Some offhand remarks I’ve made in this space in the past have occasioned comments by folks who challenged either my veracity or my sanity. But I’ve actually been collecting odd food facts for years. And today I’m going to share some of the nuttier ones I’ve been able to fact check…
Peanut Oil can be refined into glycerol – which is, in turn, used as a main
component of nitroglycerine, the active ingredient in Dynamite!
Just to get warmed up…
Cheese
Is the most-stolen food in the world. Law enforcement officials say that almost 4 percent of all cheese circulating in the world is stolen, much of it moving around on a cheese black market. Other foods high on the most-stolen list include Pure Maple Syrup, Coffee, Packaged Meat (rare, cured meats), exclusive wine and spirits brands, and just plain rare foods such as truffles and caviar.
American Cheese
Isn’t American. And it isn’t actually cheese, either! It was invented in Switzerland in 1911 by Walter Gerber and Fritz Stettler who were looking for a cheese-like food that would have a longer shelf life and melt better for sauces and dishes like fondue, which was apparently a rage at the time. According to Wikipedia, ” Shortly after, in 1916, Canadian-American businessman James L. Kraft applied for the first U.S. patent, covering ‘a new method of processing cheese’, which halted the maturation process.
Now, some facts I don’t think I’ve ever showcased here before…
Most Wasabi
Isn’t even wasabi at all. It’s plain old horseradish, finely minced and died green, with an astronomical price tag attached.
Apples
And other traditionally shiny fruits are often coated with car wax – carnauba – before being placed on the shelf. That’s why you can polish them by rubbing them on your shirt or a dish towel. If you like raw fresh fruit, you probably consume several pounds (kg) of carnauba every year! But that’s okay. It’s completely harmless to you, passing right through your digestive tract.
Salmon
Is really a white-fleshed fish which only comes in red because of all the shrimp the fish eat. Shrimp is their preferred food during their midlife time in the ocean, away from the fresh-water streams where they were born. Farmed salmon are usually died red so they will be more acceptable to consumers.
Nutella
Is the single most-consumed processed food in the world. Available world-wide, the company says 365,000 tonnes of the cocoa-laced spread is eaten annually. That’s about 1,000 tonnes each day.
McDonald’s Burgers
We’ve all seen the golden arches signs at the entrance to every McDonald’s store: “Billions And Billions Sold!” But how many billions? Only McD’s knows for sure, and they say: the worldwide figure is approximately 2.5 billion per year; 6.5 million per day; or 75 per second!
Peanuts
Peanuts are truly a blast! In fact most of the vegetable oil from which glycerol is extracted comes from peanuts. And a lot of that glycerol is further processed into… nitroglycerine – the main ingredient in dynamite!
Thomas Jefferson
U.S. founding father Thomas Jefferson introduced pasta to America back in Revolutionary times. He brought the recipe and the first pasta machine to the U.S. from France, where it had been introduced in the reign of king Henry II. Pasta was brought to France when Henry married Catherine de Medici, the daughter of an Italian count.
Goat
Is the most popular meat in the world. (See photo, top of page.) We of European and North American origin don’t eat that much of it now-a-days. But that doesn’t change the fact that most of the world relies on goat for meat and milk. In fact, 70 percent of the red meat consumed globally is goat!
Meat consumption per capita
Australians eat the most meat, per person, every year of any nationality – about 200 lb. Americans come close behind in second place. But Indians, by far, eat the least at just 7 lb. per person per year – less than many Westerners eat each week!
Sandwiches
Rule Lunch time. The latest reliable survey, back before the COVID emergency, revealed that 49 percent of all Americans over the age of 20 eat at least one sandwich per day. In spite of the undisputed fact that the sandwich was invented in the UK!
No, don’t rush to thank me…
Just make sure to credit the Fab Food Blog whenever you use one of the above amazing facts to sparkle-up dinner conversation!
~ Maggie J.