Assorted Food Facts: Yummy Food Thoughts for the Brain
November 5th, 2009
Want to be a real foodie? Try munching on these facts, and stock up on your food knowledge:
• Olive oil is extracted from ripe, green olives whose trees mature for a long time (about 35 years). That is why olive oil is more expensive than other kinds of cooking oil. When buying olive oil, look for color and clarity, and judge its aroma.
• “Extra virgin olive oil” is colored yellowish green, and is extracted from the very first pressing of mature olives. “Virgin olive oil” comes from subsequent pressings, and has less of the aroma, and richness of the extra virgin variety.
• Ginger is one of the world’s oldest spices. It was so precious in the ancient times that Romans taxed it along with tobacco and alcohol.
• The cooking term sauté is actually of French origin, and it literally means “to jump”. True enough, sautéing involves cooking in a small amount of oil, and letting the ingredients jump around.
• Aliophobics, or people who fear garlic, once sued a restaurant in the United States for using too much garlic. Of course, garlic lovers came to the rescue, and rallied behind their favorite ingredient. The result? The court ruled that the odor of garlic is “beneficial to civilization”.
• Papayas contain the enzyme papain, which is a natural meat tenderizer. It is also good as a whitening agent, so good in fact that many soaps contain amounts of it.
• Chestnuts are traditional holiday treats in the Philippines. In France, chestnuts are made into Marrons Glacées by glazing them in sugar.
• Marinating with acid denatures the proteins in meat, resulting in a softer, and better texture. Acidic ingredients that are commonly used in marinades are vinegar, wine, lemon juice, and tomato sauce.
• Know the difference between black and white pepper? White pepper is produced by completely taking out the husk of the pepper berries, which results in its milder taste.
• The basic ingredients in pizza represented the Italian flag – red from tomato sauce, white from cheese, and green from basil.
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