A lot of people don’t exactly know what they’re doing in the kitchen. They might be able to follow a recipe or make a few simple dishes that require minimal effort, but truly understanding ingredients and how to make a dish from scratch is an art that takes practice. So if you are interested in leveling up your culinary skills, you’ve come to the right place, pandas!
Foodies on Threads have recently been revealing the most surprising facts they know about food and cooking. From information about product labels in stores to facts about how certain spices end up on our tables, we hope that this list teaches you something new. Enjoy scrolling through these fun facts, and be sure to upvote the ones that you’ll keep in mind when it’s time to make dinner!
#1
Cheese that i used to make as a kid on a plate in the microwave hit way harder than majority of 5 star restaurant food.
Image source: ravinderpelia, Kemal Can
#2
Paprika is just dried red bell peppers.
Image source: mandspands_, Bonaventure Fernandez
#3
Sushi grade fish is not a regulated term and essentially means nothing. It’s just a marketing tactic.
Image source: amburlington, cottonbro studio
#4
Figs aren’t vegan.
Extra info:
Certain figs are not considered vegan by strict standards because their pollination requires a female fig wasp to enter the fruit, get trapped, pass away inside, and have her body digested by the fig’s enzymes.
Image source: theonefifi, Büşra İnce
#5
Rice is no longer good and should be tossed after 2 hours due to the bacteria that cannot be destroyed with reheating. Of course you can refrigerate within 2 hours and then it will be good for a few days.
Image source: jessicaalmaflores, Tuğba
#6
Devilled eggs, at their simplest, are eggs, mixed with eggs and oil and stuffed in eggs.
Image source: sciolistic.gowk, frank minjarez
#7
Breakfast is not the most important meal of the day. In 1944, General Foods coined the phrase simply to sell more of its Grape Nuts cereal.
Image source: thekeithmckenzie, Getty Images
#8
Ginger makes lemon more lemony. Add sour cream to cake to make it moister. I use mayo on grilled cheese instead of butter.
Image source: some1stilllovesyou, Alesia Kozik
#9
Sugar free tic tacs are 95% sugar, but can be labeled sugar free because they have less than 1 gram of sugar per serving.
Image source: _p.m.e, Elena Ignatenko
#10
Add some squares of dark chocolate to your tomato sauce and the flavor hits a completely different level!
Likewise add a tsp of instant coffee to your brownie batter…same thing!
Image source: ehtrenchf, alleksana
#11
Letting a steak sit for a few minutes after cooking makes it juicier.
Image source: swiftmoonphoto, Vui Nguyen
#12
Adding a pinch of salt to chocolate milk is a near-illegal level up.
Image source: thegreatergoogs, Castorly Stock
#13
Cinnamon being made from tree bark will never not feel weird.
Image source: itsmelightskin, Maryam Sicard
#14
The way asparagus grows looks and feels like someone is pranking me about the way asparagus grows.
Image source: wtfrnchtoast
#15
Jalapeños have more Vitamin C than oranges.
Image source: capricee_14, Judith Browne
#16
There’s this thing called Perpetual Stew where you start a giant pot of stew and keep adding to it as you’re serving it so it never runs dry. Apparently, there has been a pot going somewhere in Europe for near 500 years.
Image source: klln.me.smalls, CX LEE
#17
Restaurants use 100x more butter and sugar then you could ever imagine.
Image source: notmadaboutitpodcast, Natalie Behn
#18
You should thaw meat in the fridge not in your sink or on the counter.
Image source: judyleshaun_thelionqing, Mike Jones
#19
People who say they can make French onion soup in 30 minutes are lying.
Image source: denouxsupperclub, Sara Free
#20
Well apparently the red liquid seeping from seemingly undercooked flesh ISN’T blood.
Image source: thebrojackson, Nadin Sh
#21
Biscuits and Gravy is just really wet flour served on really dry flour.
Image source: could_i_be_anymore_in_love, Tejasvi Maheshwari
#22
You aren’t allergic to MSG. That’s all junk science. It is safe to eat in moderation for almost everyone.
Image source: joedelta187, Patrycja Jadach
#23
All sushi served in the US is frozen and thawed. It’s a regulation to reduce parasites. This might not apply to gas station sushi
Image source: jamflaszlo, JSB Co.
#24
Raw cookie dough is dangerous because of the raw flour, not the raw egg
Image source: jenexnyc, Giulia Squillace
#25
Grenadine is pomegranate juice, not cherry.
Image source: nikki.forbes, Shardar Tarikul Islam
#26
Just the way brussel sprouts grow.
Image source: heylaurajayne, Rosalie Gdy
#27
Meal times & meals (like oatmeal for breakfast, sandwich for lunch) are a social construct. There are no rules as to what time or what food you break your fast with.
Image source: imposterskitchen, Kunal Lakhotia
#28
If you cook onions with a tiny bit of baking soda, they completely dissolve into the consistency of jelly within minutes and it is BRIGHT yellow. Like chicken-instant-ramen yellow. I love doing this and then making an omelette—it’s so oniony and good.
Image source: spicyarianaart, Kelsey Todd
#29
Emulsifing a vinegar and an oil together does in fact make them one lmao
Image source: xepicrobx, Ron Lach
#30
In the US you can label something as organic and it only needs to be 95% organic.
