Food Facts & Fun
Food Facts is a listing of articles that teaches you how all types of foods, drinks and diets work.
How Do Today's Brewers Make Non-alcoholic Beer?
You Don't Want to Know How Maraschino Cherries Are Made
Growing Mushrooms at Home Is Easier Than You Think
Kopi Luwak: The Expensive Coffee Cruelly Made of Civet Poop
The 'Straight Up' History of the Iconic Martini Glass
What's the Difference Between Liquor and Liqueur?
What's the Difference Between Grits and Polenta?
What's the Difference Between Basmati and Jasmine Rice?
Congee Is the Food Equivalent of a Warm, Heated Gravity Blanket
Why Sriracha Is Everybody's Favorite Hot Sauce
Why Everybody Is Hooked on Fish Sauce
What Is Jaggery and Is It Better For You Than Sugar?
Get the Scoop on Our Ice Cream Quiz!
What Is Halloumi Cheese, and Why Is It Suddenly So Popular?
What's the Difference Between Clarified Butter and Ghee?
Move Over Turducken. The Christmas PieCaken Is Here
Marzipan Is the Sweet Almond Treat You Need This Holiday
Who Invented the Fortune Cookie?
The French Baguette Receives UNESCO World Heritage Status
General Mills Resurrects 4 Classic Monster Cereals
Would You Eat Casu Marzu, the Illegal Cheese With Maggots?
How Food Tasters Work
Top 5 Reasons You Know You Should be a Pastry Chef
How to Get Your Big Break into the Baking Business
It's Nuts How These 6 Nuts Look Before Processing
What Are Hot Dogs Made Of?
Does Canned Food Really Deserve a Bad Rap?
How to Eat Dragon Fruit
What's the Difference Between Sweet Potatoes and Yams?
Does Fruit Really Ripen Faster in a Brown Paper Bag?
7 of the Hottest Peppers in the World
Where Does Vanilla Flavoring Come From?
Lemongrass Is a Prized Herb in Asian Cuisine
10 Flaming-hot Facts About Cheetos
Korean Street Treat Hotteok Is Like a Warm Hug
Is There Really a Difference Between the Left and Right Twix?
What's the Difference Between Champagne and Sparkling Wine?
What's the Difference Between Port and Sherry?
Why Does Your Wine Bottle Have a Dent in the Bottom?
Learn More
One of the most expensive cups of coffee in the world is made from beans harvested from civet poop. Why would anybody want to drink it?
By Carrie Tatro
You know the story behind the martini: James Bond always orders his "shaken, not stirred." But what's the story behind the classic glass it's always served in?
Craft beer is big business. And breweries are banking on non-alcoholic beer as their new cash cow. But how do they brew beer without alcohol?
Advertisement
There are hot peppers and there are mouth-scorchers. Have you tried any of these seven extremely hot peppers?
By Dylan Ris
Call it bubbly or bubbles, but don't call what's in your glass Champagne unless it truly is. How do you know? It depends on where and how it's made.
Sherry and port are both fortified wines. But their similarities end there.
By Muriel Vega
Ah, vanilla. You can almost smell it right now, can't you? From pure vanilla extract to essence and imitation, it comes in all forms. But where does vanilla flavoring come from?
Advertisement
Liquor and liqueur are spelled so similarly, it's easy to confuse them for being the same. But they're not. So how are they different?
The expression "the cherry on top" is supposed to refer to a very good thing. You may think differently once you learn how maraschino cherries are actually made.
By Alia Hoyt
There are a lot of theories about why wine bottles have dents (or punts) on the bottoms. Do they still serve a purpose?
Don't know how to eat dragon fruit? This stunner of a fruit is as simple to slice as it is pretty to look at. So give it a try. You won't regret it.
Advertisement
The baguette is the most popular kind of bread eaten in France. So it only makes sense UNESCO would protect it as an iconic part of its cultural heritage.
Think sweet potatoes and yams are the same? Think again. These two tubers are totally different. Yams aren't even potatoes.
By Lauren David
If you love mushrooms, why not grow them at home? It's easy if you have a mushroom growing kit.
By Muriel Vega
Cheetos are more than just tasty, dusty cheese puffs. They've even inspired a major motion picture. And why is the snack so addictive, anyway?
By Alia Hoyt
Advertisement
You may know chai as a sweet and spicy Starbucks favorite, but the roots of this tea blend lie in the heart of the Indian subcontinent. So, how do you make it?
By Kate Morgan
Grits and polenta are both made from corn, but usually different varieties: dent corn and flint corn. What else makes these two dishes unique?
By Muriel Vega
Franken Berry, Count Chocula and Boo-Berry have been resurrected just in time for Halloween. And Frute Brute joins them on the shelves for the first time in nearly a decade.
By Jeremy Glass
Never heard of stirring butter into your coffee? Yep, it's a thing, and there might even be some good reasons to try it.
By Lauren David
Advertisement
Your mom may have told you to put bananas or peaches in a brown paper bag to help them ripen faster. But does this really work? And why would it?
The fruit of the jabuticaba grows on its trunk and branches and is as sweet as a grape. But it's very perishable once it's picked.
Hostas are a perennial garden favorite, but are still relatively unknown as a delicious and easily prepared culinary delicacy.
You've undoubtedly heard about heirloom tomatoes, but what's so different about them, and why do they taste so good?
Advertisement
Does your mouth get all excited at the thought of eating a juicy grapefruit? Well, pucker up, because grapefruit is loaded with the vitamins and antioxidants your body needs.
Casu marzu has been called the most dangerous cheese in the world. But Sardinians have been eating it for centuries, so why is it banned and is it really so bad?
By Alia Hoyt & Lauren David