Celebrate the Panini!

1. August 11, 2015 is the first ‘official, National Panini Day*
2. The first U.S. reference to panini, a ‘pan warmed Italian sandwich’ dates to 1956 in an article about an Italian street fair.
3. Panini’s are said to have originated in Lombardy, Italy, in response to the demand among Milanese office workers for a quick lunch without sacrifice in flavor and quality
4. In the late 1970s & 1980s. Trendy U.S. restaurants, particularly in New York, began selling panini’s.
5. In many English-speaking countries, a panino, from Italian, meaning “small bread, bread roll” is a grilled sandwich made from baked roll or any thing other than sliced bread.

*A day proclaimed by Foodimentary, the interest source fore Food Holidays and celebrations since 2006

Today’s Food History

• 1858 Christiaan Eijkman was born. A Dutch physician who discovered that beriberi was caused by a poor diet (a lack of vitamin B1), which eventually led to the discovery of vitamins.
• 1874 Harry S. Parmelee of New Haven, Connecticut patented the sprinkler head.
• 1949 Eric Carmen of the music group ‘The Raspberries’ was born.
• 1962 Booker T and the MG’s released their instrumental single ‘Green Onions’.
• 1992 The Mall of America opened in Bloomington, Minnesota. It was the largest shopping mall in the U.S.