51Tomato sauce
Tomato sauce is not Italian at all but Mexican. The first tomato sauces were already being sold in the markets of Tenochtitlan when Spaniards arrived and had many of the same ingredients (tomatoes, bell peppers, chilies) that would later define Italian tomato pasta sauces 200 years later.
52. The Japanese dish of Oyakodon which is made with chicken and eggs translates to “parent and child rice bowl.”
53. Casu Marzu is a delicacy in Sardinia. It is a cheese infected with live maggots. Diners spread it on flatbread then hold their hands above the sandwich while eating it because the maggots can leap up to 6 inches when disturbed.
54. There are more kangaroos in Australia than there are people, at 50 million compared to 25 million, and that Australians are encouraged to eat more kangaroo meat as a way of controlling the growing numbers. There even exists “kangatarianism” in Australia, which is essentially a vegetarian diet that excludes all meat except kangaroo meat on environmental and ethical grounds.
55. A one-pound onion has 191 calories. A Blooming Onion from Outback Steakhouse has 1954 calories.
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56Kraft Dinner
Kraft Dinner (Mac and Cheese) is a Canadian national dish. It is the most popular grocery item in the country.
57. Acqua Pazza, an Italian herbed broth that is used to cook seafood, literally translates to “crazy water.”
58. Croissants aren't from France. Though their name is French for "crescent," these flaky pastries actually hail from Vienna, Austria.
59. 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.
60. 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.
61Sausage Council
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.
62. 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.”
63. The cheesecake was a Greek invention and was served at the first Olympic Games.
64. 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.”
65. 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.”
66Kale Salad
The kale salad with dressing at McDonald’s has more calories than a Double Big Mac.
67. 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.
68. Salema porgy is a fish that when eaten causes severe hallucinations lasting for up to 36 hours. It was a party drug during the Roman Empire.
