Global Gourmet/Facts

Did you know...

In India, consumption of food is regarded as an offering, a Yajna. Thus the stomach is considered to be a homagunda (holy fire) and all the food consumed is an offering to the holy fire.

In Japan, Tea drinking is a fine art and there is an elaborate ceremony about it. Not drinking tea in the right way is considered to be an act of barbarism.

The ancient Egyptians thought onions kept evil spirits away. When they took an oath (made a promise), they placed one hand on an onion.

The custom of throwing rice at weddings goes back to the time when people thought rice, a symbol of health and prosperity, would appease evil spirits so they would not bother the wedding couple.

In Hungary, salt is thrown on the threshold of a new house because it is thought that salt will protect the inhabitants from evil.

Europeans who believed in vampires sprinkled mustard seed on the roof of their homes to keep them away.

In Japan, during the festival of Setsuben, beans are scattered in dark corners and entrances of the home to drive out evil spirits.

For many years, Europeans have used garlic as a charm against the evil eye. Some wore bulbs of garlic around their necks. Others placed wreaths of garlic over their doors for protection.

For special occasions, the Bedouin tribes of Africa would stuff a fish with eggs and put it inside a chicken. The chicken is put inside a sheep, and the sheep is put inside a camel and roasted. Now that's stuffed!

Have you ever wondered what people ate before recorded time? Just like what people eat now, it depended on what plants and animals were available to them. According to archeological evidence, some prehistoric people dug wild onions and radishes and searched for wild squash, cabbage, mushrooms, and water lily seed to eat. They also ate some insects, raw. Certain tasty insects became extinct from being over hunted (or overeaten?).

Bird’s nest soup is an Asian delicacy is made from real bird's nests. In China, a prized food is the soup made from the Asian swift's nest.

In Egypt, breakfast is often bought and eaten at a street stall. Usually it is bread wrapped around assorted fried vegetables: eggplant, beans, tomatoes, and peppers.

The Aborigines of Australia call their native food “bush-tucks.” It includes game meat such as kangaroo, turkey, and goanna, which is a kind of lizard.

According to folklore, pretzels were given to children who knew their prayers. The pretzel shape was supposed to signify arms folded across the chest in prayer.

A favorite spread for sandwiches, peanut butter was created by a doctor as a health food. In Africa, where they were first grown, peanuts are known as groundnuts.

Buffalo wings have nothing to do with bison. They are spicy chicken wings that originated in Buffalo, New York.

The ancient Greeks believed horseradish was worth its weight in gold.

The Uape Indians, who live in the Amazon, mix the ashes of their recently cremated relatives with alcohol, and then all members of the family drink the mix with fond memories of the deceased.

In Madrid, Spain, people count down the last minutes of the old year by popping grapes into their mouths for good luck in the New Year.

According to Scandinavian traditions, if a boy and girl eat from the same loaf of bread, they are bound to fall in love.

According to legend, tea originated in China when tea leaves accidentally blew into a pot of boiling water.

In the southern part of the United States, black-eyed peas are eaten on New Year's Day for good luck.

The Buddhist New Year is celebrated in Tibet with a dish called guthok, which is made of nine special ingredients, including a piece of charcoal. The person who gets the charcoal is said to have an evil heart.

On average, a person will spend about five years eating during their lifetime.

There are more than 2,000 different varieties of cheese in the world.

Black pepper is the most popular spice in the world.

Caffeine is the world's most popular stimulant.

Ears of corn always have an even amount of rows of kernels.

Honey never expires.