16 Interesting Food Facts That Made Me Go, "Wow, I Did NOT Know That!"

Food for thought, eh?

1. Coriander tastes like soap to some people, because of the presence of a few genes.

Unsplash / Via Aditya Rathod

Coriander tastes like soap to people who share the receptor-gene OR6A2. This gene detects the scents of aldehyde chemicals, which are found in both coriander leaves and soap! This trait might also be hereditary.

2. The colour of honey may vary through the entire year, depending on the season and the flowers that blossom.

The different colors of the honey I harvested this year: spring, summer and fall. from mildlyinteresting

Since honey relies on pollination and different flowers blossom in different seasons, the shades of the honey made by the same set of bees might change across months.

3. Puffball mushrooms can reach a diameter of 150 centimetres and a weight of 20 kilograms!

Giant puffball mushroom my sister found in the woods from mildlyinteresting

Puffball mushrooms are found in Europe and North America. They have no definite taste of their own, and absorb the flavours you're cooking them in.

4. The Mayans used chocolate as currency.

Unsplash / Via Tetiana Bykovets

Cacao beans were used as form of currency during the classic Maya period (250-900 BC). They also bartered other goods like tobacco, textiles, etc.

5. The popular British breakfast / brunch dish, Kedgeree, has origins in our very own Khichri!

Unsplash / Via Mario Raj

According to Larousse Gastronomique, a culinary encyclopedia by Prosper Montagné, Kedgeree originated from the Indian Khichri — a concoction of spiced lentils, rice, fried onions, and ginger — eaten across the country and tracing its roots to the 14th century. 

6. There's a reason why airplane food doesn't taste good. Your taste buds react differently because of dry air and a pressurised cabin.

Unsplash / Via Toni Osmundson

The dry air in the plane causes your nasal passages to dry out, which reduces the perception of your taste buds. Moreover, the low pressure causes your olfactory receptors to be less sensitive. 

7. Vodka is a great cleaner! It can get rid of scum, mildew, grease, dust, fingerprints, gross scents...and so much more.

Last year we had a bag break and it dropped a 1.75L bottle of vodka and the pavements been clean there ever since from mildlyinteresting

Vodka is a pretty inexpensive way to avoid harsh chemicals. Not to mention that it evaporates quickly and leaves no scent behind.

8. There might be bugs in your favourite snacks. Carmine, a red dye, is made from crushed bugs! It's used in candies, sodas, ketchup, canned cherries, and red velvet cakes.

Unsplash / Via luisana zerpa

Carmine, or cochineal extract, is a natural food dye made from crushed cochineal bugs.

9. Alphonso mangoes were introduced to India by the Portuguese.

Copyright Nrupen Madhvani / Getty Images

Almost all the mango varieties in Goa in the 15th century were of the "sucking" type. The Portuguese colonists introduced a firmer variety by way of grafting. It was named Alphonso after a Portuguese viceroy, Alphonso de Albuquerque.

10. Horizontally sliced bread is a thing that exists. This looks like the grandma version of bread.

The supermarket I work at sells horizontally sliced bread. from mildlyinteresting

11. The wasabi you're eating with your favourite sushi might actually be...coloured horseradish.

Unsplash / Via Cath Smith

Wasabi is pretty expensive and rare to come across. You're likely to find it in high-end restaurants in Japan.

12. Toblerones can be this big!

This big Toblerone I bought from mildlyinteresting

13. Want to test how fresh the eggs in your fridge are? Put them in a glass of cold water! Fresh eggs will sink, and any egg that floats needs to be in the garbage.

Unsplash / Via Hello I'm Nik

This is because the air pocket in the egg gets larger as time goes by.

14. Brown sugar and white sugar are the same.

Unsplash / Via Tijana Drndarski

How? White sugar is refined. The molasses, that gets removed during this process, is simply added back in. Both varieties are nutritionally similar.

15. Rajma Chawal would not have been a thing if kidney beans hadn't been brought to the Indian subcontinent from Mexico.

Jogy Abraham / Getty Images/iStockphoto

The red kidney bean was introduced to India by the Portuguese. 

16. And lastly, this is how pineapples grow.

The person who lived in my apartment before me planted pineapples. from mildlyinteresting