Food — Page 6

Pistachios are seeds, not nuts.

Botanically, the pistachio is the seed of a drupe, the fruit of the Pistacia vera tree. What we eat is the seed…

Apples float in water because they are 25 percent air.

The internal structure of an apple contains microscopic air spaces between the fruit's cells. This composition makes…

The spiciest part of a chili pepper is not the seeds, but the white pith inside.

This is a common myth. Capsaicin, the chemical compound responsible for the heat, is concentrated mainly in the…

Popcorn has existed for over five thousand years.

Indigenous peoples of Mexico were already cultivating and popping corn long before Europeans arrived, using it in…

Peanuts are one of the ingredients used in the manufacture of dynamite.

Peanut oil can be processed to produce glycerol, which in turn is converted into nitroglycerin, the explosive…

Raspberries belong to the rose family.

Like apples, pears, and strawberries, raspberries are part of the Rosaceae family, sharing botanical and structural…

Nutmeg is extremely toxic to dogs and can cause fatal seizures.

The myristicin and elemicin present in the spice severely affect the central nervous system of canines, potentially…

Ripe cranberries bounce like rubber balls when dropped on the floor.

Farmers use this physical property to test the ripeness and quality of the fruit. If the cranberry does not bounce…

The English "pound cake" gets its name from the original eighteenth-century recipe.

The original recipe called for exactly one pound, or about four hundred and fifty grams, of each of the four main…

Pringles potato chips are not made from real potato slices.

They are made from a dehydrated dough of potato, corn, and wheat, which is pressed into a metal mould to create the…

Nutella was invented to stretch cocoa rations during the Second World War.

Due to cocoa shortages in Italy, baker Pietro Ferrero mixed abundant regional hazelnuts with a small amount of cocoa…

The stickers on fruit are made of edible paper and food-grade glue.

Food safety agencies require these small labels to be safe for accidental consumption, although they should be…

All the colours of Froot Loops cereal taste exactly the same.

Despite the different colours suggesting distinct fruit flavours, the manufacturer confirmed that all the cereal…

Outside Mexico, all vanilla pods must be pollinated by hand, one by one.

The vanilla orchid is only naturally pollinated by a specific bee that lives in Mexico. In other producing countries…

Peanuts are not nuts, but legumes.

Unlike walnuts or almonds that grow on trees, peanuts develop underground, just like peas or beans. They belong to…

Nutmeg can cause severe hallucinations if consumed in large amounts.

This spice contains myristicin, a compound that, in high doses, affects the central nervous system. Excessive…

Honeydew melons and watermelons belong to the exact same botanical family.

Both belong to the Cucurbitaceae family, which also includes cucumbers, pumpkins, and zucchini. Despite having…

Worcestershire sauce is made with fermented anchovies.

Created in 1837 by the chemists Lea and Perrins in Worcester, the sauce contained anchovies, vinegar, molasses…

A red bell pepper has more than twice the vitamin C of an orange, weight for weight.

One hundred grams of raw red pepper contain about 128 milligrams of vitamin C, against around 53 in an orange…

The word 'avocado' comes from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs.

The Aztecs called the fruit 'āhuacatl'. The Spanish adapted it as 'aguacate', which gave rise to 'avocado' and…

Nachos were invented in 1943 by a Mexican maître d' called Ignacio 'Nacho' Anaya.

In Piedras Negras, on the border with Texas, a group of American army wives arrived after the kitchen had closed…

Brazil nuts are among the most radioactive foods there are, because of the radium they absorb from the soil.

The deep roots of the Brazil nut tree pick up radium from Amazonian soil, and the nuts can contain up to a thousand…

In the original sushi, the rice was only used to ferment the fish and was thrown away.

'Narezushi' was salted fish packed in cooked rice for months: fermentation preserved it. Only in the Edo period did…

Black peppercorns were found in the nostrils of the mummy of the pharaoh Ramesses II.

Ramesses II died in 1213 BC and the embalmers used peppercorns to help keep the shape of his nose. Black pepper only…