Summer means a whole new season of foods. Like mom always said, an educated eater is a happy eater, so enjoy these interesting facts about some favorite American summer foods.
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1. Corn on the cob: Did you know that corn is the largest crop in the United States? The origin of cultivated corn is unknown, however.
2. Watermelons: Watermelons* originally came from the Kalahari Desert region in Africa, which is interesting because the average watermelon is 92 percent water.
3. Peaches: During the mid-1980s, world peach production totaled about 5.5 million metric tons per year. The highest peach-producing countries were the United States and Italy.
4. Strawberries: The strawberry is actually a member of the rose family. Each strawberry contains approximately 200 seeds.
5. Fresh fish: The first person to write in English about using a fishing rod was Dame Juliana Berners, whose Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle (1496) remained the basis of fishing knowledge in England for 150 years.
6. Lemonade: President Rutherford B. Hayes's wife Lucy was called Lemonade Lucy because she was a staunch advocate of the temperance movement and would not serve strong drinks at the White House.
7. Barbecue: The word barbecue comes from the Arawak word barbakoa, meaning "frame of sticks."
8. Ice cream: One of the world's most popular desserts, ice cream was most likely first created in China, around 2000 BC.
9. Tomatoes: Up until the mid-19th century, many cultures thought the tomato was poisonous. Today tomatoes are one of the most widely cultivated crops.
10. Potato salad: What's a cookout without potato salad? Americans sure must eat a lot of it: The U.S. potato harvest in 1999 yielded 21.7 million metric tons of potatoes!
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