13 WOW Facts About Familiar Fruits and Veggies That Once Looked Very Different
9Bananas had seeds
The bananas we eat today came from 2 varieties of wild bananas. These wild bananas contained large seeds inside and were quite hard. Only after evolving into a more nutritious variety with smaller seeds did they become edible as their taste improved too.
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10Cherries and peaches were of the same size
Peaches were practically the same size as cherries before. They had smaller portions of edible flesh. It was the ancient Chinese who first domesticated wild peaches and transformed them after thousands of years of selective breeding. Peaches thereafter were larger and juicier as compared to before.
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11Marshmallows came from a plant
Believe it or not, but marshmallows were once a plant. This fact about familiar foods is surprising indeed, but marshmallows came from the mallow family which grew in the marsh. That’s how they got their name. Marshmallows were turned into the sweet candy only in the 1950s and it became the fluffy white treat that everyone loves today.
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12It was a tradition to break the wedding cake over the bride for good luck
Earlier wedding cakes resembled scones which were made from wheat and barley. The cakes were significant for any wedding ceremony as the marriage was officially finalized when the cake was broken over the bride. The act was necessary as it was believed to bring the newlyweds good fortune. The crumbs of the broken cake were later gathered by the guests for good luck.
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13Canned food was invented for the military
The facts about familiar foods are also linked to the purposes for which they were created. Nicolas Appert invented the food canning method when he heeded the French government’s call to find a means for preserving food for the French military.
He sealed food tightly in a jar or bottle and then heated the containers up to a certain temperature. He maintained that heat level for a certain period of time after which he kept the containers sealed until the time came for the food to be consumed.
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