30 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT FOOD:

1. Several ancient cultures viewed the apple as a feminine symbol and found a resemblance between
the two halves of a vertically cut apple to the female genital system. Alternatively, an apple cut
horizontally resembled a pentagram, which was considered key in revealing knowledge of good and
evil.
g

2. The banana tree is not a true fruit at all but a giant herb and the banana is actually its berry. A banana
plant produces only one bunch or hand in its life, but that bunch may have between 100 to 400
bananas. Despite its phallic shape, the banana is sterile and no fertilization takes place in the banana
flowers. A banana plant grows when one of its shoots is planted.
g

3. Onion is Latin for large pearl. A basket of onions was considered a respectable funeral offering in
ancient Egypt, second only to a basket of bread. Onions, with their circular layers, represented
eternity and were found in the eyes of King Ramses IV who died in 1160 B.C.
a

4. Kissing may have originated when mothers orally passed chewed solid food to their infants during
weaning.
d

5. The earliest form of eating processed food occurred in early hunting cultures when the men who
made a kill would be rewarded with a meal of the partially digested contents of the stomach of their
prey.
b

6. The largest item found on any menu is roasted camel which is still served at some Bedouin weddings
and was offered by royalty in Morocco several hundred years ago. The camel is cleaned and then
stuffed with one whole lamb, 20 chickens, 60 eggs, and 110 gallons of water, among other
ingredients.
h

7. Food and sex have been linked throughout history. Some foods are
thought to have sexual powers because they resemble human genitals.
Casanova was said to offer oysters to his potential partners to whet
their sexual appetite.
a

8. At Delphi, the spiritual center of Greece, many cooks were needed to
organize and direct sacrifices to the gods.
a

9. Drinking fresh milk in the classical world was considered a luxury
because milk was so difficult to preserve.
g

10. The Arabs invented caramel, which served as a depilatory (hair removal) for women in a harem.
g

11. Worcestershire sauce is made from dissolved anchovies (including the bones) that have been soaked
in vinegar.
g

12. The first soup was made from hippopotamus and dates back to 6000 B.C.
g

13. Perhaps as a relic of an ancient Roman custom of planting parsley on graves, a sprig of parsley was
either associated with the devil or as an antidote for poison. Adding a sprig to a plate of food may
have originated as a gesture of good faith and as way to safeguard the meal from evil.
d

14. At both Ephesus and Eleusis in Greece the priestess were known as bees because bees and the
way honey was gathered and eaten had religious connotations. Honey, considered miraculously
made by bees, often signified truth because honey needs no treatment after it has been collected and
it does not deteriorate.
g

15. Beans have historically been a symbol of the embryo and of growth in most societies. The ancient
Egyptians called the place in which the Ka, the souls of the dead awaited reincarnation the bean
field.
g




Oysters have often been considered
aphrodisiacs
16. The tomato is technically a fruit, not a vegetable. It was also the first genetically engineered whole
product and went on the market in 1994. Since then, more than 50 other genetically engineered foods
have been deemed safe by the FDA.
e

17. During the Middle Ages, a lemon slice was served with fish because it
was thought the juice would dissolve any bones that were accidentally
swallowed.
a

18. Chili peppers are hot because they contain a substance called alkaloid
capsaicin and four other related chemicals. It is also the primary
ingredient in pepper spray.
g

19. The warriors of Attila, king of the Huns, (A.D. 450) preserved their meat
by placing fresh meat under their saddles. All the bouncing squeezed
fluids from the meat, and the horses sweat salted the meat and removed more moisture. When the
warrior stopped to eat, they had a dried and salted meal.
c

20. People were using garlic to repel vampires long before Bram Stokers Dracula was published.
Folklorists suggest it is because vampires have a heightened sense of smell and the garlics strong
smell was overpowering. Garlic is proven to be effective against two other bloodsuckers: mosquitoes
and ticks.
g

21. Bread has become the prime symbol of nourishment and sharing bread is often a symbolic gesture.
The word companion is derived from Latin com, together, andpanis, bread.
g

22. Odor is by far the most important contributor to the flavor of food. The contributions of taste, texture,
and appearance are insignificant by comparison. Humans can distinguish an estimated 20,000
different odor qualities.
f

23. Cooking food is one of the great revolutionary innovations of history because it not only transformed
the way we prepare food, but because it also became a center of cultural communion and organized
society.
b

24. Ancient Egyptian priests would eat figs at the moment of their consecration ceremonies. The Indians
consecrated the fig tree to Vishnu, and the fig free sheltered Romulus and Remus (the traditional
founders of Rome) at their birth.
g
The fig is also a fertility symbol and the Arab association with male
genitals is so strong that the original word fig is considered improper.
i

25. A row of corn always has an even number.
g

26. An American will typically eat the equivalent of 28 pigs in his or her
lifetime.
a

27. Nearly 27 million Americans eat at McDonald'sper day.
d

28. Hippocrates notes that dogs were somewhat indigestible while boiled
puppy was an appropriate food for invalids. Galen later notes that the
meat of a young castrated dog is the best.
a

29. In the Philippines, it is considered good luck if a coconut is cleanly split
open without jagged edges.
d

30. Eating eggs is taboo in some areas of Africa because eggs are thought to make childbirth more
difficult and to excite children.
d

-- Posted December 6, 2008
References
a
Dalby, Andrew. 2003. Food in the Ancient World from A to Z. New York, NY: Routledge.
b
Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. 2002. Near a Thousand Tables: A History of Food. New York, NY: The
Free Press.
c
Jango-Cohen, Judith. 2006. The History of Food. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books.
d
Kittler, Pamela Goyan and Kathryn P. Sucher. 1998. Food and Culture in America: A Nutrition
Handbook. 2
nd
Ed. Albany, NY: West Publishing Company.



Lemon juice was thought to dissolve
ingested fish bones



Corn always has even number of
rows
e
Lacey, Richard W. 1994. Hard to Swallow: A Brief History of Food. New York, NY: Cambridge University
Press.
f
Lyman, Bernard. 1989. A Psychology of Food: More than a Matter of Taste. New York, NY: Van
Nostrand Reinhold Company.
g
Toussaint-Samat, Maguelonne. 1993. A History of Food. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers.
h
Weird, True, Freaky News.com AU. 2007. "French Chef Spit Roasts 550kg Camel for 15 Hours."
November 19, 2007. Accessed: November 26, 2008.
i
Wilson, Bee. "It Figgers." Newstatesman. October 9, 2000. Accessed: December 4, 2008.