50 Fascinating Food Facts That’ll Make You Hungry – Part 2

In 19th-Century America, popcorn was eaten with milk and sweetener as a breakfast cereal.

27. There is a Taiwanese dish called "Yin Yang fish". It consists of a whole fried fish whose head remains alive. The body is dipped into frying oil, while its head is protected. The fish is covered in sauce and served, with its mouth continuing to gasp, especially when irritated by the sauce.

28. In Philippines, Balut is a fertilized developing duck egg embryo which is commonly sold as street food. The egg is incubated and is usually about a week short of hatching. It was once considered a delicacy but is now as common as ice cream on a hot day.

29. A traditional Roman dish called La Pajata is made with the unemptied intestines of an unweaned week old calf. They are often served with tomato sauce and rigatoni.

30. Mulukhiyah is Egypt’s national dish. In its cooking instructions, it says that the oil has to be heated until it starts sizzling, to create a characteristic sound which people traditionally respond to with the shahka (Arabic: grasp for breath in fear or surprise).

A possible inspiration for the dessert Baklava might have been the unfortunately named "placenta cake," an ancient Roman dish with several layers of dough, cheese, honey, and bay leaves.

32. There is a Japanese dish called Jingisukan ("Genghis Khan") which is lamb cooked on a helmet-shaped grill, as it is believed that Mongolian soldiers used to use their helmets to cook their food.

33. The German currywurst was created by a woman named Herta Heuwer in 1949. She obtained ketchup and curry powder from British soldiers in Germany and started selling her dish in the district of Charlottenburg, Berlin.

34. Candy Cigarettes were introduced in the late 19th century. They were wrapped in paper and packaged to resemble cigarettes. Some contained powdered sugar, allowing users to blow and produce clouds of sugar, imitating smoke. Candy cigarettes are currently banned in many countries including the United Kingdom.

35. Nutraloaf is a meatloaf found in prisons that is so bland that a court ruled that serving it to misbehaving prisoners is a "cruel and unusual punishment."

Cheetos are designed specifically to melt in your mouth, tricking your brain into thinking they don't contain calories, causing you to constantly crave more.

37. The cupcakes are named as such, not because of their shape, but because they are made using ingredient increments of 1 Cup measurements.

38. In France, a straight croissant (not curved) means it is made with 100% butter, a sign of high quality.

39. Mayonnaise is commonly used topically in hospitals to remove tar from burn victims' skin.

40. Corned beef and cabbage is a rare dish in Ireland and never eaten on St. Patrick's Day.

There is an American dish called Country Captain which is an Americanised form of an Anglicised form of an Indian chicken curry dish.

42. Judd mat Gaardebounen, the national dish of Luxembourg is literally called "Jew with beans". Despite its name, it doesn't actually contain any Jews but rather consists of smoked pork collar with broad beans, usually served with beer or wine, and boiled potatoes fried in bacon.

43. Naporitan is a popular Japanese pasta dish. It was created by Shigetada Irie, the general Chef of the New Grand Hotel (Hotel New Grand) in Yokohama, when he was inspired by one of the military rations of General Headquarters, which was spaghetti mixed with tomato ketchup.

44. Taco Rice is a Tex-Mex inspired Okinawan dish consisting of taco-flavored hamburger meat on top of white rice along with cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes.

45. Ketchup barely goes bad. It is good two years past its expiration date and then it can go a year in the fridge or a few months at room temperature.

Because of the way bacon was being packaged, layered so as to emphasize the meaty side of the bacon and make it seem less fatty, the federal government intervened in 1974 by enacting strict regulations requiring that a “representative slice” be made visible through a “transparent window.”

47. In the 1870s, margarine, the economical rival to butter, was mandated in New Hampshire to be dyed pink in order to help dairy farmers. Their reasoning was that nobody would buy pink margarine.

48. Most almonds are really poisonous and “eating even a few dozen in one sitting can be fatal.” It is still a mystery how humanity bred almonds safe for consumption.

49. French fries contain nicotine. Members of the nightshade family such as tobacco and potatoes contain nicotine as a natural pesticide.

50. Most Egg Bagels get their distinctive yellow color from food coloring, not egg yolks.