Food — Page 9

It takes approximately two to three years for a single pineapple plant to grow and produce one ripe fruit.

The pineapple is a slow-growing plant that requires specific tropical conditions, and each plant produces only one…

Cashews are never sold in their shells because the shells contain a toxic oil.

The cashew shell contains anacardic acid, a substance that causes severe skin burns and is toxic if ingested…

Pineapples take about two years to grow and ripen on a single plant.

Unlike many fruits that grow on trees, the pineapple grows on the ground from a herbaceous plant. The process is…

Pineapples contain an enzyme that digests the proteins in your mouth while you eat them.

Bromelain is a proteolytic enzyme present in pineapples that breaks down proteins, causing a tingling sensation on…

Nutmeg is highly toxic in large doses and can cause hallucinations.

Myristicin, a compound present in nutmeg, acts as a deliriant in large quantities, potentially causing nausea…

Pineapple contains an enzyme that digests proteins in your mouth.

Pineapple possesses bromelain, an enzyme that breaks down protein chains. When you eat fresh pineapple, this enzyme…

Cashews are never sold in their shells due to their toxicity.

The cashew shell contains urushiol, the same toxic resin found in poison ivy. For this reason, cashews undergo a…

Pineapple contains an enzyme that digests proteins and causes a tingling sensation in the mouth.

Fresh pineapple contains bromelain, a group of enzymes that break down proteins. When we eat the fruit, this enzyme…

Cashews are never sold in their natural shells.

The cashew shell contains urushiol, the same toxic oil found in poison ivy. For this reason, cashews are always…

Apples float in water because they are composed of twenty five percent air.

The cellular structure of the apple contains numerous microscopic air spaces between the cells. This composition…

Chocolate was used as currency by the Aztec and Maya civilizations.

Cacao seeds were so valuable in these Mesoamerican cultures that they were used as money to buy goods and services. A…

Pineapple contains an enzyme that digests proteins and makes the mouth tingle.

Pineapple contains bromelain, an enzyme that breaks down proteins. When we eat fresh pineapple, this enzyme begins to…

Ketchup was sold in the 1830s as a medicine for diarrhea.

In 1834, a physician named John Cook Bennett declared that tomatoes could cure diarrhea, indigestion, and jaundice…

The kiwi fruit is native to China, not New Zealand.

Although New Zealand popularized the fruit and gave it its name, the plant originates from the Yangtze River valley…

Nutmeg is highly toxic if consumed in large quantities.

Nutmeg contains myristicin, a compound that in high doses can cause hallucinations, nausea, tachycardia, and…

Pineapple contains an enzyme that literally digests you while you eat it.

Fresh pineapple contains bromelain, a group of enzymes that break down proteins. This is why the tongue can become…

Ketchup was sold in the nineteenth century as medicine.

In the 1830s, ketchup was marketed as a cure for indigestion and other ailments, containing ingredients that would…

Pineapple contains bromelain, an enzyme that digests proteins and causes a tingling sensation on the tongue when consumed.

Bromelain is a mixture of enzymes that break down protein molecules. When we eat fresh pineapple, this enzyme starts…

Cashew shells contain urushiol, the same toxic oil found in poison ivy, which is why cashews are always sold shelled.

The cashew grows attached to the bottom of a fruit called the cashew apple. The nut's shell contains urushiol, a…

The original carrots were purple or white, not orange.

The carrot cultivated thousands of years ago in Central Asia was originally purple or white. The orange variety we…

The Aztecs used cocoa beans as currency, and there were counterfeiters who made beans out of clay.

In the Aztec Empire, cocoa was so valuable that it served as money. A rabbit cost about ten beans, and a slave could…

Chillies do not contain heat, they only activate the pain receptors on the tongue.

Capsaicin, the molecule that makes chillies hot, binds to TRPV1 receptors, the same ones that detect heat. The brain…

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…