Indian Curry: Food Trivia

Indian Curry

Monday, August 21, 2006

Food Trivia

Archeologists have found evidence that humans have enjoyed eating apples since 6500 B.C.

Eating about 20 tart cherries a day could reduce inflammatory pain and headache pain

Vanilla is the extract of fermented and dried pods of several species of orchids

The largest item on any menu in the world is probably the roast camel, sometimes served at Bedouin wedding feasts. The camel is stuffed with a sheep's carcass, which is stuffed with chickens, which are stuffed with fish, which are stuffed with eggs.

Soup On Screen: During the epic Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor, a famous line is "The soup is hot, the soup is cold. Antony is alive, Antony is dead."

Rumor has it that curry powder came into existence when a British official who was leaving India ordered his servant to mix up several spices and store them so that he could still enjoy his favorite dishes after returning to England. While curry is most commonly associated with Indian cuisine, it was introduced to China by Indian monks travelling along the famous Silk Route.

Soup Theory: It is thought that chicken soup has natural healing powers for the common cold

Chocolate contains phenyl ethylamine (PEA), a natural substance that is reputed to stimulate the same reaction in the body as falling in love.

The English word "soup" comes from the Middle Ages word "sop," which means a slice of bread over which roast drippings were poured.

There are over 500 different types of bananas. That means if you ate a different kind of banana everyday, it would take almost a year and a half to eat every one

The lip of a red wine glass is sloped inward to capture the aromas of the wine and deliver them to your nose.

The ice cream soda was invented in 1874 by Robert Green. He was serving a mixture of syrup, sweet cream and carbonated water at a celebration in Philadelphia. He ran out of cream and substituted ice cream.

Bananas are about 99.5% fat free

Honey bees visit 50-100 flowers during one honey collecting trip. Bees have been producing honey from flowering plants for at least 10 million years! And maybe even as long as 20 million years

The same chemicals that give tart cherries their color may relieve pain better than aspirin and ibuprofen in humans.

The oldest known recipe is for beer.

The Egyptians believed that the god of agriculture, Osiris, taught humans how to make beer

Before the thermometer was invented the brewers would dip one of their thumbs or fingers into the mix to see if it was the right temperature for adding yeast. So, the thumb in the beer mix is where we get the phrase, "rule of thumb".