More Fun Food Facts – 11/14/23

I don’t know about you, but I am always insatiably curious; about everything. And I love to learn about history and bits of trivia. I also love to share what I learn. So here are some fun new things I just learned and decided to share with you as well. Enjoy. 🙂

1. Did you know it takes about 540 peanuts to make just one 12-oz jar of peanut butter?

2. We all like to think that one of our favorite snacks, French fries, are French. But they were really invented in Belgium in the late 1600’s. Thomas Jefferson introduced pommes de terre frites a cru en petites tranches, which essentially translates to “deep-fried potatoes in small cuttings to the United States”. Merci beaucoup!

3. Ketchup, that so often accompanies French fries, was first used as medicine. In the 1830s, tomato ketchup was sold as a medicine that could cure ailments like diarrhea, indigestion, and jaundice. The idea was initially proposed by Dr. John Cook Bennett, an American physician, in 1834, who later decided to sell the recipe in the form of ‘tomato pills’. Though ketchup doesn’t contain many vitamins or minerals, it’s rich in the powerful plant chemical lycopene. Lycopene is a carotenoid with antioxidant properties that may fight cancer, protect your heart and brain, and offers fertility support to men.

4. Carrots were originally purple, not orange. Originally, purple carrots were the norm, but there were some offshoots — yellow and white ones appeared in the wild. Over time, somehow, 17th century Dutch carrot growers managed to cultivate these yellow and white carrots into the orange ones we are familiar with today. Now we call purple carrots Beta Sweets, and they are are more the exception than the norm. Today we can get carrots in a variety of different colors.

5. American cheese is NOT American in origin, but is really from Switzerland. In the original recipe for what later became known as American cheese, the main ingredient was Swiss cheese, Emmentaler to be specific. It was back in 1911 when Walter Gerber and Fritz Stettler first developed processed cheese by heating shredded Emmentaler with sodium citrate.

So now you know. Don’t you all feel just a little bit smarter now? Who knew about all of these fun food facts? I know I didn’t, but now we do. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Try to learn something new everyday. It helps keep you young and on your toes. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.