Most of us pay little attention to the foods we eat. We prepare it; we either approve or disapprove the taste; and we eat it or not. I know that I rarely give a thought to other ways the ingredients are used or the history of such foods. Recently, I stumbled upon a website listing unusual origins of some foods and oddities related to them. That led me to more research and I now present the following for your epicurean delight.
*Vinegar will melt pearls.
*Ketchup was originally created as a drug – not a condiment.
*Coca Cola was originally green.
*Avocados are poisonous to birds.
*Peanuts are legumes, not nuts.
*Apples contain more stimulant than caffeine.
*Honey is the only food that won’t spoil.
*Tart cherries contain more pain killer than aspirin.
*Cabbage is 91% water.
*Most wasabi consumed is not really wasabi but is really colored horseradish.
*Ripe cranberries will bounce like a rubber ball.
*About 70% of olive oil is not pure olive oil.
*Red food coloring is actually made from boiled cochineal bugs.
*Coconut water can be used as blood plasma.
*Did you know that a 20 oz. bottle of Coca Cola contains more sugar than a large Cinnabon?
*Now back to those cochineal bugs: Did you know that until 2012, Starbuck’s used cochineal extract in 6 of their menu items? Cochineal extract is made from crushed cochineal beetles boiled in ammonia.
Drying fruit causes a massive loss of nutrients – from 30-80% depletion of its vitamins and antioxidents.
Neither strawberries, blackberries or raspberries are actually berries.
Did you know that peanuts can be used to make dynamite?
Almonds are a member of the peach family and apples, pears, and cherries are members of the rose family.
(http://www.leanitup.com/47-shocking-food-nutrition-facts-thatll-blow-rainbow-confetti-out-of-your-noggin/)
(www.dealsplus.com/pages/interesting_odd_food_facts/14000 and
www.buzzfeed.com/justinabarca/food-facts-that-will-blow-your-mind#.oiwpVw9XL)
I can say for a fact that I will never look at a red candy again without thinking about the origin of that color!
