(Roughly) Daily

… OK, but when? Nathan Yau unpacks the data on when Americans eat dinner…

I know dinner time varies around the world, but I wanted to know if dinner time was different within the United States, and if so, by how much. Who eats the earliest? Who eats the latest?

Using data from the American Time Use Survey [here], between 2018 to 2022, we can see the percentage of households in the country who were eating during a given time…

The tasty results: “When is Dinner, By State,” from @flowingdata.

* B. J. Novak

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As we take our seats, we might send tasty and nutritious birthday greetings to Antoine-Augustin Parmentier; he was born on this date in 1737. A pharmacist and nutritionist, he pioneered the extraction of sugar from sugar beets and (in 1805, when he was Inspector-General of the Health Service under Napoleon) established the first mandatory smallpox vaccination campaign. But he is best remembered as a vocal promoter of the potato as a food source for humans.

Starting in the 1870s, many dishes including potatoes were named in honor of: potage, velouté, or crème Parmentier, a potato and leek soup (AKA vichyssoise); hachis Parmentier, a cottage or shepherd’s pie; brandade de morue parmentier, salt cod mashed with olive oil and potatoes; pommes or garniture Parmentier, cubed potatoes fried in butter; purée Parmentier, mashed potatoes; and salade Parmentier, potato salad.

Thought it’s probably coincidental, today is also National Julienne Fries Day.