Happy Nougat Day! And before you ask…

Posted on    by

“Nougat? What is nougat, exactly?” I hear you cry.

It’s a good question but, like many good questions, it might be better never to have an answer. Isn’t it better to wonder what’s under the kilt or what the meaning of life is than to actually settle it once and for all? Don’t we all love a little mystery?

Sure we do – but not so much with our food. And if we are to be served nougat – much less be asked to celebrate it – I say we look into it and find out what makes it tick.*

Nougat, according to Wikipedia (which is as good a starting point as any when one is poking around confectionery mysteries), “is a term used to describe a variety of similar confectioneries made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The consistency of nougat can range from chewy to hard depending on its composition, and it is used in a variety of candy bars and chocolates.”

nougat

Given the vagueness of that definition, it won’t surprise you to hear that there are variations of nougat across many national culinary traditions. The Spanish have turrón, the French have their nougatine. There is gaz, a Persian variation, and even a couple of African versions – kurtzati and baxtiti – which lean more heavily into fruit than nuts. The Australians, unsurprisingly, go big on nuts, while the Germans, equally unsurprisingly, lean toward chocolate with something called Schmelz-Schokolade (literally “melted chocolate,” which feels like a very … German way to approach the situation).

All of which sounds delicious – but also not quite what I thought of as nougat.

And I’m not entirely convinced that the stuff inside Milky Ways, Snickers bars and 3 Musketeers bars (which is what I initially thought of) is quite as wholesome as the above makes it sound. Ah – and a quick glance further down the page confirms my suspicions. That version “is a mixture of sucrose and corn syrup aerated with a whipping agent such as egg white or hydrolyzed soya protein. It may also have vegetable fats and milk powder added.”

Yum?

Still, that helps. Nougat – in the proper (and dare I say edible) sense of the word – sounds like something worth celebrating. That other stuff sounds a lot like something you’d use to caulk your windows.

* Please note: This is just an expression of speech. If your nougat is ticking – it’s not nougat. It is a “device” and should not be eaten under any circumstances.

Kicking off 2026 A Bit Early

Posted on    by

From a food observance perspective, December is all but over. Today is Bicarbonate of Soda Day ( a day too early considering tomorrow is New Year’s Eve but never mind.

So I’ve decided it’s time to focus on January. Besides, the weather is cold and January is one of the cosiest months on the foodie calendar.

January is …

Hot Tea Month: Yes, I know I’ve said I don’t like hot tea. I don’t like iced tea either. But that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate that lots of other people enjoy the stuff. And I can also appreciate that it is a topic around which people have VIEWS. Views on which comes first, milk or tea; brew strength; bags vs. loose leaf… etc. I tend to stay quiet during these moments since no one wants to hear ‘Ewwwwww, just give me coffee.’

Slow Cooking Month: what could be more on brand for winter than slow cooking? Also, I am very much on board for anything that delivers far more comfort than the effort required. And since ‘simplicity’ seems to be on all the 2026 food trend lists, slow cookers will come into play there too. I mean, what could be easier than throwing a lot of stuff in the pot, turning it on and walking away for the day?

Oatmeal Month: When did oatmeal get so … varied? steel-cut oats, baked oatmeal, bowls gone savoury topped with eggs or greens are showing up all over the place. What is your favourite oatmeal topping? If you are an oatmeal person, have you tried savoury options?

Soup Month: OK, when I say what could be more on brand for winter than slow cooking, I should have said ‘well – soup.’ because it is also very on brand for winter. And so trendy – from bone broth to noodle bowls, soup shows up on all sorts of trend round ups – from gut health to batch cooking, from ‘how to hygge’ to reducing food waste. Bottom line: soup is good food. Enough said.

Food trends reshaping travel is not new

Posted on    by

The BBC recently featured an article entitled: Why travellers keep queueing for viral food and the short answer is because a lot of people are lemmings and social media has made even more people into lemmings than were lemmings before.

But that’s too short for a blog post so…

Speaking as someone who loves food and travel, I can honestly say I am not waiting an hour to get anything described as a ‘viral food.’

Which was my exact position in 2016 when Grub Street published an article entitled: “The Ridiculous Rise of Viral Food and the Great Line Apocalypse” about people waiting for 2 hours for “freakshakes” and rainbow bagels.

Remember freakshakes? I did my best to forget these monstrosities

So none of this is new – not the lines, not the weird trends, not my attitude towards the same.

And this isn’t because I am contrary (though some will say I am) but because the reason these things go viral almost never has anything to do with how they taste and more to do with wanting to be ‘in on’ the latest thing and the shock value of what has been done to these poor foods.

The subtitle of the BBC piece is: “Experts explain how FOMO, social proof and performance culture have turned ordinary snacks into global must-queue experiences” and it features psychologists pointing out that “these lines aren’t really about the food at all; they reveal how social media, status and performance are reshaping modern travel” So, the docs and I are on the same page – none of this is actually about the food. The food is a prop.

The article also says that “[Social media] gives tourists a stage on which to perform their vacation,”

Not unlike the days gone by when people used to bore their friends senseless with slides of their travels during cocktails. Which I like to think I wouldn’t have done either.

Look, I’m not someone who suffers much from FOMO – I’ll pass GLADLY on freakshakes, gold flecked burgers, and hybrid pastries that look like they ate Rhode Island.

