BEST OF WEIRD.NET
🧠

Best Food Facts

Top Weird Facts, ranked by Weird.net users. Join free →

  1. #1 🧠 Gelatin comes from collagen Gelatin is made by processing collagen from animal connective tissue into a gelling ingredient. Food Ingredients 0% liked · 1 votes
  2. #2 🧠 Carrots were originally purple Wild carrots cultivated in central Asia centuries ago were typically purple before orange varieties were selectively bred. Food Strange Foods
  3. #3 🧠 Tomatoes were once feared in Europe as poisonous European elites worried tomatoes were toxic in part because acidic juice leached lead from pewter plates. Food History
  4. #4 🧠 Chocolate comes from a fruit that looks like a football Cacao pods are large oblong fruits that grow directly off the trunks and main branches of the cacao tree. Food Strange Foods
  5. #5 🧠 Pasta shapes are designed for specific sauces Italian culinary tradition pairs different pasta shapes with sauces designed to cling to their grooves and surfaces. Food Strange Foods
  6. #6 🧠 Cheese was discovered when milk was carried in animal-stomach pouches Early travelers reportedly stored milk in stomach pouches whose enzymes turned the milk into curds and whey. Food History
  7. #7 🧠 The first soft drink to go viral was Pemberton's coca syrup John Pemberton's Coca-Cola began as a medicinal syrup in 1880s Atlanta before becoming a global beverage. Food History
  8. #8 🧠 Nutmeg in large doses is mildly psychoactive A spice common in baking, nutmeg contains compounds that can have hallucinogenic effects when consumed in large quantities. Food Strange Foods
  9. #9 🧠 Sushi originally referred to a preservation method The earliest sushi, narezushi, used fermented rice to preserve fish; the modern fresh-fish version is more recent. Food History
  10. #10 🧠 Almonds are seeds, not nuts Botanically, an almond is the seed of a drupe fruit, related to peaches and plums, rather than a true tree nut. Food Strange Foods
  11. #11 🧠 Some cheeses are washed as they age Washed-rind cheeses are repeatedly brushed with brine, beer, wine, or spirits to encourage pungent microbes. Food Fermentation
  12. #12 🧠 Pink peppercorns are often not true pepper Many pink peppercorns come from trees related to cashews rather than the black pepper vine. Food Ingredients
  13. #13 🧠 Black pepper starts as a berry Peppercorns are dried fruits from a climbing vine, processed at different stages for different colors. Food Ingredients
  14. #14 🧠 Capers are pickled flower buds Capers are unopened flower buds, usually pickled in brine or vinegar for their sharp flavor. Food Ingredients
  15. #15 🧠 Cloves are dried flower buds Cloves are aromatic flower buds harvested from a tropical evergreen tree. Food Ingredients
  16. #16 🧠 Cinnamon is tree bark Cinnamon sticks are curled strips of inner bark from trees in the Cinnamomum genus. Food Ingredients
  17. #17 🧠 Almonds are seeds inside drupes An almond is the edible seed inside a fruit related to peaches and apricots. Food Botany
  18. #18 🧠 Pine nuts are seeds from pine cones Pine nuts come from the seeds of certain pine trees, not from true botanical nuts. Food Ingredients
  19. #19 🧠 Coconut water is liquid endosperm The clear liquid inside a young coconut helps nourish the developing seed. Food Botany
  20. #20 🧠 Nori is dried seaweed The sheets wrapped around sushi are made from edible seaweed that is shredded, pressed, and dried. Food Ingredients
  21. #21 🧠 Agar comes from red algae Agar is a plant-based gelling material extracted from red algae and used in food and laboratories. Food Ingredients
  22. #22 🧠 Seaweed can make ice cream smoother Carrageenan from red seaweed is used as a thickener and stabilizer in some dairy products. Food Ingredients
  23. #23 🧠 Maple syrup is concentrated tree sap Maple syrup is made by boiling sap until its sugars and flavors concentrate. Food Ingredients
  24. #24 🧠 Truffles depend on tree roots Truffles grow in partnership with tree roots and rely on animals to dig them up and spread spores. Food Fungi
  25. #25 🧠 Earl Grey is scented with bergamot Earl Grey tea gets its signature citrus aroma from oil of bergamot. Food Drinks
  26. #26 🧠 Green, black, and white tea come from one plant Processing differences turn Camellia sinensis leaves into many styles of tea. Food Drinks
  27. #27 🧠 Coffee beans are seeds of coffee cherries The roasted coffee bean is the seed inside a small fruit often called a coffee cherry. Food Ingredients
  28. #28 🧠 Peppers are fruits in botany Bell peppers and chilies develop from flowers and contain seeds, so botanically they are fruits. Food Botany
  29. #29 🧠 Brussels sprouts grow on tall stalks Brussels sprouts form as buds along a thick upright stem rather than growing like tiny cabbages in soil. Food Botany
  30. #30 🧠 Broccoli, cabbage, and kale are one species Many familiar vegetables are cultivated forms of Brassica oleracea selected for different plant parts. Food Botany

Want personalized picks?

These are global rankings. Sign up to see what your Taste Twins recommend — usually wildly different from the global top.

Create free account → Take a 60-second taste quiz first