There is always something about everything that you would have never known before. For instance, did you know that apples, raspberries, pears, and strawberries all share the family with the rose plant? Most of us did not know this. Well, more things like this would have never crossed your mind. Here are some crazy facts about food that are going to leave your mind boggled.
Cilantro and coriander is the same thing
They’re just two different names to describe the same plant. (There are also coriander seeds — which come from the plant too, and you can find them whole or ground up into spices.)
Peaches and nectarines are the same, too
They’re almost genetically identical except for one thing: a gene that’s either dominant (peaches) or recessive (nectarines). That’s what makes the skin either smooth or fuzzy.
In the U.K., arugula is called rocket
It’s actually not as crazy as it might seem. The word ‘rocket’ derives from the Italian ruchetta. Arugula supposedly derives from the same word, but via a non-standard dialect that blended into the Italian-American word we know today.
The all-time bestselling food items at Costco are rotisserie chicken, bacon, and food court hot dogs
Prices of hot dogs ($1.50) and chicken ($4.99) haven’t changed since they were introduced more than a decade ago. That’s no accident – the $1.50 hot dog is considered such a staple of the Costco brand that the price is deliberately kept down at significant cost to the company.
The cheapest item at Trader Joe’s is bananas. They cost 19 cents each — and the reason why is a little dark
An episode of Inside Trader Joe’s revealed that TJ’s used to sell bananas by the pound back in the day. They were packaged in bags of four or five, so if you wanted less than that, you were out of luck.
But 13 years ago, company CEO Dan Bane was visiting a TJ’s — and he saw a much older woman buying fruit. “I asked her, ‘Ma’am, if you don’t mind me asking, I saw you looking at the bananas but you didn’t put anything in your cart,’” Bane said. “And she says to me, ‘Sonny, I may not live to that fourth banana.’” Bane said they decided the very next day that Trader Joe’s would sell individual bananas. They priced them at 19 cents each, and they’ve been that way ever since.
Trader Joe’s employees use a bell system to communicate with each other because higher-ups didn’t like the way P.A. announcements sounded at other grocery stores
According to the Inside Trader Joe’s podcast: One bell means someone is being asked to open another register. Two bells mean a customer has a question and someone needs to come to the checkout to answer it. Three bells mean a manager is being summoned.
This is how quinoa grows
The part of the quinoa plant that we eat is the seed. But to get the seed, the plant first needs to flower.
And this is how cranberries grow
Unlike most other berries, they grow in marshes. More than 50% of the world’s cranberries are grown in Wisconsin.
A few years ago, Butterfinger changed its entire recipe
The brand reworked the chocolate mixture, among other things after the bar become the Butt of jokes about its flavorlessness. Most notably, The Simpsons depicted a pile of them being incinerated amid a candy ban in Springfield – because nobody wanted them. (But worth noting: some people hated the new version.)
Glass Gem corn! It exists
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Oklahoma farmer Carl Barnes spent years breeding the colorful corn as a way to reconnect with his heritage. Unfortunately, even though they all look like jelly beans, it just tastes like regular corn!
Shredded cheese and sawdust
What would you prefer out of shredded cheese and blocks? Most people would say cheese but there is something that we know will change your mind. The grated variety of cheese contains an ingredient called cellulose which is pretty much sawdust. It keeps the cheese from falling apart and it is there in some cereals too.
Just had a baby? Here’s a bagel!
When you think of bagels, it is always America that comes into mind. However, that is far from the truth. The bagels can actually be traced back to Poland in the 1300s. But some three hundred years later, a bizarre piece of legislation was given the green light in Krakow. If a woman just had a baby, you were required to hand her a bagel.
The contents of processed cheese
After the end of Second World War, processed cheese slices found their way to the United States. They were first created in Switzerland, which is often known as the capital of cheese. But did you know that these slices contain as little as 51 percent cheese? What is the rest of the 49% and why is it not cheese?
That’s a lot of burgers
Did you know that 75 hamburgers are sold in McDonald’s restaurants every second? This figure comes to around 6.5 million every single day. And by the year’s conclusion, you’re looking at 2.5 billion. No wonder Mickey D’s continues to thrive.
“Is that ranch dressing or paint?”
We all relish ranch dressing for its delicious taste. However, there is something worrying about ranch dressing and that is its relation to painting. Both of them contain titanium dioxide, which gives white colors an even lighter shade. It can also be found in powdered sugar, coffee creamer and suntan lotion too. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the additive is “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” Yikes.
The first microwaved food
What do you think was the first food that was heated in a microwave? The answer is quite simple and it is something we all want when we are watching any movie. Yes, it was popcorn. That’s weirdly fitting! Eggs were given a go as well, yet the results weren’t as successful. Unsurprisingly, the shell blew up thanks to the heat.
