MDBCs 07 Nov 2024

It's healthy, it's delicious and it's an easy-to-make, go-to snack. Celebrate almonds covered with sweet and bitter dark chocolate on November 7 or Bittersweet Chocolate With Almond Day.

Made by dipping or rolling sautéed, roasted or caramelized almonds in melted chocolate, chocolate covered almonds were popular among the wealthy in the 18th century. Today, they are a quick snack perfect to take with on a hike, at a picnic or while on the go.

Ancient Nuts

Native to the Middle East and South Asia, almonds have been consumed by humans since ancient times. Archaeological evidence has shown that the almond fruit and nut was buried with Tutankhamun (King Tut) around 1300 BCE.

Today, almonds are grown and used in cuisine all around the world. The United States is the world's largest producer of the nuts, with the state of California taking the lion share's of all the almonds exported by the country.

Technically a drupe - a fruit with a fleshy body and hard seed - almonds are rich in Vitamins B and E and many essential minerals.

Best for Baking

Bittersweet chocolate is at least 35% chocolate liquor mixed with a minimal amount of sugar. In many parts of the world, it is also known as dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate. Bittersweet chocolate is used primarily for cooking and baking.

How to Celebrate?

Make your own bittersweet chocolate coated almonds. Experiment with flavors of this healthy snack - maybe add some cayenne pepper to give it a Mexican twist or use some rose essence and cardamom to make some Middle Eastern inspired bittersweet chocolate with almonds. Don't forget to share with family, friends and co-workers.
Get creative. You don't just have to make bittersweet chocolate coated almonds to celebrate this fun food holiday. Instead, why not whip up a dessert that has both almonds and bittersweet chocolate. May we recommend a chocolate ice cream with caramelized almonds or an almond chocolate cake?

Did You Know…

…that wild almonds can kill you? The bitter version of the nut contains a high dosage of cyanide and eating a handful can prove fatal. But rest easy, the almonds you get from the stores and for food preparation are the harmless sweet, domestic variety

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Men Make Dinner Day

The first Thursday of November is Men Make Dinner Day, a made-up holiday that encourages men to actively participate in household matters such as cooking.

For long, the kitchen was considered to be the domain of women and were off limits to men. Today, as more and more women go out in the workforce and there is a demand for equality in the society, workplace and at home, this is a trend that is slowly fading out. Men and women become more equal partners in a family – they are sharing more and more house-related tasks like cooking, cleaning and parenting.

Men Make Dinner Day is an attempt to spread the message that men can cook and can take on the responsibilities that were previously thought to be women's tasks.

How to Celebrate?

Men, wear an apron and get into the kitchen and make a dinner for your family.
On this day, make a cooking schedule with your partner so that you can share the responsibilities of cooking and feeding your family.
If you have never learned how to cook, maybe today is the day to begin - there are a lot of recipes for of easy to cook meals that can be found online and in cookbooks.

Did You Know…

…that the oldest cookbook on record is the De re conquinaria? Written in Latin, historians believe that it was written sometime in the 1st century.

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International Stout Day

Usually celebrated on the first Thursday of November, International Stout Day pays tribute to the stout, a popular type of beer.

International Stout Day, whose creator is unknown, was first celebrated in 2011. It has gained in popularity over the years, with bars and breweries holding tasting events, brewing classes, and special happy hours with discounted stouts.

Dark and Strong

Historically, stout beer was considered to be a type of porter—a dark beer made from brown malt first introduced in London, England in the 17th century and popular throughout England and Ireland. The stronger and darker porters with more alcohol were called stout porters. Eventually, stout porters gained a faithful following, the word porter was dropped, and the beers came to be known only as stouts.

Stouts are usually made with roasted malt or barley, hops, water, and yeast. They tend to have a higher alcohol content, though not always. Guinness, one of the world's best-known stouts, has about 4.1 to 4.3% alcohol by volume (ABV). Most stouts tend to fall between 5 to 8% ABV.

Variety of Stouts

As this type of beer became popular around the world in the 17th and 18th centuries, brewers started experimenting with fermenting conditions and ingredients to create several different kinds of stouts. For example, Milk or Sweet Stout is made by adding lactose, while Oatmeal Stout is made by adding oatmeal to the ingredient list. Other varieties include Russian Imperial Stout, American Stout, and Dry Stout.

How to Celebrate?

Gather your loved ones and visit your local brewery or bar to participate in a stout beer tasting.
If you are a home brewer, why not take the opportunity to make your own signature stout at home? Don't forget to share with friends and family.
Learn more about the history of beers in general and stouts in particular.

Did You Know…

…that beer enthusiasts use the word zythology to refer to the study of beer and beer making? The word cannot be found in a dictionary but is popular among those who brew and drink the beverage. It comes from the Greek words zythos, meaning beer, and logos, meaning study.

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Q: If you're American when you go in the bathroom and American when you come out, What are you in the bathroom?

A: European.

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Did you hear about the fire in the shoe factory?

10,000 soles were lost. The police said some heels started it.

***

A man walks into a pet store and asks for a dozen bees. The clerk carefully counts 13 bees out onto the counter.

“That’s one too many!” says the customer.

The clerk replies “It’s a freebie.”

***

My three-year-old daughter stuck out her hand and said, “Look at the fly I killed, Mommy.”

Since she was eating a juicy pickle at the time, I thrust her contaminated hands under the faucet and washed them with antibacterial soap. After sitting her down to finish her pickle, I asked, with a touch of awe, “How did you kill that fly all by yourself?”