Pete M. asks: Why is a tiny bit of parsley included with certain meals? Is it true that it is there to cure bad breath? Does it really work? Thanks and keep up the great work! In an age where strong-flavored, nutritiously dense greens like kale dominate, quiet, mild parsley has, for many, been shunted to the side. This is […]
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Mark A. asks: Who invented tea bags? Legend says that brewing tea dates back to around 2737 BC, when tea leaves fell into water being boiled for Emperor Shennong of China. There does not appear to be any hard evidence of tea being discovered this way, but evidence we do have suggests that brewing tea did indeed likely start in […]
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Karla R. asks: Why is a tiny bit of vanilla added to so many recipes? What does adding this substance actually do? Enhancing the flavor of the other ingredients in a sweet dish, vanilla also adds a spicy, delicate taste and packs a strong, enticing aroma. This is why, despite its expense, vanilla is wildly popular among home cooks and […]
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Alex P. asks: What’s the difference between green and black tea? Isn’t it all just tea from the same plant? Both black and green tea is harvested from an evergreen, tree-like shrub known as camellia sinensis. Most likely originating in China, the camellia sinensis is thought to have first been used to brew a medicinal elixir during the Shang Dynasty […]
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Nancy P. asks: How were raisins made before seedless grapes? Leaving fruit to dry out in the sun is one of the oldest and easiest ways of preserving this variety of food- our ancestors being the type to never waste anything edible, even if it is sometimes past its prime (see: The History of French Toast). Not only did dried […]
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Mark S. asks: Why does brown sugar form lumps but regular sugar doesn’t? When we say the word “sugar”, it’s highly likely that the first image to pop into your head is that of the ultra-fine, pure white granulated kind you can buy in most supermarkets. But how does this kind of sugar differ from the less popular brown kind, […]
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Sean M. asks: Why does chicken go bad so much faster than other meats at room temperature? Food-borne bacteria are the primary cause of spoilage and food poisonings. Thriving in moist, low-acid environments where lots of protein is present, pathogens like Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. coli live with the bird during its life and stay with its meat after slaughter; […]
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Jacob M. asks: Does juicy fruit gum actually contain any fruit juice? With a brand recognition rate somewhere close to 99% in the States, it’s pretty safe to say that almost everyone reading this has at least heard of Juicy Fruit gum, if not also chewed it at some point. The question we’re looking at today is- exactly what fruit […]
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Rita H. asks: Why do we serve ham on Easter? Under Jewish dietary laws (called kashrut), eating pork in any form is strictly forbidden. Jesus Christ was Jewish. So why, on the anniversary of his resurrection, do people traditionally serve ham? You’ll often read it’s because ham is supposedly a “Christian” meat, able to be consumed by Christians but not […]
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Melissa K. asks: Do high end wine makers really have people walk all over grapes with their bare feet? Perhaps no image is more synonymous with the act of wine making than that of a person smushing grapes with their bare feet to extract the precious juices contained therein (in the grapes, not the inevitably sweaty feet). But did winemakers […]
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Byron H. asks: Why is it sometimes catsup and other times ketchup? The two distinct spellings for what today is essentially the same condiment are simply the reflection of the evolution of nearly everyone’s favorite French fry topper. (Well, in certain regions of the world.) Today often disdained as low-brow, when it was first conceived, ketchup was revered for the […]
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The legendary Roald Dahl’s book Charlie & Chocolate Factory from 1964 (and its subsequent two film adaptations from 1971 and 2005) told the story of a magical candy factory and its eccentric and mysterious owner Willy Wonka. A chocolate river, gum that is a whole turkey dinner, never-ending gobstoppers, and, of course, the singing and dancing oompa-loompas are just a […]
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Jesus M. asks: Is there any real cheese in cheese whiz? As America gets ready for their upcoming Super Bowl parties (or Royal Rumble party, if that’s your thing), Cheez Whiz – the yellowish-orange, gooey, bland tasting “cheese” product – will surely make an appearance at some of them. But what is Cheez Whiz? Why did get it invented? And […]
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Harry K. asks: Who invented the Oreo cookie? In 1890, a group of eight large New York City bakeries combined to form the New York Biscuit Company and built a giant six-story factory in West Chelsea. Eight years later, they merged with their competitor, Chicago’s American Biscuit and Manufacturing to form an even larger conglomerate – the National Biscuit Company, […]
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An average American child eats about 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches prior to graduating from high school. That is about a sandwich every four or five days. Americans eat a lot of peanut butter. Besides it being popular and delicious, peanut butter also has had a tremendous impact on how foods are made and labeled today. Thanks to the […]
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Mark. K. asks: Why does peanut butter stick to the top of my mouth? Arachibutyrophobia is a proposed humorous name for the fear of peanut butter getting stuck to the top of your mouth, coined by Charles M. Schulz in a 1982 edition of his famed Peanuts comic strip. But why does peanut butter have such a tendency to get […]
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Little pearls swimming in a creamy custard flavored with vanilla or lemon, many of us have fond (and others not so fond) childhood memories of tapioca pudding. Although this staple dessert of the 1970s went out of vogue for a while, today it’s making a comeback. You may not know, however, that the tapioca we use is a refined product […]
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Mark U. asks: Why doesn’t sugar ever seem to go bad? Two foods are left out on the counter – fresh tomatoes and a bowl of sugar. Within a week or so, one will develop black spots and the other remains pristine, albeit perhaps a little clumpy depending on the humidity of the air. The reason? Osmosis. While microorganisms love […]
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