Cigarettes and PEZ
We all know PEZ to be the tasty snack that we find in those cool collectible dispensers in our house. However, that was not their original purpose. The man behind the product believed that it could be a worthwhile substitute to cigarettes. This was back in 1927. Who saw that coming?!
Ears of corn have an even number of rows
All year, we wait for the BBQ season to come around and bring out the corn and make it a part of our diet. Did you know that most ears boast an even figure? The number typically hits 16. You’re going to count them from now on, aren’t you?
The sensory illusion of chili peppers
Did you know that chilis aren’t actually hot? It is just a sensory illusion. Each pepper houses a substance called capsaicin, which attaches itself to a person’s “pain receptors,” tricking their brain into believing that the chili is spicy. The resulting reaction is the body’s attempt to lower the heat…or what it confuses for heat anyway.
You can create diamonds from peanut butter
When you are in the supermarket buying your next jar of peanut butter, just remember that you could be buying a bunch of diamonds. Yeah, you heard it right. A group of researchers from Germany found the spreadable product’s carbon dioxide plays a key role. After taking out the oxygen from that compound, you can forge a diamond by applying lots of force to the remaining carbon. How cool is that?
Different-colored bell peppers aren’t the same vegetable
Bell peppers aren’t just a single vegetable, even though they appear to be identical…barring the different shades of course. Red, yellow, green, and orange varieties all stem from different individual seeds.
“That’s wasabi… Isn’t it?”
Just reading the word wasabi can bring fire to your tongue. But in a lot of cases, the sauce doesn’t really contain the fiery Japanese root extract. Instead, the green puree is usually “flavored horseradish.” You’ll never look at it the same way again.
So many apples!
What do you think? How many variations of apple are there in the world? Well, the number is sure to blow your socks off, so grab a spare pair. Incredibly, the figure stands at more than 7,500. Wow!
Lobster fertilizer
There was a time when lobster wasn’t a luxury food item. Yeah, that is hard to believe. However, that was indeed the case during the colonial period in America. Lobsters were everywhere, to the point where it was even used to feed prisoners. And prior to that spell, the Native Americans created fertilizer from lobsters. There were just too many to eat.
There’s no chocolate in white chocolate
Do you love white chocolate? This one is for you. Did you know that white chocolate contains vanilla, sugar, cocoa butter, lecithin, and milk? Yep, that’s right, there’s no actual chocolate in there, regardless of the name.
The truth behind gelatin
Have you ever thought of the reason why vegans and vegetarians avoid gelatin in their diets? This is because gelatin is created from animals like pigs and cows. Its contents include bones, skin, and connective tissue.
The invention of the ice lolly
Frank Epperson is the man behind the popsicle. However, not many people know the origin of the story. Epperson said that he took some water and juice outside his house one day in 1905, placing a mixer in the glass. He forgot about it as the evening drew in, though. The beverage then stayed out there in freezing conditions, which caused it to ice over. Is this actually true? No one knows for sure.
Farm-raised salmon isn’t pink
When you think of salmon, you think of the color pink. Are we right? The fish that are caught in the wild sport that shade because of all the shrimp in their diet. But that’s not the case with farmed salmon. They’re white. So, in order to make it pink, the salmon are fed “carotenoids” — yellow, orange, and red pigments produced by plants and algae — in their dinner. Simply put, they’re dyed!
“Do you want a hand or a finger?”
What do you call a group of bananas? Bunch? Well, you are wrong. The correct term is actually a “hand of bananas.” And in keeping with that, one of them on their own should be referred to as a “finger.” Remember that for your next grocery trip.
Potatoes and Wi-fi signals
Back in 2012, Boeing was eager to see how strong the Wi-Fi signal was on its latest jets. In order to do this, its employees dumped a large number of potatoes into the chairs. You see spuds are capable of boosting these waves thanks to their properties like high water content.
Beetroot cures dandruff
Hair shampoos are getting quite expensive. But did you know there was a cheaper way to shampoo your hair? First things first, grab a beetroot from your kitchen. After that, drop it into a saucepan with water and heat the contents up. Once it’s simmered, let the liquid cool before tipping it over your head. This mixture can get rid of dandruff!
A running tap makes cutting onions easier
No one likes slicing up onions. Everyone gets tears in their eyes when they are chopping the onions in the kitchen. However, there might be a way around this. All you’ve got to do is turn on the hot tap at your kitchen sink and let the water run. The steam from the hot water dispels the vegetable’s strong fumes.
The raw oysters on your plate aren’t dead
Did you know that raw oysters aren’t dead when they’re served to customers at restaurants? Yes, that sounds horrible, but there’s an important reason behind the decision. After an oyster dies, it’s too dangerous to consume. The body starts to rot within moments.