Image source: amburlington, Paul Einerhand
#31
If you have a severe cockroach allergy you cannot drink pre ground coffee.
Image source: lacy.with.a.y, Pixabay
#32
Vanilla comes from orchids.
Image source: annemy3sons_, Mirek Kielar
#33
Adding baking soda to your coffee either to the grounds or into your cup helps neutralize the acid and tones the bitterness down so you need less cream and sugar. The big help though is that will cause less GERD
Image source: cintyber1, Karolina Grabowska www.kaboompics.com
#34
Most people that say they dislike rice do not know how to cook it properly.
Image source: maisieelizabeth_, makafood
#35
Listeria occurs in a higher rate in bagged salad than lunch meat, but people don’t talk about that with pregnant women 🤷🏼♀️
Image source: bri_lovescats, Getty Images
#36
Dr Kellogg originally made corn flakes to help people stop pleasuring themselves.
Image source: scarlet.feva
#37
Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and kale are all the same plant, just bred to emphasize different parts of it.
Image source: evelikesbooks
#38
All potatoes were once purple.
Image source: autismcookingkitchen
#39
You don’t have to “wash” chicken
Trust me, your favorite restaurant doesnt.
That med rare steak or prime rib isn’t leaking “blood”
Pork is perfectly ok
Boneless wings are nuggets.
Image source: kold_wurld
#40
Brussel sprouts really were worse when we were younger. They’ve been bred to taste less bitter.
Red delicious apples used to taste delicious but were bred to withstand travel. They are now beautifully red, waxy, and terrible.
Corn looks nothing like its wild ancestor. I have no idea what made us think it would be great to cultivate, but very glad we did.
Image source: devjanee
#41
So freezing and reheating bread actually does lower the glycemic index. It structurally changes enough to impact digestion. It’s not a ton but it’s still wild that happens. Also capers being a pickled flower bud has always seemed odd but less interesting.
Image source: stitchingpaper
#42
Parmesan Cheese isn’t vegetarian.
Oreos are vegan.
More info:
Traditional Parmesan (Parmigiano-Reggiano) is not vegetarian. To legally hold this name, it must be produced using animal rennet, an enzyme harvested from the fourth stomach of calves.
Most classic Oreo flavors do not contain any animal-derived ingredients, making them “accidentally vegan” on paper. However, the manufacturer does not classify them as strictly vegan due to the risk of cross-contact with milk on shared manufacturing equipment
Image source: cpolland12
#43
Milk does not do a body good. It was a marketing tactic because milk sales plummeted.
Image source: gritznwafflez
#44
fun fact: every time someone puts garlic and onions into a pan everyone without fail says “ooo that smells good” not sure if its a curse or something medical 🤷🏼♀️
Image source: lindseyandluna9
#45
Tomato plants can release a chemical so potent that it turns caterpillars into cannibals and the caterpillar will eat itself.
Image source: jaknjills
#46
Nutmeg is poisonous, it can lead to a type of intoxication; in larger quantities it can even cause organ failure. We just consume it in very small amounts, spread out through recipes, but as little as a tablespoon can be bad news.
Image source: onestolenflame
#47
Potato salad at a picnic that makes people sick isn’t the fault of the mayonnaise. The potatoes weren’t cooled enough before being mixed, per science.
Image source: jellybirddinner
#48
Protein powders, vitamin supplements are NOT regulated. You can literally start selling anything and call it supplements… Regulations only come when their is a problem.
Image source: dragonsherlock
#49
Walnuts have way more of those omega-3s than salmon.
Image source: timhalburpdx
#50
Bay leaves add so much flavor to food
You don’t eat them, but damn do they add flavor.
Image source: michellebowman1979
#51
Bananas are berries.
Image source: sortapayingattention
#52
One that no one ever believes when I tell them – if you eat a few Skittles and a few m&ms together, it tastes just like a Tootsie Roll.
Image source: emspace55
#53
The liquid from canned chickpeas can be whipped into a vegan meringue substitute.
Image source: justanothersarajo
#54
that banana, the gros michel isn’t even extinct. it’s just easier to ship the Cavendish banana, which is what we have today. many of the old crops were wiped out by fungus but there are still some trees left here on earth.
Image source: emersonthor2
#55
Adding a dash of powdered mustard to any creamy cheesy sauce will make the sauce taste cheesier, while a dash of nutmeg will make the sauce creamier.
Image source: michael_amican
#56
Organic does NOT mean pesticide free.
It just means that it’s grown without SYNTHETIC pesticides and fertilizers.
Image source: eatthelove
#57
Potatoes are tomato plants that crosbred with another plant, causing it to focus on tubers instead of fruits. Also you can graft tomato stems onto potato root stock and get a plant that will produce hoth tubers and fruits, but both will be terrible from the split nutrients.
Also carrots do not seed until their second year.
Image source: king_k.draw
#58
MSG comes from plants and it’s not evil!
Image source: melissaparker5286
#59
The harder a cheese is, the more readily it will emulsify into a sauce. That’s why you need a roux to make cheddar cheese dip but alfredo sauce only requires parmigiano cheese, butter, and a little pasta water.
Image source: kroshaghennessy2112
#60
If you put lemon juice into a pan before the garlic has a chance to cook down, it might turn blue.
Image source: jazzybolt
Follow Us
