Peanuts are not nuts
Botanically they are legumes, like peas and lentils, and they grow underground. Almonds, cashews and pistachios are seeds of fruits, not true nuts either.
Read the fact →Food facts
Every fun fact in this category.
Carrots were originally purple
Early carrots in Persia and Central Asia were purple, white or yellow. The orange carrot was bred in the Netherlands in the 17th century.
Read the fact →Chillies measure heat in Scoville units
A bell pepper scores 0, a jalapeño around 5,000, India’s bhut jolokia over 1,000,000 and the Carolina Reaper about 1,600,000 Scoville heat units.
Read the fact →Chocolate was once used as money
The Aztecs valued cacao beans so highly that they were used as currency — a turkey could cost about 100 beans.
Read the fact →Cashews grow on the outside of a fruit
Each cashew nut hangs beneath a cashew apple. The shell around the nut contains an irritating oil, which is why cashews are always sold shelled.
Read the fact →India is the world’s largest producer of milk
India produces over 230 million tonnes of milk a year — roughly a quarter of the world’s total — mostly from small farms with a few animals each.
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