I don’t really film stuff, much less myself and I am definitely not filming myself eating. Besides, I am a static photo sort of gal. And we’re off to Lanzarote tomorrow so there will be photos of food, cats, landscape and the like. But unlike slideshows of yore in days gone by when you were trapped on the sofa with the sound of the slide projector humming in your ear, you can scroll past

And I don’t really have anyone I need to offer’ social proof’ to. I mean, sure, I could tell you guys that I had an amazing burger or had my mind blown by a doughnut. And I probably would. But not to PROVE I had it. But to share the joy of an amazing burger and mind-blowing doughnut. But I would only do so IT IS WAS ACTUALLY an amazing burger or a mind-blowing doughnut. Not because I finally had some weird Fraken-burger or doughnut spiked with pretzels that all the ‘influencers’ have been saying is amazing or mind-blowing.

On the Occasion of Caviar Day

Posted on    by

Today, so my research tells me, caviar day. Which kind? Whichever kind you like.

Black caviar is from sturgeon varieties – beluga, sturgeon and stellate sturgeon – and is not (as one might expect) always black. Sometimes it is grey (beluga), sometimes a quite a dark bronze-y shade (sturgeon) and finally deep inky black (stellate).

Red caviar comes from either on of variety of salmon or trout – keta (dog salmon) is apparently considered the best type of red caviar.

Though interesting in a sort of intellectual and Trivial Pursuit sense, all this this leaves me essentially unmoved to take any action since, I confess, I do not care for the stuff.  No, it’s not because I have not had good quality caviar. It’s not because I wasn’t given the right “garnishes.” I have tried it on three occasions – and at BEST, I was able to summon an internal “meh.”

Caviar didn’t always have the cache it does today. In fact, it was used as pig and animal feed until the end of the 18th century and when it first became a “thing” in America, they gave it away free in bars – like a small fishy version of today’s free peanuts that are supposed to make you a thirstier and more profitable customer. The pigs and bar flys are welcome to it – at least, they are welcome to my share.

But don’t let me stop you – my lack of interest in caviar just means more for you. So grab your topping of choice and your champagne or ice-cold vodka (I gather there is some debate about which is best choice for maximum caviar enjoyment) and enjoy. In fact, there were all sorts of articles in 2024 and the first half of 2025 talking about how caviar had gone mainstream and was cool once more. I admit, I didn’t notice – but hopefully the caviar lovers amongst you did.

I’ll be over here prepping for Ice Cream Day (July 19).

A post from the pre-blog-hack archives – originally posted 2016-07-18, with a few updates now . Thank goodness I backed these up, right?

Culinary Calendar – July

Posted on    by

Culinary Calendar – July

July is National Picnic Month – which makes sense in light of the fact that it is also National Baked Bean Month, National Hot Dog Month and National Ice Cream Month.

I love a good picnic (I am scheduled to attend two in the next week) but I can’t say I’m terribly excited about baked beans being on the menu. I’m not a baked bean fan – never have been. I love bean salad or mashed beans or bean stew. But there is something about baked beans that I have always found slightly disquieting and a bit wrong. The texture maybe? Apparently July is also National July Belongs to Blueberries Month – which may or may not be true but is awkwardly phrased and just a bit presumptuous of the Blueberry Lobby. I’d like to know how the hot dogs, baked beans and ice cream feel about this territorial smack talking.

But I think we can all agree that making July National Culinary Arts Month is unlikely to cause a throw down between food or create culinary controversy (unless some other month feels slighted in some way). I think maybe NPR thinks June is National Culinary Arts Month because every other piece I seem to hear lately is food related. Not that I mind or am complaining. Just an observation. Here’s hoping it continues throughout this celebratory time in culinary calendar.

But what are we celebrating on the long July days? Lots of things, my friends. Lots of things and here are is a break down of the first few days to whet the food fun appetite!

  • July 1 is National Gingersnap Day and my parents’ anniversary now that I think about it. I don’t know if they would accept a box of gingersnaps as the appropriate gift but I may give it a go.
  • July 2 is National Anisette Day but I can’t imagine why.
  • July 3 is National Chocolate Wafer Day and while I am never adverse to a bit more chocolate in my life, wafers are a bit lightweight and insubstantial for something as robust (or which should be as robust) as decent chocolate. A chocolate wafer always risks being – chalky or dusty.
  • July 4 is National Barbecue Day which seems a logical extension of National Picnic Month. Good way to tackle two culinary holidays with one food festivity. Multi-tasking! That’s my motto
  • July 5 is National Apple Turnover Day but I will be far too busy at my gargantuan family picnic to notice. Have a turnover for me.
  • July 6 is National Fried Chicken Day and again, this makes perfect sense in light of July being National Picnic Month. Nigella has said – several times over the course of several series’ that fried chicken is the prefect picnic food. And she is not wrong.
  • July 7 is National Strawberry Sundae Day for those who need more specifics than National Ice Cream Month. Or maybe just those who need an excuse for more ice cream. Don’t bother making excuses. It’s hot. That is reason enough. Dig in. Enjoy.
  • July 7 is National Macaroni Day and there are many ways to celebrate it. Macaroni salads for – yes, you guessed it – picnics. Macaroni necklaces to keep children occupied and then beaming with pride when parents wear them. Come on, Dads! Macaroni jewelry isn’t just for Mom anymore. Pretend it’s puka shells and channel your inner David Cassidy (oh dear – I think I just dated myself)

So as you can see – July is a real heavyweight on the culinary calendar and I haven’t even mentioned National Milk Chocolate with Almonds Day (which strikes me as unnecessarily fussy), National Pina Colada Day (which I believe should be a weekly event), National Caviar Day (which seems oddly timed), and National Penuche Day (which I shall have to look up).

So see you ’round the picnic table and then back here soon for more food holiday fun!