Nagging Questions Gives You The Answers
I found a great food trivia column at chow.com called Nagging Questions. Searching through the list of questions author Roxanne Webber has already asked, I found myself thinking Yeah, why is that? a lot. Questions that had not ever nagged before, suddenly were. There were questions like how does packaged guacamole stay green?; are there really two scoops of raisins in Raisin Bran?; and are sprouted potatoes poisonous?
The short of it is manufactures vacuum out the oxygen that would otherwise interact with the enzyme polyphenol oxidase and add ascorbic or citric acid to further disable the enzyme; sadly, since the cereal comes in various package sizes Kellogg’s Raisin Bran adds raisins by weight not by scoops; the sprouts are considered poisonous, but you can just cut them off and safely eat the potato.
And, while the name General Motors is on everyone’s lips these days, we should give thanks to another car magnate, Mr. Ford, for propping up a different sort of American tradition — the summer BBQ.
Henry Ford pioneered the mass production of charcoal when he built a chemical plant to reclaim scrap wood created through the production of his Model Ts. Originally called Ford Charcoal, the product was sold exclusively in Ford’s auto dealerships. Later, the facility was renamed for E.G. Kingsford, a relative of Ford’s and the man credited with the formula and process. The product was also renamed, as Kingsford Charcoal, one of the best-selling brands on the market today.
Speaking of fire starters, the rest of the posts at Nagging Questions are sure to inspire many great conversations. Check it out!
June 24, 2009
Tags: blogs, education, food, trivia Posted in: Fun Food Facts
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