Odd and interesting facts.

• Celery has negative calories.  It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with.

• Honey is believed to be the only food that does not spoil.  Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found to still be edible.

• Cheese closes the stomach and should always be served at the end of a meal.

• Peanuts are salted in the shell by boiling them in a heavily salted solution, then allowing them to dry.

• The canning process for herring was developed in Sardinia, which is why canned herrings are better known as sardines.

• A quarter of raw potato placed in each shoe at night will keep the leather soft and the shoes smelling fresh and clean.

• Pineapples are classified as berries.

• Milk is actually considered to be a food and not a beverage.

• The table fork was introduced into England in 1601. Until then people would eat with their knives, spoons or fingers. When Queen Elizabeth first used a fork, the clergy went ballistic. They felt it was an insult to God not to touch meat with one’s fingers.

• The Mai Tai cocktail was created in 1945 by Victor Bergeron, the genius of rum, also known as Trader Vic. The drink got its name when he served it to two friends from Tahiti, who exclaimed “Maitai roa ae!,” which in Tahitian means “Out of this world – the best!”

• Before Columbus, Europe had never tasted cord, potatoes, tomatoes, red peppers, sweet potatoes, tapioca, chocolate, pumpkins, squash, coconuts, pineapples, strawberries, and much more.  Why?  All these food items are native to America.

• The cashew nut in its natural state contains poisonous oil.  Roasting removes the oil and makes the nuts safe to eat.

• Although explorers brought potatoes back from the New World in the early 1500s, Europeans were afraid to eat them for fear that the spuds would give them leprosy.  It wasn’t until Louis XVI, who was looking for a cheap food source for his starving subjects, served them at the royal table that people were convinced potatoes were safe to eat.

• In the Middle Ages, chicken soup was believed to be an aphrodisiac.

• There is no alcohol left in food that’s cooked with wine.  The alcohol evaporates at 172 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Cabbage is 91% water.

• The strawberry is the only agricultural product that bears its seeds on the outside.

• It takes, on average, 345 squirts from a cow’s udder to yield one gallon of milk.

• Ever wonder how Swiss cheese is made? As the cheese ferments, a bacterial action generates gas. As the gas is liberated, it bubbles through the cheese, leaving all those holes.

• Cheese is the oldest of all man-made foods.

• The white part of an egg is called the glair