Walter E. Diemer: Dubble Bubble Bubble Gum

Today is the day that the man who invented America's 1st Bubble Gum was born. Looking for more info and some Bubble Gum recipes? Then check out today's post over at Months of Edible Celebrations!!!

Harold Baker: Chiffon Cake

Today, we celebrate two inventions baked into one.

Oil is the Key

The story of the Wesson Oil and Snowdrift Companies begins at the Southern Cotton Oil Company founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 5, 1887.

From the 1770s to the 1880s agriculturists and cooks sought to develop culinary oils from plants. Thomas Jefferson's attempts to introduce the olive into the agriculture of the United States, as a partial substitute for lard in cookery met with limited success...In the first decades of the nineteenth century, planter experimentalists began the commercial scale production of benne oil, establishing it as the primary salad oil and the second favored frying medium in the southern United States. It enjoyed acceptance and moderate commercial success until the refinement of cottonseed oil in the 1870s and 1880s. Cotton seed, a waste product of the south's most cotton vital industry, was turned into a revenue stream as David Wesson and other scientists created a salad oil and frying medium designedly tasteless and odorless, and a cooking fat, hydrogenated cottonseed oil (Cottonlene or Crisco) that could cheaply substitute for lard in baking. Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture

The Cake

The notion of combining beaten egg whites into a batter prepared with egg yolks and oil belongs to creator and professional baker, Harry Baker. Baker owned a Hollywood pastry shop at 341 Larchmont Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. bake me a cake...

Gail Borden: Portable Soup-Bread

After six years of experimenting, on February 5, 1850, Gail Borden received U.S. Patent #7,066 titled "Preparation of Portable Soup-Bread." In essence, it was a traveling meat biscuit packed with protein.

When Gail Borden, a surveyor and land agent at Galveston in the recently annexed state of Texas, heard of the starvation of the Donner Party and the hunger of the others who were trying to cross the continent, he was stirred to invent a way of making food more potable. The Americans, the Democratic Experience by Daniel Joseph Boorstin; available @google books

Unfortunately, I can't get to posting about the trials and tribulations of Borden's first patent. However, Jana @ Time Travel Kitchen, not only explores Borden's invention, she also includes a modern version of Borden's Meat Biscuit recipe for those who dare...
Don't worry, it looks much more appetizing than this:

Charles Goodnight: Chuck Wagon

Cattleman Charles Goodnight was born on March 5, 1836. Legend has it that Charles Goodnight invented the Chuck Wagon in 1886. You can read more about Charles Goodnight and his invention @ Months of Edible Celebrations where I celebrated some chuck wagon cookin.'

Thor Bjørklund: Cheese Slicer

Have you ever contemplated the origin of the cheese-slicer? I'd venture to say no. Well, perhaps, maybe yes. After all, you are reading my "invention of the cheese slicer" post for Inventors' Day:)

A cheese slicer, put simply, is an instrument for slicing cheese. Pretty basic huh? So what's to post? Well, it appears, the cheese slicer has a history. Yes, cheese has a rather romantic history also but today, I would like to focus on the cutter itself; the handheld cheese slicer.

The Ostehøvel (Norwegian for "cheese slicer") was patented on February 27, 1925 by Norwegian carpenter, Thor Bjørklund.

...If you love cheese, you should have a cheese plane. These are often called Norwegian cheese planes because they were invented in Norway and patented in 1925 by Thor Bjorklund who was a carpenter. He designed the cheese plane based on a carpenter’s plane to give thin and uniform slices of cheese...source: Charlottes Cheese Dreams

Yes, it seems, Norway has made other contributions to the world of inventions. For example, did you know it was a Norwegian who invented the paper clip. His name was Johan Vaaler and he was granted a patent in 1899. Hey, someone had to do it!!! The invention of Post-It Notes is an entirely different story.

We better get back to the cheese slicer before the cheese spoils:) According to legend, Mr. Björklund became a bit agitated when on a hot summer day he couldn't quite get his packed lunch of cheese to slice as thin as he would have liked. Since he was a cabinetmaker by trade, it occurred to him that he might be able to use the same principle for slicing cheese as he did for planing wood. The original hand-held cheese slicer was made of metal and can be seen here. Because of its ability to cut thin slivers of cheese, Norwegian houses wives loved it. It was an immediate success. In merely two years after its invention, the cheese slicer was being mass produced in Lillehammer Norway. I found an image of the original cheese slicer at wikipedia along with the story of the invention.

Apparently a cheese slicer is great for slicing cucumbers too!!!

Thor Bjørklund & Sønner AS, that opened its doors in 1927 was Norway’s only producer of the traditional Norwegian cheese slicer (ostehøvel), and the first in the world. Since the beginning the company has produced over 50 million cheese slicers. During the pioneering years a total of 50-60 work operations were used on each cheese slicer, and one hour was used to produce each slicer. Today, approximately 7,000 slicers can be produced in one hour. (source)

There are those who believe the cheese slicer was first imported to American shores as souvenirs brought home by visitors to Norway. If you're lucky in your travels on the internet, you may find yourself right smack in the middle of a cheese paring celebration on February 27. That is the day the people of Norway pay tribute to Thor Bjørklund and the cheese slicer. Have FUN!!!

Resources 1. What is a Cheese Slicer?

Happy Birthday Nicolas Appert

Of vineyards, tree, and garden sauce, There should never be any loss. If fresh picked and quickly canned, When winter comes it will be in demand. Collin Class Cookery 1931

Today is the birthdate of Nicolas Appert; the reputed "Father of Canning."

Charles E. Hires: Hires Root Beer

Charles Elmer Hires was born in Elsinboro Pennsylvania (some say Elsinboro New Jersey) on August 19, 1851. As a son of a farmer, Charles was quite sure he did not want to spend the rest of his life toiling the soil like his father. Instead, he began experimenting with powdered roots and extracts developing medicinal syrups and tonics when he was a young man...

You can find root beer recipes and a timeline of Mr. Hires' journey to root beer fame at a posting I did titled: Mr. Hires and the Black Cow.