Today we celebrate one of America’s favorite pie, the Apple Pie. This day is observed annually on December 3rd.
Apple pie is a pie with a filling that is made from apples. It is usually served with whipped cream or ice cream. The pastry part is are made with a top and bottom part making it a double-crust pie. The upper crust may be circular or lattice strip design.
Apple pie is an unofficial symbol of the United States and one of the signature comfort foods. It is usually made with many different sorts of apples, that are sometimes fresh, canned, or reconstituted from dried apples. The different types of apples affect the final texture and the length of cooking time varies. Along with the apples people commonly use, cinnamon, salt, butter, and most importantly sugar.
Apple pie was a common food in the 18th century in Delaware. As noted by Dr. Israel Acrelius, New Sweden historian, said that an Apple pie is used throughout the whole year, and when fresh Apples are no longer available, dried apples are used.
So, today, if you love pies, consider making an apple pie from scratch or if you are not into baking, you can always pick up one at your local bakery. Share on social media your special recipe using #ApplePieDay.
1984 Explosion kills 2,000 at a pesticide plant
An explosion at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, on this day in 1984, leads to the worst industrial accident in history. At least 2,000 people died and another 200,000 were injured when toxic gas enveloped the city.
Bhopal was a city of nearly a million people in India’s Madhya Pradesh region between New Dehli and Bombay. The Union Carbide pesticide plant was located in Jai Prakash Nagar, a particularly poor area of the impoverished city. Later, some critics charged that these factors were part of the reason that the plant had outdated equipment, lax management, and grossly inadequate maintenance and safety procedures.
On Sunday, December 2, the 100 workers on the late shift were in the process of making the pesticide Sevin. This involved mixing carbon tetrachloride, methyl isocyanate (MIC) and alpha-naphthol. Over the next 12 hours, a series of astonishing errors led to disaster.
(excerpted from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/explosion-kills-2000-at-pesticide-plant)
