Food Facts & Fun
Food Facts is a listing of articles that teaches you how all types of foods, drinks and diets work.
What's the Dill? The History of the Pickle
How Do Today's Brewers Make Non-alcoholic Beer?
You Don't Want to Know How Maraschino Cherries Are Made
What Is Boba? Everything to Know About Bubble Tea
Mezcal vs. Tequila: A Guide to Agave-based Spirits
A Bottle of the World's Most Expensive Tequila Sold for $225,000
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
Is Tomato Catsup the Same as Tomato Ketchup?
The Hottest Hot Sauce in the World and 16 Runners-up
Why Sriracha Is Everybody's Favorite Hot Sauce
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?
Macaroon vs. Macaron: Differentiating Between Sweet Treats
Move Over Turducken. The Christmas PieCaken Is Here
Marzipan Is the Sweet Almond Treat You Need This Holiday
Chow Mein vs. Lo Mein: Comparing Chinese Noodle Dishes
Stromboli vs. Calzone: Different Branches of Pizza Lineage
Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich? We Try to Settle the Debate
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
What Is Imitation Crab Meat? Is the Crab Substitute Vegan?
It's Nuts How These 6 Nuts Look Before Processing
What Are Hot Dogs Made Of?
10 Sweetest Apples to Bake, Make Applesauce, or Eat Fresh
The Hottest Pepper in the World Is Another Puckerbutt Creation
Scallions vs. Green Onions: What's the Difference?
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 / Page 2
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.
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.
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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
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
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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
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?
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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?
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.
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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
Sriracha is spicy and tangy but not super hot. That's why so many people love it. It never overpowers foods; it just complements them.
By Mark Mancini
Filled with a variety of ingredients, such as cinnamon, honey, seeds and brown sugar, hotteok is a fried pancake that's an extremely popular street food in Korea.
Don't let its name — or strong aroma — turn you off. Fish sauce is a savory sauce used in Southeast Asian cuisine, and we promise if you try it, you'll never let your kitchen be without it.
By Mark Mancini
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America just can't do without Mexican avocados. And the Mexican cartels want a piece of the pie.
They're two popular types of long-grain rice, both with roots in Asia. But what makes them different from each other?
By Alia Hoyt
You probably won't find a pawpaw in your grocery store or local farmers' market, so what's the deal with this most elusive of fruits?
Eating a pomegranate may seem intimidating at first, but once you learn how to do it, it's easy — and those shiny, jewel-toned seeds are well-worth the trouble.
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Jaggery is an unrefined sugar made from sugarcane that is frequently used in both savory and sweet dishes prepared throughout southwest Asia.
You've seen the ads and surely you've seen the "left" and "right" candy bars. But come on. Are they playing mind games with us or are these two bars really different?