{Today's Importance} Episode 7

lmond butter Crunch Day

Delicious, delicious almond buttercrunch, is there anything that's better than this crunchy buttery caramelized candy? Almond Buttercrunch Day is a great day to indulge in this rich flavorful treat, and maybe even to learn a little bit about its history. This delicious treat is the foundation of some of the most mouthwatering confections out there, and is generally agreed to be best accompanied by any sort of chocolate you care to name!

This treat was particularly popular back in the days of World War II, it's ease of shipment making it the perfect taste of home to wrap up and send along in care packages. One of the most recognizable forms of this candy is that produced by the company Brown & Haley' out of Seattle, WA. They started the tradition of wrapping them in their signature gold wrappers and storing them in tins to help keep them delicious and ready to consume on arrival.

Toffee is made by mixing together the base ingredients, which is quite simply caramelized sugar and butter, and boiled until it reaches the hard crack stage (roughly 149-154 Celsius, or 300 to 310 Fareneight) . Just before it reaches this stage, the almonds are added, making the simply toffee crunch into Almond Buttercrunch! The Almond Roca brand is cooled, dipped in chocolate, and then rolled in crumbled almonds to create it's signature look and taste.

The recipe is about as simple and straight forward as it gets. You'll want to prepare ahead of time by spraying coating non-stick foil with butter or a non-stick cooking spray, and lining an 84 breadpan. Then, using a small sauce pan, melt the butter, corn syrup, salt, and brown sugar together, stirring slowly on medium-high heat until the brown sugar has dissolved. Start a timer once the brown sugar is melted, and cook it for approximately 6 minutes, a candy thermometer can help this, and should reach 143c or 290f before you remove it from the heat.

Stir in the almonds, and pour/scrape it into the bread pan in a layer approximately in thick, allowing it to cool for 3 minutes after doing so. Proceed to pour the melted chocolate over the top and sprinkle with more nuts, and then cut into bars of your preferred size. After this, put them into the fridge to let the chocolate set, and then put them in an airtight container. They should be able to store for about two weeks in the fridge. These are best served at room temperature however.

This is just one of a variety of delicious recipes you can make with almond buttercrunch, there are even chewy varieties if you prefer a softer snack! So take the plunge, stir up this recipe, and deliver it to your favorite people to celebrate Almond Buttercrunch Day!

amera Day

There is no better day than Camera Day to snap some photos during your lunch hour, on your commute to work, or whenever a moment of inspiration strikes. Cameras and photography have developed substantially over the years, from its early roots with the French inventor Joseph Nipce right up to modern day digital photography.

Joseph Nipce was a French inventor; he is most noted as one of the inventors of photography and was a pioneer in the field. He developed the heliograph; a technique used to produce the world's first known photograph in 1825, the view from the window at Le Gras the families estate.

In 1839, Louis Jacques Daguerre took the first fixed image that didn't fade. He is recognized for his invention of the daguerreotype process of photography. He became known as one of the fathers of photography. His method required 30 minutes of exposure. He named the process - the Daguerreotype. Tintypes were developed in 1856 by Hamilton Smith and decades later, George Eastman invented flexible and unbreakable film that could be rolled. This was the birth of the first Kodak that was offered for sale in 1888.

In 1925 the Leica I went on sale, the Leica's immediate popularity spawned a number of competitors. Kodak released its Retina I in 1934 though 35 mm cameras were still out of reach for most people things would soon change with the introduction of the inexpensive Argus A in 1936. The Japanese camera industry began with the birth of Canon in 1936 with its 35 mm rangefinder. Japanese cameras would soon become incredibly popular in the West after the Korean War as veterans and soldiers stationed in Japan brought them back to the United States.

While conventional cameras were becoming more refined and sophisticated, an entirely new type of camera appeared on the market in 1948. While TSLR and SLR were still the rage this new camera would change the way people would capture memories. This was the Polaroid, the world's first instant-picture camera, no development needed. Known as a Land Camera after its inventor, Edwin Land, this camera was able to produce finished positive prints from the exposed negatives in under a minute. This new camera took the market by storm; people no longer had to sit still for long periods of time in order for their photographer to snap a picture.

