Food facts

Food facts: all 40, explained

1. Honey can last for thousands of years.

   Honey is low in water, slightly acidic and contains small amounts of hydrogen peroxide, so bacteria struggle to grow in it. Archaeologists have found pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs. Stored sealed, honey can crystallise but stays safe to eat.

   Source: Honey (Wikipedia) · Fact card

2. Botanically, bananas are berries but strawberries are not.

   A botanical berry develops from a single flower with one ovary and has seeds inside the flesh. Bananas, tomatoes and even avocados qualify. Strawberries are "accessory fruits", with their seeds on the outside.

   Source: Berry (botany) (Wikipedia) · Fact card

3. Peanuts are not nuts. They are legumes.

   Peanuts grow underground in pods and are related to beans, peas and lentils. True nuts, like hazelnuts and chestnuts, are hard-shelled fruits that grow on trees.

   Source: Peanut (Wikipedia) · Fact card

4. Carrots were purple or yellow before orange ones became common.

   Early cultivated carrots in Central Asia were purple and yellow. Orange carrots were developed by growers in the Netherlands in the 1600s and later became the standard.

   Source: Carrot (Wikipedia) · Fact card

5. Apples float because about a quarter of an apple is air.

   The spaces between the cells of an apple are filled with air, which makes the fruit less dense than water. That is why apple bobbing works.

   Source: Apple (Wikipedia) · Fact card

6. A pineapple plant takes about two years to grow a single pineapple.

   Most pineapple plants produce one fruit at a time, and the first one can take 18 months to two years to mature. Each pineapple is actually many berries fused together.

   Source: Pineapple (Wikipedia) · Fact card

7. Chocolate is poisonous to dogs.

   Chocolate contains theobromine, which dogs break down much more slowly than humans do. Dark chocolate and baking chocolate are the most dangerous because they contain the most theobromine.

   Source: Theobromine poisoning (Wikipedia) · Fact card

8. Vanilla comes from an orchid.

   Vanilla pods are the fruit of climbing orchids of the genus Vanilla. Outside its native Mexico, the flowers are usually pollinated by hand, which is one reason real vanilla is so expensive.

   Source: Vanilla (Wikipedia) · Fact card

9. Cashews grow on the bottom of a fruit called the cashew apple.

   The cashew nut hangs below a fleshy, pear-shaped stalk called the cashew apple. The shell contains an irritating oil related to poison ivy’s, so cashews are always sold shelled and heat-treated.

   Source: Cashew (Wikipedia) · Fact card

10. An avocado is technically a berry.

    Botanically, a berry is a fleshy fruit that develops from a single flower’s ovary. The avocado fits, with one large seed. The word comes from the Nahuatl word ahuacatl.

    Source: Avocado (Wikipedia) · Fact card

11. Fortune cookies aren’t from China.

    Fortune cookies were popularised in California in the early 1900s, probably based on a Japanese cracker. They are rarely seen in China.

    Source: Fortune cookie (Wikipedia) · Fact card

12. Most "wasabi" outside Japan is actually horseradish.

    Real wasabi is expensive and hard to grow, so the green paste served with sushi is usually horseradish and mustard colored with green dye.

    Source: Wasabi (Wikipedia) · Fact card

13. Birds can’t feel the heat of chilli peppers.

    Capsaicin, the chemical that makes chillies hot, affects mammals but not birds. Birds eat the peppers and spread the seeds, which may be why chillies evolved that way.

    Source: Capsaicin (Wikipedia) · Fact card

14. Strawberries aren’t berries, and their seeds are on the outside.

    The red part of a strawberry grows from the flower’s base, not its ovary. Each "seed" on the outside is actually a tiny separate fruit called an achene.

    Source: Strawberry (Wikipedia) · Fact card

15. Many Europeans once believed tomatoes were poisonous.

    Tomatoes came to Europe from the Americas in the 1500s and belong to the nightshade family, which includes deadly plants. In some places they were grown as ornamental plants long before people ate them.

    Source: Tomato (Wikipedia) · Fact card

16. The ice pop was invented by accident by an 11-year-old.

    According to the story, in 1905 Frank Epperson left a cup of soda with a stirring stick outside on a cold night in San Francisco. It froze, and years later he patented the idea.

    Source: Popsicle (Wikipedia) · Fact card

17. An Italian bank accepts wheels of Parmesan cheese as security for loans.

    Credem, a bank in the Emilia-Romagna region, has long accepted aged wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano as collateral, storing them in its own climate-controlled warehouses while they mature.

