Labels on fruits can be eaten! 20 unusual facts about food

Food is our everything. And it seems we know everything about her. But is this really the case? Have you heard about the fact that the sandwich was invented by a gambler count so as not to get his hands dirty and not get up from the table? And three centuries later, the sandwich was "smuggled" into space, which caused a scandal and was even discussed in the US Congress.

We have prepared for you a selection of interesting facts that will allow you to take a fresh look at the usual food.

Beer in Russia was officially recognized as an alcoholic beverage after Dmitry Medvedev signed the relevant law in the summer of 2011. Since then, beer can no longer be sold in stalls and tents. At the same time, a law was passed that prohibits the use of alcohol, including beer, in public places — entrances, parks, squares and recreation areas within the city. A ban on beer advertising on television, radio and outdoor advertising has also come into force.

Cheese is most often stolen in stores. Such data were announced by experts from the British Retail Research Center, who analyzed the results of the work of almost two thousand retail chains in 43 countries of the world. The second most popular products among thieves are meat products, sweets and baby food. According to statistics, the theft of these products is not an isolated case, but literally a trend.

Usually farmers grow rhubarb in the field for two years. During this time, plants accumulate solar energy in the roots in the form of carbohydrates. In winter, rhubarb is placed in a heated shed, where complete darkness reigns. There he no longer needs to use the accumulated energy to grow leaves (which turn yellow-green), so his stems become bigger and sweeter. This technology is so effective that the growth of rhubarb can really be heard if you enter such a shed. This sound arises from the opening buds. They say that during the growing season, rhubarb constantly creaks.

Fruit is a culinary and household concept rather than a botanical one. Fruit refers to all sweet large fruits of plants. Therefore, a banana in everyday life, of course, is a fruit. But according to botanical criteria — no. In botany, a berry is understood as a fruit of plants with a thin skin, juicy pulp and seeds. There are no seeds in store bananas, but there are black seeds in wild banana fruits. It turns out that bananas meet these criteria. Bananas are berries.

As the nut matures, the shell opens by itself, that is, in a natural way. In this case, the core fills the entire space inside the shell. In China, pistachios are nicknamed the "happy nut" because their kernels in a slightly open shell resemble a smile.

This, of course, does not mean that such a sticker must necessarily be eaten, but the manufacturers claim that all stickers are made of edible paper. And the glue on them is suitable for food. Similar paper is also used as a cake decoration.

A few centuries ago, the cost of oysters was practically zero. They were found in abundance on the coasts of France, Great Britain and the New World and were even considered "meat for the poor", since they were eaten by those who could not afford to buy meat at least once a week. And lobsters caught by mistake (because then only fish were caught) were used as fertilizer or fed them to those who did not have to choose. Crustaceans were the main diet in the prisons of the North American colonies, and during the Revolutionary War, an uprising broke out in a camp for captured British soldiers because they were not given other food than the hated lobsters.

The calories that a person gets from sweet and fatty foods cost him ten times cheaper also because there are much more of them. If you want to make sure — see how 200 calories look different!

The Oxford Dictionary dates the earliest use of the word "sandwich" in relation to food to 1762. Edward Gibbon, in his diary, describes how the members of the club in which he was a member, "the best people of the kingdom," dined "with small pieces of cold meat, or a sandwich." The name comes from the title of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792), an avid gambler who, according to legend, sat at the gaming table around the clock and asked to serve him cold beef between two slices of toasted bread so as not to be interrupted for meals and at the same time get his hands dirty less.

It is to the period of the Middle Ages that the emergence of the French proverb "Roads like pepper" refers. Pepper was valued at that time literally by its weight in gold, or even higher. For example, the Genoese in the XII century paid 48 solidi (gold coins) as a salary to mercenary soldiers participating in the attack on Caesarea and 2 pounds of pepper.

The walls of fungal cells contain a special polymer that gives them a delicate taste, although it negatively affects the digestibility of this food product. But thanks to its presence, mushrooms cannot be boiled: they will stubbornly retain their shape. If you still managed it, congratulations — you cook phenomenally poorly.

Yang flew into space 6 times and became the first person to achieve such a result (now the record is 7 times). Its maiden flight in 1965 was the first manned launch under the Gemini program. This flight is known, among other things, thanks to a sandwich that Young carried on board and suddenly offered the commander of the ship Gus Grissom instead of food for the astronauts, which they had to eat during the flight. For the forbidden sandwich, Young was reprimanded, because bread crumbs in zero gravity could get into the devices and interfere with their normal operation. This situation was even discussed in Congress, where NASA was accused of the fact that the agency cannot control its astronauts, thereby endangering multimillion-dollar missions.

50 hazelnuts account for the production of one can of nut paste. Every year, the plants produce 180 million kilograms of this paste, where 25% of the world's hazelnut reserves are added. A whole bunch of nuts!

This miracle of medieval cooking was called blackbird pie — "blackbird pie". Although anything could be baked there: from birds of different sizes to live squirrels and even ... toads! And one ancient source mentions that once even a small orchestra was placed in such a royal pie.

In a study conducted in France back in 2008, scientists asked the question: why is music always playing so loudly in the nearest bar? It involved 40 unsuspecting beer drinkers sitting in a bar where the music volume was changing. The normal level was 72 dB, the high level was 88 dB. According to the results of the study, at a high volume level, beer consumption increased by 31% — from 2.6 mugs on average per person to 3.4. Moreover, the participants in the experiment drank beer in 11.5 minutes when the music was playing loudly, and in 14.5 minutes when it became quieter.

Scientists from the Bavarian Research Institute of Geophysics and Geochemistry (Germany) tried to simulate in the laboratory the conditions of the Earth's lower mantle with its incredibly high pressure. During the experiment, they discovered some innovative ways to produce diamonds. The researchers managed to obtain an artificial diamond from peanut butter in the laboratory.

A special kind of microscopic "chocolate flies" takes part in the pollination of cocoa trees, so there would be no chocolate without diptera. By the way, when cocoa beans are harvested, insects also partially get into the crop. So maybe you've eaten them once, too.

McDonald's food doesn't spoil for years! One blogger from the USA wrote a story about how he found a hamburger forgotten there 14 years ago in the pocket of an old coat. And this case is not an isolated one: Mac burgers left for a long time do not spoil at all, do not rot and do not mold, but simply harden and begin to emit an unpleasant smell. And here's how to make cutlets for McDonald's.

There are rumors that these specially approved forms depend on a piece of meat that was cut for nuggets. But this is not so — they are made only from breast. And the forms approved by the corporation are a guarantee of compliance of the finished product and proper production at the factory. Why are they exactly like that? To make it convenient to take them by the leg and dip them in a sauce box.

In the USA, there is even a special National Hot Dog Day, which is celebrated on July 18. But the largest amount of this traditional American dish is still eaten on Independence Day. Every year Americans set new records.