๐ National ZUCCHINI BREAD Day ORIGIN & HISTORY
When it comes to the origin of National ZUCCHINI BREAD Day, it’s kinda hard to determine. Perhaps one day someone thought this would be a good day to make a lot of zucchini bread. With extra zucchini bread to share they could give them away as gifts to the people they love and care about while still keeping some for themselves. Zucchini bread smells delicious and tastes even better. National ZUCCHINI BREAD Day is celebrated on the 25th Day in April.
Zucchini bread is typically made as a quick bread. These types of bread are made with chemically leavened agents such as baking soda and baking powder.ย Quick bread came about after baking soda was discovered. The Arm & Hammer company started producing baking powder in 1856. The ability to make quick bread by substituting a chemical leavening instead of using yeast became very popular. So suddenly making loaves of bread just got easier.
Having portable, easy-to-prepare foods was important during the American Civil War. Quick bread was portable and relatively simple to make since it doesn’t require yeast’s rise time.
This type of food could help satisfy the hunger of people during the War. Quick breads were used by people in the United States which is where pearlash was discovered. Pearlash is a refined form of potash and has less of a smoky aftertaste. It produces carbon dioxide gas in the dough.
Potash gives food a smoky aftertaste. It’s this smokiness that comes from creating potash. You start with some lye and pass water through hardwood ashes. Evaporating the lye water leaves behind the solid potash.
The beginnings of ZUCCHINI BREAD
Amelia Simmons came out with the first cookbook published in America in 1796. It was called American Cookery. The book contained recipes using pearlash. Pearlash or potash had been popular in German baking and used in gingerbread recipes which is similar to zucchini bread. The agents in pearlash, unlike potash, are made from potassium carbonate, salts of tartar, or carbonate of potash. Baking powder itself wasn’t produced commercially until 1857.
The zucchini bread we’re familiar with today may have originally been made using pearlash as a chemical leavening agent. If you come across a recipe that uses potash just replace 1 teaspoonย of potash with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
If you grow zucchini plants, then you know they’re prolific producers. With an abundance of zucchini, determining ways to use it is important. One of the favorite things that gardeners like to do with extra zucchini isย … making zucchini bread.
National ZUCCHINI BREAD Day gives you an excuse to go ahead and bake up a loaf of bread. Enjoy and share it with friends and family. I came across this healthy zucchini bread recipe and think it’s delicious. I love making quick bread and normally have some type of healthy veggie or fruit-based quick bread on hand anyway. My next quick bread will be this zucchini bread recipe. Let us know how yours turns out.
๐ HOW to Celebrate & Observe National ZUCCHINI BREAD Day?
Not sure how to LOVE the day? We’ve got a few interesting ideas to consider that may help get you started.
Here are some activities that you can do on National ZUCCHINI BREAD Day!
๐ Be a BAKER
There are many delightful ways to make zucchini bread and so many recipe books contain different creative ways to make it. Explore your options and see which ones you’d like to have. Serve some with your breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
๐ Be a GIFTER
Make up a couple of extra zucchini loaves. Once you’ve determined which recipes you like the best, make up some and give them away as a gift. Don’t forget to wrap your present and make it pretty. This lets someone know you care about them.
๐ RAISE Social Awareness
Use social media posts with the hashtags #ZucchiniBreadDay, #ZucchiniBreadDay, #ZucchiniBread, #FoodHolidays, #AprilHolidays, #Holiday, #FindADayToLOVE, #iHEARTdays to support the importance of celebrating, promoting, and sharing with the world why you โค๏ธ National ZUCCHINI BREAD Day.
LEARN more how to bake ZUCCHINI BREAD
WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVER ZUCCHINIS?
FIVE Fun Facts you never knew about National ZUCCHINI BREAD Day
- A zucchini has more potassium than a banana. It has a little less sugar, significantly fewer carbohydrates, and more beta-carotene and lutein + zeaxanthin than a banana too. Whereas bananas contain more alpha-carotene and B6 than zucchinis.
- The flowers of zucchini are edible and make for delicious zucchini flower pancakes.
- Bigger is NOT better when it comes to zucchini. The most flavorful zucchinis are the smaller and more medium-sized ones.
- The word zucchini comes from “zucca” the Italian word for squash or small gourd.
- As it was making its way through Europe, the French initially snubbed the zucchini which they call courgette because of its bland nature and water content. But out of Provence, France we see the delicious ratatouille was born. Also French cuisine queen Julia Child made famous her recipe for Tian de Courgettes au Riz
Famous PEOPLE also born on April 25th
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Guglielmo Marconi
Italian electrical engineering pioneer in long-distance radio transmission and best known for being the inventor of the radio. Marconiโs โship to shoreโ radio invention was installed on the Titanic and helped save 850 of the 2,340 passengers and crew aboard. They were picked up when the RMS Carpathia, which also had a radio, heard the distress call. Born 1874.
GUGLIELMO MARCONI Quote
“Every day sees humanity more victorious in the struggle with space and time.”
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Ella Fitzgerald
American jazz, swing, pop, and blues singer legend best known as the โThe First Lady of Songโ and the “Queen of Jazz”. Born 1917.
ELLA FITZGERALD Quote
“It isn’t where you came from, it’s where you’re going that counts.”
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Hank Azaria
American actor and comedian best known for his prolific character voices from the FOX TV series The Simpsons including Moe, Apu, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, and Carl Carlson. Born 1964.
HANK AZARIA Quote
“I have no new voices – they’ve all been used.”
Future DATES for National ZUCCHINI BREAD Day
Year | Date | Day of the Week |
---|---|---|
2023 | April 25 | Tuesday |
2024 | April 25 | Thursday |
2025 | April 25 | Friday |
2026 | April 25 | Saturday |
2027 | April 25 | Sunday |
๐ Zucchini Bread FAQ
HOW LONG until homemade zucchini bread goes BAD?
- When properly stored, freshly baked zucchini bread will last for about 1 to 2 days at room temperature. It will keep well for about a week in the fridge.
Do I LEAVE the SKIN ON zucchini for zucchini bread?
- As tempting as it may be, don’t peel the zucchini as it will melt into the bread. It’s a necessary step plus it looks really good once you cut it to see tiny ribbons of green.
Why does my zucchini bread CRACK on top?
- The most common reason for zucchini bread, and any other quick bread or cakes for that matter, to collapse as it cools is that the ingredients are mixed too quickly or vigorously. This puts more air bubbles into the batter and makes it less stable.
How many CALORIES are in a zucchini?
- One cup of grated zucchini contains about 19 calories.
Why we L๐VE National ZUCCHINI BREAD Day
Always try to grow zucchini squash in the garden each year and eat the flowers on the recommendation of my mother-in-law who always LOVED Zucchini flower pancakes!
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Splash of COLOR
One of the things that makes this quick bread unique and interesting is the green curls within the crumb of the bread. Depending on when you pick it and how much water it’s absorbed, you can have varying shades of green on your plate.
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Darn HEALTHY
Hey, it’s a vegetable, why wouldn’t it be rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fiber? Its only low-calorie goodness is only helpful for good digestion, reducing blood sugar levels, aiding weight loss,
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Downright DELICIOUS
Whether I’m eating them fried in tempura, grilled, roasted, or baked in a dish, zucchinis are a versatile vegetable fruit. Raw zucchinis have a mild and bitter flavor. This is due in part to cucurbitacin which is a natural defense against a would-be animal intruder with the munchies. But a sweet, rich flavor emerges and intensifies when cooking longer.