    Source: Parmigiano Reggiano (Wikipedia) · Fact card

18. Japan has had hundreds of Kit Kat flavors, including green tea and wasabi.

    Kit Kat is a popular good-luck gift for students because its name sounds like the Japanese phrase "kitto katsu", "you will surely win".

    Source: Kit Kats in Japan (Wikipedia) · Fact card

19. Dr Pepper was invented in Waco, Texas, in the 1880s.

    Pharmacist Charles Alderton created the drink at a Waco drugstore. It is older than Coca-Cola, which was introduced in 1886.

    Source: Dr Pepper (Wikipedia) · Fact card

20. Hawaii is one of the few US states where coffee is grown commercially.

    Kona coffee is grown on the slopes of Hualālai and Mauna Loa on the Big Island.

    Source: Kona coffee (Wikipedia) · Fact card

21. Chili is the official state dish of Texas.

    Texas-style chili, or "bowl of red", is traditionally made without beans.

    Source: Chili con carne (Wikipedia) · Fact card

22. Tex-Mex is a cuisine born in Texas.

    It blends Mexican and American cooking, with dishes such as chili con queso, fajitas and nachos.

    Source: Tex-Mex cuisine (Wikipedia) · Fact card

23. Sushi began as a way to preserve fish in fermented rice.

    Early sushi was eaten after months of fermentation. Fresh nigiri sushi became popular in Edo (Tokyo) in the 1800s.

    Source: Sushi (Wikipedia) · Fact card

24. Hawaii was once the world’s biggest pineapple producer.

    Plantations on Oʻahu and Lānaʻi grew most of the world’s canned pineapple in the 20th century. Lānaʻi was once called the Pineapple Island.

    Source: Pineapple (Wikipedia) · Fact card

25. Poke is a Hawaiian dish.

    Poke means "to slice or cut" in Hawaiian and is traditionally made with cubed raw fish, seaweed and salt.

    Source: Poke (Hawaiian dish) (Wikipedia) · Fact card

26. Hawaii eats more Spam per person than any other US state.

    Spam arrived with the US military in World War II and is now used in dishes like Spam musubi.

    Source: Spam (food) (Wikipedia) · Fact card

27. Modern pizza comes from Naples.

    The art of Neapolitan pizza-making is on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

    Source: Neapolitan pizza (Wikipedia) · Fact card

28. There are hundreds of pasta shapes.

    Each region has its own, often designed to hold a particular sauce.

    Source: List of pasta (Wikipedia) · Fact card

29. Espresso was developed in Italy.

    Early espresso machines appeared in Turin and Milan around 1900.

    Source: Espresso (Wikipedia) · Fact card

30. Italy is one of the world’s largest wine producers.

    It often trades the top spot with France.

    Source: Italian wine (Wikipedia) · Fact card

31. Gelato has less air than American ice cream.

    It is churned more slowly and usually served slightly warmer, giving a denser texture.

    Source: Gelato (Wikipedia) · Fact card

32. Tiramisu means "pick me up" in Italian.

    The dessert of coffee-soaked sponge and mascarpone became popular in the Veneto region.

    Source: Tiramisu (Wikipedia) · Fact card

33. Chocolate was first made in Mesoamerica.

    The Olmec, Maya and Aztecs drank cacao, often unsweetened and spiced with chili.

    Source: History of chocolate (Wikipedia) · Fact card

34. Corn was domesticated in Mexico.

    Farmers bred it from a wild grass called teosinte about 9,000 years ago.

    Source: Maize (Wikipedia) · Fact card

35. Chili peppers were domesticated in Mexico.

    People have grown them there for at least 6,000 years.

    Source: Chili pepper (Wikipedia) · Fact card

36. Real tequila can only be made in Mexico.

    It is made from blue agave, mainly in the state of Jalisco, around the town of Tequila.

    Source: Tequila (Wikipedia) · Fact card

37. Florida grows most of the oranges for US orange juice.

    Orange juice is the official state beverage.

    Source: Agriculture in Florida (Wikipedia) · Fact card

38. Gatorade was invented at the University of Florida.

    Researchers created it in 1965 for the university’s football team, the Gators.

    Source: Gatorade (Wikipedia) · Fact card

39. The Cuban sandwich has deep roots in Tampa and Miami.

    Tampa’s version traditionally includes salami, a nod to its Italian immigrants.

    Source: Cuban sandwich (Wikipedia) · Fact card

40. Vanilla comes from Mexico.

    The vanilla orchid is native to Mexico, where the Totonac people grew it long before it spread around the world.

    Source: Vanilla (Wikipedia) · Fact card