Impress your friends/family/pub quiz team with these fascinating food facts.
WHY DO RICE KRISPIES SNAP, CRACKLE, POP?
Created similarly to popcorn, rice krispies are made by steamed rice (rice doesn’t have enough moisture in it before) being heated until the grain until the “pop” into crisped rice. thin and hollowed out walls, sealed areas inside where air pockets have formed. When cold milk is added the shift in temperatyure causes these weak walls to suddenly fracture and make the snap, crackle and pop
Created similarly to popcorn, rice krispies are made by steamed rice (rice doesn’t have enough moisture in it before) being heated until the grain until the “pop” into crisped rice. thin and hollowed out walls, sealed areas inside where air pockets have formed. When cold milk is added the shift in temperatyure causes these weak walls to suddenly fracture and make the snap, crackle and pop
CARROTS WERE PURPLE, WHITE, RED AND YELLOW BEFORE ORANGE
Yes the lovely veggie was not always a bright and cheery orange colour. Centuries ago, as early as 900AD, in Afghanistan they were predominantly purple and yellow, with other colours appearing over the hundreds of years to follow as the carrot spread around the globe. It wasn’t until the 16th century that the orange carrot started to be cultivated in the Netherlands. A popular theory holds that the carrots were selectively bred to be orange to honour William of Orange, leader of the Dutch revolution against the Spanish, however there is no evidence to support this. Today you can still buy the other coloured varieties, though they’re far from the popularity of the orange version.
Yes the lovely veggie was not always a bright and cheery orange colour. Centuries ago, as early as 900AD, in Afghanistan they were predominantly purple and yellow, with other colours appearing over the hundreds of years to follow as the carrot spread around the globe. It wasn’t until the 16th century that the orange carrot started to be cultivated in the Netherlands. A popular theory holds that the carrots were selectively bred to be orange to honour William of Orange, leader of the Dutch revolution against the Spanish, however there is no evidence to support this. Today you can still buy the other coloured varieties, though they’re far from the popularity of the orange version.
THE COLOUR ORANGE COMES FROM THE FRUIT
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Nurture versus nature? Orange the fruit or orange the colour? Well we can answer that last one for you! The word “orange” evolved from the Spanish word “naranja” which itself evolved from the Sanskrit for orange tree, “naranga”. Before the 16th century, in English the colour orange was in fact called “geoluhread” aka “yellow-red”, seriously, we were that original. So there you have it, until we found the orange fruit, orange was just a weird shade of yellow and red.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Nurture versus nature? Orange the fruit or orange the colour? Well we can answer that last one for you! The word “orange” evolved from the Spanish word “naranja” which itself evolved from the Sanskrit for orange tree, “naranga”. Before the 16th century, in English the colour orange was in fact called “geoluhread” aka “yellow-red”, seriously, we were that original. So there you have it, until we found the orange fruit, orange was just a weird shade of yellow and red.
DINNER USED TO MEAN BREAKFAST
Fancy confusing your friends and family? The English word for dinner comes from the old French “disnar” which means to “break fast”. Traditionally dinner (AKA “breakfast”) was the first and largest meal of the day, eaten at noon. A lighter meal (supper) was eaten later in the day. People eventually started to regularly eat a meal before dinner but rather than call this meal dinner (which meant “break fast”) they started calling it the literal English name, “breakfast”! Meanwhile the biggest meal moved later in the day until eventually a lighter meal was eaten at noon (lunch) and the evening meal became lunch. So yes, you start your day with breakfast and end your day with breakfast.
Fancy confusing your friends and family? The English word for dinner comes from the old French “disnar” which means to “break fast”. Traditionally dinner (AKA “breakfast”) was the first and largest meal of the day, eaten at noon. A lighter meal (supper) was eaten later in the day. People eventually started to regularly eat a meal before dinner but rather than call this meal dinner (which meant “break fast”) they started calling it the literal English name, “breakfast”! Meanwhile the biggest meal moved later in the day until eventually a lighter meal was eaten at noon (lunch) and the evening meal became lunch. So yes, you start your day with breakfast and end your day with breakfast.
THE WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE COFFEE COMES FROM POOP
Kopi Luwak are coffee beans that come from the poo of a palm civet, a cat sized mammal mostly found in southeast Asia. The animals eat coffee berries and the beans come out the other end, keeping their shape. The coffee retails for around $160 per pound, making it the world’s most bizarre and expensive coffee. The real question is: who discovered civet poop made great coffee?
Kopi Luwak are coffee beans that come from the poo of a palm civet, a cat sized mammal mostly found in southeast Asia. The animals eat coffee berries and the beans come out the other end, keeping their shape. The coffee retails for around $160 per pound, making it the world’s most bizarre and expensive coffee. The real question is: who discovered civet poop made great coffee?