I’m Just Curious: Facts about food

by Debbie Walker

I am sure there are facts about some foods that I would rather not know about. The ones that follow weren’t too bad:

There was a time when I would not ask what a buffalo wing was. I was afraid of finding out! You see I have lived a sheltered life. Little did I know the dish was invented in the 1960s? It was chicken! A restaurant owner fried some chicken wings and served them with hot sauce and bleu cheese for dipping. They were called Buffalo wings because the restaurant was in Buffalo, New York.

Most people know honey is the only food that never spoils. It has been said honey buried in an Egyptian tomb, after thousands of years, still tasted sweet.

Chocolate chip cookies started out as Toll House cookies because they were made in a Massachusetts Inn called Toll House. One of the owners ran out of nuts so they decided to add pieces chipped from a chocolate bar. Ta-Da – chocolate chip cookies!

Hot dogs have quite a history. They started as frankfurters because they started out in Frankfurt, Germany, in the Middle Ages. Next they were known as hot dachshund sausage; of course, people were reminded of long bodied pooches. They are now known as hot dogs. Whatever the name they are pretty popular. I’ll have relish with mine!

As we all know popcorn explodes before it becomes edible. Kernels of popcorn contain a small amount of water which turns to steam when heated. The steam can’t escape from a kernel’s hard shell. So pressure builds inside the kernel until – pop – it explodes! Would you like more butter!

I like this one about Swiss cheese; not sure I will ever eat it again though. With all the holes it looks like it was hit by bird shot! Those holes are actually caused by bacteria. This kind of bacteria isn’t harmful. It helps ripen the flavor of the cheese. As cheese ripens, the bacteria give off gases that make bubbles, creating the holes in Swiss cheese. I wonder how much of the charge by the pound includes the holes………’just saying.’

Okay, that is enough about food, not because it is making me hungry. It’s because I am wondering what else I don’t know about food and don’t want to know!

If you have ever been in a vehicle accident maybe you will understand my feelings about the whole mess. First, I am aggravated that my favorite auto was “totaled” and the insurance company doesn’t figure value quite like I do. Second, I am aggravated because the person at fault evidently figured he was in more of a hurry then the rest of us on the same road. He pulled out into our lane….. Guess what. His “hurrying” cost him a lot more time than the waiting he might have experienced behind that car. As for us, we went on quite a roller coaster ride what with going up on the snow banks and just missing stationery mail boxes. So, I am just curious if you will be conscious of your own patience or lack of…

Reach me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com for all your questions or comments. Thanks for reading and don’t forget we are on line too.