Baby carrots aren’t babies

The so-called baby-cut carrots aren’t miniature carrots, they’re full-sized carrots trimmed down to size by industrial machines. This technique was first used to convert substandard carrots, with blemishes or marks, ones that had no market value, into saleable items.

Surprisingly little goes to waste as shavings are either used for animal feed or in the food processing industry. Of course, there are also true baby carrots: naturally miniature strains that are grown… but you rarely find those in supermarkets!

Cool as a cucumber

The expression “cool as a cucumber” comes from the cucumber’s amazing ability to cool down the body and add hydration. That’s fascinating and weird all at the same time!

Is baby corn really a baby?

Unlike its baby carrot brethren, baby corn is not a lie. In fact, it’s precisely what it sounds like: an immature ear of corn, picked before its prime. Baby corn is mildly sweet and has a satisfying snap to it.

It can come from any number of different kinds of varieties, but it’s just picked at a much earlier stage, before it’s even been fertilised.

Durian is the smelliest fruit in the world

The fruit grows on the Durio tree and grows in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Apparently it smells of rotten eggs, sweaty socks or even garbage. Due to its overpowering smell, durian has been banned on many types of public transport across Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong. In Singapore, the fruit is banned across all types of public transportation and even taxis have signs to let you know they refuse to carry passengers transporting the smelly fruit.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 18th, 2023