Who Discovered It

The History and Discovery of Popcorn Popcorn is a variety of corn that bursts or “pops” out of its kernel when hot. The first people to discover they could pop corns were the American Indians about 5,000 years ago. Popcorn is thus one of the world’s oldest snacks. Other types of corn such as Indian corn, sweet corn, field corn and pod corn don’t have the popping quality. Early Cultivation, Use and Making of Popcorn The popcorn variety originated in Mexico where it was cultivated by the Native Americans. Archeological evidence have found ears of corn as old as 5,600 yearsLater on it was imported to India, Sumatra and China. It became popular with Europeans in exploration periods. They too brought the popcorn home with them. Popcorn was a challenging snack back then. To pop the kernels, the Indians threw them on hot stones over campfires. As the popcorn flew into the air, they would catch them and eat them. Eventually they grew tired of this and invented corn poppers that would...

A study of the facts about the conch shell shows that in 1398, it was used to refer to all sea creatures with shells. However, its discovery and use is much older than that. In Mayan art, the conch was depicted as an ink container. The American aboriginals used it as an ornament. The Conch Shell as Food The conch shell’s meat can be consumed raw when eaten with salads. It can also be cooked and eaten like hamburgers. Some people find the white meat to be the most delicious part. Some East Asian culinary cuisines chop it into lean slices. It is fried or steamed. Other food facts about the conch shell will show it is eaten with soups in the West Indies. It is also a popular dish in the Bahamas. In Guam the meat is dipped in soy sauce and flavored with hot sauce or peppers. In El Salvador, the meat is flavored with onion, lemon juice and other species. In Puerto Rico it is flavored with orange juice and eaten raw. Other Uses Conch has been used as a musical instrument for a long time. Aside...

A common type of melon, watermelon is believed to have originated from the southern parts of Africa. Its fruit has a fleshy center and thick rind. Furthermore, it has a sweet and juicy interior flesh as well as a smooth exterior rind. The usual colors of its flesh are pink, yellow and orange. Meanwhile, the rind comes in shades of white, yellow and green. Aside from its reputation as one of the most delicious fruits, it is good to know its other aspects including who discovered watermelon. The Discovery of Watermelon Who discovered watermelon? In 1882, French-Swiss botanist Alphonse de Candolle proved that this fruit was indigenous to Africa. Because of its maximum genetic diversity, various tastes of this fruit emerged, some of which were bitter, others bland as well as sweet varieties. There are reports that it was first cultivated in the Nile Valley some time in the second millennium B.C. Seeds of watermelon were found inside the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun, who ruled from 1333...

Introduction Chocolate is made from cacao beans. People have cultivated cacao trees for a very long time. But chocolate as we know it today is a relatively new discovery. Here is a brief history of chocolate and cacao and the various discoveries about them. Cultivation of Cacao The Mesoamericans or ancient Native Americans were the first to cultivate cacao. The Olmec Indians would grow them and harvest the seeds as early as 1,500 BC until their demise in 300 BC. From there the cacao became a prized drink among the Mayan and Azec nobilities. This drink is not like the modern chocolate drink. It was bitter and strongly flavored. In fact, the word “chocolate” derives from a Nahuatl term for “bitter water.” What’s in Chocolate All Mesoamericans made chocolate drink in basically the same way. First, the cacao beans were fermented. Then they were dried and the shells removed. The nibs were then ground and turned to a liquid, the fermented chocolate. Modern chocolate is sweeter than...