sell’s Potato Chip Company, founded in 1910, calls itself the “oldest potato chip company in the United States.” New England-based Tri-Sum Potato Chips, originally established in 1908 as the Leominster Potato Chip Company, in Leominster, Massachusetts, claims to be America’s first potato chip manufacturer.
In the 20th century, potato chips spread beyond chef-cooked restaurant fare and began to be mass-produced for home consumption. Flavored chips were introduced in the 1950s. Potato Chip revenues are over $15 billion a year worldwide!
HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalPotatoChipDay
While we enjoy potato chips as a simple snack, they also provide a great ingredient in recipes, too. Favorite recipes include chocolate-dipped chips and crushed chips dusted over fish. Share with us how you enjoy your favorite chip recipes! Or just grab a bag of potato chips to enjoy and use #NationalPotatoChipDay to post on social media.
Each year on February 25th people across the nation have a bowl and spoon ready to be filled with clam chowder as they prepare to participate in National Clam Chowder Day.
A clam chowder in its simplest form is a soup or stew containing clams or fish. The most common type of chowder includes milk or cream as well as potatoes, though the Manhattan clam chowder has tomatoes.
The origin of the word “chowder” is up for a little bit of debate. The French word for cauldron is “chaudiere.” The English word “jowter” means fish peddler. Both are on the hook for possible origins.
In chowder, along with the clams, it is common to find diced potatoes, onions (often sautéed with pork or bacon drippings) and celery. Try pan frying diced spam and mushrooms, caramelized onions are a good touch too. I add browned tofu in place of potatoes with extra mushrooms to make it keto friendly.
Following is a list of the basic clam chowder variants:
Make your region’s best clam chowder. Better yet, have a clam chowder taste-off! Invite friends and family to cook up a variety of chowders from all over the country and try them all. Let us know which one you liked best. Maybe you’ll find a new appreciation for chowders.
February 4th heats up with National Homemade Soup Day. In every cuisine, soup provides a rich basis of flavor and history.
Before the era of modern transportation, soup was a product of regionally available foods. For this reason, there are thousands of soup recipes available today.
Many soups also offer medicinal properties. What was once considered a wive’s tale, chicken soup now has the backing of the scientific community. Yes, chicken soup helps relieve the symptoms of the common cold. How? Well, scientists believe that a bowl of the soup may reduce inflammation of the lungs. It is thought that chicken soup slows down the activity of white blood cells that can cause inflammation.
But that’s not all homemade soup does. Every cook knows the most important ingredient that goes into every pot of simmering soup. They keep the ingredient stored where it will do its best work, too. As they work, they season the soup from their heart giving it just the right amount of love each and every time. Whether they add it with the noodles or the vegetable, the broth or the cream, each cook knows there’s enough to go around. That’s why homemade soup heals the best.
Tell us about your favorite homemade soup. Share a recipe or a memory. Gather the family to learn how to make your best recipe and share the love. Need a new recipe to add to your collection? From chowders and broths to creamy bisques, chances are you’ll find a recipe to love too.
Use #NationalHomemadeSoupDay to post on social media.
In the deep chill of January, National Soup Month warms us up with piping hot bowls of comfort! We all have our favorites; Mom’s chicken noodle doesn’t compare to anyone else’s, and Grandma’s borscht can’t be beat. A savory broth filled with vegetables and seasonings envelopes home with a delicious aroma. National Soup Month calls the family to gather and enjoy a hearty meal together!
Gather up your recipes and the ingredients. Where to start? When it comes to soups, there are so many choices! Creamy squash. Split pea. Hearty beef and vegetable. Are you hungry, yet? Whether you make French onion or baked potato soup, we know these filling soups are a staple of winter meals. Don’t forget the Menudo! It’s a month-long celebration, so make them all!
Soups not only warm us up on cold winter days, but they fulfill our need for nutrients lost working hard in the elements. If you’ve been out shoveling snow, chopping wood or caring for animals, a soup full of vegetables, minerals and oils replenish the energy lost. Chicken noodle soup is known for its healing properties, as well. What better way to stay healthy than to eat a bountiful bowl of chicken tortilla or tomato soup?
And when we make a large kettle of soup, there’s plenty to share making the soup a social meal. If there is soup leftover, it stores and reheats easily.
NATIONAL SOUP MONTH HISTORY
Campbell’s founded National Soup Month in 1986. A great way to take advantage of Slow Cooking Month.
Make your favorite soups all month long and try some new ones while you’re at it. Use #NationalSoupMonth to post on social media and spread the word. Add croutons or crackers and make warm memories.
