16 Facts About Food You Probably Didn’t Know

Meals go far beyond simply satisfying physiological needs. It is a relationship of communication, elimination of stress and pleasure. In some countries, food is revered: the Italians consider pasta their national heritage, the French are rightfully proud of their onion soup, and the Swiss are proud of their fondue—and all for good reason. But the products have their own secrets: boiled potatoes are a very deceptive food, and mushrooms in general are distant relatives of insects.

O awesome.club simply loves fun facts, which is why today we’ve collected the most incredible details about food that you are sure to eat every day. We bet that after you finish reading the article you will change your relationship with some dishes.

It’s amazing, but many fruits are close relatives of flowers: they belong to the same rose family Rosaceae🇧🇷 Apples, pears, plums, raspberries and even almonds are all a little pink.

The objective of the beverage manufacturer Soylent is to be able to replace meals. Just one bottle satisfies up to 20% of your daily protein, vitamin and micronutrient requirements. Soylent manufacturers are confident that behind these products is the future, as conditions of population growth, lack of products and time are a risk, but with this drink you can replace ordinary food. The cost of a serving of Soylent is $3.25.

Harvard scientists completely distinguished 6 types of genes, which are responsible for the digestion of caffeine, and explained why coffee acts differently in people. Genes are to blame, so for some it is enough to drink a sip of coffee, and for others 2-3 cups of coffee are needed express to achieve the same effect.

Potatoes are not considered the healthiest foods, and all this because of their high glycemic index and the speed with which carbohydrates are incorporated into the body, increasing blood sugar levels. It turns out that in order to lower the glycemic action in potatoes, they simply have to be eaten cold. In cold dishes, starch is digested slowly, accordingly, the glycemic index will be lower than that of a hot puree.

The corn on the cob contains an even number of rows, usually 8 to 12, and can have thousands of kernels. Nearly a quarter of the products and merchandise sold in stores contain corn in one form or another, from animal feed to fireworks.

All fungi in the intercellular spaces contain a particular biopolymer: chitin. Yes, the same chitin that is attributed to the rigidity of insect wings. Precisely for this reason, mushrooms cannot be processed: it makes no difference whether they are cooked in 3 minutes or three hours, their taste and shape will remain the same.

In the US state of Oregon, scientists have found the largest living organism on Earth, and yes, it’s a mushroom. Its surface is comparable to 1,665 football fields.

When transported in large quantities, pistachios can spontaneously combust. And all this due to its high fat content and low water content. In addition, these fruits absorb oxygen and release carbon dioxide, another risk factor. Therefore, when transporting them in the holds of a ship or trucks, exceptional security measures are required.

Yes, beavers smell like vanilla. To be more precise, the secretions of the beaver’s glands smell like vanilla and are used for the production of perfumes, as well as a nutritional supplement to enhance the flavor of some products, including non-alcoholic beverages and desserts. Animals, with the help of their smell, mark their territory, but people collect the secret of their glands on special farms.

William J. Morrison is a public figure, inventor and dentist. Incredibly, precisely in 1897 he invented the Fairy Floss dessert, which is now known as cotton candy. And, a little later, another dentist patented the machine for creating this candy as we know it today.

Rhubarb is a very beneficial vegetable: it contains carbohydrates, vitamins (C, B3, B), calcium and magnesium. However, only the stalks are edible, because the leaves contain a lot of oxalic acid. Its use can cause stomach and kidney problems. First of all, it poses a danger to children and people who have gastritis and kidney stones.

Allergies never come alone and often patients suffer from heightened reactions to some types of similar products. Scientists have identified an important pattern: people with latex intolerance develop a papaya allergy.

The inflorescence of figs is actually something drawn from the inside out, so pollination can only be done with one type of wasp. They cannot live without figs and figs without them. The tiny wasps scrape a small hole in the fig flower, the female lures her partner inside and mates with him, pollinates the plant, then lays eggs and flies away. The male, by the way, cannot get out and always dies. After a while, inside the fruit a new generation of wasps is born and so on.

Fortunately, the new wasps are born only on the male inflorescence, which people do not consume for food. But insects certainly do not know what kind of inflorescence they pollinate, which is why on almost every fig tree the remains of a wasp await us. The good news: modern farmers tend to plant varieties of figs that self-pollinate, and the likelihood of eating a dead wasp is very low.

Irradiation of food products is an external ionizing radiation treatment for the elimination of pathogenic microorganisms, insect larvae and the prevention of germination of tubers such as potatoes. For radiation, gamma emissions from radionuclides, X-rays and accelerated electrons are used. This treatment is considered safe, allowed in 41 countries and does not only apply to vegetables, it also applies to meat, fish, wheat and spices.

Although this method is considered relatively safe, producers must put a special mark on irradiated products.

The titanium dioxide that is added to sunscreens is often used in food products. In both cases the function is the same, that is, to prevent the destructive effect of the sun’s rays and to act as a preservative.

Yes, good diamonds are obtained from tequila, albeit small ones, which can be used in electronic production. And the agave, the plant from which the distillate comes, is pollinated by bats, so it blooms at night.

The researchers note that there is a large amount of mercury in tuna cans, as a result of human pollution of the sea. A good and safe alternative to tuna
canned salmon.

Which fact did you find most surprising?