Bottled water and expiration dates
How can water expire? And if it does actually expire, how can we still drink the water that is millions of years old? There is a simple reason why bottled water has an expiration date. The notice tells you when the plastic is no longer fit for purpose. Mystery solved.
Bananas are berries
This may sound completely insane because berries are not supposed to be shaped that way but stick with us and things will start to make sense. Surprisingly, fruit like strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries aren’t technically recognized as berries, while bananas are! You see, to qualify as a berry, the fruit has to be produced from a plant boasting a single ovary. It’s that simple.
Honey lasts forever
Yes, honey is actually one of the few things that can actually last forever. The nectar’s acidicity and dryness prevent germs from thriving, especially in a closed container. That means the amber nectar can’t go off, regardless of its age.
Tomatoes were once nicknamed “the poison apples”
Maybe, Snow White was given a tomato? But how come tomatoes made her sick? That is going to remain a mystery. But thankfully, people stopped calling tomatoes ‘poisoned apples.’ The tag came about in the 1700s, as European nobles seemed to drop dead once they consumed the fruit. But the tomato wasn’t to blame. Instead, it was the plates: thanks to the food’s acidic contents, it sucked up the lead found in the dishes.
Modern-day chicken fat
Chicken has become a staple choice of meat for almost every meal. It goes well with everything. But have you ever wondered how much fat there is in modern-day birds? There’s been an increase of over 260 percent when compared to portions four decades ago. Oh boy!
Canned peaches and the moon
When man landed on the moon, history was made. It was a small step for man but a huge step for mankind. But there are many things about the moon landing that are still kept a secret. For instance, what was the first fruit to be eaten up there? That honor belonged to canned peaches. Good choice!
The black light test
If you every find yourself under a black light in the club with a glass of tonic, don’t worry. The blue shade is because of a substance called quinine, and that’s what causes the shift in color. It’s a simple reaction.
The connection between cars and gummy snacks
Yes, cars and gummy snacks are related. We were as shocked as you are when we first came to know of the fact.Those products are glazed in something known as carnauba wax. It gives the treats a nice shimmer. But it’s also utilized in the automobile world to add a similar effect on paint jobs.
Ice cream and seaweed
Everyone loves ice cream. It is the best thing to beat the heat of the summer months. But that opinion may soon change after you read ahead. Incredibly, most products boast hints of seaweed below the tasty surface. Apparently, it helps curdle the cream during the production stages.
You can fail a drugs test after eating poppy seeds
Is your company going to ask you for a drug test anytime soon? Then you need to read this very carefully. Remarkably, poppy seeds could prevent you from passing it. You’ve been warned!
Suffering from diarrhea? Have some ketchup!
Tomatoes were widely considered to be medicinal fruits at the start of the 19th century. An Ohio physician said that a certain ketchup mix might’ve been able to cure ailments such as diarrhea. From there, he put the blend into a tablet. By 1840, though, the whole thing fell on its backside.
Pasta aplenty
Pasta comes in various shapes. But have you ever wondered how many shapes of pasta are on the market today? Well, the exact figure is sure to blow you away. The number stands at roughly 350. And on top of that, many Italians do claim that they all boast unique flavors too.
No Skittles without beetles
When you grab your next bag of Skittles, remember this fact and forgive us when you put it back. The tasty candy contains a red dye named carminic acid, or carmine. It’s the same substance you’d spot in other strawberry-laced candy. Anyway, a carmine is created from a beetle’s dead body. The bug in question is called Dactylopius coccus. Yuck.
Lemons float, limes don’t
Lemons and lime are different. For instance, lemons can float in water, while limes can’t. That’s down to the lemon’s density. It practically matches that of the water. Also, there are holes all across the skin of the lemon which act as tiny air pockets and help the lemon float.
Carrots weren’t always orange
When asked, everyone would say that the carrots are either orange or red. Yet in the past, they were indeed a different shade. Hundreds of years ago the vegetable ranged from yellow to purple. The orange tint was a result of a “mutation” that harvesters encouraged. It gave the veggie a sweet flavor.
The ties between vanilla flavoring and beavers
There’s a certain type of vanilla flavoring on the market called castoreum. It’s only a vanilla substitute but it seems fairly normal. Yet it’s very far from that. The extract comes out of beavers. It’s specifically found in their anal glands. We wish we were joking!
Choco-currency
Once upon a time, the Aztecs and the Mayans decided to choose chocolate as a currency. They chose to adopt cocoa beans as cash in the past. Imagine if that was the norm right now. Banks resembling giant candy stores and Willy Wonka ruling the planet!
