Food — Page 4
Food curiosities
263 facts
Scientists have recreated an ancient yoghurt made with live ants.
A team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen and chefs from the Noma restaurant recreated an ancient…
The microwave was invented by accident after a chocolate bar melted in an engineer's pocket.
In 1945, Percy Spencer, an engineer at Raytheon, was working with a magnetron when he noticed that the chocolate bar…
Italian cooking has been declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
In December 2025, UNESCO recognised Italian cooking as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, highlighting its…
The secret to a perfect cacio e pepe sauce lies in starch physics.
A team of Italian physicists won an Ig Nobel Prize in 2025 for studying the science of cacio e pepe sauce. They found…
Cockroach milk has three times more energy than cow's milk.
The cockroach Diploptera punctata produces a milk-like substance to nourish embryos inside the mother's body. The…
Scientists have created an edible biscuit from PET bottle waste.
The µBites project uses microorganisms to transform PET bottle components into proteins, vitamins and other…
The cashew nut grows attached to a fruit, and the part we eat is the seed.
The cashew is a fruit that develops at the tip of a fleshy stalk called a pseudofruit. The nut, which is the seed…
Capsaicin in chilli peppers is not a taste, it activates pain and heat receptors.
Chilli does not have a spicy taste in the traditional sense. Capsaicin binds to TRPV1 receptors, the same ones that…
Vanilla is the only widely used spice that comes from an orchid.
Vanilla is extracted from the pods of a climbing orchid of the genus Vanilla, native to Mexico. Natural pollination…
Decaffeinated coffee can still contain a small amount of caffeine.
The decaffeination process removes most of the caffeine, but not all. United States regulations require decaffeinated…
The first plant grown and eaten in space was lettuce.
In 2015, astronauts on the International Space Station grew romaine lettuce in a hydroponic system and ate it in…
Pineapple contains an enzyme that digests the tongue of whoever eats it.
Pineapple contains bromelain, an enzyme that breaks down proteins. When eating fresh pineapple, the enzyme attacks…
The discovery of coffee is attributed to a goat herder in Ethiopia.
According to legend, an Ethiopian herder named Kaldi noticed that his goats became agitated after eating red berries…
The sandwich was invented by an English aristocrat who wanted to eat without putting down his cards.
The Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, liked to play cards for hours. To avoid interrupting the game to eat, he asked…
Apples float in water because about 25 per cent of their volume is air.
Apples have air spaces between the cells of their tissue, especially near the core. These spaces make the average…
Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, measured by weight.
Saffron is extracted by hand from the stigmas of the Crocus sativus flower. About 150,000 flowers are needed to…
The Maillard reaction is the process that makes bread golden when toasted.
The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars, which occurs when food is…
The cashew belongs to the same plant family as poison ivy.
The cashew, mango and pistachio belong to the family Anacardiaceae, the same as poison ivy and sumac. The cashew nut…
To produce half a kilogram of honey, bees visit about 2 million flowers.
A colony of bees travels about 88,000 kilometres to produce half a kilogram of honey. Each bee visits between 50 and…
Hot dogs are sold in packs of 10 and buns in packs of 8.
In the United States, hot dogs are traditionally sold in packs of 10, while buns are sold in packs of 8. The…
Wasabi loses its spicy flavour in space.
Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata discovered that wasabi loses its spicy flavour on the International Space Station…
Hawaiian pizza was invented in Canada.
Hawaiian pizza, with pineapple and ham, was invented in 1962 by Sam Panopoulos, a Greek who emigrated to Canada. The…
A bottle of champagne contains about 49 million bubbles.
A study from the University of Reims calculated that a bottle of champagne contains about 49 million bubbles. The…
Parmesan cheese contains crystals that are considered a sign of quality.
Parmesan and other aged cheeses develop crystals of tyrosine and calcium lactate during maturation. These crystals…