February 15: International Gumdrop Day

Right after a day of chocolate indulgence and gift-giving, it's International Gumdrop Day!  I'm not sure how this one got "International" tacked on in the title while most others just get "National."

Like cream-filled chocolates, finding gum drops was harder than I expected.  I remember gumdrops being chewy candies with an outer coating of sugar, like these.  I couldn't find gumdrops like that at the three stores I went to.  In fact, the only gum drops I came accross were the DOTS brand, the smooth gumdrops that come in a multitude of flavors.  I'm most familiar with the five basic flavors, so it was neat to learn that DOTS also come in yogurt and tropical flavors.  (I'm not a fan of licorice, so those DOTS were always given away.)

In addition to just eating gumdrops, you can even bake with gumdrops.  Also, gumdrops are great for decorating sweets.  You can place them on top in pretty patterns, slices them for roof tiles or stepping stones for a gingerbread house, make roses with them, or other flowers like pansies or tulips.    Or you can just make your own grumdrops in whatever shapes you want!

January 26: Pistachio Day and Peanut Brittle Day

Pistachio Day

Pistachios are pretty cool nuts.  Normally, if a nut is green, it's somehow gotten moldy and gross.  Not so for a pistachio!  They're normally a beautiful green color.  And tasty.

Pistachios are one of two types or nuts that are dangerous to put within arm's reach of me - if I can reach the pistachios, I can gaurantee that I'll take them from you and eat them all.  They're just so delicious!  I try to be good about not having a whole bag of pistachios in front of me and usually use small bowls, but I always seem to find myself re-filling the bowls. 

I'm also loving the new ad campaign for pistachios.  It's a pretty well done campaign.  I snooped around PistachioHealth.com, which I believe is linked to the campaign.  Now, as with any information out there on the internet, be cautious about who is providing the information.  That said, it's a pretty nifty site.  There's plenty of information in every day terms for the consumer, and for RDs and DTRs  there's afree CPE opportunity for 1 credit. 

I just wish I could figure out what to do with all those pistachio shells.  I wonder how well they'll work as drainage for potted plants...



Peanut Brittle Day

I've made peanut brittle multiple times for classes now.  Both times, we used this Alton Brown recipe and I've also used it for my Christmas candies bags.  I'm actually very surprised that the reviews are so low, but in reading some of them it seems as if the "light amber color" phrase is what throws people off. I actually had the same problem once- more on that in a bit.   If you decide to make the recipe, use a candy thermometer if you have one; otherwise, use the cold water test.

The first time I made the brittle, everything went perfectly.  I was a little worried that it wouldn't set because it was a bit humid that day, but apparently it was dry enough to work in my apartment.  The brittle came out very nicely and everyone at my work helped me eat it.  (There was no way I was going to eat four pounds of brittle all by myself!)

The second time was a disaster of a brittle.  My lab group didn't do the cold water test or use a thermometer and just tried to gauge by color.  "Light amber" is what the recipe calls for, but I think we all forgot that "amber" is close to a rosy medium brown.  It never set but we managed to salvage the mess by turning it into oven roasted peanuts and we had enough ingredients left over to get it right the second time.  The trick is to do the cold water test enough times or use a thermometer until you feel confident in your ability to judge what is "light amber."

So don't be scared off if you don't get it right the first time.  I've made it (successfully) multiple times now and once you get the hang of it, it's a truly easy recipe.

January 3rd = Fruitcake Toss Day and Chocolate-Filled Cherry Day/Chocolate-Covered Cherry Day

Fruitcake Toss Day

Time for a confession!  (Already?)  I've never eaten fruitcake.  Really.  I've always been interested in trying some, since everybody claims fruitcake is terrible.  I've thought about buying fruitcake, but somehow I got the notion that fruitcake is something you give - purchasing one for yourself would break some secret societal norm.  So I've never had one.

Every year at the Holiday White Elephant party, a fruitcake (rumored to be the same one year after year) would put in an appearance.  I never did end up with it and I always wondered about this persisting rumor that people regift fruitcake the next holiday season.  As much as I would like to try fruitcake, there is no way in the world I'd eat one that was a year or more old.

So, if you have fruitcake leftover or fruitcake that you never opened, give it the old heave-ho today.  It's probably too old to be safe, so toss it out.


Chocolate-Filled Cherry Day / Chocolate-Covered Cherry Day

Some sources say that today is Chocolate-Filled Cherry Day while others say it is Chocolate-Covered Cherry Day.  I have never seen a chocolate-filled cherry and a quick bit of internet-sleuthing turned up nothing useful. It would be an interesting candy, though - maybe one day I'll have to try making it.  I'll start with maraschino cherries (as chemically-soaked as they are, I do have a soft spot and smile-inducing memories for maraschino cherries) and then I could inject some chocolate cream inside (much lik with the cream puffs).  Or...ooh!  Even better!  Start with fresh cherries, remove the pits, and place a couple of chocolate chips in the vacancy created by the pit.  Maybe even roast them slightly to melt the chocolate.  If anyone does this, please document the experiment for future generations. 

Chocolate-covered cherries, on the other hand, are pretty easy to find, especially during the holiday months of August (when Christmas marketing begins) through February (Valentine's Day).  There may even be some around during March and April (Easter).  In honor of today, I ate half a chocolate-covered cherry from a box of See's chocolates (yes, I'm the kind of person who cuts all the chocolates in half to see what's inside). 

Making chocolate-covered cherries is probably a great deal easier than making chocolate-filled cherries.  Still, I think I'll give it a shot someday.