The first digital camera that was commercially was sold in December of 1989 in Japan, the DS-X by Fuji. In 1991, Kodak brought to market the Kodak DCS-100, the beginning of a long line of professional Kodak DCS SLR cameras that were based in part on film bodies. It used a 1.3 megapixel sensor and was priced at $13,000.

The first commercially available digital camera, in the United States, was the 1990 the Dycam Model 1. It was originally a commercial failure because it was black and white, low in resolution, and cost nearly $1,000 but this changed and soon became loved by photographers.

With the standardisation of JPEG and MPEG in 1988 which allowed images and video files to be compressed for storage onto a SD or CF card. With the introduction of the Nikon D1 in 1999 at 2.47 megapixels, this was the first digital SLR that was entirely by a major manufacturer. The D1 cost of just under $6,000 was inexpensive for professional photographers and high-end consumers. This camera also used Nikon F-mount lenses, which meant photographers could utilise many of the lenses they already owned.

By 2010, nearly all mobile phones featured built-in camera with a resolution of 1-2 megapixels digital video camera. Many cameras also featured built-in GPS.

affle Iron Day

Ahhh the Waffle Iron, creator of some of the most delicious breakfast delicacies the world round. There's so many different types of them as well, you have your regular waffle iron, your deluxe multi-waffle irons that make more than one at a time, round ones, Belgian waffle-makers with their deep squares and thick waffles begging to be topped with strawberries and cream. Waffle Iron Day is the perfect time to celebrate this delicious breakfast staple!

Waffle Irons were first found in that area of Northwestern Europe known as the Low Countries, which includes Belgium and the Netherlands as well as other places. Originally they were made to be used over an open flame, and were thus constructed on the end of two long, typically wooden, handles with a clamshell system at one end, which would be held over a fire to bake.

The origin of the waffle iron can be traced back to the middle ages, where they were developed from a device known as the wafer iron'. These were commonly used in the creation of the communion wafer, but larger varieties existed, consisting of nothing more than two flat irons often engraved with elaborate scenes. For the communion wafer, it was depictions of the crucifixion of Christ. While the larger secular designs varied widely, often engraved with artistic floral designs, illumination, or just about any other form of design you could imagine.

Later, during the 17th and 18th centuries, they were developed further by the Dutch. Sugar was particularly precious at that time, sometimes catching as much as a half an ounce of silver for a kilogram of sugar. During this time the mestiers were particularly popular among the rich, being made of only the finest ingredients, and sweetened with the precious sugar.

Waffle Irons are used to more than just the simple breakfast food that they're well known for. Gouda in the Netherlands is the home of a delicious cookie type treat known as a stroopwafel'. Developed by Gerard Kamphuisen, this sweet syrup filled confection was quite popular, leading to a boom where up to 100 stroopwafel makers were to be found in the city. The stroopwafel has since become quite popular around the world.

One of the most popular uses of waffles came about seemingly by accident, allegedly created by George Bang in 1904. He had run out of bowls to give out with his Banner Creamery Ice Cream, and started giving out rolled up waffles to use instead. It's alleged because there are other origin stories as well, including a Belgium gent from Ghent, who moved to Norfolk, Virginia, and decided that a rolled up Waffle was the perfect place to put a scoop of ice-cream!

Waffle Iron Day is a great opportunity to head out and get yourself a new waffle iron. There are a ton of options available these days, even novelty ones shaped as everything from Mickey Mouse to the state of Texas. You can get particularly creative and make an entire menu from waffles, spanning from breakfast to dinner, and everything in between. Waffle-cone ice-cream, breakfast waffles loaded with whipped cream and berries, the always popular chicken and waffles for dinner, and snacks the day through served on specially seasoned savory waffles!

If nothing else, spend Waffle Iron Day looking into the history of this delightful and always creative food. There's something inspiring about how so simple a concept spread to embrace the world and shape some of our favorite treats. Happy Waffle Iron Day!