Food Facts for Kids
Tasty facts about the food we eat
Pepper X holds the record as the world's hottest chilli, measuring over 2.69 million Scoville Heat Units — roughly 500 times hotter than a jalapeno.
Cheese contains casomorphins, compounds that trigger the same reward centres in the brain as some addictive substances, which may explain why many people find it so hard to resist.
A watermelon is about 92 per cent water, which is why it is so refreshing on a hot day. Cucumbers are even higher at 96 per cent.
The popular story that Marco Polo brought pasta from China to Italy is a myth. Italians were already eating forms of pasta centuries before Polo's travels.
Like humans, mushrooms can produce vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. Placing shop-bought mushrooms in the sun for 30 minutes can significantly boost their vitamin D content.
Rice is the staple food for more than half the world's population. It has been cultivated for over 9,000 years, making it one of the oldest farmed crops.
A single kiwifruit contains more vitamin C than an orange of the same size. Vitamin C helps your body fight off colds and repair tissues.
Casu marzu from Sardinia, Italy, is a cheese that is intentionally infested with live insect larvae. It is considered a delicacy but has been banned by the European Union.
Potatoes became the first vegetable to be grown in space when NASA cultivated them aboard a space shuttle in 1995.
Bread is one of the oldest prepared foods in human history. Archaeologists have found charred bread remains dating back over 14,000 years.