Trivia and fun facts about food (summary)
When it comes to things absolutely essential for living, food tops the list, right?
Eating three meals a day, paying attention to your health while also enjoying your favorites from time to time—that’s important.
In this article, we’ll introduce trivia and fun facts about food!
We’ve gathered a variety of tidbits, from surprising stories about everyday foods to the meanings behind food names.
Whether you love eating or have lots of likes and dislikes, let’s learn more about food through quizzes and make mealtimes even more enjoyable!
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Trivia & Fun Facts About Food (11–20)
The character “腐” in tofu means “soft.”
Ingredients for miso soup and chilled tofu—aren’t these indispensable to the Japanese? Because the character “腐” in tofu can give a negative impression (as it means “rot”), tofu is often written in hiragana or katakana.
However, the character 腐 here doesn’t mean something has gone bad; it simply conveys the sense of softness.
It’s said to derive from Chinese, referring to something soft that results when a liquid gathers and solidifies.
Considering this meaning, the term “soft bean” feels like a perfect fit.
Andes melons have nothing to do with the Andes region.
When people hear the name “Andes Melon,” they tend to assume it’s a melon eaten in the Andes, but that’s actually not the case.
This melon is a variety released by Sakata Seed in 1977.
Compared to high-end muskmelons, it has more consistent quality, is less prone to disease, and is inexpensive.
The real origin of the name comes from the phrase “anshin desu” (meaning “it’s reassuring”): reassuring to grow, reassuring to sell, and reassuring to buy.
“Anshin desu melon” was shortened, which coincidentally sounds like “Andes.” The name has a bit of a Showa-era vibe, doesn’t it? This makes me want to look into the origins of other variety names as well.
The pasta under the bento side dishes is there to keep them from shifting.
The pasta placed under the side dishes in a bento is there to keep things from shifting.
It actually serves several other purposes, too.
First, it absorbs excess oil from the food; it also improves the presentation and boosts the overall volume.
What’s more, the pasta can prevent fried items from touching the container and causing it to melt.
Bento pasta doesn’t usually get much attention, but it turns out to be pretty important.
You might think, “Wouldn’t lettuce work just as well?” but pasta keeps longer, so it’s more practical.
In 17th-century Turkey, drinking coffee was punishable by death.
In 17th-century Turkey, drinking coffee in public was strictly prohibited, and violators could face severe punishments, including the death penalty.
Murad IV, the ruler when Turkey was still known as the Ottoman Empire, disliked coffee and reportedly set examples by destroying coffeehouses; he is said to have imposed extreme penalties such as forty lashes for drinking one cup and having offenders sewn into a sack and thrown into the sea for drinking two.
People continued to drink coffee in secret and even opened cafés, making enforcement extremely difficult, and over time the ban on coffee was gradually relaxed.
Today, Turkish coffee is inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list and is an important part of Turkey’s culture.
Yuzu kosho doesn’t contain pepper.
Yuzu kosho is loved by many people.
Do you know how it’s made? Yuzu kosho is a seasoning made by blending yuzu peel into a paste and mixing it with green chili peppers and salt, then letting it mature.
In other words, it doesn’t actually contain black pepper.
So why is it called “kosho”? That’s because in Kyushu, where it originated, chili peppers are traditionally called “kosho.” By the way, its green color comes from using green chili peppers; if you use red chili peppers, it turns out red.
Next time you go to the supermarket, check the shelves and take a look.
The pineapple in sweet-and-sour pork is included to improve its appearance.
It’s said that sweet-and-sour pork with pineapple was devised in the United States and introduced to Japan after 1945.
As for why pineapple was added, some say it’s included to improve the dish’s appearance, but there are other theories.
One is that enzymes in pineapple break down proteins and tenderize the meat; another is that the citric acid in pineapple adds a bright accent.
Which theory do you think is correct?
The mold on bread extends invisible mycelium throughout the entire loaf.
During damp, muggy seasons or when bread bought from a store is left at room temperature for a while, you may find mold growing on it.
Some households may have dealt with this in the past by cutting off the moldy parts and eating the rest.
In reality, mold spreads by sending out thread-like filaments that aren’t visible to the naked eye.
What you can see as mold is actually a mass of these fine threads.
By the time mold is visible, it has already spread throughout the surrounding area.
It’s best to avoid removing the mold and eating the rest.
Persimmons contain a very large amount of a certain nutrient. What is it?
- Vitamin C
- Calcium
- iron (dietary iron / iron content)
See the answer
Vitamin C
Persimmons contain a lot of vitamin C. Just one persimmon can provide almost the entire daily requirement of vitamin C. They even have more than mandarins, making them useful for preventing colds and caring for your skin. Let’s get plenty of vitamin C and build a healthy body.
The number of kernels on corn is even.
In summer, you often see single ears of corn sold at supermarkets and greengrocers.
Boiled or grilled, they’re one of the delicious tastes of the season.
Did you know that corn kernels always come in even numbers? When a silk (the female part) successfully catches pollen and is fertilized, the kernel gradually grows.
During this growth process, each kernel is said to split into two.
As a result, even kernels that started as an odd number split into two, so the total number of kernels is always even.
Because the kernels are paired, the rows on an ear of corn are also even.
Why can gold leaf be eaten?
Gold leaf adds a touch of luxury to all kinds of foods.
You may have wondered why it’s edible.
Records show that gold leaf was used as a medicine as far back as the Nara period, and the tradition of using it in cuisine has a long history.
Originally, heavy, rigid gold is thinned by master artisans using traditional techniques to as fine as one ten-thousandth of a millimeter, becoming so delicate it can flutter with a breath.
Gold leaf is also one of the food additives approved by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
Because gold does not dissolve in anything and passes through the body without being absorbed, it can be safely eaten by everyone from children to the elderly.
Let’s cherish this beautiful Japanese tradition that has been handed down through the generations.