Gelato facts

• Gelato is Italy's regional variant of ice cream.
• Plural: Gelati.
• Gelato is made from milk, sugar and fruit. When you replace the milk with water, you create sorbet.
• Gelato typically contains 4-8 percent butterfat, versus 14 percent for many other ice creams.
• When translated directly, the Italian word gelato means ‘frozen’ or ‘to freeze.’
• Gelato generally has slightly lower sugar content, averaging between 16-22 percent versus approximately 21 percent for most ice creams.
• Unlike other ice creams, which can have an overage of up to 50 percent of air, gelato generally has between 20 percent and 35 percent overage.
• Gelato is served slightly warmer than ice cream. While both gelato and ice cream are served well below the freezing temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, gelato is served 10 to 15 degrees warmer than ice cream.

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Interesting facts about burritos

The term burrito means “little donkey” in Spanish.

In Central and Southern Mexico, burritos are called tacos de harina (flour tacos).

Today burritos are served worldwide in Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants.

The Burrito is especially popular in Ciudad Juarez, in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua where they were invented.

Typically, American style burritos are larger than Mexican ones, and stuffed with more ingredients than the principal meat or vegetable filling.

Chimichanga is a deep-fried burrito that is popular in Southwestern U.S. cuisine, Tex-Mex cuisine, and the Mexican states of Sonora and Sinaloa.

The story about the invention of the burrito is that a man named Juan Mendez used to sell tacos in a street stand of Ciudad Juarez. One day Juan came up with the idea on how to keep the food warm, so he rolled the tacos individually in flour tortilla wraps. Thus means the burrito was invented.

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Garlic facts

Garlic is native to Central Asia.

Garlic is widely used worldwide for its pungent flavor as a seasoning or condiment. 

In ancient times garlic was used as currency.

Garlic is believed to have aphrodisiac properties.

US people consume more than 250 million pounds of garlic annually.

The word garlic comes from Old English garleac, meaning "spear leek".
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Interesting facts about food

FACTS ABOUT FOOD

• In France, people eat approximately 500 million snails per year
• Worcestershire sauce is made from dissolved fish.
• There are about 100,000 bacteria in one liter of drinking water
• Popcorn has been around for 6,000 years.
• Instant coffee has been in existence since the middle of the 18th century
• The Popsicle was invented by an 11 year old.
• The dish chop-suey was created by Chinese immigrants in California
• Honey is the only food that cannot spoil.
• On average, a person eats each year 150 pounds (68 kg) of meat, 290 pounds (131 kg) of milk and cream, 35 pounds (16 kg) of eggs, 48 pounds (22 kg) of chicken, 68 pounds (31 kg ) of bread, 125 pounds (56 kg) of potatoes, and 80 pounds (36 kg) of fruit.
• Iceberg lettuce is 90 percent water.
• American astronaut John Glenn ate the first meal in space aboard Friendship 7 in 1962.
• The flavor of bubble gum comes from the fusion of vanilla, wintergreen and “cassia,” a form of cinnamon.
• In the U.S. a pound of potato chips costs 200 times more than a pound of potatoes.
• Saffron, made from the dried stamens of cultivated crocus flowers, is the most expensive cooking spice.
• The smaller the chilli pepper, the hotter it is.
• The smaller the size of a berry, the sweeter its taste.

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Vanilla fast facts

vanilla pods

• Vanilla was used by the ancient Aztecs to sweeten chocolate.
• The Aztecs named the vanilla bean "tlilxochitl", or "black flower".
• The Spanish Conquistador Cortez is credited with bringing both vanilla and chocolate back to Spain.
• Etymologically, vanilla derives from the Spanish word "vainilla", little pod.
• The first to cultivate vanilla were the Totonac people.
• Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron.
• Vanilla is grown in such tropical climates as Madagascar, Mexico, Tonga, Indonesia, Uganda, and Comoros.
• Despite its high cost, vanilla is widely used in both commercial and domestic baking, aromatherapy, and perfume manufacture.
• Until the mid-nineteenth century, Mexico was the major producer of vanilla.
• The island of Madagascar is now responsible for 97 percent of the world's vanilla bean production.
• Mexico, once the leading producer of natural vanilla with an annual 500 tons, produced only 10 tons of vanilla in 2006. 
• The most common flavor of ice cream is vanilla. 
• In old medicinal literature, vanilla is described as an aphrodisiac.
• The essential oils of vanilla and vanillin are sometimes used in aromatherapy.

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Facts about dietary fiber

whole grains

• Fiber is divided into 2 basic types - soluble and insoluble.
• Soluble fiber is found in vegetables, fruits, seeds, barley, brown rice, oats, and oat bran.
• Sources of insoluble fiber include: wheat and corn bran, whole grain foods, potato skins, nuts and seeds and flax seed. 
• Insoluble fiber is metabolically inert, absorbing water throughout the digestive system and easing defecation.
• Fiber is found only in plant foods and it is resistant to human digestive enzymes.
• Fiber is one of the 3 types of carbohydrates. The other two types are starch and sugars.
• Colon cancer is rare among people with a diet low in meat and rich in high-fiber foods.
• Fiber speeds up food passage in the digestive tract.
• Fiber-rich foods contain phytochemicals, known to reduce cancerrisks.
• The term "fiber" is something of a misnomer, since many types of so-called dietary fiber are not fibers at all.
• Fiber-rich plants can be eaten directly. Or, alternatively, they can be used to make supplements and fiber-rich processed foods.
• Soluble fiber can help lower cholesterol levels.

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Fast facts about fast food

• A typical fast food meal in America consists of french fries and a hamburger.
• The term "fast food" was recognized in a dictionary by Merriam–Webster in 1951.
• Proportionally, hash browns have more fat and calories than a cheeseburger or Big Mac.
• The American company White Castle, founded by Billy Ingram and Walter Anderson in Wichita, Kansas in 1921, is generally credited with opening the second fast food outlet and first hamburger chain, selling hamburgers for five cents each.
• There are more than 300,000 fast food restaurants (or quick service restaurants) in the United States alone.
• Approximately 2,000,000 U.S. workers are employed in the areas of food preparation and food servicing including fast food in the United States.
• Some well-known fast food restaurant chains: Wendy's, Subway, McDonald's, Taco Bell, KFC, Burger King, Carl's Jr. Pizza Hut, Jack in the Box, Domino's Pizza, Dunkin Donuts.
• Pizza is a common fast food category in the United States.

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Some facts about pizza

• Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese (usually mozzarella) and various toppings depending on the culture.
• National Pizza Month in the United States is October.
• People in the United States eat around 350 slices of pizza each second.
• Three billion pizzas are sold in the United States each year.
• The most popular ethnic food is Italian.
• Children ages 3-11 prefer pizza over all other foods for lunch and dinner.
• The deep-dish pizza was invented in Chicago by pizza entrepreneur Ike Sewell.
• About ninety-three percent of Americans eat at least one pizza every month.
• Some popular pizza toppings in Japan are squid and Mayo Jaga (mayonaise, potato and bacon).
• Modern pizza originated in Napples, Italy.
• The first pizzas were just dough and tomato sauce.
• In 1889 cheese was added to the pizza.
• The first pizzeria in the U.S. was opened in New York City in 1905.
• Pizza is the 2nd most popular takeout food (after chicken).
• Pizza Hut is the largest pizza chain in the world
• Favorite pizza topping: pepperoni.
• Last on the list of favorite toppings: anchovies.

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