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In the UK and further afield, you’ll find national food days celebrating just about everything you can think of. From International Carrot Day in April to World Porridge Day in October, some of the celebrations out there are a little niche, while others (National Ice Cream Day, anyone?) have a much broader appeal.
New research – which combines both Instagram hashtag data and Google search volumes – reveals the world’s most popular national and international food days…so which come out top?
Around the world
The top national day globally? That goes to National Coffee Day – perhaps unsurprisingly, with over 2.25bn cups consumed every single day around the world. It’s closely followed by National Ice Cream Day and National Pizza Day in second and third place respectively, with Shrove Tuesday and National Taco Day rounding out the top five.
UK favourites
So, what about here in the UK? Based on Google data of the most searched for food days, and ranked based on the number of searches over time, it’s (perhaps surprisingly) National Homemade Soup Day (which was February 4th this year) which comes out top. If you’re looking for a new version to try, there’s a recipe on Bites for a mussel and potato soup with orecchiette and broccoli, which is worth a go!
In second place, it’s British Yorkshire Pudding Day, while National Peanut Day comes in third. National Hot Cross Bun Day is in fourth place (try this recipe for tear and share hot cross buns), while rounding out the top five is Shrove Tuesday.
With carrots, potatoes, tea and linguine in the second half of the top ten, our favourite national food days are healthier than those of the US, where ice cream, onion rings and pizza all appear in the top five. And in Australia, chocolate takes the top spot, with Nutella Day at number one!
Do you have a favourite national day – or are there any national food days you think should be celebrated but currently aren’t? Let me know in the comments!