Holidays for our tastebuds – Lincoln Journal Star

Each week, the Lincoln Journal Star will bring you a list of the upcoming holidays dedicated to the foods we eat — or need to try.

Here’s the holiday fare for June 22-28:

June 22: National Onion Ring Day. The onion’s history dates back to ancient times. The onion ring’s, not so much. Crisco published an onion ring recipe in a 1933 advertisement in the Brand-new York Times Magazine. However, it does not claim to be the inventor — Kirby’s Pig Stand, a once popular Texas restaurant chain, says it created the very first onion ring in the 1920s. However, the popularity of the onion ring is credited to A&W restaurants, which introduced it to its menu in the 1960s.

June 23: National Pecan Sandie Day. This shortbread-type cookie with pecan pieces inside may date back to medieval Arab times. Pecans provide 10 percent of the recommended daily value of zinc — a mineral that is essential in the production of testosterone — thereby making it an aphrodisiac of sorts.

June 24: National Praline Day. The original praline was made of almonds and a caramelized coating. Today, most American pralines contain pecans — a substitution credited to Brand-new Orleans chefs in the mid-19th century. Despite the fact that the creation of the praline is unclear, most historians agree that pralines are named after 17th century French diplomat, César, duc de Choiseul, whose title was comte du Plessis-Praslin.

June 25: National Strawberry Parfait Day. Parfait is French for “perfect.” And lots of would certainly argue that the strawberry is the world’s most perfect fruit, which may explain why there are so lots of strawberry-themed food holidays. The ancient Romans believed that strawberries alleviated lots of symptoms of illness. Medieval stone masons carved strawberry designs on altars and around the tops of pillars in churches and cathedrals to symbolize perfection and righteousness. In parts of Bavaria, country folk still celebrate spring by tying small baskets of wild strawberries to the horns of their cattle as an offering to elves, who in turn will give them healthy calves and abundance of milk, according to foodimentary.com.

June 26: National Chocolate Pudding Day. Historically, American pudding is a variation of British custard. Unlike custard, which is thickened with eggs, pudding uses starches, like flour. In the late 19th and early 20th century, chocolate pudding was believed of as a healthy, high-calorie, wholesome food for sickly people with poor appetites.

June 27: National Orange Blossom Day. The day pays tribute to the flower that eventually produces an orange. But the orange blossom can be used in lots of foods and drinks. Middle Eastern countries often use orange blossom water to flavor desserts and baked goods. The Orange Blossom is also a Prohibition era cocktail of orange juice, gin and sweet vermouth.

June 28: National Tapioca Day. Tapioca comes from the fleshy root of the bitter cassava, but is not naturally occurring. Rather, it needs processing to turn it into flake, flour or pellet pearls. Like other puddings, tapioca pudding was once considered a good food for those with “delicate digestion” or in poor health, according to FoodTimeline.org.