Food — Page 2
Food curiosities
263 facts
Most wasabi outside Japan is actually horseradish.
Real wasabi is extremely difficult and expensive to cultivate. It loses its flavor within 15 minutes, so most…
Apples belong to the rose family.
Botanically, they are closely related to roses. Along with apples, this family also includes pears, peaches, plums…
Pistachios are fruits (drupes), not nuts.
Technically, they are drupes, which are fruits with a fleshy outer part surrounding a shell with a seed inside…
In the 17th century, sugar was locked away like gold.
Known as 'white gold', sugar was so incredibly expensive in Europe that only the wealthy could afford it, and it was…
A single coffee tree produces only 0.45 kg of coffee per year.
It takes about 4,000 coffee beans to make just one pound (0.45 kg) of roasted coffee, making the production process…
The world's most expensive pizza costs $12,000 and takes 72 hours to make.
Created in Italy, the 'Louis XIII' pizza includes rare ingredients like three types of caviar, lobster, and edible…
Dark chocolate has more antioxidants than blueberries.
High-quality dark chocolate is loaded with organic compounds that function as antioxidants, such as polyphenols and…
Formaggio di Fossa is a cheese aged in underground caves.
This traditional Italian cheese is wrapped in cloth, rubbed with fig leaves, and buried in special pits for months…
Chocolate milk was invented in Ireland.
In the 17th century, Hans Sloane, an Irish physician, encountered cocoa in Jamaica and found it unpleasant. He mixed…
Apples release ethylene gas, which speeds up the ripening of other nearby fruits.
If you place an apple in a paper bag with unripe bananas or avocados, the ethylene gas will cause them to ripen much…
Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world by weight, requiring about 75,000 flowers for one pound.
It is harvested entirely by hand from the delicate threads of the Crocus sativus flower, making the labor-intensive…
Chestnuts are true nuts, but walnuts are not.
Botanically, chestnuts are classified as true nuts, as they are fruits with a hard shell that does not open to…
Tomatoes were considered poisonous in Europe.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Europeans believed tomatoes were poisonous because they belong to the nightshade…
Rice is the most consumed food in the world.
Rice is the staple food for more than half the world's population. About 90% of the world's rice production is grown…
Lemons have more sugar than strawberries.
Despite the sour taste, lemons contain about 2.5% sugar, while strawberries contain only about 0.6%. The sour taste…
Sliced bread was invented in the United States.
Pre-sliced and packaged sliced bread was invented in 1928 by Otto Frederick Rohwedder, an American engineer. The…
Caesar salad was invented in Mexico, not Italy.
It was created in the 1920s by Italian-American chef Caesar Cardini in his restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, to serve…
The bananas we eat today are genetic clones of each other.
Commercial bananas (Cavendish) are propagated through cuttings rather than seeds. This lack of genetic diversity…
The oldest known recipe in the world is for beer.
Dating back over 3,900 years to ancient Sumeria, the recipe was written on a clay tablet as a poem honoring Ninkasi…
The sandwich was invented for a man who didn't want to leave a gambling table.
In 1762, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, asked for meat served between two slices of bread so he could eat…
The hottest chili pepper in the world is the Pepper X.
Created by breeder Ed Currie, Pepper X averages over 2.6 million Scoville Heat Units. Eating it can cause severe…
Apples float because they are 25% air.
About a quarter of an apple's volume is air, which makes it buoyant in water. That's why the traditional game of…
Brigadeiro was created to support a presidential campaign.
The Brazilian sweet brigadeiro was created in the 1940s during the presidential campaign of Brigadier Eduardo Gomes…
One in four hazelnuts produced in the world becomes Nutella.
About 25% of the world's hazelnut production is destined for the manufacture of Nutella. The Ferrero company, owner…