Food Facts for Kids
Tasty facts about the food we eat
White truffles from Italy are the world's most expensive mushroom, sometimes selling for over £7,000 per kilogram. They grow underground near tree roots, can only be found by trained pigs or dogs, and cannot be farmed.
When you eat something spicy, your brain releases endorphins — the same feel-good chemicals released during exercise. This is why some people actually enjoy the burning sensation of hot food.
Cutting an onion releases a sulphur compound that reacts with the moisture in your eyes to form a mild acid. Your eyes water to wash out the irritant. Chilling onions before cutting reduces how much of the compound is released.
Lima beans are named after Lima, the capital of Peru, where they were grown for thousands of years before being introduced to the rest of the world. Some wild varieties still contain enough cyanide to be toxic if eaten raw.
Instant ramen noodles were invented by Momofuku Ando in Japan in 1958. He created them to solve post-war food shortages, and they became so popular that in a 2000 survey, the Japanese voted instant ramen as the greatest Japanese invention of the 20th century.
Sesame is one of the oldest oilseed crops known to humans, cultivated for over 5,000 years. Ancient Egyptians used sesame seed oil for cooking and medicine, and it was traded across Asia and the Middle East.
The juicy red seeds inside a pomegranate are called arils, and a single fruit can contain up to 1,400 of them. In ancient Greek mythology, pomegranates symbolised the seasons — eating them kept Persephone bound to the underworld for part of each year.
There are over 600 recorded pasta shapes in Italy, each designed with a specific purpose. Ridged shapes like rigatoni trap chunky sauces, while long thin shapes like spaghetti pair best with oil-based or smooth sauces.
Turmeric has been used as medicine and spice for over 4,000 years. The compound that gives it its bright yellow colour — curcumin — is still studied by scientists for its potential anti-inflammatory properties.
The original ketchup was not made from tomatoes. The word comes from a Chinese fish sauce, and early British versions were made from mushrooms, walnuts, or oysters. Tomato ketchup only became popular in America in the 1800s.