Interesting Facts and Statistics about Cooking
Front-loaded bread ovens were invented by the ancient Greeks, leading to major advances in bread baking and turning the bread industry into a major economic contributor.
The mass production and standardization of food was a result of the Industrial Revolution and profoundly changed cooking.
French haute cuisine was popularized after the French Revolution, when the nobility's former private chefs opened restaurants for the general public.
The largest menu entry recorded is a stuffed camel, which contains two whole lambs, 20 chickens, and 60 eggs, among other ingredients.
Gordon Ramsay was once beaten in an onion-chopping contest by a prison cook, who received a job offer from the celebrity chef after his release.
Bread was considered part of the national identity in pre-revolutionary France, with bread baking deemed a public service and controlled by the police.
Cooking led to an increase in human brain size due to food becoming more energy-dense and digestible. It also left people with more time to pursue education and culture.
The ancient Greek word "mageiros," which has the same etymological root as "magic," referred to cooks, butchers, and priests.
Salted butter is less perishable that the unsalted variety and can be kept unrefrigerated for longer.
Before the creation of cookware, people used shells and animal parts for food storage and transportation.
Bugs are consumed in many places around the world for their high protein content, crunchiness, and flavor.
Sharp knives are safer than blunt ones because they cut more easily, making slips less likely.
The difference between herbs and spices is that the former come from plant leaves and the latter from roots, seeds, or bark.
Chefs traditionally wear white because this was the color considered most hygienic by the chef catering to France's first prime minister.
Traditionally, the pleats in a chef's hat correspond to the number of recipes he or she has mastered.
In the USA, the amount of time households spend on meal preparation has halved since the 1960s and is now less than in any other country.
Research shows that Food TV inspires people to eat but not cook more; in fact, it may discourage cooking by setting unrealistic expectations.
The pound cake takes its name from its traditional ingredients - a pound each of butter, flour, sugar, and eggs.
The fugu, or puffer fish, is lethal if incorrectly filleted and cooked - it contains a poison nearly 1,200 times deadlier than cyanide.
Root vegetables should start cooking in cold water, whereas for those grown above ground, the water should be boiled first.
James Beard is called the "father of American cuisine" because he endorsed distinctively American fare rather than French cuisine.
Sharp knives cause onions to release less propanethial S-oxide, which makes the eyes water.
The ability to use fire and ice in food preparation and storage led humans into a new era of technological innovations.
The ability to use fire and ice in food preparation and storage led humans into a new era of technological innovations.