During the plague, doctors wore masks filled with juniper berries to ward off the disease. These are the same berries that produce the primary flavour of gin, and although modern medical practice might consider it superstitious, perhaps it’s better to be safe than sorry. Cheers!
Egypt was the first country to have a beer tax, imposed by Cleopatra in the first century BC to discourage public drunkenness.
This week Greek immigrant to Canada, Sam Panopoulos, a restaurant chain owner, died aged 83. In 1962 he threw pineapples and ham onto a pizza, creating the now iconic Hawaiian pizza topping, which took its name from the can of pineapples he used.
In the days of the British Empire butter was pickled, or stored in brine, to be sent to Brits working abroad to give them a taste of home.
Some oranges can be green but ripe. In the US they are treated with gas to turn them a more consumer-friendly orange colour.
Peanut butter was invented by a doctor in Missouri for people with bad or no teeth who couldn’t manage to chew meat.