61 Fun Food Facts That’ll Leave You Drooling For These Delicacies

Acqua Pazza, an Italian herbed broth that is used to cook seafood, literally translates to “crazy water.”

52. Croissants aren't from France. Though their name is French for "crescent," these flaky pastries actually hail from Vienna, Austria.

53. Italian “wedding soup” comes from the Italian language phrase “minestra maritata” (married soup) which is a reference to the flavor produced by the combination (marriage) of greens and the broth.

54. Pretzels may have originated in 610 AD when an Italian monk folded the dough to resemble arms crossing the chest in prayer, called “pretiola” (little rewards). He would reward children who learned their prayers with them.

55. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC) says it is unacceptable to place ketchup on your hot dog after the age of 18. Mustard, relish, onions, cheese, and chili are acceptable.

According to the USDA, grilled cheese and PBJ are not sandwiches. A sandwich is “a meat or poultry filling between two slices of bread, a bun, or a biscuit.”

57. The cheesecake was a Greek invention and was served at the first Olympic Games.

58. When watermelons are grilled or baked they lose their granular texture and can even be used as a meat substitute, a.k.a. a “watermelon steak.”

59. Authentic Mongolian cuisine is mutton, mutton, and more mutton. (A "Mongolian barbecue" is neither Mongolian nor BBQ). It is so monotonous that one travel author wrote: “in 33 years of international travel [Mongolia] has without question the most pitiful food of any country I have visited.”

60. The kale salad with dressing at McDonald’s has more calories than a Double Big Mac.

Chinese dumplings are called “Peking ravioli” in the Boston area because when Joyce Chen opened her Chinese restaurant in Cambridge she thought it would sound more appealing to the large Italian population in the area.