Food Facts for Kids
Tasty facts about the food we eat
Watermelons are actually classified as a vegetable in some countries and are related to cucumbers, pumpkins, and squash. They belong to the Cucurbitaceae family.
Crisps were allegedly invented in 1853 by chef George Crum, who was annoyed by a customer repeatedly complaining that his fried potatoes were too thick. He sliced them paper-thin and fried them crispy — and the customer loved them!
Almonds are closely related to peaches, plums, and cherries. They all belong to the same plant family, Rosaceae, and the almond itself is actually the seed inside the fruit's stone.
Garlic has been used as medicine for over 5,000 years. Ancient Egyptians gave it to pyramid workers to keep them strong, and it was used to treat infections long before modern antibiotics existed.
Maize (corn) is grown on every continent except Antarctica. It is one of the world's most important crops and is used to make everything from food and animal feed to fuel and plastic.
Oranges are not a naturally occurring fruit — they are an ancient hybrid of the pomelo and the mandarin. They were created by humans through selective breeding thousands of years ago.
Bread has been baked for at least 14,000 years. Ancient Egyptians were among the first to use yeast to make bread rise, and they used it as currency to pay workers.
The heat in chilli peppers is measured using Scoville Heat Units (SHU). A bell pepper scores zero, a jalapeño scores around 5,000, and the Carolina Reaper — the world's hottest pepper — can score over 2 million!
Raisins are simply grapes that have been dried in the sun or a food dehydrator. It takes about four pounds of fresh grapes to make just one pound of raisins.
About 95% of the 'wasabi' served in restaurants outside Japan is not real wasabi — it is actually horseradish mixed with green food colouring and mustard. Real wasabi is extremely rare and expensive.