World Nutella Day and other odd food holidays

February 6th, 2012

Appliance Talk

Happy World Nutella Day!  I hope that this year you’ll get lots of Nutella-related presents, be visited by the Nutella Fairy and enjoy the Nutella Parades.

A lot of the above was made up by me, but it is true that the 5th of February is World Nutella Day – a real celebration of hazelnut spread, with no actual affiliation with the manufacturer or any government bodies.  Even though the date has technically passed here in Australia, at the time of writing (6 February) celebrations are still taking place overseas thanks to the international date line, so there’s technically still time left to celebrate!

Pretty much any day you can name has at some point been declared a celebration of a particular kind of foodstuff, either as a promotional stunt by a food manufacturer, or a tribute by some dedicated fans, such as World Nutella Day. Even if you missed World Nutella Day, you can still celebrate National Tortellini Day on the 13th of February, enjoy National Mulled Wine Day on the 3rd of March, or wait until the 19th of September for National Butterscotch Pudding Day (also International Talk Like A Pirate Day).  This is just the tip of the iceberg though, with many more being recorded.

Most of these “National X Day” holidays use “National” to refer to the USA.  While there’s nothing stopping anyone outside the USA from celebrating these days (possibly by preparing the food with the help of a product from Appliances Online), there are also a fair few International Days for global appeal, such as International Hot & Spicy Food Day (16 January), International Sushi Day (18 June) and International Day of the Nacho (21 October).

After a quick search for Australia-specific food celebration days, I only managed to turn up National Lamington Day (21 July), though there are several local food festivals, including the Mundarung Truffle Festival (28-29 July), Tweed Banana Festival (17-25 August)  and Tallong Apple Festival (6 May).  There must be more out there though – if you know of any I’ve missed, let me know.

Do you have a favourite food you’d like to celebrate?  Or a special day that you’d like to associate a particular food with?

UPDATE:  Seems that the team over at Winning Appliances and Bathrooms in Brisbane are keen Nutella fans, and have sent us their favourite recipe for Nutella Truffles from Cooking on the Weekends.  Even when it’s not World Nutella Day, these make for an indulgent dessert, which can be made especially decadent if eaten in the bath with a glass of champagne…

Nutella Truffles

Makes: 18 – 20 truffles
Total Prep Time: 4 hours
Active Work Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Single Jar of Nutella (370 grams)
230g of finely chopped good quality dark chocolate (Scharffen Berger or Lindt)
Single Tablespoon of Hazelnut Praline

Place the jar of Nutella in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours (ideally overnight). Once Nutella has refrigerated long enough, line a baking tray with 2 sheets of baking paper. Set aside.

Remove Nutella from the refrigerator and use a small scoop to shape approximately 18 – 20 truffles. As you go, place the truffles on the baking tray. When completed, place the truffles in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.

While the shaped truffles are in the freezer, melt the dark chocolate in a small, deep bowl (either in a boiler or in the microwave).

Remove the shaped truffles from the freezer and use a fork to carefully dip each truffle into the melted chocolate. Coat each truffle evenly and place them on to the other piece of baking paper. You can use a small knife to help you remove the covered truffle from the fork. The truffles will set quickly because they’ve been in the freezer, so sprinkle with Hazelnut Praline as you go.

Note: The Hazelnut Praline can be made up to 2 days prior – keep in an airtight container in a cool place.