National Pepperoni Pizza Day
September 20
A Harris Poll taken in January of 2016 found pepperoni to be the most popular pizza topping in the United States. People in the U.S. consume roughly 251,770,000 lbs. of pepperoni each year, and when breaking down the numbers, that comes to an average of 344 tons of pepperoni eaten every day! Pepperoni is an American variety of Italian salami. Like salami, it is a mix of spiced, dried pork and beef – heavier on the pork – stuffed into a casing. Pepperoni was first used on American pizza sometime between the First and Second World Wars. The invention was likely a way to use up the scraps of pork and beef set aside when carving out the various steaks, roasts, and chops. One reason why so many pepperoni pizzas are eaten may be do to the fact there are more than 70,000 restaurants serving pizza in the United States.
National Fried Rice Day
September 20
Fried rice is a dish of cooked rice that has been stir-fried in a wok or a frying pan and is usually mixed with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, seafood, or meat. It is often eaten by itself or as an accompaniment to another dish. Fried rice is a popular component of East Asian, Southeast Asian and certain South Asian cuisines. According to the Spruce Eats website, the exact origins of fried rice are lost to history, however, it is believed that it was invented sometime during the Sui dynasty (A.D. 589–618), in the city of Yangzhou in eastern Jiangsu province. When making fried rice, which really is stir-fried and doesn’t need much oil at all, it is important to use rice that has been cooked and well chilled. Refrigerating firms the texture of the starch in the grain so it doesn’t become gummy and fall apart when it meets the wok or skillet.
Today’s Birthdays of Note….
Sophia Loren – Actress – born in Rome, Italy
Upton Sinclair – Author – born in Baltimore, Maryland
