Milk Day? Again?

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Today is World Milk Day – not to be confused with National Milk Day in the US. Actually a lot of countries have a national day devoted to milk but the FAO picked June 1 to bring everyone together on the assumption that no one would mind a second day spent talking ‘moo-juice’ (as my uncle Allen would say).

Of course, they also declared the last Wednesday in Sept each year to be World School Milk Day so it’s possible that the folks at the FAO have a TEENY milk obsession.


Sometimes I have to wonder about the Milk Lobby. Not only are there quite a few national milk days, milk is the official state beverage for more US states than any other beverage. And when I say more, I mean WAY more. Something happened in the world of milk in the 1980s…

Arkansas (1985), Delaware (1983), Kentucky (2005), Louisiana (1983), Maryland (1998), Minnesota (1984), Mississippi (1984), New York (1981), North Carolina (1987), North Dakota (1983), Oklahoma (2002), Oregon (1997), Pennsylvania (1982), South Carolina (1984), South Dakota (1986), Tennessee (2009), Vermont (1983), Virginia (1982), Wisconsin (1987)

Now, I’m not suggesting anything untoward but you know, I think if we examine the budgets of the ‘Got Milk’ people from the 1980s, we might well find a sizable amount under “sundries.”

But never mind that – Did you know that milk is one of the most commonly thrown away/wasted foods by households in developed world? Of the roughly 360,000 tonnes of waste milk that is poured down British drains each year, almost half of it is designated as “avoidable waste” – the result of too much being served. The rest is discarded for being sour or past its sell-by date.

Which reminds me – we’ll have a “sell by/best by date” discussion at some point as well because other than baby food, none of those days are regulated or consistently defined. Recipe for confusion!

So, what do you do if you are a small but busy household where the milk is only half used by the time you realize the date was a week ago and it’s smelling a bit odd? You either buy smaller containers of milk or you find a way to use more.

The latter does not mean you must drink an extra glass every day. In fact, most adults I know don’t drink glasses of milk at all. Most of the milk here at TransAtlantic Towers goes into coffee, baked goods or white sauces. Just use milk in additional ways. Make rice puddings, soups, poach some fish – make a panna cotta. And if the milk  has JUST “gone off” (like the day before) go ahead and use it if you’re gonna be baking. Works well in lots of biscuits, muffins and breads.

Or – just buy the smaller container.

The BLT: Why This “Simple” Sandwich Isn’t Simple at All

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April is BLT Sandwich Month!

Now, I know what you’re thinking – a month to celebrate a BLT? How much time do you really need to celebrate a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich?

And I don’t disagree.

I could absolutely get behind a month dedicated to exploring the glories of bacon sandwiches – there are, after all, many kinds. But a BLT is just one of them. Do we really need four weeks to delve into the details of a BLT?

Well… having thought about it, we might.

Not because of some ancient pedigree. It’s not all that old – and probably more an evolution than an invention. It likely grew out of the tea sandwiches of the Victorian era – via the club sandwich – but really gained ground post–World War II, when fresh tomatoes and lettuce became available year-round.

The components needed for a typical BLT are: bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and bread. But don’t let the simplicity of that list fool you.

This sandwich is a masterclass in culinary balance: the salt and crunch of the bacon, the acidity of the tomato, the cool crispness of the lettuce, and the creamy bridge of mayonnaise. Get that balance right and it’s perfect. Get it wrong and it’s… disappointing.

What makes a BLT a BLT

BLT lovers have strong views about every ingredient and every layer.

  • What bread is the right bread? Should it be toasted or not?
  • What is the right order of assembly?
  • Should the mayo go on both sides or only one?
  • Iceberg or romaine? Shredded or not?

Living in the UK as I do, I am also aware of heated discussions about which bacon puts the B in BLT – streaky bacon or back bacon? In the US, the bacon’s role is widely seen as bringing the crisp, so it’s streaky bacon all the way. We can get into the differences on Bacon Day – come back in September for that.

These are the sorts of things BLT obsessives debate. Hotly.

Poking the BLT Bear

Now, I am not one of those people who will stage a protest over the choice of lettuce, but I do enjoy the sheer spectacle of a foodie throwdown.

If you want to watch the sparks fly during BLT Month, try suggesting that if the tomato isn’t room temperature and lightly salted, the sandwich is a failure. Or wade in with an even bigger conversational grenade by asking, innocently, “Does it have to be white Pullman loaf? Can it be sourdough? What about… a bagel?”

What about “innovations”?

  • Do we consider the BLAT (a BLT with added avocado) a true BLT?
  • What about the BELT (a BLT that contains an egg)?
  • What about even more out-of-left-field suggestions like wrapping the whole thing in a tortilla or replacing the mayo with mashed peas? I think we all know TikTok has a lot to answer for when it comes to these “viral food hacks” that have very little to do with food and everything to do with clicks.

No, true BLT lovers will stick to the authentic, original blueprint – debated as it might be. We don’t need an algorithm to tell us that bacon, lettuce, and tomato work; we just need decent ingredients and a sharp knife.

Hmmmm. Maybe we do need a whole month after all.

Happy Nougat Day! And before you ask…

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“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

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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

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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.