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13 Surprising Facts About Hoity-Toity Food

According to legend, Genghis Khan’s Golden Horde was responsible for a great culinary innovation.

13 Surprising Facts About Hoity-Toity Food

August 06, 2021

If legend is to be believed, we wouldn’t have steak tartare without Genghis Khan’s horsemen. Here’s the full story, plus 14 others:

13

The balsamic vinegar, you buy probably isn't really balsamic vinegar at all. It's usually a mixture of red wine vinegar and must, which is a cooked grape solution used in making traditional balsamic vinegar. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: Yellow.co.nz

12

You only know the souffle because coal ovens went out of use in the 19th century. New ovens were heated by air drafts, which made it possible to create a dessert that can puff up -- so those started popping up all over Paris. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: Eater

11

Scallops actually have up to 200 eyes lining the sides of their shells. And those eyes aren't just primitive light receptacles they have pupils that can respond to light by contracting and dilating. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: Smithsonian Magazine

10

Legend says that steak tartare was created by Genghis Khan's Golden Horde. At the start of a day of riding, each man would put a chunk of horsemeat under his saddle to tenderize it by nightfall -- so began steak tartare. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: ParsonsNose.co.uk

9

In ancient Rome, they gave snails wine (and fed them with meat). the Snails were considered a real delicacy and had the same status that, say, Kobe beef does today -- so they were farmed, and treated incredibly well. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: Mashed

8

The smell of truffles can kind of get humans (and dogs, for that matter) high. Black truffles make a chemical that's similar to marijuana's THC it's called anandamide, and it makes the brain secrete mood-enhancing chemicals. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: Smithsonian Magazine

7

Wagyu in Wagyu beef means Japanese COW, and refers to all Japanese COWS. In Japanese, gyu is COW while Wa is Japanese - so the literal name actually just refers to any beef you get from Japanese cattle. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: Wagyu.org

6

Lobsters don't scream when they're cooked they're incapable of making noise. Those scream-like hisses they make as they're cooked are just the sound of air escaping from the lobster's shell during the cooking process. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: HowStuffWorks

5

Farmed salmon are only pink because artificial coloring is added to their food. Wild salmon have that color thanks to their diet, but the diet of farmed salmon is different - so, without added coloring, their fillets would be whitish. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: Scottish Salmon

4

In 1910, the United Kingdom called oysters the world's most important industry. Everyone ate them -- and street sellers would, say, hawk two dozen at a time to groups of servants who were having a night off. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: Standard.co.uk

3

Even the Egyptians were really into force-feeding ducks to make foie gras. For example, a high-status Egyptian named Ty was buried in a tomb covered with very elaborate visual instructions for how to force-feed ducks. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: Eater

2

Once upon a time, caviar was food for lowly peasants, not for lords and kings. For centuries, Russian fishermen ate bowls of caviar served with porridge. Things only changed when Ivan the Terrible developed a taste for it. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: Moscow Times

1

Roquefort cheese is made in damp caves in France owned by one of 7 companies. They add Penicillium roqueforti mold spores (there are over 700 varieties) to the cheese there, which create the characteristic blue spots. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: France Today

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