15 Amazing Facts About Desserts That’ll Give You Another Reason To Indulge
Image: Shutterstock
It’s a universally acknowledged truth that desserts are the elixir, a life force. And when our sweet tooth comes knocking at our door, there’s no recourse but to entertain it (otherwise, it’s considered extremely rude to turn your guest away).
We might never get over the guilt of succumbing to sinful desserts. However, perhaps we can assuage our guilt by extending our knowledge with a bit of trivia. We’ve not merely boarded the fast train to sinful-indulgence-land, we’re actually making a stop in the knowledge-ville. So, throw caution to the wind, choose your poison (we suggest a big tub of ice cream), and get ready to be amazed by these 15 fun facts about dessert:
1. A fruitcake can last for a decade if made with alcohol. Jay Leno, an American television host, can attest to this fact since, in 2003, he sampled a cake that was baked in 1878! Perhaps, the concept of aging applies to all things edible, not just wine.
2. This chocolate sundae is made out of the rarest of cocoa beans from around the world, and garnished with 5 grams of 23-karat edible gold, which is expensive enough to set you back by about $25,000. Or you could just buy yourself an SUV; whatever you fancy.
3. The chocolate river in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was made out of actual chocolate. Do you want to create it? Well, mix chocolate and cream with 15,000 gallons of water and you’ve got yourself a chocolate river, folks.
4. The good folks at McDonald’s in Hong Kong don’t just dish out burgers, but also offer wedding packages; wherein, the wedding cake is made out of apple pies.
5. India isn’t the only place where a ban on certain foods determines the vote share. A small town on the coast of California, named Carmel-By-The-Sea, had banned the town from selling and eating ice creams in public streets. That’s until Clint Eastwood swooped into the rescue by getting himself elected as the mayor by overturning the ban!
6.There’s a Senate seat monikered “candy desk” in the US Senate. The tradition dictates that whoever takes that seat should fill the candy bowl with the candy from his or her home state.
7. We have all seen those enticing ice cream commercials that lure us into biting into something cold and sweet. But, did you know that the ice cream in the TV commercials is usually just mashed potato? This is to avoid melting during the long hours of shoot.
8. In the 17th century, women used to put a slice of cake under their pillows to dream about their future husbands (that’s a whole new kind of pillow talk)! The cake has always been a woman’s best friend.
9. No money in the ATM? No problem. Beverly Hills is home to an ATM that dispenses cupcakes 24/7. Yes, cupcakes at your disposal, 24/7. Did we just find heaven on earth?
10. We all love those creamy, melty, Swiss chocolates, don’t we? An average Swiss consumes about 19 pounds of chocolate per year. With all that Swiss chocolate just lying around, we’re surprised it’s not more.
11. There’s nothing more comforting than a cup of hot chocolate and marshmallows. Marshmallow was first used to cure a sore throat during the Renaissance period since it’s actually a plant. No wonder it’s so comforting.
12. Contrary to popular belief, German chocolate cake was not whisked up in Germany. It is the brainchild of American chocolatier, Sam German, who created the baking chocolate used in the cake.
13. Croissants, our good old sweet friends from France, were first invented by a baker in Vienna to warn the Turkish military invading the city. The French had no hand in this one. But, we’re happy we have croissants.
14. The popsicle was a product of an eleven-year-old’s! Frank Epperson didn’t know he was creating the first ever popsicle when he left a cup of stirred soda and stick, out in the night, only to find it frozen the next morning.
15. The holes in doughnuts aren’t an aesthetic design to seduce us into indulging in sugary sin, they were actually invented in 1846 to avoid indigestion. When Hanson Crocker’s mother (who introduced us to the world of bliss in sugar and dough) made doughnuts, the middle parts were uncooked, and hence, it was scooped out.
Bonus fact:
What do you love? An apple pie or pumpkin pie? Your choice of pie can give away a lot about your personality. Chocolate pie lovers are people full of love, while apple pie fans are known to be realistic, compassionate, thoughtful, and pragmatic, and the pumpkin pie clan is a bunch of funny and independent chaps. Choose your pie wisely!
And the next time you come across anyone lurking around to bust you in the act of indulging in your guilty pleasure, just use the aforementioned fact and lay them flat.
