Did You Know?

"A woman is like a tea bag; she never knows how strong she is until she's in hot water."
—Eleanor Roosevelt

December 16, Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party (1773)

Chemist Louis Pasteur was born December 27, 1822, in France. Pasteur developed the pasteurization process, which was named for him, as well as an inoculation against rabies.

One-fourth of the world's spice trade involves pepper.

"What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art."
—Augustus Saint-Gaudens

The average American consumes approximately 11.7 pounds of chocolate each year, says one potentially biased source.

Honey is the only edible food for humans that will never go bad.

Cranberry Juice was designated the "Beverage of the Commonwealth" on May 4, 1970, because the Massachusetts cranberry industry grows the largest crop in the world. The cranberry is our state berry. We also have a State Bean (navy), State Muffin (corn), State Dessert (Boston Cream Pie), and State Cookie (chocolate chip).

Broccoli has as much calcium, ounce for ounce, as milk. A 1/3-pound broccoli stalk has more vitamin C than 2-1/2 pounds of oranges or 204 apples.

A conventionally raised (non-organic and non-local) peach may be harvested as many as 22 days before it appears in your grocery store's produce case.

"Life is a combination of magic and pasta."
—Federico Fellini

An ancient Japanese belief: your life is extended 75 days for every new food you taste.

"Recipes are like poems; they keep what kept us. And good cooks are like poets; they know how to count."—Henri Coulette

There are at least 10,000 varieties of tomatoes.

Legend has it that tofu was developed by prince Liu An (179-122 B.C.) while searching for a substance to help him achieve immortality. Liu An was the grandson of Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty.

"Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food." —Hippocrates