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4.
The all-time bestselling food items at Costco are rotisserie chicken, bacon, and food court hot dogs.
5.
The cheapest item at Trader Joe’s is bananas. They cost 19 cents each — and the reason why is a little dark.
6.
Trader Joe’s employees use a bell system to communicate with each other because higher-ups didn’t like the way P.A. announcements sounded at other grocery stores.
It’s not just chili peppers. Chili powder also typically includes spices like cumin, onion powder, and oregano — plus garlic and salt.
14.
McDonald’s fries were cooked in beef fat until 1990.
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@hungrylittlefoodies / instagram.com
But in an effort to make them seem healthier, they’re now cooked in vegetable oil.
15.
And in France, McDonald’s offers thick-cut potato wedges — in addition to the regular fries.
Marie Telling / BuzzFeed
You get to pick between the two for your side, and they’re served with a “creamy deluxe” sauce. It’s kind of like a creamier mayo with chives in it.
Read more: Here’s How French McDonald’s Are Different From American Ones
16.
Jam is made with fruit — and jelly is made with fruit juice.
Jam is made with fruit, sugar, and often pectin (a thickener). Jelly is made with fruit juice, sugar, and pectin. Another way to remember the difference? Jam is chunky (it’ll have mashed fruit); jelly is smooth.
Food Network
With some coloring and flavoring added.
Food Network
With some coloring and flavoring added.
18.
Pomegranates grow on trees.
Viewstock / Getty Images
They’re so big that I think at first I assumed they… grew underground?? IDK IDK.
19.
Asparagus grows straight outta the ground.
Sean Gallup / Getty Images
All varieties: green, white, purple.
20.
On Sesame Street, Cookie Monster’s cookies are actually painted rice cakes.
PBS
That’s because the grease from the chocolate and oil in real cookies could damage the puppets.
21.
Rhubarb leaves are poisonous in large doses.
Oli Scarff / Getty Images
The raw leaves contain oxalic acid, among other things. And if you eat a ton of them, it can be lethal.
22.
Raw cashew shells are poisonous too.
Issouf Sanogo / Getty Images
They contain urushiol, which is toxic. To remove it, cashews go through an extensive roasting or steaming process before they’re packaged and sold.
23.
The same guy invented Cool Whip, Pop Rocks, and Tang.
Minnesotan William A. Mitchell = a busy dude!
24.
A chipotle pepper is just a dried and smoked jalapeño.
And an ancho chile is a dried and smoked poblano.
25.
European chocolate generally tastes better than U.S. chocolate because it’s required by law to have more milk fats and dry milk solids.
Sopa Images / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett
In Europe, chocolate is required to have a minimum of at least 14% dry milk solids. In the U.S., the minimum is 12%. European chocolate is also slightly richer because it’s required to have at least 3.5% milk fat. In the US, the minimum is 3.39%.
Read more: I Just Learned Why European Chocolate Tastes So Different Than American Chocolate
26.
Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish have the same base.
Sour Patch Kids are just pumped into a different mold and finished with a sour coating.
27.
Mahogany cake was America’s first chocolate cake — though it’s been largely forgotten since.
Joe Lingeman / Via thekitchn.com
Dating back to the 1800s, it’s America’s first chocolate cake on record. Early versions used ermine frosting, a whipped buttercream that was the icing of choice in the US before cream cheese frosting came along.
29.
Too much nutmeg can get you high.
It contains myristicin, a compound that has hallucinatory qualities — and bad side effects — if ingested in very large doses. (Don’t try it, obvs.)
30.
Paprika is made of ground up red bell peppers.
To make paprika, they’re chopped, dried, and ground. And while they’re typically red bell peppers, paprika can be made from other types of peppers too — depending on the variety. (Smoked, sweet, etc.) Watch a video of how to make homemade paprika here.
The filling of Reese’s Pieces has a slightly different formula and consistency. Also, the color distribution of the Pieces is preset: A bag or box will be approximately 50% orange, 25% brown, and 25% yellow.
The filling of Reese’s Pieces has a slightly different formula and consistency. Also, the color distribution of the Pieces is preset: A bag or box will be approximately 50% orange, 25% brown, and 25% yellow.
32.
A few years ago, Nabisco redesigned its famous animal crackers box after PETA flagged it.
Nabisco / PETA
The new design uncages the animals and puts them in the wild.
33.
Pineapples can take two to three years to grow.
Getty Images
It’s a looong process. The next time you grab one at the grocery store, think about how far the thing has come!
34.
It can take at least three years for a vanilla plant to produce its first vanilla bean.
Tony Karumba / Getty Images
Real vanilla is incredibly labor-intensive to produce. When the flowers finally do bloom, they stay open for only one day and have to be pollinated within 12 hours.
35.
Jelly Belly is one of the few jelly bean companies that flavors both the inside *and* the outside of the bean.
This results in a more intense flavor — because jelly beans are typically only flavored on one or the other. Also, of the 100+ flavors that Jelly Belly makes, the most popular include: Very Cherry, Licorice, Buttered Popcorn, and Sizzling Cinnamon.
This results in a more intense flavor — because jelly beans are typically only flavored on one or the other. Also, of the 100+ flavors that Jelly Belly makes, the most popular include: Very Cherry, Licorice, Buttered Popcorn, and Sizzling Cinnamon.
36.
Ritter chocolate bars were invented to be square so they could fit into jacket pockets without breaking.
Michelle No / BuzzFeed
And last year, Ritter won a German lawsuit allowing it to be the only major chocolate brand to sell a square bar rather than a rectangular one.
37.
Brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and kohlrabi all come from the same plant.
Karaidel / Getty Images
Brassica oleracea was selectively bred over hundreds of years to create dozens of very different veggies.
38.
One of the most bizarre food-related disasters in history was the Great Molasses Flood in Boston.
In 1919, a storage tank that contained more than 2 million gallons of molasses exploded. It flooded Boston streets, crushed buildings, and killed 21 people and injured 150 more.
39.
Out of all the popular alcoholic drinks, red wine makes you the sleepiest.
Jon Premosch / Buzzfeed
That’s according to a study by British Medical Journal, which surveyed 29,000 people about how they felt (energized, relaxed, sexy, confident, tired, aggressive, etc) after drinking various types of alcohol.
40.
Tootsie Rolls start out as gigantic 13-pound logs that are then shaped down to their mini size.
Cooking Channel
And they’re still made using their original recipe from 1896.
What’s the most interesting food fact you know? Share in the comments!
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